Welcome to the Newbee Guide to Making Mead.  The following chapters contain the basics of brewing Mead along with a few pointers to avoid a contaminated batch.  It is written from the perspective of a complete novice to brewing and therefore contains descriptions of the equipment and the ingredients along with the method.  If there are questions that are not answered here, please pop over to the forum and search the postings.  You will be amazed at the depth of knowledge contained within the minds of the more experienced members found there.

 Wassail.

What is Mead?

There is no better place to start than with an explanation of what Mead is.  Basically, it is nothing more than Honey, water, and yeast.  This mixture (known as a Must) is allowed to ferment until the yeast has converted the sugars into alcohol, at which point it is called Mead.  By adjusting the amount of honey or the type of yeast used, you can make the Mead sweet, semi-sweet or dry according to your preference.  The different types of honey available will also change the flavor and aroma, as will the yeast strain.

It is possible to create different flavors by adding ingredients such as fruit or spices into the Must, or by putting them into the Mead when fermentation has stopped.  The variety of ingredients you can add is as vast as the imagination itself, restricted only by common sense (we shall not discuss the Beef Jerky Mead of GotMead legend) and availability.  Don’t be dissuaded from trying something though, even if it has not been used before.  Follow your own taste buds and give it a go.  You may be surprised by the result.

 Let me start here by providing one bit of advice: the better the ingredients, the better the Mead.  You can make some very nice Meads using supermarket bought processed Clover honey and Bread Yeast (check out Joe’s Ancient Orange and Spice recipe), but the results will be average at best.  Starting this way is cheap and easy, allowing you to get a taste of what could be without putting a dent in the wallet should the batch go south.  As you start to use better ingredients, you will notice that the quality of the Mead will improve and you can begin to formulate recipes that are built around the unique honey flavor itself.