Make Mead

When you mix water and honey and ferment it with yeast, you get mead, an alcoholic drink often referred to as "honey wine". There are over 30 different kinds of mead. This article will give you a simple recipe to use.

Ingredients
(Amounts vary depending on how much mead you want to make)
 * Honey
 * Water
 * Ale Yeast
 * Grapes (optional)

Steps

 * 1) Gather and sanitize all the items listed in the "Things You'll Need" below. Anything that will touch the mead-in-the-making should be sanitized first. The environment you are creating to encourage fermentation can also encourage the growth of any microorganisms left behind from inadequate sanitation. You can use a weak bleach solution (remember to rinse well) but it is better to use a sanitizing solution that can be found at any beer or wine-making store (and online).
 * 2)  Mix 1 part honey with 3 parts distilled water and heat to 160 degrees F for 15 minutes to kill any impurities. Stir constantly to prevent the honey from caramelizing. Let the mixture cool to room temperature before going to the next step. This mixture, by the way, is called "must".
 * 3) *Adding grapes to the must will help your mead develop faster.
 * 4) *How to Reliquefy Granulated Honey
 * 5) *How to Verify the Purity of Honey
 * 6)  Add a package of yeast (per gallon of must) and mix. An easy way to promote growth of the yeast is to take a cup of the honey water mixture and introduce the yeast to it in a small container. This will give the yeast time to multiply and ensures a better start.
 * 7)  Put in a large, clear container (gallon wine jugs work well). You'll want to prevent air from getting into the container, but carbon dioxide needs to be able to escape. One way to do this is to poke a few holes in a balloon and then stretch it over the mouth of the bottle. Secure it by putting a rubber band or tape around it. The yeast produces CO2 and the balloon will expand. The balloon will fill up with gas which will leak out the holes in it, but when the gas stops, the holes will close and air won’t be able to get in and ruin your mead.
 * 8) *If you use 2-Litres, then instead of using balloons you can tighten the cap to just before it is fully sealed, which will let gas escape when it builds up but won't let any in when it stops fermenting.
 * 9) *You can also use a common fermenter airlock (they cost about $1.50) or make your own.
 * 10)  Put in a quiet place at 70-75 degrees to ferment. There are a few different ways to know when the mead is done fermenting:
 * 11) *The most accurate way to know is to measure the specific gravity with a hydrometer when you first mix it, then measure it every two weeks. When the specific gravity drops to 10% of its starting point, the mead can be bottled.
 * 12) *Wait at least 8 weeks. The amount of time it takes for the mead to ferment will depend on a variety of factors, but 8 weeks should be enough time for most scenarios.
 * 13) *If you're using an airlock, wait until 3 weeks after it stops bubbling.
 * 14)  Transfer the mead into bottles, seal, and store in a cool dark place. Siphoning is the best way to go so that you leave sediment behind. Your mead is now drinkable, but it is even better when aged several months.

Things You'll Need

 * Sanitizing solution
 * Large pot
 * Thermometer
 * Large clear container
 * Airlock or balloon
 * Hydrometer (optional)
 * Siphon
 * Bottles

Tips

 * Adding potassium sorbate to the mead when you are bottling will help preserve the color and flavor for a long period of time.
 * Letting your mead get too hot or cold during the fermentation process can stop the fermenting or spoil your mead. A quiet place is best, without a lot of traffic. Dark isn't necessary.
 * Some people do not boil or heat the honey and water at all. Pour in honey, add water, add yeast and leave it alone for a couple of months. Many commercially-produced yeasts have a 'killer factor' which will cause wild yeasts to die. Wild yeasts do not occur in honey (though they may occur in the environment where the must is fermented) and are outcompeted by healthy commercial yeasts very quickly.
 * Beer yeast can work well with meads, generally producing a semi-sweet mead. Dryer meads require a mead or wine yeast that are more alcohol tolerant. Beer yeasts begin to die off as the alcohol gets to their particular level of tolerance and leave some unfermented honey behind.
 * An excellent source of fresh yeast is your local micro-brewery. Inquire if they will fill a jar of fresh yeast off one of their fermenters. You will want a yeast from a light ale with low hops, this won't impart any out-of-character flavors to your mead. First, clean your jar in the sanitizing cycle in a dishwasher or use a light solution of bleach to sanitize the jar. Schedule a time at the brewery to pick up your yeast. The yeast they give you should be a light cream colored, with no strong burnt rubber odor. This would indicate that the yeast is too old. Thank the brewer and bring them back a sample of your mead when it is done. Add a cup to 3 cups of yeast to your mead. A quart jar will be plenty for two five gallon batches.
 * If there's a wine-making shop near you, white wine yeasts are also good. Beer yeast has trouble digesting the sugars in honey, being bred to digest maltose.
 * A wine-making shop will also have finings, sparkolloid and bentonite, which will attract the particulate matter that makes mead cloudy. The mead will be ready when it's crystal clear.
 * Any neutral fruit juice (apple, white grape) will make a good yeast nutrient, which is generally needed in honey - which, unto itself, has no additional nutrients for the yeast to feed off of. Just add a small amount to get things going, unless you want your mead to taste like those juices.  Alternatively, a commercial yeast nuttrient can be picked up at your local home brew or home wine shop.

Warnings

 * This is an alcoholic beverage, so all consumers must be of legal drinking age.
 * Avoid the temptation to add more sugar or honey to the mead when bottling. If the fermentation has not completely finished, it can get rejuvenated by the new food source and turn the mead into a glass grenade.
 * Make sure you get yeast from a wine-making supply store. Do not use "brewer's yeast" from a health-food store. Baker's yeast is an alternative for anyone interested in trying this out for the first time. It gives you a feel for brewing while keeping your cash from going into failed batches. However, baker's yeast is also bred to ferment VERY rapidly, and produces a lot of off-flavors. Some beer yeasts may also produce some off flavors, but to a lesser extent (honey water is a harsh environment for a yeast cell, and is missing a lot of nutrients found in beer). Wine yeast is generally the best for mead, and some homebrew supply shops will carry yeasts developed especially for mead.
 * As with all alcoholic products, please enjoy your homemade mead responsibly.

Related Tips and Steps

 * How to Make Dandelion Wine
 * How to Make Kool Aid Wine
 * How to Ferment Cider Using Wild Yeasts
 * How to Brew Cheap Wine
 * How to Make Ginger Ale