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    Mead!

    My roommate and I have recently taken up mead-making, and we are on a new batch right now. I can't believe how motivated I've become to make better and better stuff. Our first one was made out of orange blossom honey and we used baking yeast, and it still turned out alright. Then we got Cote des Blanc wine yeast, which should make a nice honey wine. Recently, I bought some local honey from a farmer's market, and I can definitely taste the difference and am optimistic. Since offerings are a large part of my practice, this will be more than just a hobby, but it certainly is fun.

    The background of this ancient drink is also fun to examine for me. Mead was popular in ancient Greece, although it was later supplanted largely by wine. I know that mead was among the earliest alcoholic drinks among the Slavs, and that mead was popular in Poland and Russia until the fairly recent advent of vodka. The mead halls of the Norse are famous, not to mention the mythic "mead of inspiration". The etymology for mead is found in many Indo-European languages, e.g. Russian "Med", Old Irish "Mid", Sanskrit "Madhu", Greek "Methu". Does mead have any significance or points of interest to anyone else?
    If you want to be thought intelligent, just agree with everyone.

    #2
    Re: Mead!

    I find the practice of mead-making quite fascinating (though I can't really take it up right now). If you'd like to share more of the history of mead, and tell us about your progress, I for one would be very interested!

    And also mead is tasty.

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      #3
      Re: Mead!

      Here's a bootleg recipe for mead.

      http://meadhall.homestead.com/Mead.html

      BTW, mead is made from honey, if your religion forbids drinking the fermentation of fruit, you're in luck! You can still get drunk!

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        #4
        Re: Mead!

        Only bad thing about mead is that it takes at LEAST 6 months to age ... Better around a year ...
        I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a-hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them ... John Bernard Books


        Indian Chief 'Two Eagles' was asked by a white government official; "You have observed the white man for 90 years. You've seen his wars and his technological advances. You've seen his progress, and the damage he's done."

        The Chief nodded in agreement.

        The official continued; "Considering all these events, in your opinion, where did the white man go wrong?"

        The Chief stared at the government official for over a minute and then calmly replied.. "When white man find land, Indians running it, no taxes, no debt, plenty buffalo, plenty beaver, clean water. Women did all the work, Medicine Man free. Indian man spend all day hunting and fishing; all night having sex."

        Then the chief leaned back and smiled; "Only white man dumb enough to think he could improve system like that."



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          #5
          Re: Mead!

          Well, in my experience, it's not that you *can't* drink it before 6 months. If you sample it two months through, you may find it quite drinkable, and the alcohol will be there. However, I can understand attitude that it's a waste of the time and effort invested to drink it early. The flavor can change completely every month. On the other hand, it's sort of a matter of where you draw the line. Some luxury mead in Slavic countries was aged for five years or more. Worth it? Maybe, maybe not. I will say that I'll probably ferment the local wildflower honey longer, just because it's the best I've ever tasted, and I don't want to waste it. For our first batch, we were mostly just pleased that it worked. That, and "racking" it multiple times is a pain. It basically involves siphoning the mead off of the white bottom layer of bitter "lees" that develops over time, and into new container/s. Every time you uncork it though, you risk contamination. Our method of preventing this? Disinfecting with Everclear. Both tube and mouth.
          Last edited by Yazichestvo; 09 Apr 2011, 10:24.
          If you want to be thought intelligent, just agree with everyone.

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            #6
            Re: Mead!

            Everclear? ... I have to cross the state line to get that ...
            I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a-hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them ... John Bernard Books


            Indian Chief 'Two Eagles' was asked by a white government official; "You have observed the white man for 90 years. You've seen his wars and his technological advances. You've seen his progress, and the damage he's done."

            The Chief nodded in agreement.

            The official continued; "Considering all these events, in your opinion, where did the white man go wrong?"

            The Chief stared at the government official for over a minute and then calmly replied.. "When white man find land, Indians running it, no taxes, no debt, plenty buffalo, plenty beaver, clean water. Women did all the work, Medicine Man free. Indian man spend all day hunting and fishing; all night having sex."

            Then the chief leaned back and smiled; "Only white man dumb enough to think he could improve system like that."



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              #7
              Re: Mead!

              I can see why. At 95% ethanol, it's more disinfectant than spirit.
              If you want to be thought intelligent, just agree with everyone.

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                #8
                Re: Mead!

                I've made a few batches of mead before. It's very fun to do. The waiting part sucks, but the experience makes it worth it to me. My coven is about to start making its own mead for ritual use. And that is mainly because I want to make it, but it is more fun with lots of people helping. We are using honey from my parent's bee hives. So our honey is very local. lol.

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                  #9
                  Re: Mead!

                  I would love to try this but due to my family and my boyfriend's family having a heavy alcoholism history both of us have kind of avoided alcohol at every turn. Probably a smart move.
                  sigpic

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                    #10
                    Re: Mead!

                    Wow, mead making sounds like a lot of fun! I'd love to try it, the waiting part does sound like a bummer but I all good things come with time right? I bet using local honey is probably the best way to go. I'd love to read how your second batch turns out and if you did anything different.
                    A witch is a woman who knows what she wants and is not afraid to work to achieve it. She has strong beliefs and the power to go through with her wishes. She has the power to turn thought into action. She's a strong, hardworking and intelligent woman.
                    Call me a witch and I will thank you for the compliment.

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                      #11
                      Re: Mead!

                      I am about to make some mead for me and my friends, I have most of my supplies, all i need is an air stop and my honey, this will be fun!

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                        #12
                        Re: Mead!

                        I was reading about making mead with water kefir, for those who don't want to make massive batches. You can't use the actual grains, because the antibacterial properties of honey will eventually kill them (you could maybe use them once or twice but if you do it a lot they'll die after a couple of months). But you CAN use the strained water from it, which is full of bacteria and yeast. You just apparently leave that with honey and water for a while and then drink it. I haven't tried it yet though.

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                          #13
                          Re: Mead!

                          I am a Jagermeister fan myself, but I don't normally pass the meadhorn. Actually, I sometimes need to be reminded to pass it....

                          If you are looking to spice it, I like loading it with nutmeg. Tastes awful but it's a nice enhancement to the reason we drink the stuff anyways lol

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