Mead or “honey wine” caught my interest last year when I was given a few bottles as a gift. Up to this point I didn’t know anything about mead but had ran across it during my research of making wine and beer over the past 3 plus years. Since I always like a challenge, I decided to make some of my own and already had all the equipment needed to complete this mission. I am by no means an expert on making mead but have done extensive research on the subject and have been very successful with the batches I have made so far. Most mead takes quite a while to age (9 -12 months) into something great, so please be patient and the long wait will be very rewarding.

There are many different types of mead and it is known around the world, but most people I know do not even know what mead is until I tell them. Here are the basic styles of mead and main ingredients:

Mead Styles

No matter what style of mead you make the most important ingredient is obviously using a quality honey. Honey can be purchased from many different places such as local beekeepers, farmer’s markets, warehouse and grocery stores, and of course via the internet. Before making mead you should take some time and research the many different types of honey and what is available to you at a reasonable price. Honey can cost from $2.00 - $4.00 a pound depending on where you get it and what type it is. A good resource for learning about honey and also finding a supplier is www.honeylocator.com. One of the main factors of quality honey is how it is not processed. You want to purchase honey that has not been heated to a great degree, which is the case for some honey sold in the grocery stores since they must heat it repeatedly to allow for heavy filtration. The aromatic compounds, which give mead its appeal and wonderful aromas, are released from honey when heated to a high temperature (such as boiling). This is why I choose not to heat my honey at all when making mead (more on this later). You want to look for pure, raw, unfiltered honey, containing all the enzymes, pollen, minerals and vitamins that the bees worked so hard to make! I recently purchased three different honeys for my next planned batches of mead and was very surprised at the difference in color, taste and smell of the different types. I had some leftover honey from earlier batches and did a side-by-side comparison of five honeys and each has its own characteristics and no two are quite alike. Once you have found a source to buy you honey you will need a recipe and determine how much honey and other ingredients you will need.

Note: If you are a beginner and new to the equipment and basic steps to making wine/mead you should read the Online Wine Making Tutorial first to learn the basics, as I will not be going into all of the details.

There are three basic ways of preparing your honey before starting fermentation because of a concern of bacteria and wild yeast.

Let’s look at a basic recipe and the remaining steps.

Medium Sweet Mead (5 Gallons)

You may have noticed this recipe does not call for any acid adjustment. From all of my research most of the experienced mead makers do not make any adjustment in the initial must due to the possibility of lowering the pH out of fermentation range. Unlike grape must, the pH of honey can drift low during the fermentation and cause the yeast to stop working. Surprising to most, the pH of honey is quite low at 3.4 to 4.5 and is offset because of its sweetness when you taste it.

Sanitize all your equipment and don’t forget your drill-mounted stirrer as adding oxygen to the must is critical for getting the fermentation started quickly.

To help get the honey out of the containers I warm it by placing them into hot (not boiling) water for 10-15 minutes. A long handled sanitized spoon helps with this task and you can also rinse it with warm water right in the primary.

Add the water to bring the level of your must to 5 gallons and target a final temperature of 70-80 degrees. Add the yeast nutrient and energizer to the must.

Stir your must very well with your drill-mounted stirrer to mix the honey and water and to add plenty of oxygen. Take an initial SG reading for your records. Now it is time to pitch the yeast. In my research, I have found most mead makers rehydrate their yeast per the instructions on the package before pitching. I have found that just sprinkling the yeast on top and not re-hydrating is more “foolproof” when making wine and can only assume the same logic would apply to making mead.

Since honey does not contain the proper nutrients needed for fermentation, as with grape juice it is important you add the proper amount of yeast nutrient. Many mead makers also dose their meads over the first 3-4 days of fermentations instead of adding the total amount initially in the must. The basic idea is to add ½ the total amount of nutrient called for in the recipe in the initial must. Then add ¼ a tsp over the next 3-4 days and stir well to also add beneficial oxygen for the yeast until the total amount is added. My personal opinion is that this practice can only help with achieving a strong and complete fermentation.

Another option to adding nutrients for the yeast is too add dried fruits to the must such as raisins, dates, and others. These will also add to the overall flavor profile of the finished mead. Make sure you only use dried fruits that do not have any added sorbate as a preservative as this might prevent the start of your fermentation. Chop the fruit into small pieces and they will have more surface area for the yeast.

Fermentation should begin within 12-24 hours and the smell will be very different from anything you are accustomed to when making wine. If you plan to dose your mead, stir the must daily and add ¼ of the total remaining amount of sulfite daily for the next 4 days. This stirring needs to be done with a sanitized long handled spoon or very carefully with your drill mounted stirrer, as too much agitation will result in a very sticky honey volcano!

The total fermentation time will vary depending on your ingredients and style you are making. When your fermentation slows down based on activity in the airlock and testing specific gravity (target 1.010-1.020), it is time to rack your mead to a secondary carboy. As with making wine, it is important to rack your mead to the secondary vessel before fermentation is totally complete so that any headspace in the carboy is filled with carbon dioxide to prevent against oxidation.

Let the fermentation complete and allow time for the fines to settle out and the mead to become clear. Fining agents are not typically used with mead but you could use one if you have a batch of mead that doesn’t appear to be clearing. The clearing process takes some time so don’t rush it and this settling process will also allow the mead to bulk age before bottling. The batches I have made settled and cleared quite nicely on their own but this process took about 4 months.

When your mead is clear, it is time to adjust sweetness, acidity, and sulfite level, if applicable, and then bottle. Follow the same techniques when adjusting and bottling as with making wine. I choose to add a low level of sulfite (30 ppm) when bottling my mead since I plan to age this for an extended period of time. Even if you choose to not add any extra sulfite at bottling, as some mead makers do, the mead will still have a small amount of sulfites, since sulphur dioxide is a natural by-product of yeast during fermentation. Based on my testing of the mead batches I made, the amount of free SO2 produced during fermentation was ~ 10 ppm.

Typical final gravities for different types of meads are as follows:

I have found making mead very interesting and based on my tasting at bottling a very rewarding process. For those interested in making mead, I hope this article has helped you understand the basic process. A great resource for more detailed techniques and information on making award-winning meads is the book “The Compleat Meadmaker” by Ken Schramn.