Sanitising the bottles Bottle caps Soap and hot water The two meads! On the left, in our room.. On the right, in the cupboard. So different, despite the same exact ingredients! One is clearer, the other is stronger. First bottles filled. All bottles filled, including our special blend. Blend (needs to settle for a long time). R for Russell (or room) and C for Coleen (or cupboard)

We finally bottled the mead we began in the winter, which has developed throughout the spring. We made our first batch for Christmas, which was a quick (read: cheat) mead with baking yeast and a very short fermentation time. It was decent. We were proud. But we wanted to make a better attempt.

This time, we bought some fancy champagne yeast online for the fermentation. We used several pounds of clover honey purchased online and distilled water from the shop. We agitated the honey and water mixture, added the yeast, and left the fermentation chambers alone. For three months.

One of the “carboys” was in our room, where the temperature is on average cool. The other was in the cupboard, where it got a little bit of heat off the water pipes. The tiny difference in temperature appears to have made a significant difference in the final meads, with one being much clearer and more flowery than the other. The cloudy one continued fermenting for almost a month longer than the first, and is definitely stronger.

We bottled the mead on our second anniversary, and hope to use it for special occasions!