I love historical recipes. I also love category defying meads. This time, I'm trying something new that is actually very old.
I've been reading "How to Brew like a Viking". It's a fascinating book that is focused on the history and lore of Nordic/Viking peoples as it relates to their version of mead. A version nothing like ours.
In any event, Vikings didn't really make mead the way we think of it. It was more of a mixture of everything they could pilfer or barter. Anything fermentable was fair game: grains, honey, various sugar, fruits, etc. Herbs with stimulating effects were frequently used (often psychedelic). Any brew Vikings made would likely defy any category the BJCP currently has....Awesome. I've got to make some of this!
Grains mixed with honey seemed preferred mostly due to availability. The gruit or herbs were know to have a stimulating/intoxicating effect alone, so they are crucial to the mix. After much research, I've narrowed the major herbs down to sweet gale (bog myrtle), yarrow, marsh rosemary, and mugwort. Secondary spices are varied and numerous but included juniper, ginger, wormwood, and many others. Basically, whatever they could find.
Recipes were simple. Make a syrupy, spiced tea and ask the gods to bless it (with yeast). They often had a stirring stick colonized with yeast ( though they didn't know that). I'll get to that eventually. The important point is that the recipes were easy!
Goals: I want an easy, throwback to gruit mead with a few modern improvements to reduce spoilage and ensure fast consumption; however, my ultimate goal is to make this a wild ferment. I'll start with a BOMM style to get the recipe right, then generate a ginger bug for the recipe. Or culture a bee for yeast. I've thought a lot about that, so it will likely happen.
My question to the group is as follows: What are your suggestions on gruit spice ratios and timing of additions? I'm doing the research currently, but nothing replaces experience!
Better brewing through science!
See my brewing site at www.denardbrewing.com
See my Current Mead Making Techniques article here:
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/current-mead-making-techniques.html
I've been reading "How to Brew like a Viking". It's a fascinating book that is focused on the history and lore of Nordic/Viking peoples as it relates to their version of mead. A version nothing like ours.
In any event, Vikings didn't really make mead the way we think of it. It was more of a mixture of everything they could pilfer or barter. Anything fermentable was fair game: grains, honey, various sugar, fruits, etc. Herbs with stimulating effects were frequently used (often psychedelic). Any brew Vikings made would likely defy any category the BJCP currently has....Awesome. I've got to make some of this!
Grains mixed with honey seemed preferred mostly due to availability. The gruit or herbs were know to have a stimulating/intoxicating effect alone, so they are crucial to the mix. After much research, I've narrowed the major herbs down to sweet gale (bog myrtle), yarrow, marsh rosemary, and mugwort. Secondary spices are varied and numerous but included juniper, ginger, wormwood, and many others. Basically, whatever they could find.
Recipes were simple. Make a syrupy, spiced tea and ask the gods to bless it (with yeast). They often had a stirring stick colonized with yeast ( though they didn't know that). I'll get to that eventually. The important point is that the recipes were easy!
Goals: I want an easy, throwback to gruit mead with a few modern improvements to reduce spoilage and ensure fast consumption; however, my ultimate goal is to make this a wild ferment. I'll start with a BOMM style to get the recipe right, then generate a ginger bug for the recipe. Or culture a bee for yeast. I've thought a lot about that, so it will likely happen.
My question to the group is as follows: What are your suggestions on gruit spice ratios and timing of additions? I'm doing the research currently, but nothing replaces experience!
Better brewing through science!
See my brewing site at www.denardbrewing.com
See my Current Mead Making Techniques article here:
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/current-mead-making-techniques.html
