Basic Semi-Sweet Mead
A lightly sweet, naturally fermented mead, perfect for the beginning home brewer.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 2–3 pounds (about one quart or .9 to 1.3 kg) raw, unfiltered local honey
- 1 gallon (3.8 liters) of clean, non-chlorinated water
- 8–10 raisins
- A couple of squeezes of a lemon or orange
Instructions
- Mix water and honey in your wide-mouthed fermenting vessel. Stir until dissolved.
- Stir in raisins and citrus juice.
- Cover your fermenting vessel and set it in a warm (60-80F, 15-27C) location, out of direct sunlight.
- Stir the brew vigorously for a few minutes, several times per day.
- Within three to five days, you should see signs of fermentation. The mead will be bubbly and fizz slightly after stirring.
- Continue regular stirring for a couple more days, then strain and transfer the brew into a carboy with airlock.
- Drink the mead in a week or two if you like it young and sweet with less alcohol (5-6%).
- For a stronger mead (10-12%), rack the mead after a month, and then one or two more times over the next six months. Consume at six months, or bottle and age the mead for a year or more.
- To age, place bottles on their side in a cool location, such as a cellar.
Notes
To test mead to see if it’s safe to bottle, add a half teaspoon of sugar or a bit of honey and swirl the carboy. If it causes a strong reaction, the mead is not ready to bottle. Meads bottled a bit young in a thick bottle will be carbonated, but if not done with care, you risk popped corks or bottle bombs.
Find it online: https://commonsensehome.com/mead/