Mead has been around for many millenia, but doesn’t have the same background of knowledge available to it that beer and wine do.  Having gone out of favor sometime between the Middle Ages and end of the Renaissance, mead hasn’t seen the same interest throughout the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries as other fermented and distilled beverages.  The following are some of the best mead making resources for the beginner and initiated alike.  These don’t cover everything available on the topic, but will at least point you in the right direction.

Gotmead.com

Considered by many to be the premier resource for beginning meadmakers, this website has most everything you need answered either in their NewBee Guide or buried in their forum.  I can’t stress enough that if you are interested in making mead, the patron membership is well worth the $25 expense.  The members are friendly, and possess vast amounts of knowledge that hasn’t made it to the written press.  Even in just the last 10 years, mead has seen many changes in its production processes, and this location is your best bet to uncover the latest methods.  They even have a thread going on how to create drinkable mead in a month.  Now that’s impressive!  (See Bray’s One Month Mead, or BOMM).

The Compleat Meadmaker, by Ken Shramm

The Compeat Meadmaker is far and away the best published resource for meadmaking.  Targeted to the beginning homebrewer, this book explains many of meadmaking concepts and takes you through your first mead batch (if you don’t follow the JAO path outlined through Gotmead and many other homebrew sites).  It includes chapters on yeast and fermentation, honey varietals, and the various ingredients available to the meadmaker.  The book also provides a good beginning resource for mead recipes to try.

BJCP Mead Study Guide

I recently stumbled upon this, and was amazed at the amount of information contained within, all for free.  The Beer Judge Certification Program has added a mead judge certification to their offerings, and contained within the study guide are copious amounts of information honey varietals, mead types, and the various flavors associated with these. Much of the guide references the certification program itself, so if you aren’t into that, feel free to ignore those parts.  The rest has very valuable information to those looking to better understand the comments on a judge’s scoring card, or the terms used in the wine-tasting world.

Scott Laboratories 2013 Fermentation Handbook

Focused on the yeast and fermentation offerings from Scott Labs, this Handbook nonetheless provides valuable information to both the home meadmaker and professional alike.  Topics include the different yeast strains available through Scott Labs, the best nutrient combinations for these, additional flavor components (specifically tannins), and a host of other fermentation topics.  Those only interested in making something family and friends can drink without getting into the nitty gritty details can likely avoid this reference, but valuable information awaits those wanting to step up their game.

The American Mead Makers Association (AMMA)

Started in 2011, the AMMA has four overarching objectives: to improve regulation that promotes the mead industry, to educate consumers about mead, to conduct research to improve the craft, and to promote mead in general.  Now that may seem overly focused on the professional aspects of meadmaking, and admittedly it is, but the AMMA also provides information of interest in their quarterly newsletter.  And if you want to see more mead on the shelves at your local liquor store, maybe consider becoming a member.

So, that’s five great places to start learning about mead.  More and more are popping up, with rumors of new meadmaking books in the works.  The UC Davis Mead Short Course will also have a recording of its first ever mead class from this past weekend available soon.  And I’ll continue to post here with cool things going on with Terrapin Bluffs, and the industry in general.

Got any references you hold dear?  Post them in the comments section for all of us to learn too!

Deemed “The First American” by H.W. Brands, Benjamin Franklin is one of the most pivotal figures in early American history; although he never became president, he nonetheless deserves mention with those who did.

Franklin was born January 17, 1706 to Josiah Franklin and his second wife Abiah Folger, Puritans living in Boston, Massachusetts.  Franklin ran away to Philadelphia, PA at the ripe young age of 17, working in various printing shops.  By 1727 at the age of 21, Franklin had formed the Junto as a place to discuss morals, policics, and natural philosophy.  In 1736, he created the Union Fire Company as Philadelphia’s first volunteer firefighting company.

Fast forwarding many years and many accomplishments (The Pennsylvania Gazette, Library Company of Philadelphia, American Philosophical Society, Justice of the Peace for Philadelphia, etc.), Ben Franklin found himself in London in 1765 arguing on behalf of the Colonies against the Stamp Act.  His testimony eventually led to the repeal of the Act, and resulted in Franklin becoming a leading spokesman for the Colonies.

On May 5, 1775, Franklin returned after his second mission to England, with the fighting between the Colonies and the British already begun (the Battles of Lexington and Concord began on April 19, 1775).  The Pennsylvania Assembly unanimously nominated Franklin to the Second Continental Congress, and in June 1776 he was appointed to the Committee of Five to draft the Declaration of Independence.

Franklin served as the first United States Postmaster General, was ambassador to France from 1776-1785, served as the sixth president of the Supreme Executive Council of Philadelphia (fancy speak for governor), and late in life was a leading figure for the abolition of slavery in America.

Benjamin Franklin died at his home on April 17, 1790, age 84, after leading an eventful and important life for early America.  Today, he is still remembered on the $100 bill, as the name of numerous warships, and towns throughout America.  Another interesting fact was that he bequeathed 1,000 pounds ($4,400, or approximately $112,000 in 2011) to the cities of Boston and Philadelphia to appreciate for 200 years before being spent.  Through that miracle called compounding interest, more than $2,000,000 had accumulated in the Philadelphia Trust and $5,000,000 in the Boston Trust by 1990.  Philadelphia ultimately spent its money on scholarships for local high school students, and Boston used it to establish the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology.

Benjamin Franklin and Mead

For those readers left wondering why on a blog dedicated to mead and its production I would devote this time to Benjamin Franklin (other than the semi-obvious, it’s Presidents Day and we need make mention), here is some more wonderful trivia for you.  On 19 December, 1789, Benjamin Franklin wrote:

Dear Friend: — I have received your kind Letter on the 5th Inst., together with your present of Metheglin, of which I have already drank almost a Bottle.  I find it excellent; please to accept my thankful Acknowledgements.

‘Tis a shame little is known of whom this letter was addressed to, or the underlying recipe in reference.  But here’s to an influential man in early America, a Founding Father, and for those in the know, a lover of mead!

The last few weeks I have been working on upgrading my “Meadery,” that is, the closet where I ferment and age all of my meads.  After buying our house, I quickly claimed a closet in an extra bedroom for fermenting before we ever moved anything in.  This small, 36″x31″ space is where all of my equipment should reside, but just having the floor and single top shelf was proving to be a problem.  I don’t trust the top shelf to hold any weight, and my carboys, buckets and bottles were overflowing into all rooms of the house.  Add in the additional brewing equipment I received for the Holidays, and an upgrade was in order.

It took me four and a half years, but I have officially created my first mead eruption accident (MEA).  A MEA happens when a batch overflows from its carboy or fermenting vessel, often resulting in the unintentional remodeling of the kitchen, basement, or closet you conduct your fermenting in.  I missed the chance to take photos this morning as the accident was found minutes before leaving for work and resulted in a half hour delay of my arrival, but if the batch blows again I will be sure to update!  Luckily, this was on top of my newly constructed shelf (next blog post, hint hint), keeping the mess contained.  Only about a cup of mead was lost to the eruption, and it now sits bubbling along, ever threatening a repeat disaster.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who added to my mead supply collection! This year, I received four new 1 gallon carboys (edit: and one bottle capper!) courtesy of my sister, brother-in-law, and nieces.  My parents got me new carboy bungs (stoppers) and airlocks, as I realized I did not have enough to brew with my complete collection of equipment.  I also received two fun books, Making Wild Wines and Meads and The Drunken Botanist from my mom.  Looking through the first, I have some fun ideas for the fruits we have growing in our backyard, especially the mulberry tree.  Hopefully the crows don’t eat all the fruit this year!

When I wrote the Part I of the Holiday Special series, I fully expected I would have good news to report for part two.  I had made a 2 gallon batch of Spiced Cherry Cyser 2 years ago, and remembered it being rather tasty the last time I tried it (over a year ago now).  It was left aging in a 1 gallon and a 1/2 gallon carboy.  Unfortunately, only a single bottle was opened for our Winter Solstice gathering, despite having 16 available.  Nevertheless, I provide this to you as background so that you can avoid the same mistake.

The recipe was as follows:

2 gallon batch

• 1 gallon Trader Joe’s Spiced Apple Cider
• 1/2 gallon Trader Joe’s Cherry Cider
• 3 lbs Mesquite Honey (also Trader Joe’s… anyone sensing a pattern here?)
• Water to 1.092 SG (12% potential ABV)
• 1 packet D47 yeast (would take the batch dry, which is likely the problem I encountered)

I followed a semi-staggered nutrient addition, adding half the nutrients at pitching and the other half 15 hours later.  I also aerated regularly during the first half of fermentation.  I left the mead on the yeast for a little sur lees aging, and after 5 months racked it from the bucket fermenter.  At the time, it had nice notes of spiced apple cider minimal cherry flavor.  There was no off flavoring from the yeast, just wasn’t my favorite since the batch went dry.  I added a little bit of honey to a glass to test backsweetening, and my wife (who prefers sweeter drinks) absolutely loved it.  With that said, I hoped this would be a great option to serve for our Winter Solstice Gathering

This batch was finally bottled 5 days before they gathering, and that was when I noticed something tasted off.  I worry the main issue with the batch was that I let the airlocks dry out and oxidized the mead.  I do not have experience with oxidation, so I don’t know what to taste for other than wet cardboard, and that isn’t exactly the problem.  The mead tastes very tart from the cherries, with a kick of cinnamon, nutmeg and clove from the spices.  The apple is also present, although the tartness dominates.  The tartness and spices do not go well together, especially without any sweetness to balance it.

Determined to get tasting notes, I served small samples to a handful of guests to gauge their reactions.  Noting that many do not like mead as they’ve only ever tasted it sweet, I was wondering if someone who liked dry wines could comment and provide any additional feedback.  Alas, none of my family fits in that dry wine category, and only one guest had anything positive to say.  A few were nice enough to finish the bottle, although they grimaced through those last few sips.  For now, it is back to the drawing board with this batch.  I will likely age for another year and open at Christmas just to see the difference.  If the perceived sweetness comes back over time, it might just turn into something drinkable, if never special.

I still believe a cherry and apple combination should go well together (see Zombie Killer), it just can’t finish dry or with spices.

This holiday season, I have bottled two batches and labeled these as gifts for friends and family.  This is a discussion of the first, TBM’s Merry Mead.  I’ll cover the second as I finalize the label and bottle the batch.

I have never had any problems with bread yeasts creating off flavors during prolonged aging, so the five gallon carboy remained buried in a closet for months.  After nearly a year of primary fermentation (20 Nov 2012 to 18 Nov 2013) this mead was racked to a 3 gallon and a 1 gallon carboy.   The 3 gallon carboy came out perfectly clear, but the 1 gallon still has some remaining lees to settle.  Merry Mead is exclusively from the 3 gallon carboy, bottled on 16 Dec 2013.

Here is a little batch I put together last week, using some leftover ingredients frozen last year.  Let me know what you think!  No word yet on whether it’ll be any good, but initial tastes give me hope it’ll turn out alright.

Recipe:

• 1 frozen baking pumpkin (cubed last year while uncooked, frozen)
• 1 pint granny smith apples (frozen, cut into small slices)
• 6 lbs orange blossom honey
• 1 packet D47 yeast
• Depending on flavor, may add pumpkin pie spice (cardamum, cinnamon, clove) after primary fermentation
• 2 tsp yeast nutrient (3/4 tsp at pitch, 3/4 at 24 hours, 1/2 tsp at 48 hours)
• 1 tsp yeast energizer (1/2 tsp at pitch, 1/4 at 24 hours, 1/4 tsp at 48 hours)
• SG = 1.123 (15.88% potential ABV)

Process:

Bake frozen pumpkin at 400 deg F until roasted (15 to thaw, break up pieces into pan; 20 minutes, flip pumpkin pieces; cook additional 40 minutes, mush pumpkin in pan).  Remove pumpkin from heat.

Boil honey and 2 cups water (used to dissolve honey remaining in container) until honey is dark golden with a good portion burnt (approximately 1 hour), stirring continuously.  Add one half gallon cold water at the end of the boil to cool the honey, and redesolve the now very thick, somewhat burnt honey.  Chill to 70 degrees.

While must is cooling, rehydrate D47 per packet instructions.  Add pumpkin and frozen apple pieces to cheesecloth bag over brewing bucket. Tie cheesecloth bag.  Add rehydrated D47 to bucket, and let sit while bochet must cools.

Pour boiled honey into fermenting bucket with apple and pumpkin cheesecloth bag.  Add water to 2 gallons.  My original SG was measured as 1.114 (14.84 % potential).  Add 3/4 tsp yeast nutrient and 1/2 tsp yeast energizer.

Follow yeast nutrient additions as outlined above.  Aerate twice daily during initial fermentation, and punch down cheesecloth to discourage spoiling organisms from growing.

Since this is D47, make sure to ferment under 70 degrees.  We keep our house at 67 during winter, so hopefully I’ll be okay on the temperature requirements.

Notes from the batch so far:

• Mead is very slow to start.  Evidence of krausen formation from must on the bottom of the bucket lid, but no foam was noticeable on the surface after 24 hours.  During stirring, a good 1/2 layer of foam formed, but dissipated rapidly, leaving me to believe this recipe will not foam much.
• Original SG was 1.114, but after 24 hours had jumped up to 1.123 as stated in the recipe above.  I believe this is caused by the burnt sugars dissolving after pitch and additional sugars from the pumpkin and apples leeching into the must.
• Tastes very much of toffee, no noticeable pumpkin flavor, and hints of apples.  Am intrigued to find out where this goes.  Tastes good now, but bochets may turn out to be too ‘dark’ for my tastes (I’m thinking stouts/porters, but without the body).

The last two weeks, I have been working on completing a home-built stirplate.  A stirplate allows a meadmaker (or homebrewer) to culture a larger yeast colony than what comes in the yeast packets or vials prior to pitching.  A yeast starter better acclimates the yeast to the must, and improves fermentation rates due to the healthier yeast and larger starting colony size.

My design for the stirplate is based on the one available at stirstarters.com, with a minor modification to the resistor and potentiometer.  The smallest potentiometer available at Radio Shack was 5k-Ohm, so I was forced to increase the resistor size accordingly to ensure a proper voltage drop across the fan.

The supplies (all prices at Radio Shack unless otherwise listed):

• 1 SPST Sub-Mini Switch ($3.49)
• 1 micro-F Capacitor, 2 pack ($1.99, $1 each)
• 5 k-Ohm Linear Potentiometer ($3.49)
• 680 Ohm Resistor, 5 pack ($1.49, $0.30 each)
• LM317T Voltage Regulator ($3.49)
• Breadboard ($3.49)
• 8″x6″x3″ Project Box ($8.99)
• Four 3″ machine screws ($1.26 x2, extra needed for additional nuts to mount fan)
• 12 V computer fan (free, salvaged from an old computer build)
• 4 D83 Neodymium Magnets (free, leftover from another project, usually $1.33 each)
• 12 V 1 Amp power adapter (free, harvested from old Verizon router)
• 22 AWG wire, soldering iron, lead free solder, electrical tape, hot glue gun (price not included)

Total price, tax included: $28.38 ($34.02 with magnets included, fan likely less than $10 additional)

Following the schematic from stirstarters, I laid out all the components and got to work building.  I highly suggest that anyone working with electronics have the appropriate multimeter, and measure the system components before soldering into place.  I should also warn you that the potentiometer will catch on fire, I repeat, it WILL catch on FIRE, if you short the voltage regulator.  Just be careful; I will not be held responsible for any accidents that occur.

Not knowing the pin layout for the LM317T and the potentiometer, I sought some help from a friend working on the same build.  You can find information on the pin layout for the LM317T here.  The potentiometer layout can be found here.  Note that you can reverse terminals on the potentiometer to control the clockwise/counterclockwise rotation of the potentiometer corresponding with an increase in power to the stirplate.  My design used the middle terminal for input, and the ground terminal as the output.  I only wired to two of the pins.  Test it out with a multimeter, and see what you prefer.

It had been years since the last time I put together an electronics project, but the build was easy enough.  First-timers shouldn’t have any problem securing all the wires together.  And if soldering doesn’t appeal to you, you can add some connectors to the supply list to complete the build.

             The Work Area                  Finalized wiring, Fan removed

All Screwed Together

Once finished, I put it through a test using a 1 gallon carboy filled 3/4 to the top.  Sure enough it created a steady vortex, more than enough for building a good yeast starter.  I still need to trim the potentiometer and add a knob, but looks weren’t what I was going for.  It is functional, and more than capable for my needs.  Success!

Completed Project with Steady Vortex