Mead!

I did it at last!

No more talk, I have finally created my first batch of Mead, and it was so simple! I went with a "economical" recipe (aka cheap) that was literally honey, yeast and bottled water.

I started by visiting The Home Brewery in Ozark, Missouri for my main ingredients. They consisted of a 5 pound container of pure wildflower honey, a package of Lalvin EC-1118 Wine Yeast, and a small package of Yeast Nutrient. Total cost, with tax, $22.51. Next, I visited a local Dollar Tree and picked up two 1 gallon jugs of spring water. Total cost, with tax, $2.15.

And that was all my shopping. Nothing else. Total cost for my first batch of Mead was $24.66. Now, onto the production using things I already had around the house.

All of my supplies. (The Mother's cup is the yeast reactivating in water.)

One of the big things everything I read about said was sanitation. Everything that touched the Must (honey water) had to be sanitized, and I took this very seriously. I grabbed the largest stock pot I had out of the cabinet and filled it with warm water until there was approximately a gallon in the bottom. I next added 1 teaspoon of plain bleach to the water and mixed it in. Next, every utensil shown here, including the balloons, took a bath in the bleach water. After a very thorough rinse I was off running.

Happy yeast bubbling
away.

First thing I did was put the yeast into a cup of water to get it reactivating. That sat for about 20 minutes or so until it was nice and bubbly. While the yeast was doing it's thing, I put the container of honey into warm water to make it a little easier to pour.

With those two things set up, I next poured the water into the big stock pot and added the 2 teaspoons of nutrient. To that went the 5 pounds of honey and  my cup of now ready yeast. I stirred vigorously to mix everything up well and aerate the water some.

Finally, it came time to pour it into the bottles. This was a little nerve wrecking, but I went slow and steady and it went okay. Last thing I wanted to do was spill my first batch of Mead!

Mixing the honey into the water meant it wasn't going to fit back into the original gallon jugs. Luckily I had an empty bottle from my girls' juice that hadn't been recycled yet. It was maybe 1/2 gallon in size and turned out to be perfect. Plus it gave me another opportunity to try flavoring it.

So now I have 3 beautiful bottles of Mead ready to ferment. I left one of the gallon bottles 100% plain. To the other gallon bottle, I added 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. I would have added a raw vanilla bean, but remember, I'm doing this cheaply. To the last small bottle, I added about 1/8 teaspoon of ground nutmeg as I read that made a good flavoring.

To top it all off, I put a balloon on top of each container and poked a hole in each balloon. This will allow the CO2 to escape without letting anything back in. A very cheap airlock!

Voila! Now we just have to wait...

And with that, the Mead is essentially done. Now all I have to do is wait for it to ferment. I'm planning on siphoning off a few bottles worth around Christmas to try it out and I'll let the rest sit much longer. I can't wait!

Now for the numbers. Like I said before, total cost of the supplies, for about 2-1/2 gallons of Mead, was $24.66. We'll call it $25 for easier math. I was looking around a bit online and from what I saw, the average price for a 750ml bottle of Mead was about $15. 2.5 gallons = 9463 milliliters. 9463 milliliters / 750 milliliters = 12.6. So, what I just made would equal about 12 750ml bottles of store bought Mead. At $15 each, that is $180.00. I just made $180.00 worth of Mead for only $25.00. Now that is what I call economical!

Octoberfests and Mr. Pumpkin

I always enjoy the holiday season. The heat of the summer has passed, the leaves start changing colors, and the awesome seasonal beers start to show up on the shelves. I have now tried 3 different Octoberfests and while each one has its similarities, they are slightly different depending on who made them. I also got a chance to visit a friend from last year, Mr. Pumpkin.