No.1998 [View All]
So I am an avid fan of mead and drinking mead. To the point where I am currently brewing two one gallon batches of my own mead.
Anyone else like mead or are brewing mead? If so what brand do you drink or what recipe are you brewing?
Do you use mead for blots? Or drink it on holidays?
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No.10640
>>2051
Hell yeah.
Ive made pine tar before. Just needed some fat from a animal to get the soap going.
tfw asatru centric post SHTF communities :333
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No.10647
This is the batch I have going right now. This is after the first racking so it is still dark and cloudy. It is made from 3 lbs of local raw Dark Alfalfa honey. The honey had a molasses consistency and taste. Am excited for this one.
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No.10649
>>5474
It's a really good brand http://mjod.dk/
I'm surprised they have it at gas stations
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No.10685
>>2028
Thank you for this!
Going to pick up the ingredients I want soon and make some.
>>2051
Would you mind sharing some of your SHTF infographics anon?
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No.10687
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No.10760
>>10685
Not in this thread please.
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No.10919
Okay, I decided to drop what I wrote here:
>>10636
As it was too complicated, especially for a first mead. Instead I went with 2 batches with juice added. One cherry and one plum. I really hope my containers are air tight.
>>10647
Any progress on this?
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No.10940
>>10919
Fermentation is nearly done have to let it age still in its current form it is still pretty cloudy but looks like coffee
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No.11156
>>10940
Nice.
I just started a batch. Dissolved about 2.5-2.75lbs of local honey into 1 gallon of water, mixed in a few raisins and some lemon juice (not for flavor, just enough to provide food for the yeast, I hope). Then I divided the batch up between two growlers.
In one, I put a special mead yeast from the local brew store, and in the other Lalvin EC-1118.
Now we just let time do its thing…
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No.11162
Found a great resource… a mead calculator for amount of honey, estimated ABV%, and sweetness.
http://www.meadmakr.com/batch-buildr/
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No.11187
>>11162
A hydrometer is a good way to measure abv as well you can get them pretty cheap and they are easy to use and clean. I have one I just either forget the original reading or write it down and lose it. Had them all on my PC one time and it fucking crashed and had to get a new PC lolz.
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No.11195
>>11187
I went and picked up a hydrometer. I realized I made a calculation error on the proportions of honey for my current batch (I divided up several growlers with different recipes to experiment). The abv should be around 10% and probably very dry, but it should still be drinkable. I might put in some more honey after bottling and make it carbonated.
Also I got some organic apple juice to make cyser. Anybody have any tips?
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No.11196
>>11195
You can either A) Add it in now to give more nutrients to the yeasties and have a proper cyser or B) Add it it after fermentation which is called "Backsweetening" it will add more sweetness and flavor to it but wont be as alcoholic
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No.11197
http://www.gotmead.com/
This is a good site for recipes and it has a forum to ask some "experts" take what they say with a grain of salt make sure to do extra research before accepting what they say. Most of them are knowledgeable but there are a few who like to pretend they know what they are talking about.
Also feel free to ask me questions about Mead making too I have done a lot of research and made plenty of successful batches.
Reposting my tox here too CAF448BF3FB47414F84190E0DA1D700FE04CDEB8F08AF0FD014BD13F5EA3E0064055128309DC
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No.11206
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No.11298
Any of you guys know anything about staggering sugar in order to "trick" the mead into producing a higher ABV than it could normally tolerate?
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No.11300
>>11298
You can use certain strands of wine yeast to up the abv I know of one that can get it up to 18% though the name escapes me atm. Don't know much about staggering sugar though. Then again I would not want a mead more than 18%
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No.11320
I Bottled my mead a few days ago and suspect it might be around 17%. It has some sweetness from the honey I added after fermentation (not much) and a sourness from the juice I have used. The colour is awesome too.
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No.11330
>>11320
Got any pics?
Do you use a hydrometer?
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No.11334
Also let's talk bottling. Corks or caps?
How long do you wait before bottling, and how long do you age your meads?
I'm making some cider and cyser, and I was thinking of putting them in champagne bottles with some sugar to get a nice secondary fermentation and some carbonation. Anybody tried that before?
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No.11339
>>11334
You have to make sure the yeast is dead before bottling it. If your mead has a pH balance of 3.2 or lower then you are good. They cannot survive in that environment. You can also just throw it in the fridge. I cork mine but you can cap it makes not much difference.
If the yeast are still active when you bottle it you have a potential bomb lolz.
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No.11345
Good tip for you guys and something I just now experienced. My mead was stuck which means the yeast was inactive my pH was around 3.6 I just added a teaspoon of yeast energizer and nutrient and now it is active again.
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No.11360
>>11345
Good to know, brah.
Also found a great website…
http://www.honey.com/honey-locator/
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No.11391
How long do your fermentations usually last? I put a batch in on the 2nd and its still bubbling.
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No.11400
>>11391
Varies extremely. I know of some that are done in a month my last batch took 3 months my current one is still fermenting 7 months on. When fermentation is done yeah you can drink it but it is best to let it age for at least 6 months to a full year.
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No.11403
>>11400
Do you use a secondary?
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No.11408
>>11403
Dont really need to with mead. After you rack it for the last time when the fermentation is done just cork it and set it aside for awhile longer to let it age and develop its flavor
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No.11421
>>11408
How many times do you rack it, I mean? Do you let it ferment, then transfer it to another fermentation tank/carboy/bucket, or do you just let it run its entire course in one tank? If you do transfer/rack it, then how long do you wait before doing it?
Also do you degas your mead before bottling? I didn't even know this was a thing before doing some research, and now when I search for it every source I find acts like it's just a given.
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No.11422
>>11421
Once you get an inch of lees that is how you know to rack it.
And if you age your mead properly you wont have to degas it (it does it on it's own). I have never degassed mine.
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No.11424
>>11421
Yes when I rack my mead I transfer it to another glass carboy. Since I do one gallon at a time I don't go from tanks or buckets to carboys which is generally what people do in the secondary. I just go from one carboy to another then repeat.
So further research into "degassing" reveals it is not as fancy of a process as I thought. I do do it though. But my method is simple.
1. First three days just leave your mead uncapped (letting as much oxygen get to it as possible while letting as much C02 escape as possible)
2. For the first week I shake my carboy everyday (to be more cautious just get a long spoon or stirring stick and just stir it at the bottom)
3. I rack it every time I get at least an inch of lees (lees is the sediment gathering at the bottom it is basically yeast shit and dead yeast) gathering at the bottom (this also lets C02 escape).
4. I age my mead as well for at least the remainder of the year.
The only reason you would really need to do more than this to degas is
A.) You are rushing it and want to bottle as soon as fermentation stops (dont know why anyone would do this since your mead's flavor is not fully developed)
and
B.) You are bothered by a little carbonation.
Other than that I mean it is up to you. But yeah a lot of the terms thrown around gets overwhelming and you are left wondering what you should do. A lot of people have different methods just fine the right one for you and experiment.
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No.11439
>>11424
Thanks for all the advice, brah.
Here's my latest batch. I made two growlers (1/2 gallon) of the same must, but used different yeasts as an experiment. The other jug is cyser, just organic cider from the natural foods store along with 2lbs of honey. I re-racked the straight mead in the growlers, also gave it a taste.
Tasted like rocket fuel. But it's still bubbling, even after racking. I think I put it in a month ago or so (the labels fell off). How long will it keep bubbling for? Should I bottle as soon as it stops bubbling, or keep it in the tank for the full aging process?
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No.11440
YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.
>>11424
Also if you ever do want to do a degas, I found this video, pretty good idea.
I might end up doing this because I have a couple 5 gallon water jugs (#1 PET) that I might use as carboys. But some research says that PET plastic, while not leeching any flavors into the must and safe to use, will let in more oxygen than glass. Maybe it's best to bottle quickly if that happens, and let it age there?
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No.11441
>>11439
Also, the fermentation of cyser takes off like gangbusters. Much faster than straight mead, even with nutrients. There must be something in the apples they love.
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No.11454
>>11440
I don't have much experience with PET plastics however I heard they are harder to clean.
>>11439
It can bubble for awhile I still get some bubbles in mine when I shake it up. But bubbles are not a good indication if it is done. pH is a better indication since yeast cant survive past a certain point. Usually 3.2
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No.11940
Gonna start some new batches soon. Not sure how exactly will spice them, but the basis will be fresh apple juice and some apples.
One will certainly spiced with German gingerbread (Lebkuchen) spices. Looking up the spices, I found out that it's a combination of 9 different spices in total. Very fitting I believe.
>>11330
I haven't used a Hydrometer, but I will take some pics of the 3 remaining bottles when the light is right and I think of it.
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No.11941
Just a reminder light is the enemy had to restart my yeast a few times now because it got exposed to some light. Fixed the light issue though but still keep it somewhere dark. You can always wrap something around the bottle too.
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No.11984
>not making your own liqeur.
>not making your own beer
>not making your own cider
>tfw never actually enjoying real life.
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No.12052
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No.12053
Just started a batch of cyser here is my recipe
1 gallon organic apple juice
1/2 oz mashed ginger root
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
1 tsp Acid Blend
1 tsp Pectic enzyme
1 1/2 lbs of Acacia Honey
1 packet of Champagne yeast
Original recipe called for 1/2 gallon of juice and half gallon of water with 2 1/2 lbs of plain sugar added. Thought that was dumb using so much sugar when a gallon of juice has almost about a pound of sugar in it already. Plus adding water just dilutes the sugar already it there (so I did not add water).
Hopefully it comes out well I also bought 3 lbs of Purple Sage honey recently and am planning on making Metheglyn out of it. Will post the recipe for it when I make it.
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No.12055
>>12053
Sounds nice. Will you use it for a blot around the winter solstice?
I also started 2 batches with lots of fresh apple juice, hardly any water added. I did them over the course of several days. When I did my first batch, I simply added the powdered spices to the mix.
Unfortunately I fucked up my yeast and at least 2 of my starters were infected. I didn't check if the one I used for my first batch was infected as well. What other choice than waiting to see what happens have I though?
For the second batch I used new yeast and boiled the spices in water for a little, cooled it down and then added it to the honey/apple mix. It's much less segregated compared to the first one.
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No.12057
>>12055
I have my Dark Alfalfa mead for Yule this cyser I am going to let age for a year til next October and use it in a blot on Winter Nights.
I don't know much about infection luckily all my batches have not encountered this problem. I would just advise next time make sure to sanitize everything even your hands when you are making the must. Make sure all your ingredients are fresh (dried and preserved is fine though too) and make sure to wash all the fruits and herbs before you put them in. And one last thing make sure the place you store it at has little moisture and it around 70 degrees.
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No.12253
Update for my fellow mead kinsmen
After only a month the SG fell all the way down to 1.00 and the pH is at 3.8. Look how clear it got though.
Tastes so far like a spicer harder hard cider. Have high hopes for this one.
My Dark Alfalfa mead is done but having clearing issues bought some Isinglass to help it so far not doing a good job. Might just be really dark because of the consistency of the honey I used (the mead looks just like coffee and it is just as dark and murky). Will give it a week (clear mead is only an aesthetic thing anyway) will drink it regardless.
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No.12265
I remember that one time when i went to a medieval/LARP fair with a bunch of pals way back in the day and i ended up getting so drunk from that shit that (among other stuff) i ended up shouting/throwing salutes the entire time and could barely even walk
Somehow i still managed to get back home on my bike that same night though
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No.13286
>>1998
Tons of info here https://media.8ch.net/file_store/734fc41bbeea7e72eb90d00a009ba86f0a183618d998b96e425ca5682887439a.pdf
http://a.rfl.pw/m/pXuYv.pdf
JUNIPER BEER AND ALE
Juniper ale and beer is traditionally brewed in the Scandinavian countries: Norway, Finland, and Sweden. The best, and almost only, source in English for in-depth information on the traditional beers of the Nordic countries is the remarkable Brewing and Beer Traditions in Norway by Odd Nordland. Published in 1969 by the Norwegian Research Council for Science and the Humanities in association with the Norwegian Brewery Association, it is, regrettably, out of print. Some additional
material (primarily describing the juniper beers of Finland) is available in volume 17, number 4 of Zymurgy magazine. Nordland’s book, though focusing on Norway, notes throughout his text that many of the processes for making juniper beer are common also in Finland and Sweden, and Maude Grieve in her A Modern Herbal
(New York: Dover, 1971) comments that “In Sweden a beer is made that is regarded as a healthy drink [from juniper berries].”
Page 135, Chapter 8
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No.13290
>>13286
Good stuff, I do home brewing so I might try this at some time
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No.13303
>>13290
Some info from the author
AUTHOR’S NOTE ON THE TEXT
I have structured this book, perhaps, in an odd manner. Information on how to make beers is in here, but this is not a simple manual. Probably the closest thing to a step-by-step instruction to making beer is contained in appendix one. This book is primarily intended to share the poetry and beauty of ancient fermentation and only secondarily to share recipes, some more than 2,000 years old, for making ancient sacred and healing beers. Any recipe in this book that calls for malted barley can be altered by the use of canned (unhopped) malt extract or a combination of brown sugar and molasses (see appendix one for the details). And since so many people keep asking: No, I haven’t made all these beers, but I have made more than one.
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No.13306
>>12253
I've had nothing but good fortune with apple. It must have some vitamin or something in it that the yeast love.
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No.13462
Started a new batch, following a recipe very closely. I guess it can be referred to as a cyser. Total volume is a little bit over 11 liters right now, aiming to have around 10 liters after racking.
It includes:
2.2 kg honey
4 liters of apple juice
4 grated apples
water to a total of around 11 liters
This time I didn't some new things:
I added tannin hopping it will lead to a better taste and easier clearing. I think it also helps to prevents oxidization?
I adjusted the acidity to around 6.5 gram/liter using lactic and citric acid.
I added an antigelling agent to help dissolve the grated apples I also added.
The plan is to wait till the all the sugar is used up. Then I will measure the alcohol and slowly work my way to the yeast theoretical tolerance. First with 1% steps, then in smaller steps. Once I notice the sugar/honey I had doesn't lead to any further fermentation, I will adjust for the sweetness.
It's the first batch I made with some more planning and much more reading beforehand. I really hope it will turn out well.
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No.13472
>>13462
>The plan is to wait till the all the sugar is used up. Then I will measure the alcohol and slowly work my way to the yeast theoretical tolerance.
I hope you succeed. I tried to do this but found it to be a real pain. A few problems I ran into…
1. Mixing in the honey/sugar. I don't know of a good way to do this with a mash already under way without agitating the whole thing and whipping the dregs back into the body. Transferring it to another pot to heat up (so far the only way I can get honey to stay in solution) seems like it would fuck with the yeast. All of these options seem labor intensive.
2. Measuring the alcohol content with a traditional hydrometer. Seems to open up the mash and increase the drastically odds of contamination compared to set-it-and-forget-it. Was thinking of getting something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Refractometer-GoerTek-Refractometers-Temperature-Compensation/dp/B01G6T11KG/
I do like a very stiff mead, so if you have any luck be sure to let us know.
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No.13528
>>13472
I usually measure the abv when I rack it this is also when I check the pH. You would not have to do either that often anyways just once in a while to see how it is doing.
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