For further medieval food information, see my main food site.

Mead Recipes and Notes

Earl Grey Mead

From the feast of the Mad Jailor - Posted on a news group
Ingredients: (1 US gallon)

Procedure:

Boil honey, apple juice and tea for 1 hour. Near the end add a little cinnamon, ginger, clove, rosemary and the egg white. Remove from heat and let stand till warm as removing the scum. Now add the yeast, dissolved in some mead.

After a weeks time, add 1 lb of sugar and let ferment. After 2 weeks more, add the rest of the sugar. This will strengthen it and give a better flavor and keep the mead from "drying out".

For fining the wine, take the shell from an egg that has been dried and powder it with a pinch of salt. Take this and add it to the white of one egg and some wine from your vat and gently stir all back into the brew. Let set for about 2 to 4 days and then filter and bottle the wine. This is a nice natural way with out the use of chemicals.

Notes:

Spring 98
The first egg white cooked so I scooped it out. I gave it 1 week more instead of 2 before adding the second sugar. I added some powdered egg shell at the same time. I left out the other egg white and salt. The mead became drinkable shortly before I added the second sugar. 4 weeks after the second sugar, most of the fruit flavor had left the mead so I diluted it 1:1 with apple cider. It was then guessed to be about 10%

Fall 98
Latest batch came out way too sweet. The yeast may have needed nutrient to help with the fermentation.

Fall 99
Batch started 10/2/99. Used yeast nutrient. Egg white cooked, scooped most of it out. It was burbling like crazy for a week. Added 2 cups sugar 9 days later (10/11/99). Some of the mead foamed over out of the jug. Carbon dioxide production seems to have slowed down. 10 days after adding sugar it's still producing carbonation. Added 2 more cups of sugar around 10/20/99. Bottled around 11/01/99. It's been bottled in a gallon jug since I don't have a beer bottle cleaning brush. Around 10%. Opened and tasted late January, 2000. Not all that strong, definitly drinkable. Doesn't taste too young.

Blue Velvet
(blueberry melomel)

From a news group - I haven't tried this one yet
Ingredients: (5 gallon US batch)

Procedure:

Boil honey with 2 US gallons water for about fifteen minutes until a scum gathers and coagulates on the surface. Skim the scum with a sanitized strainer like a tea strainer to get as much as possible. The scum has all sorts of pollen, wax, resins and bee parts that can contribute off flavors to your mead. The 15 minute boil minimizes loss of aromatics from the honey. Add the acid blend and quick frozen blueberries to the hot must (do not thaw the berries).Steep for 30 minutes at 150M-:-160M-: F. Pour boiled/skimmed/steeped must to cold water in glass fermenter, mashing and leaving behind the berries (srain if needed), and top up to 5 US gallons. Rehydrate yeast according to package instructions and pitch when temperature falls BELOW 75M-: F. Rack after fermantation appears to slow (5 weeks). Rack again after about 1 month to leave behind any yeast and fruit carcasses. Let age in glass secondary in a dark place, and rack when sediment forms. I only racked the two times. After you are satisfied it has aged long enough, and it is crystal clear, bottle into wine bottles.

Unamed variation of blue velvet

Ingredients: (1 US gallon)

Procedure:

Boil 1/2 gallon water with honey for 15 min. Skim off the scum that forms with a sanitized strainer like a tea strainer to get as much as possible. The scum has all sorts of pollen, wax, resins and bee parts that can contribute off flavors to your mead. The 15 minute boil minimizes loss of aromatics from the honey.

Add quick frozen raspberries to the hot must (do not thaw the berries). Steep for 30 min at 150-160 F. Pour some cold water into glass fermenter. Pour boiled/skimmed/steeped must into fermenter, mashing and leaving behind the berries (strain if needed), and top up to 1 gallon.

Rehydrate yeast (in liquid around 105 F) according to package instructions with yeast nutrient and pitch when temperature falls BELOW 75 F.

Rack after fermentation appears to slow (5 weeks). Rack again after about 1 month to leave behind any yeast and fruit carcasses. Age, racking when sediment forms. After you are satisfied it has aged long enough, and it is crystal clear, bottle into wine bottles.

Notes:

Spring 99
Batch started on 2/19/99. Used Mclure's Pure Clover Honey. Strong red color. Remains of honey boiled raspberries taste good on ice cream. Bleached all equipment prior to use. Our basement temperature was in the low 60's (probably too cold) so I moved the fermenter upstairs. Specific gravity was 1070, 10% possibility when tested on 2/19. Tastes like cherry cough syrup. Improved after 6 months but not by much.