After years of good intentions, this past weekend I finally got around to brewing some mead. The recipe I used is from The Known World Handbook (that wonderful staple of Scadian libraries). It’s flavored with a small amount of ginger & orange peel and the total cost of ingredients was less than $10 for 4 liters of mead. I’ll be testing it next weekend (the short fermentation period is part of why I chose this particular recipe–I couldn’t bear the thought of my first attempt involving waiting weeks or months to find out that I’d made something awful).
I’m looking forward to this weekend’s taste-test. If it goes well, I’ll not only have gained a new skill, but found an economical way to celebrate with friends!
So–we gave the mead an initial taste test, & although it was not fully aged, it had the delicious flavor of a sweet, honey orange soda, with about the same alcohol taste as cider that’s been sitting open for a week or two. I determined to let the second bottle sit for a month & open it at Great NorthEastern War, a weekend event we go to each June. Sadly, about two weeks before the War, I was awaked at three a.m. by something that sounded like the kitchen mantle had fallen from the wall & all it’s contents crashed to the floor. When I rushed to discover the source of this calamity, although relieved that my antique clock was still sitting soundly on it’s shelf, I was saddened to find that the remaining bottle of mead had exploded all over my small kitchen. I’ll be trying this recipe again soon, being much more careful about checking that pressure is released from the bottle regularly.
