How to Make Your Own Mead

Disclaimer:

This is the first time I have ever attempted to brew anything. I figured it would be at the least entertaining to watch my process and at best insightful and educational to anyone who is interested in homebrewing. I am going to start off with making 1 gallon of mead. Mead is a honey-based alcohol that has been around for thousands of years. It is also known as “honey wine” and has a wide range of alcohol contents.

What You Need

1. Fermenting container (At least 1 gallon or larger)
2. Honey (About 5lbs)
3. Wine Yeast (I will be using champaign yeast, but wine yeast also works well)
4. Water
5. Alcohol content hydrometer
6. Plastic tubing
7. Smaller containers to hold the mead after brewing (I will be using mason jars)

Making the Mead

Step 1:

Take your brewing container and sanitize it using boiling water or food-grade sanitizer. Make sure that if the brewing container is glass to heat it slowly. Heating it too quickly could cause it to shatter.

Step 2:

If you are making a gallon of mead add 3lbs of honey into the brewing jar with enough water to fill about 75% of the way to the gallon marker. If you are doing more or less than a gallon, check out this mead calculator to help you decide how much water and honey you need.

Step 3:

Fully stir up your honey/water mix. This is called must when it is combined.

Step 4:

Use your hydrometer to help you determine the desired alcohol content. Depending on what you are aiming for, add more honey or water. Continue adding water and honey until you have your desired measurements.

Step 5:

Add in the yeast. The packet of yeast should say how much it will support. If it says up to 5 gallons, then you can add 1/3 - 1/2 of the packet to your must and stir in the yeast.

Step 6 (Optional):

Add a few dates, prunes, or raisins to help feed the yeast to ensure it gets a good start.

Step 7:

Store your brewing jar in a dark place ~70F for around 2 weeks.

Step 8:

Transfer the mead into your smaller containers and allow it to age 1-2 months and add flavorings (strawberries, cherry, spices, etc).

Step 9:

Drink! Congrats you did it! 🍯 🍻

An Ozarker writing about self-reliance, doing things that are meaningful, and staying connected to reality in a digital world.
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