Does anyone have any experience with making mead? I'd like to brew a batch. Ive never even tried mead but it sounds interesting. Also does anyone know a place in chicago where I could try mead. Looks like there is a meadery called Wild Blossom Wines that is in Chicago. http://wildblossomwines.com/. I'd be interested in getting a good recipe if anyone has one.
Thu, Oct 27, 2011 - 1:01pm
#1
Mead
disregard the previous edit as seen above. im as polish as that mead and completely took things out of context. it USED TO BE contraband.
...igz...
this is the first mead ive ever tried. and like many of my firsts, its my favorite. ill try to bring some by for our next club meeting.
http://www.polishmeads.com/Jadwiga.html
"Jadwiga: This is the world's queen of mead; historically, literally and figuratively. Jadwiga was the queen of Poland who ruled in the 14th century. She married Jagiello, the King of Lithuania, and thus, planted the seed for Poland's Golden Age. Jadwiga ruled from Krakow and resided in the castle Wawel. At that time, Krakow was the capital of Poland. The story goes that this recipe was created to celebrate Jadwiga and Jagiello's wedding. That was about 635 years ago. Therefore, this is possibly the world's longest continuously prepared commercial mead recipe. Jadwiga is a poltorak mead (poow-TOH-rhak), meaning it is three parts honey to one part water. That is some RICH mead. Jadwiga comes in a wicker-wrapped bottle with wax seal, ribbon, rope and metallic medallion inlay. The color is deep amber in the glass with excellent clarity. It is extremely sweet. Ultra sweet. As sweet or sweeter than maple syrup, and at least as viscous. It has huge "legs" in the glass. The bouquet is instantly floral, with honeyed-scents of lavender and lilac. The flavor is powerful with impressive weight, yet restrained. Truly a religious experience. Jadwiga takes over your whole mouth and grabs you by the tonsils. It is essential and corporeal. It is heavy yet balanced. Despite its sweetness it is never cloying. In the finish, you are left with an enigma, which begs a "next" glass and then a "next" and a "next"."
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/apis-poltorak-jadwiga/24026/
...igz...
I agree with Daniel. I've never tasted one until last night but thought it was quite tasty. Maybe we can get a group batch going?
After tasting iggi's mead the other night I think I'm interested in making some myself. I thought I didn't like mead but maybe I do.
so, i tried my mead that i have been working on since feb 14th 2009. it went through a few iterations, a few significant changes. i am happy to say that it finally tastes like something digestable. i have it at the brew house if anyone wants to try it. its not done though. i will be adding more blackberries and raspberries to it.
...igz...
I am fermenting my second batch of mead now...I have a batch of black raspberry aging now..its about four months old...but it will be at least another 5 months before it is drinkable...
Here are two websites that are good...the first one has how-to video....There is even an article about some guy finding jugs of Mead 42 years old while rehabbing his house....
http://www.stormthecastle.com/mead/index.htm
The second has good info...but I think you have to pay subscribe to get the full benefit...but it does have alot of free info.
www.gotmead.com
I've done meads before. Look around for info about staggered nutrient additions. Ken Schramm has done a lot of research and has a pretty good regiment for producing meads quicker than classically done.
I have a blueberry mead (melomel) that I try to hide away in my basement. Its been down there for about 2.5 years. I haven't tried it in some time. We can try some if you are curious what it tastes like. Binny's is another good source for finding commercial examples of mead.
I can't remember my exact recipe. But I know I used about 15# of honey and a crap load of fresh blueberries.