| One of the great things about Mead making is | | | | soft remove them from the boiling water and |
| the whole tradition of it. Mead has been made | | | | press all the juices out of them. Add all |
| for centuries and quite possibly millennium. | | | | these juices into the boiling mead. Continue |
| You can easily find and follow these recipes | | | | to boil the batch down to the mark you made |
| with just a little variation for modern times | | | | on the pan. This is the four-quart level. |
| and tools. | | | | Once this is done cool the liquid and strain |
| | | | it into a fermentation bucket for six weeks. |
| I have chosen a recipe that comes from a book | | | | After this the fermentation should be almost |
| called "From the Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby | | | | complete and you can transfer it to a carboy |
| Knight Opened". It is a collection of recipes | | | | or bottle it where you keep it for nine |
| for making a variety of meads and metheglins. | | | | months before drinking. |
| This recipe is one of the easiest to make. If | | | | |
| you want to check out the book and see more | | | | Now here are some suggestions I have for |
| of the recipes the complete book is freely | | | | varying from the exact recipe, which is an |
| available on the Gutenberg project | | | | update to modern times without losing any of |
| website.Here is the recipe as Sir Digby | | | | the ancient taste. |
| explains it: | | | | |
| | | | First off, Digby doesn't say anything about |
| TO MAKE EXCELLENT MEAD | | | | yeast! If you are a mead maker you must be |
| | | | wondering how are we going to ferment without |
| "To every quart of Honey, take four quarts of | | | | yeast. Well, in those days they just took |
| water. Put your water in a clean Kettle over | | | | advantage of naturally occuring yeast |
| the fire, and with a stick take the just | | | | bacteria that were in the air and the |
| measure, how high the water cometh, making a | | | | utensils but I don't recommend you do this. |
| notch, where the superficies toucheth the | | | | We live in a much cleaner world and we want |
| stick. As soon as the water is warm, put in | | | | to exercise more control over our Mead so I |
| your Honey, and let it boil, skimming it | | | | suggest you pitch a yeast into your batch |
| always, till it be very clean; Then put to | | | | once it has cooled. Almost any yeast will |
| every Gallon of water, one pound of the best | | | | work including Lalvin D-47 or even |
| Blew-raisins of the Sun, first clean picked | | | | Fleischmanns bread yeast. (Just follow the |
| from the stalks, and clean washed. Let them | | | | pitching instructions that come with the |
| remain in the boiling Liquor, till they be | | | | yeast.) |
| throughly swollen and soft; Then take them | | | | |
| out, and put them into a Hair-bag, and strain | | | | Secondly, he uses blue raisins, which are a |
| all the juice and pulp and substance from | | | | bit difficult to come by so I recommend you |
| them in an Apothecaries Press; which put back | | | | switch to some more run of the mill, and |
| into your liquor, and let it boil, till it be | | | | readily available raisins. The raisins do |
| consumed just to the notch you took at first, | | | | have an effect on the taste but more |
| for the measure of your water alone. Then let | | | | importantly they act as a nutrient; so other |
| your Liquor run through a Hair-strainer into | | | | types of raisins can be used quite |
| an empty Wooden-fat, which must stand | | | | successfully. |
| endwise, with the head of the upper-end out; | | | | |
| and there let it remain till the next day, | | | | Finally, about the whole boiling thing. You |
| that the liquor be quite cold. Then Tun it up | | | | can successfully do this whole recipe without |
| into a good Barrel, not filled quite full, | | | | any of the boiling or heating of anything. |
| but within three or four fingers breadth; | | | | Personally I think your mead will be just as |
| (where Sack hath been, is the best) and let | | | | good. The reason why Digby boils is because |
| the bung remain open for six weeks with a | | | | he has to. He got his water from a well and |
| double bolter-cloth lying upon it, to keep | | | | his honey was no doubt heavily contaminated |
| out any foulness from falling in. Then stop | | | | with all kinds of stuff. His boiling of |
| it up close, and drink not of it till after | | | | materials would sanitize and clean everything |
| nine months." | | | | that would compete with the yeast that is |
| | | | desirable to grow. Your sanitizing needs are |
| Now here is my translation and explanation of | | | | greatly reduced if you are pitching a real |
| how to make this mead recipe. I will stick | | | | yeast in the brew and you are going to be |
| close to his quantities, which will give us | | | | using extraordinarily clean honey and water |
| about 1 gallon of Mead. You can easily | | | | by his standards. |
| translate this if you want to make a 5-gallon | | | | |
| batch. | | | | If you read the Digby book you will see that |
| | | | he claims this mead to be a good cure for |
| Put four quarts of water in a pot and heat | | | | consumption and other ailments. While I won't |
| it. Mark the side of the pot at the water | | | | make the same claim, and I don't even know |
| level. Add 1 quart of honey to the water and | | | | what consumption is I will claim that you |
| bring it very gently to a boil. Skim off | | | | will end up with quite a delicious mead you |
| anything that rises to the surface. Put 1 | | | | can be proud of. And it is Mead you can brag |
| pound of white raisins in a nylon straining | | | | to your friends about because it came from a |
| bag (or a doubled cheesecloth bag) and drop | | | | seventeenth century recipe. |
| into the water. When they are swollen and | | | | |