1998 Metheglin (Mead)
September 2007 – I hadn’t made mead in 10 years and since one of the guys I worked with is a beekeeper it made perfect sense to make a batch. I last made a mead back in 1988. Seemed like a good time to do it again, but this time I decided to make a full 5 gallons — anything less than 25 bottles output is a waste of time … especially if it comes out good! 🙂
Note: Technically this is not a mead, but a metheglin, which is honey wine with spices.
Ingredients
| Fruit | 15 lbs honey |
| Pectic Enzyme | 2 tsp |
| Grape Tannin | 1 tsp |
| Yeast Nutrient | 5 tsp |
| Sulfite | 1/4 tsp |
| Acid Blend | 4 tsp |
| Flavorings | 1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces 24 whole cloves |
| Yeast | Red Star Champagne |
Method
| Brought 5 quarts water to nearly a boil and let cool to 175 degrees F. Used to dissolve the honey. Added remaining ingredients (except yeast), and additional water to make 5-1/2 gallons volume. | 12/16/1998 SG 1.092 |
| Made a starter with yeast and pitched it. | 12/17/1998 SG 1.092 |
| Racked, 1/4 tsp K-sulfite added. | 12/26/1998 SG 1.008 |
| Racked, 1/4 tsp K-sulfite added. | 02/08/1999 SG 1.008 |
| Bottled | 12/15/1999 SG 1.008 |
Notes
| Yield | 28 bottles |
| Alcohol | 11.4% |
| Afterthoughts | This one never quite fermented out. In hindsight, I’m surprised as I used champagne yeast and the initial SG wasn’t that high. |
| 01/07/2000 | This still needs aging. I’ve found that meads really require 3 to 5 years in the bottle to mellow out. |
| 08/21/2006 | Next time I do a mead (of any sort) I need to do at least 10 gallons. I’m down to 5 bottles and it’s really good! Or maybe I just need to start a new batch every year … |