mead ohyes

Its festival time – and therefore – mead time Last week has been a quite an interesting and hectic one at work, so I figured going to such a festival will be a great ending to it. I brought my ethical and moral bodyguard with me – my wife – to keep me from delving too far into the subject matter of the festival: drinking beer and whiskey (and mead). Little did I know that these roles were to be reversed in only a few hours Immediately; as we enter the festival, the scent of grains hits us like a wall. No doubt this is the place to be this weekend if you are a beer aficionado. However, with posters of whiskey brands and suppliers covering the walls, there is no doubt that whiskey has a rightful place here as well. The whole point of the visit today is naturally to go test out new whiskey and beer, but incidentally, I came across the Norwegian mead making company Mjøderiet . Now, as a Mead Fanatic, I could not let this opportunity to taste their mead slip away from me. I also wanted...

When Santas reindeers go out to pasture…     While it is not strictly hunting season, it is always mead season, and as such, I thought to share one of my more successful reindeer pot roast recipes. Remember – I don’t use wine, I use mead. So for today’s pot roast, I will be making a pot roast using a Pyment , a mead made with grape juice. This idea has been brewing ( pun intended) for a while, and as i had one bottle lying around, I thought after last weeks video on how to make pyment  that perhaps I should also show what else to do with it, then simply drinking it….. Therefore – Let’s make roast!   VENISON POT ROAST RECIPE 1-3 kilo rump/leg of Reindeer/deer a few carrots, peeled and cut into about 3 cm pieces 1-2 potatoes  – mid-sized 2 large white onions 2 turnips  A good bunch self-harvested mushrooms Olive oil Pepper Maldon salt / kosher salt Herb-mix 1-2 cubes of beef or game stock, dissolved in 3dl warm ...

The basic mead recipe – we all start somewhere. It never hurts to go back to one’s roots. A basic mead well done will let you do just that. Much of this recipe is based on the basics taught in Ken Schramm’s book ” The complete meadmaker “. While the craft of mead making has evolved a bit since Ken wrote the book, the basics described within to give a great base for anyone to become a great meadmaker in their own rights. The traditional dry recipe Original gravity: 1.1000 Final Gravity: 1.000 Honey (local variety or storebought) 6,5 kg ( 14 lbs) 15 liter water 10 Gr D-47 yeast ( OR your own choice yeast) Yeast nutrients Yeast energizer The mead-making procedure Aim for an OG at just around 1.100 The starter : As always – sanitize EVERYTHING. Boil about 6 cups of water, and add 1/2 teaspoon of nutrient along with 1 tbs of malt extract. This being said – whichever nutrients and / energizer you use – make sure to follow the manufacturers directions !! Let this boil for 5...

This recipe was first published on meadist . All credit goes to the author website. Bill Savage, a former employee of the Wild Blossom Meadery in Chicago originally created this favorable and highly scented mead. Bill is now working at Goose Island Beer Co , and while it might not be all mead, he is absolutely a fantastic brewer. This recipe surely shows his qualifications Now – if you, dear reader, have a great recipe to share, click yourself to the  “contribute your recipe” page, and we will publish it shortly… If you try out this recipe, feel free to comment and share images of it. Ingredients 12 lbs. of raspberry honey 2 tbs  Yeast Energizer 14 g Lavender Flower Tips Lalvin 71B-1122 Yeast 4- 4,5 kg of blackberries Directions Aside from the rest of this recipe – make a  Yeast Starter Use a 5-gallon/ 20-liter pot; bring 4 gallons/ 15 liters of water to boil for 5 minutes. If you have a beer-chiller, let the water cool to around 70 Deg...

Let there be – Miód Pitny   “At last Gandalf pushed away his plate and jug– he had eaten two whole loaves (with masses of butter and honey and clotted cream) and drunk at least a quart of mead – and he took out his pipe” While the naughty Norse is world famous for having raided Europe a thousand years, the polish has been busy .. brewing mead. These days eastern Europe can show over a thousand years of mead-history, where we Scandinavian “re-invented” it, or rather found back to our mead roots only decades ago. (yes yes, I know there are historical references to mead brewing…) Now .. back to polish mead – Miód Pitny…. Miód , sweet Miód In the polish language, mead has the melodic name Miód Pitny, meaning “drinkable honey”. It is a Polish culinary traditional beverage, refreshing the throat of Poles for over a thousand years, and alluded to as the “drink of the gods”. Alcoholic aging of wort i.e. a honey and water mixture makes up this Polish “drink of the gods...

Tej – mead in the Rift Valley Basin. Ethiopia – few countries have such a documented history as this African country on the east coast of the continent. It is said humankind has its origin in the rift valley , an area that is littered with archeological finds from as far back as the origin of man. It does feel somewhat natural then, to pose the idea that perhaps this was also where our forefathers – and mothers, first came across a bubbling substance of honey and water. Sweet as it was, and nutritious – it was drunk… and the rest is history. Tej and Ethiopia – a history joined When it comes to Ethiopia, we are really talking biblical history. The country finds its roots back to the age of King Solomon, the Queen of Sheeba, and the bible legends. Back then, we see a much different climate, one that very much aided in beekeeping. This gives us the idea that better climate = better nature = more bees. A good and stable environment means a better environment for bees. Now...

As we look back through history, women have been the driving force behind the brewing industry. In fact, the very term ‘Brewster’ was used to denote a female brewer. In the annals of old, we frequently find references to brewing ale (and assumedly then, Mead ) and it was very much considered a woman’s job. (Let’s face it, we men would just end up drinking the must before it ever got a chance to ferment) This was the common standard up till monks started brewing as a source of income, and where the church held power, men soon ended up taking over what was previously a woman’s domain. For centuries, where Christianity ruled, the number of women has at large been left out of this wondrous craft, with only a few women crafting in secrecy. But this story is focused on mead, and as mead is on the rise yet again, we are thrilled to see that women are easily regaining positions as crafters, artisans, and experts. Today  I am fortunate enough to talk with Alison Heath of Apoth...

Dandelion – making that lawn annoyance into golden drops Dandelion is a scourge for many lawn-lovers. Nothing messes up that perfect green carpet than this lone wolf who just pops up in the middle of it all, completely ruining this perfect green oasis of tranquility. And when they start coming .. you know the Dandelion is there to stay. So what do we do? We make dandelion mead! Pick those dandelions.. don’t be shy… This mead is best to prepare for in those easily summer mornings where nature is at its finest. I guess their exact blossoming depends a little on where you are in the world, but if you are unsure, just consult your local botanist or herbalist. The herbalists will also tell you fresh dandelions are great or more than just Mead. You can make tea also, and I know people who swear to them as part of their salads. For a closer look at all the goodness dandelion does to you, head over to Wellnessmama and have a look there. Back to our summer adventure. Now the secret to...

Chocolate mead – the Aztecs knew their shit. Using chocolate in mead is something I first came across online a few years back. Like most of you mead-freaks, I also made one, and it has since lingered in the back of my hear.I guess its time I share the recipe. Now- for those in the Imperial area of the world – break out yer calculators. Here be metrics Ingredients Primaries 8,2 kg Good quality honey (Oak or other darker ones works really well) 12-liter water 2 packets of high-quality yeast. (I like D47 myself) Yeast Nutrient I’m sure you can do TOSNA2.0 on this but I haven’t tried it, so ill be following a more traditional path… Secondaries 54gram  cocoa nibs 85 gram Dutch process cocoa , (a.k.a the chocolate) 1 vanilla bean Bentonite The Chocolate concoction (..  I have watched too much Big Bang Theory… ) Firstly, blend honey and water. I always try to have honey blended at under 30 degrees Celcius, as I want to make sure I don’t ruin any of the subtle...

Nature love us meaders Nature is a wonderful friend to all us meaders. we don’t always have to go far to get our best ingredients and best flavors to our brew. Nature provide – simple as that. Today I will be talking about some of the fine resources we have in the Nordic countries, which I occasionally – ok – often – use in my meads. Nature as the obvious partner – low hanging fruits Fruits and berries are abundant in autumn months. For all you melomel fans, your old fruit orchard is a goldmine. Apples, plums, cherries; if its treefruit you normally eat – it’s probably going to work in your mead. Little is as rewarding as going out into nature a fine autumn morning. Bring back a basket full of fresh apples, and by nightfall have it as a primary source in today’s batch. Let’s also not forget that garden harvested fruits contains tons and tons of natural nutrients that the yeast will love you for. Not to say that you shouldn’t use proper yeast nutrients when you make m...

We should not talk about mead without knowing its real roots. So in this article, I will talk about how I went to museum documents (online), found a mead recipe from medieval times, and recreated it at home…. For Mead it was said //ffor to make mede. Tak .I. galoun of fyne hony and to þat .4. galouns of water and hete þat water til it be as lengh þanne dissolue þe hony in þe water. thanne set hem ouer þe fier & let hem boyle and ever scomme it as longe as any filthe rysith þer on. and þanne tak it doun of þe fier and let it kole in oþer vesselle til it be as kold as melk whan it komith from þe koow. than tak drestis of þe fynest ale or elles berme and kast in to þe water & þe hony. and stere al wel to gedre but ferst loke er þu put þy berme in. that þe water with þe hony be put in a fayr stonde & þanne put in þy berme or elles þi drestis for þat is best & stere wel to gedre/ and ley straw or elles clothis a bowte þe vessel & a boue gif þe wedir be kolde and...