Much like my post on making cider, this post will be about making mead at home with only items you can get at the grocery store. Mead is one of the oldest forms of alcohol, and it may just be how we discovered it. You might hear stories about honey being watered down in trees or honey being stored outside of homes gathering dew in the morning. Natural yeasts would form and multiply in the honey, and when someone would drink from the top, they would feel funny.
The key difference between cider and mead is time. This recipe requires just a bit more care, but yields a much higher alcohol content (up to 15% in optimal conditions). Mead needs a longer time to sit, clarify, and round out flavors.
Here is the 1 minute TikTok of me making it.
Image is a Melomel (Mead + Fruit) this is using cherry juice.
Grocery Store Mead (~8-15% ABV)
Ingredients:
(Links on Starting Equipment Page)
A 1 gallon glass jug. That link includes an airlock, lid, and bung. It makes life really easy.
One 48oz (3lb) bottle of raw honey. (Amazon)
Active dry bread yeast. (Amazon) If you can wait for delivery, Lalvin's D-47 (Amazon) is a superior yeast for beginning meads (in my opinion). NOTE: It must be good yeast and still within expiration. Store in the fridge after opening.
Optional: Add any fruit juice you wish. Make sure it does not have sorbate or anything that ends in -ate in the ingredients. Ascorbic acid is fine.
Rubbing alcohol (cheaper to buy at your store just make sure it is ONLY alcohol and no added fragrances and make ABSOLUTELY SURE you allow it to dry completely).
Items that make life easier (Amazon Links):
Bung (the thing to plug the hole in the top).
3 piece airlock (fill this with the next item listed below).
Sanitizer (this sanitizer is worth every penny and will last you for a long time).
Carboy Cleaner (this is the best cleaner in the world in my opinion and I wish I would have bought it sooner in my homebrewing life). This will last you a long time. Clean anything you want with it! Use the instructions for best results, and to ensure you don't waste it.
Instructions:
When doing any of these steps, make sure work areas are clean. Where it says sanitize, use rubbing alcohol to coat surfaces and allow to dry completely. This kills any other organisms that can cause problems. (Pro Tip: Use a cheap bottle sprayer for your rubbing alcohol and spray surfaces).
Fill your sink with hot water (as hot as you can get it from the tap, but not over 180F/82C) and add your sealed bottle of honey. This will allow it to pour easier later.
Clean your jug. Rinse well, at least 3 times, if using soaps with fragrance, but the cleaner in the link is best thing ever... really.
Sanitize the jug. Use the alcohol method if you do not have Star San. Alcohol works just fine, but be sure to coat every surface inside the jug and allow to dry completely as you don't want this in your mead.
Add the honey to the jug.
Add 1/2 tsp of active dry yeast to the jug. This will kill some of the yeast, but that is okay, and what we want. This post assumes you don't know what yeast nutrient is so we are creating a clever version of that.
Now add any fruit juices you want. Be sure not to add too much. You need to dilute the sugars down to a reasonable level.
Swirl juice and honey together (if added)
"Top up" is a term in brewing for add water to a desired level. You'll do this until your liquid hits the shoulder of your jug. If your jug is strange, no worries. Just leave about 4 fingers worth of space for foaming in fermentation and to shake the jug to allow air to mix into the liquid (yeast need this).
NOTE: Make sure you use cold water and clean water (filtered preferred). You want your liquid to be at room temp (65F/18C-75F/24C) before the next step and the cold clean water will help with that.
Add 1 tsp of your active dry yeast.
Use a glove or saran wrap to shake the mess out of it.
Add your airlock. You can use a balloon, glove, or even a condom with a pin hole in it. Just make sure your airlock does not completely seal the jug because she will blow. Bonus points if you order the bung and 3 piece airlock. Those are the best options.
Monitor for activity (bubbles on top of the liquid, foam forming at the top, or bubbles in the airlock) within 24 hours. If you don't see any activity, check your yeast to make sure it is still good.
On day 2 your yeast activity should be really good. If your yeast isn't blowing the airlock off and the foam isn't going too high, you can go ahead and add more clean water to fill your jug half way up the neck.
After 7 days, you'll want to move your mead to a new container for long term storage. Use the same methods above to clean a pitcher to transfer.
Use a sanitized spoon to gently stir the liquid to get more air in and drive out some of the gasses. When bubbles seem minimal, you are done (you still want a little bit).
Clean and sanitize the the old container (do not use soaps as they will add aromas and flavors).
Gently pour the liquid back into the sanitized jug.
Put a new or clean/sanitized airlock back on and let this sit at room temp in a dark place for 3 months. Yes... the wait is worth it. Check on it regularly to make sure it isn't growing anything on top of it.
Enjoy out of the jug or bottle (look for another post on this).
Bonus points if you can wait 6 months or more. The flavors will improve.
Try it out and see how yours turns out. This is a stepping stone for making great meads at home. Stay tuned for more posts and advanced topics.
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