#meadmaking

[ejeffers1239]

Witness my pretty bottles

[queenofliliuokalani]

I think it's so cool that you can just. make alcohol in your basement. I have about two gallons of mead that i made earlier this year that i made when i was staying w my aunt Kathy and i just kept it in her basement for like four months and it's like actually really good, like all i did was mix honey with water and add yeast and now i have alcohol. i mean i know that's how fermentation works but there's just something so mysterious and magical about making your own alcohol

[maniculum]

Meadmaking, Pt. 2

Hi again, more mead-making shenanigans! This time, more medieval.

I'm going to highlight one particular recipe - the oldest English one we have. This comes from Tractatus de Magnetate et Operationibus eius (the thirteenth-century letter on the magnet by Petrus Peregrinus) (Folio 20r). You can read the original here.

It's a weird place for a mead recipe, that's for sure, but I won't complain.

Here's the transliteration:

ffor to make mede. Tak .i. galoun of fyne hony and to þat .4. galouns of water and hete þat water til it be as lengh þanne dissolue þe hony in þe water. thanne set hem ouer þe fier & let hem boyle and ever scomme it as longe as any filthe rysith þer on. and þanne tak it doun of þe fier and let it kole in oþer vesselle til it be as kold as melk whan it komith from þe koow. than tak drestis of þe fynest ale or elles berme and kast in to þe water & þe hony. and stere al wel to gedre but ferst loke er þu put þy berme in. that þe water with þe hony be put in a fayr stonde & þanne put in þy berme or elles þi drestis for þat is best & stere wel to gedre/ and ley straw or elles clothis a bowte þe vessel & a boue gif þe wedir be kolde and so let it stande .3. dayes & .3. nygthis gif þe wedir be kold And gif it be hoot wedir .i. day and .1. nyght is a nogh at þe fulle But ever after .i. hour or .2. at þe moste a say þer of and gif þu wilt have it swete tak it þe sonere from þe drestis & gif þu wilt have it scharpe let it stand þe lenger þer with. Thanne draw it from þe drestis as cler as þu may in to an oþer vessel clene & let it stonde .1. nyght or .2. & þanne draw it in to an oþer clene vessel & serve it forth //And gif þu wilt make mede eglyn. tak sauge .ysope. rosmaryne. Egre- moyne./ saxefrage. betayne./ centorye. lunarie/ hert- is tonge./ Tyme./ marubium album. herbe jon./ of eche of an handful gif þu make .12. galouns and gif þu mak lesse tak þe less of herbis. and to .4. galouns of þi mater .i. galoun of drestis.

Super clear, right? Here's a modern English version:

For to make mead. Take 1 gallon of fine honey, and to that 4 gallons of water and heat that water till it be as lengh then dissolve the honey in the water. Then set them over the fire and let them boil and scum it as long as any filth rises thereon. And then take it down off the fire, and let it cool in another vessel till it be as cold as milk when it comes from the cow. Then take dregs of the finest ale or else barm and cast it into the water and the honey. And stir it all well together, but first look ere you put your barm in that the water with the honey be put in a fair stonde and then put in your barm or else your dregs for that is best and stir well together; and lay straw or else cloths about the vessel and above if the weather be cold and so let it stand 3 days and 3 nights if the weather be cold. And if it be hot weather 1 day and 1 night is enough at the full. But ever after 1 hour or 2 at the most assay thereof and if you will have it sweet take it he sooner from the dregs as clear as you may into another clean vessel and let it stand 1 night or 2 and then draw it into another clean vessel and serve it forth.And if you will make metheglyn, take sage, hyssop, rosemary, agrimony, saxifrage, betony, centory, lunaria, harts tongue, thyme, maribium album, jon herb, of each a handful if you make 12 gallons and if you make less take the less of herbs and to 4 gallons of the matter 1 gallon of dregs.

I am not the only one who has broken this recipe down, so I will refer to you the following articles, who have done the work for me:

The Mystery of Mead

GreyDragon.org

Open Culture

Notes:

The inclusion of "fine honey" - this is for a good mead! No wax included.

The recipe heats the water before adding the honey, and notes that the yeast should be added to the must as it is still warm - as warm as cow's milk out the tit. Yeast loves warm (but not hot!) environments, so this indicates brewers knew how to handle yeast. The yeast itself comes from "the dregs of finest ale" or barm (frothing, fermenting malt, or another word for yeast) - this brewer is not risking his batch spoiling!

Additionally, the recipe states the mix should be in a warm place, or insulated if too cold - again, indicating that brewers knew that cold weather could kill the yeast, and warm weather would ferment more quickly.

One thing that catches me about all of the recipes I found is the sheer variety in herbs, fruits, and spices. I've compiled a short list of them below:

Cloves 

Grain of paradise (akin to a peppercorn, related to ginger)

Ginger 

Long pepper (like the peppercorn)

Cubebs (akin to allspice)

Galingale (akin to ginger)

Cinnamon 

Corriander 

Anise 

Heather 

Hops 

Sage

Rosemary 

Plum

Cherries

Hyssop (a relative of mint)

Agrimony (like lemon balm)

Saxifrage (rockfoils)

Betony 

Centory (thistle)

Lunaria (mustardy seeds)

Harts tongue 

Thyme 

Maribum album (horehound, rootbeer and licorice taste)

Jon herb (St. John's Wort, like black tea)

Given the medicinal uses of some of these herbs, and the uses of mild meads as medicines, I wouldn't be surprised if the second recipe here (the metheglin) is used more medicinally than for enjoyment. In any case, I'm excited to experiment with some of these older recipes and see how it turns out!

[celtichammerclub]

This is how you bottle your home made mead in style! I’m always so flattered when mead makers choose my stoneware vessels to store the liquid gold they labored on. This particular batch belongs to @the_wyrdo and is a great example of the various colors and possibilities for these bottles. ➖ #celtichammerclub #mead #meadmaking #stoneware #celt #celtic #norse #nordic #originalart #krampus #samhain #custom #customorder #madetoorder #handmade #smallbusiness #shopsmall https://www.instagram.com/p/CnKztq9ryzA/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[exmotapir]

My mead is coming along nicely. Today is day 31 of primary fermentation. I had been a little worried that fermentation was slowing down to much but after a stir it picked up again.

I also took a gravity reading the last time I stirred it. Gravity is a measure of the dissolved particles in a fluid. In the case of brewing, it measures the sugar in the solution and therefore the alcohol content.

My original gravity reading was 1.125. the gravity on day 25 was 1.042. punching that into a calculator I found online showed an estimated ABV of 10.65% I do not plan on stopping fermentation artificially, so the final drink should be around 15% Alcohol by Volume... 15% is the threshold the yeast start dying at.

The fact that it is going so strongly is interesting, considering I did not add any yeast nutrient other than boiled yeast, which according to the internet may or may not work. It validates the view I have, that humans have been fermenting and brewing beers and meads for much much longer than we have had cultivated yeast strains and yeast Energizer. Making a mead without those things works just fine and is a valid way of doing things.

I think the emphasis on yeast nutrients and Energizer comes from the desire to not only make a tasty product but to be able to make a consistent one. So it's a bit of the difference between science and art. Brewing science is able to control all aspects of the fermentation process in order to be able to make a drink that is the same every time. Every pint of Guinness should taste like Guinness. Without using yeast nutrient and Energizer I run tbe risk of the mead not coming out how I expect. Doing things the old organic ways will not always produce the same drink. Especially if you use wild yeast, which I did not. But I like the mystery of the process. I like the organic nature of it. I hope my mead is delicious, but if it is not that is ok. I am not selling anything.

[risotto38]

taking a break from my essay to focus on jarring my own piss

call that a "homebrew"

[elminx]

Winemaking in Witchcraft – Part 1

Upon request of some people over on my Tumblr, I’ve decided to write a series on incorporating winemaking into your Kitchen Witch/Cottage Witch practice. My intention with this first post is …

A thing!  It’s over on my blog for now because writing in two places is tiring.

Check it out if you’re interested in the basics of winemaking on the kitchen witch path.   I intend for this to be an ongoing process where I talk more about why I make wine, how I use it in my practice, and even maybe share a recipe here and there.

[miccillian]

Old Capt'n Cillian is feelin' almost back to normal! The side effects from me meds have slackened and I was able to attend the Pirate Festival and a birthday, with drinks galore, and afterwards feel right as rain! It's a new week and me mead is ready to be back-sweetened, then bottled! I'm not 100% but I feel optimistic about the comin' weeks, even in this dark political/social climate! We are stronger together, me hearties! Huzzah!!! Wassail!!! #miccillian #captncillian #pirate #celtic #societyforcreativeanachronism #sca #thepiratefestival #guelphpiratefest #meadmaking #mead #guncontrolnow #progressive (at Waterloo, Ontario) https://www.instagram.com/p/B0zxt5-DEtK/?igshid=18p2rl9oacvtd