Mead Making

This weekend, I finally got around to making a batch of mead with the local honey I bought
while berry-picking on Sauvie Island. I've been making mead for quite a few years now, though very infrequently. This honey is darker than any I've ever seen, and I can't wait to see how it turns out!

If you've never had mead, it's a fermented wine-like beverage made only from honey and water. Lots of honey. A 5 gallon batch requires about 15 lbs. of honey. This batch is using 12 lbs of farm honey from carrot and madras flowers, plus 1.5 lbs. mesquite honey from Trader Joe's that I happened to have in the house. You can use any honey, but local will always be better than something from the big-box discount store.

I learned how to brew mead from The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, but this batch is a simpler recipe that I found in The Compleat Meadmaker. With just a quick trip down to your local homebrew supply store (you don't actually need a stock pot as big as mine!) you can be brewing mead the same day. You can even add fresh fruit like berries or pears to your fermentation, or fresh apple cider!

Unfortunately, mead takes a few months to ferment, a few more to clear (so the yeast isn't mixed in with your lovely golden beverage), and about a year to age. Sounds like a long time, huh? It's totally worth it! This is truly a nectar of the gods.

There are a couple decent meads on the market that you can try, but most are extremely sweet (even for my tastes!) and none taste anything like what I brew at home. The Sunset in Boston often has a whole bunch, (Except on Christmas day when my friends like to buy them out).