Mead Brewing: Getting Started
Mead is wine made from honey. If you don’t like calling it ‘wine’ then at least you can agree that it’s made the same way as wine: through a simple process of fermentation. A very high concentration of sugars makes honey one of the best ingredients for alcoholic beverages.
Mead has a long history. It was a favorite drink of ancient kings because of its sweet and unique taste. However, while the sweetness of mead is well known, the proper volume of honey makes the beverage dry. You can always experiment with different proportions and flavors to make your own recipes. For example, you may want to add ingredients like plum or cherry at the beginning of brewing. It will give your mead its unique color and taste. Some brewers add alcohol after the fermentation process to increase ABV (Alcohol by Volume) to 18-20 %. That makes mead stronger and with a few spoons of honey added it becomes the king’s liquor.
I’ve been making my own mead since I started living my adult life. The knowledge I inherited came from my great grandfathers who grew up in the Southern Siberian taiga and had beehives on the family-owned lands. The Siberian summer may not be very long, but the 3-4 months of warm weather is more than enough for plants to blossom and for bees to collect nectar for their winter meal. Honey it is. And mead of course!
I’d like to share my own brewing experience with you in this blog. Let me start with basics assuming that you are an enthusiast looking for some advice. Please feel free to ask questions and give your own recommendations.
Mead (Honey Wine) formula:
X = Y × Z × 25
X – honey (grams)
Y – total volume (liters)
Z – ABV (whole number %)
25 – coefficient (approximate)
Let’s say you are making 1 gallon of mead with a desired ABV of 14%
Y = 3.785 (liters - 1 gallon)
Z = 14 (% ABV)
X = 3.785 × 14 × 25
X = 1,325
The total of 1,325 grams (2.9 lb.) of honey is needed for a 1-gallon batch.
For this particular ABV, you can simply use 1 fraction of honey and 3 fractions of water.
Technically, the proportion “1+3” works well without complicated calculations. Our ancestors used it successfully and we can also skip the math.
Let’s get started with your batch.
You will need:
Container
Water
Honey
Yeast
Air lock
Container
Bottle, large jar, carboy, or a brewing container of any size with wide or narrow neck can be used for brewing. A container may be glass or plastic, but it must be clear because you need to see what is happening inside of it during and after fermentation.
Remember
It MUST first be thoroughly washed with soap, or a disinfectant specially made for brewing.
However, do not EVER leave any washing fluid inside before starting a batch! Rinse the container thoroughly with warm water after washing. Rinse it well. Once. Twice. And one more time. Any residue of chemicals can have a negative effect on yeast growth.
Water
The chemicals that are used to make our tap water drinkable are very effective, but they will never disinfect water completely. Bottled water may also not be as clean as you think. You want to kill as much bacteria as possible before brewing. Boil water, cool it down to below 100 F (37.7C) then mix it with honey.
Remember
Raw honey should not be heated up above a human’s body temperature.
The nectar that bees collect contains very important components that preserve honey for years under specific conditions. The natural temperatures where bees and their food (honey) are most comfortable are below 100F (37.7C) and above the freezing point. Therefore, if you want to keep your honey RAW you should always remember that temperature range.
Honey
Use any type of honey for your mead. Light, yellow, amber, or dark. It can be old or fresh. Crystallized or liquid.
Remember
1. Do not confuse the VOLUME of honey with its WEIGHT. Honey is heavier than water. The volume of honey in the metric system can be easily calculated by dividing honey’s weight by 1.4
For the American/British standards, you have to use online calculators.
2. Volume of sugars in raw honeys is never the same. This means that your mead may have a different ABV every time you make a new batch.
3. The high density of honey pushes a hydrometer out and shows zero ABV. This means you CANNOT measure alcohol level in mead using this classic method. Different types of honey have different proportions of fructose, glucose, and other components. Percentage of sugars is never precise. So, it is easier to estimate a potential ABV of mead by using an average level of sugars in honey 16g/Tbsp.
Yeast
You can make your own yeast if you’d like. Some people use grapes, raspberries, or other natural ingredients for producing yeast that can start fermentation of honey. It works BUT this process may take longer than if you use specially designed well-known wine-type yeasts such as Lalvin-D47, Mangrove JACK’S-M05 or other brands that you find.
Remember
Yeast is a living organism that gives different results every time, whether you use the same method with the same ingredients. The fermenting process itself, ABV, mead’s taste and its color may NOT be same as your previous batch. ABV is a separate topic that you should pay attention to. I do not recommend exceeding a 12-14% of projected ABV level because yeast usually stops its reproduction cycle when the environment reaches higher concentration of alcohol. And if your desired ABV is below 12%, the whole brewing process will most likely be smooth and your mead will be dry as the classic wines.
Air lock
An air lock is used in brewing to prevent unwanted microorganisms from entering container. The excessive gasses produced by fermentation can only be permitted to exit, and NO air shall go in.
Remember
You want to keep the mixture isolated as much as possible. Any time you have to disturb the environment you should wear face mask, hair cover, disposable gloves. Disinfect all tools that will come in contact with the liquid.
There are many types of air locks designed specifically for brewing. But instead, for the main fermenting process I’d recommend using a disposable vinyl glove for wide-neck containers or a condom for carboys and narrow-neck bottles. Just remember to pierce a few holes in the rubber with a needle.
Making mead
There are two options for making mead. The first option involves boiling the honey and the second option will produce the ‘natural’ mead as the honey stays raw.
First option
Boil honey before brewing to remove any bacteria that may be possibly living in it. Boiling gives you an assurance that all microorganisms are dead.
There’s another good thing about this method for impatient people:
Fermentation speed is faster if honey is treated with high temperature
BUT we have to remember the negative effects of heating honey. Sugars caramelize under high temperatures and a small percentage of proteins change their original chemical structure. Those changes aren’t life threatening but scientists warn about increasing level of Oxymethylfurfurol in sugars that may be potentially carcinogenic. Additionally, high temperatures destroy the yeast that is naturally living in honey. Therefore, processed honey can’t be exactly called ‘honey’. It may look like honey, smell like honey and may even taste like honey, but it is not RAW honey anymore. So, you shouldn’t feel bad about boiling it because there’s already nothing valuable left it. Just sugar.
Here’s a little secret: companies process honey to prevent its crystallization and keep the product in a liquid state after it’s bottled.
If you’d like to try this method, I’d recommend using the cheapest: Amazon Brand, GloryBee, Golden Blossom, Gunter’s, Nate’s, Sandt’s, Wholesome and many other well-known brands. Look for it online or at your local supermarket. Such products would be the perfect ingredient for your ‘dead’ mead.
Overall, boiling honey for your brewing can be compared to your favorite champagne Cristal – let’s say Louis Roederer told the Russian czar Alexander that he boiled the grapes before making the champagne for His Majesty… oops!
Second option
People call it ‘natural’ brewing. You do not want to destroy the beauty of the heavenly nectar with high temperatures! Just mix raw honey in and be patient.
Do you know any local beekeepers? Great! Pay what they ask and make real mead. If that’s not an option for you, then shop for raw honey online. It is not easy to find American made honey. Most honeys sold in USA come from resellers who import it from Mexico, Argentina, and even from Vietnam. Such products may be labeled as LOCAL or a USA honey, but there’s no need to worry much about its origin as long as the honey is raw.
Imported honey is usually cheaper than the American-made product. You can find it for $5.00 per pound if you buy it in bulk. That would make a one-gallon batch costing you $15 total, or $4-$5 per standard 750ml bottle of wine. That’s a pretty attractive price, right? Or you can spend a little more and buy the purest in the whole world Siberian Honey to make a rich tasting mead. Our company guarantees the quality of honey from Siberia in every sip of your heavenly drink!
Start the process by simply mixing honey, water, and yeast. Keep the container in a warm room or near a heater covered with a towel. For a smoother and quicker process keep the temperature somewhere between 27-32 C˚ (80-90 F)
Fermentation usually lasts from 4 to 8 weeks depending on the percentage of honey in the mix, type of yeast, and temperatures throughout the process.
Good luck! If you have suggestions or tips, please leave it in the comments! I’m hoping to learn more about making mead from you.