Shash

Right assuming we all got our chainmail and our round shields set all that is left is to find some wenches and something proper to drink. Now - beer is the obvious first choice but hardly the only one - if you are willing - you can try brewing mead.









There are many recipes depending on what exactly do you want to get for your final product, I will write down as many as I can find here in a series of posts, detailing their differences in flavour, taste, ingredients and making.One thing that rings true for all of them is that this will be a long term investment - brewing will take several months, so you should also consider making a sizeable batch too. It will also require a few things you may have a better luck finding in your granma's cellar - namely the jugs.Now without further ado - home made mead recipe number 1Ingredients :8-10 lbs pure honey for light, delicate Mead or 12-13 for medium sweet Mead or15-16 lbs for very sweet or alcoholic Mead.4-5 gallons purified spring water (not distilled)3 tablespoons of yeast nutrient (or 5 tablets)1 tablespoon acid blend (combination malic/citric acid)5-7 oz. sliced fresh ginger root (1 finger's length)POSSIBLE EXTRAS - just for spicing it up1/4 tablespoon fresh rosemary5-6 whole cloveslime/orange peels1-2 vanilla beanscinnamon/nutmegcrushed fruit (peaches, strawberries, grapes, blueberries - you can experiment yourself here)1 tablespoon Irish Moss to clarify MeadOR1/2 tablespoon clear gelatin to clarify Mead1 packet of yeast - either champagne or ale yeast.Heat The water for 10-15 minutes until its boiling. Then stir in honey, yeastnutrients, acid blend, and whatever spices you picked ( ginger, vanilla, cinnamon,nutmeg, etc.). The mix stays like that for another 10-15 minutes,(overcooking removes too much honey flavour so you can turn down the heat ). Skim off the foam as neededshould be 2-3 times. After 15 minutes, add IrishMoss or clear gelatin to clarify the mead. After last skimming, turn off the heat,add crushed fruit if you want to, and let it steep 15-30 minutes while allowing the mead tocool and clarify. After it begins to clear, strain off the fruit withhand skimmer and pour the mead through strainer funnel into a 5 gallon glasscarboy jug. Let it cool down to room temperature for about 24h.After 24h warm up 1 cup of mead(microwave works for this), stir in 1 packet of yeast - its important what you picked asit will affect the final product and leave it for 5-15 min to allow the yeast to start working.Add the mead/yeast mix to the jug and swirl it around.Place run-off tube in stopper of bottle, with other end of tube in largebowl or bottle to capture "blow-off" froth. Let mead sit undisturbed 7days in cool, dark area. After initial violent fermenting slows downand mead begins to settle, rack off (siphon off) good mead into cleansterilized jug, leaving all sediment in bottom of first jug. Attachairlock to this secondary carboy. After 4-6 months, mead will clear.During this time, if more sediment forms on bottom, good mead can beracked off again to another clean sterilized jug.When you are bottling in order to add carbonation you can put a quarter of a tablespoon of white sugar per 12 oz.or stir in 1/2 to 1 lb raw honey per 5 gallons of mead(dissolve it first with mead or pure water)