Making Mead - BJCP

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Table 1. Varieties of MeadTraditional MeadHydromelSack MeadMetheglinSack MetheglinA fermented honey beverage made from approximatelytwo and one-half pounds of honey diluted with one gallonof water only.Weak, or watered meadMead that is made sweeter by the addition of twenty totwenty-five percent more honey; a sauterne-like beverage.Spiced mead; originally spiced with a combination ofherbs (gruit) but later hops became more popular.Sweet spiced mead; traditionally similar to vermouth.Melomel, or Mulsum Mead made with fruit juice.CyserPyment, or ClarreHyppocrasA melomel made with apple juice or cider; similar to asherry wine.A melomel made with grape juice; sometimes referred toas honey-sweetened grape wine.Spiced pyment.National Honey Board • (303) 776-2337 • www.nhb.org • P a g e 2/12
Basics for Brewing MeadGetting Started:IngredientsHONEYHoney is the first ingredientto consider when makingmead. The flavor and colorof the final product aredependent on the variety ofhoney used. In general, alight honey yields lightercolored and flavored meadand a dark honey, darkercolored and more robustflavored mead.The floral source of thehoney determines its flavorprofile and other sensoryattributes. Honey beesgather nectar and convert itto honey. There is somevariation in the amount ofsugar, minerals andvitamins in the nectars thatthe bees gather. Anenzyme (invertase)secreted by the beesconverts the sucrose in thenectar to fructose andglucose and anotherenzyme (glucose oxidase)changes the glucose togluconic acid and hydrogenperoxide. The watercontent in the nectar is alsoreduced in the process.The result is honey: afermentable sugar with pHof approximately 3.9, onaverage, and an 17.1percent water content.Choosing which honey touse is a matter of taste andthe type of mead desired.Stronger honeys go wellwith sweeter, heavy orspiced meads and milderhoneys with delicateflavors work well fortraditional or fruit meads.The National Honey Boardhas additional informationavailable on the floralsources of honey. A list ofhoney suppliers is availableon the National HoneyBoard’s Web site,www.nhb.org. A paper describingthe sensory attributesof U.S. honeyvarieties is available bothonline and as a hard copy.The United StatesDepartment of AgricultureTechnical Bulletin number1261 gives detailedinformation on thechemical composition,color and granulation ofvarious honey varieties.These resources will behelpful in selecting a honeyvariety.YEASTYeast is the next ingredientto consider and onceagain, there are severalchoices. Yeast is livingorganism that metabolizessugars in honey to carbondioxide and ethyl alcohol.Cultured wine yeast iscommonly used to makemead. In general, thosethat are used for whitewines, especially sauterneyeastwork well. The yeastused for wine and meadfermentation is Saccharomycescerviseae.Matching the appropriateyeast culture to the honeyvariety is key to developingthe desired taste andmouthfeel of mead.Formulation guideline forvarious types of yeasts andhoneys can be found inZymurgy: For the Homebrewerand Beer Lover,May-June 2000 issue.In addition to sugar, yeastneeds nitrogen,phosphorus and potassiumfor growth. Ingredientssuch as urea, peptone andpotassium phosphate areused to supply thesenutrients. It is alsopossible to buy packagednutrients speciallydesigned for mead.WATERThe third basic ingredientused to make mead iswater. The quality andchemical composition ofthe water used to makemead is critical.National Honey Board • (303) 776-2337 • www.nhb.org • P a g e 3/12
Page 1: Making mead is a centuries-old prac
Page 5 and 6: ProcessingGuidelinesThere are seven
Page 7 and 8: depending on a number offactors. In
Page 9 and 10: Mead VariationsMulsum or MelomelYie
Page 11 and 12: CyserYield: 5 gallonsIngredientsAmo

Making Mead - BJCP

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