Making Mead (for Danni)
Here is the recipe I used - it is supposed to be "foolproof" for beginners - hope it doesn't make a fool out of me LOL
Mead Recipe
I bought about $30 worth of equipment so wasn't too expensive to get started on a batch. Here is what I bought - 1 gal jug, airlock, funnel, brush, cleaning solution, hydrometer, stoppers, small racking cane with tubing:
This is the honey I used - 2 1/2 lbs of my dark Fall honey and 1 pound of my lighter Spring honey from my hives:
Mixed the honey and warm water, sliced up the orange and threw it in there with a cinnamon stick, raisins and some spices:
I shook the hooey out of the jug to aerate it and threw in the yeast. Put the airlock on and put it in the cabinet - that's all! The airlock started bubbling slowly last night. By this morning it was going real good and this evening I can see the bubbles rising up in the bottle so it is fermenting nicely. When it is clear and the fruit drops to the bottom it is ready to bottle. That takes about 2 months and then it needs to age another 2-3 months in the bottles to smooth out.
Here is the final product:
Today, I went back to the home brew store and spent another $7 on another gallon jug and airlock, then headed to China Mart and spent $8 on 3 pounds of clover honey and started another batch tonight. I added a half pound of my own to make the 3 1/2 lbs called for in the recipe:
And it made a much lighter concoction, as expected:
Here is a comparison of the 2 - the only difference is the honey so I am curious to see which one will be better!
Mead Recipe
I bought about $30 worth of equipment so wasn't too expensive to get started on a batch. Here is what I bought - 1 gal jug, airlock, funnel, brush, cleaning solution, hydrometer, stoppers, small racking cane with tubing:
This is the honey I used - 2 1/2 lbs of my dark Fall honey and 1 pound of my lighter Spring honey from my hives:
Mixed the honey and warm water, sliced up the orange and threw it in there with a cinnamon stick, raisins and some spices:
I shook the hooey out of the jug to aerate it and threw in the yeast. Put the airlock on and put it in the cabinet - that's all! The airlock started bubbling slowly last night. By this morning it was going real good and this evening I can see the bubbles rising up in the bottle so it is fermenting nicely. When it is clear and the fruit drops to the bottom it is ready to bottle. That takes about 2 months and then it needs to age another 2-3 months in the bottles to smooth out.
Here is the final product:
Today, I went back to the home brew store and spent another $7 on another gallon jug and airlock, then headed to China Mart and spent $8 on 3 pounds of clover honey and started another batch tonight. I added a half pound of my own to make the 3 1/2 lbs called for in the recipe:
And it made a much lighter concoction, as expected:
Here is a comparison of the 2 - the only difference is the honey so I am curious to see which one will be better!
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