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I want to start making mead. Can you tell me where to start?

You're off to a good start by being here!!

First thing you should do is go read the NewBee Guide. It does a step-by-step walk through of everything you need to know to make mead. Then, try *this* recipe: Joe's Ancient Orange and Cinnamon Mead, it's nearly foolproof: Make a gallon, see if you like it. Make sure you follow the instructions *exactly*.

I want help with a recipe. Can you help me?

Yes, we can. However, we need you to do a few things first:

I hope you've already used the search function to see if your question and/or recipe has already been discussed.
REQUIRED FORMAT FOR POSTING RECIPES IF YOU WANT HELP:

Title: Name of Your Mead
Yield: Gallons
Ingredients: Vertical Listing of ingredients
Yeast: Type and amount of yeast to be used
Yeast Rehydration: How the yeast was rehydrated along with amount and type of rehydration nutrient used if any
Ingredient Special Handling: If you need to thaw frozen stuff, chop, peel, fricasse or otherwise prepare ingredients prior to mixing the must
Must Preparation: What you did to make the must
Fermentation Management: Readings, treatments, racking and environmental control go here
Aging: Bottling, Bulk Aging, Kegging, etc go here

Post this up in the recipe forums, and we'll take a look.

Fruit Additions into the Secondary - How much to user

Common Fruit Additions in 5 Gallons of Mead Apples Mild Fruit Character = 3 gal in primary = 0.6L cider/ L must Medium Fruit Character = 4 gal in primary = 0.8L cider/ L must Stronger Fruit Character = 4 gal in primary + 3 (16oz) cans of apple juice concentrate in secondary = 0.8L cider/ L must in primary + 1.6L concentrate in secondary Blueberries Mild Fruit Character = 5-7 lbs in secondary = 1-1.4 lbs/gal = 120-168 g/L Medium Fruit Character = 7-10 lbs in secondary = 1.4-2 lbs/gal = 168-240 g/L Stronger Fruit Character = 11 lbs or more in secondary = 2.2lbs/gal or more = 265 g/L or more Cherries (Sweet) Mild Fruit Character = 4-6 lbs in secondary = 0.8-1.2 lbs/gal = 96-144 g/L Medium Fruit Character = 7-9 lbs in secondary = 1.4-1.8 lbs/gal = 168-216 g/L Stronger Fruit Character = 10 lbs or more in secondary = 2 lbs/gal or more = 240 g/L or more Cherries (Tart) Mild Fruit Character = 3-5 lbs in secondary = 0.6-1 lbs/gal = 72-120 g/L Medium Fruit Character = 6-8 lbs in secondary = 1.2-1.6 lbs/gal = 144-192 g/L Stronger Fruit Character = 9 lbs or more in secondary = 1.8 lbs/gal or more = 216 g/L or more Citrus (Less for Lemons/Limes than for Oranges/Grapefruits) Mild Fruit Character = 3-5 lbs in secondary = 0.6-1 lbs/gal = 72-120 g/L Medium Fruit Character = 6-8 lbs in secondary = 1.2-1.6 lbs/gal = 144-192 g/L Stronger Fruit Character = 9 lbs or more in secondary = 1.8 lbs/gal or more = 216 g/L or more Currants Mild Fruit Character = 2-4 lbs in secondary = 0.4-0.8 lbs/gal = 48-96 g/L Medium Fruit Character = 5-7 lbs in secondary = 1-1.8 lbs/gal = 120-168 g/L Stronger Fruit Character = 8 lbs or more in secondary = 1.6 lbs/gal or more = 192 g/L or more Melons Mild Fruit Character = 3-5 lbs in secondary = 0.6-1 lbs/gal = 72-120 g/L Medium Fruit Character = 6-8 lbs in secondary = 1.2-1.6 lbs/gal = 144-192 g/L Stronger Fruit Character = 9 lbs or more in secondary = 1.8 lbs/gal or more = 216 g/L or more Peaches Mild Fruit Character = 5-7 lbs in secondary = 1-1.4 lbs/gal = 120-168 g/L Medium Fruit Character = 8-12 lbs in secondary = 1.2-2.4 lbs/gal = 192-288 g/L Stronger Fruit Character = 13 lbs or more in secondary = 2.6 lbs/gal or more = 312 g/L or more Pears Mild Fruit Character = 5-7 lbs in secondary = 1-1.4 lbs/gal = 120-168 g/L Medium Fruit Character = 8-10 lbs in secondary = 1.2-2 lbs/gal = 192-240 g/L Stronger Fruit Character = 11 lbs or more in secondary = 2.2 lbs/gal or more = 265 g/L or more Plums (leave skin on) Mild Fruit Character = 4-6 lbs in secondary = 0.8-1.2 lbs/gal = 96-144 g/L Medium Fruit Character = 7-9 lbs in secondary = 1.4-1.8 lbs/gal = 168-216 g/L Stronger Fruit Character = 10 lbs or more in secondary = 2 lbs/gal or more = 240 g/L or more Raspberries Mild Fruit Character = 2-4 lbs in secondary = 0.4-0.8 lbs/gal = 48-96 g/L Medium Fruit Character = 5-7 lbs in secondary = 1-1.8 lbs/gal = 120-168 g/L Stronger Fruit Character = 8 lbs or more in secondary = 1.6 lbs/gal or more = 192 g/L or more Strawberries Mild Fruit Character = 5-7 lbs in secondary = 1-1.4 lbs/gal = 120-168 g/L Medium Fruit Character = 8-10 lbs in secondary = 1.2-2 lbs/gal = 192-240 g/L Stronger Fruit Character = 11 lbs or more in secondary = 2.2 lbs/gal or more = 265 g/L or more

What happens when I distill a mead?

Well, when you distill mead, it doesn't have a formal name, but basically, its mead white lightning. I've a friend that has been bugging me for a while to distill a batch. I've done it in small amounts (an ounce or two in a tabletop distiller), and it gives you a mead-flavored high-octane drink. If you plan to distill, plan on using a *good* mead, because whatever you start with has a *huge* bearing on what you end up with. There is a book, The Alaskan Bootlegger's Bible - How to make beer, wine, mead, liqueurs and moonshine whiskey. The author dusts off over 30 years of experience to tell you how it's done. He not only tells how to make darned near any kind of beer, wine, liqueur and whiskey you can imagine, he also tells you how to make the equipment to do it with. He talks about how to do it.