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I am curious as to why you recommend avoiding meads? I made a gallon batch (still fermenting though) and it was by far the easiest brew process I have come acr

by pyoung 12y ago

I am curious as to why you recommend avoiding meads? I made a gallon batch (still fermenting though) and it was by far the easiest brew process I have come across. Basically just heat up some water and dump honey in, then transfer to the carboy and add yeast. I think it took all of 20-30 minutes. Scaling up to a 5 gallon batch would add a trivial amount of time. Was it the taste? I tasted it when I transferred to secondary, and it was tolerable (I would compare it to a funky white wine). Or fermentation time (was told that it needs about six months total)? If time ever became a big constraint for me, I imagine I would just cut my brewing down to a few big beers a year (high gravity or other styles that call for long fermentation) which would keep the carboys full, but would also stretch out the time between brews. And then I would try and mix in some meads or all extract brews.

inscrutablemike 12y ago
Meads are possibly the easiest thing you can brew yourself, second only to things that start fermenting when you don't want them to. The problem is that straight honey mead is just not all that interesting to drink. It usually does have some of the residual honey character - but who wants to drink a pint of diluted honey? By the time you get around to tweaking recipes that turn out a product most people would like you're either back at the same level of effort or time you'd have to spend making a regular grape wine. I've made a handful of meads so far and I don't think I'm going to do another one unless I have a specific recipe in mind - maybe a metheglyn or a braggot.
- sitkack 12y ago
  And that it takes 18 months to get good.
- beala 12y ago
  I disagree. I think there's a lot more to mead than "diluted honey." Varietal honey produces different flavors, not to mention all the variations you can produce by adding juices and spices. It's also one of the few homebrews that can save you money. A good batch of homebrewed beer is often not much cheaper than a good store bought microbrew. Compare this to my local meadery which charges $22 for 750 ml of mead. I can brew 5 gallons (~19,000 ml) of good mead for around $60.

by pyoung 12y ago

inscrutablemike 12y ago

Meads are possibly the easiest thing you can brew yourself, second only to things that start fermenting when you don't want them to. The problem is that straight honey mead is just not all that interesting to drink. It usually does have some of the residual honey character - but who wants to drink a pint of diluted honey? By the time you get around to tweaking recipes that turn out a product most people would like you're either back at the same level of effort or time you'd have to spend making a regular grape wine. I've made a handful of meads so far and I don't think I'm going to do another one unless I have a specific recipe in mind - maybe a metheglyn or a braggot.

sitkack 12y ago
And that it takes 18 months to get good.
beala 12y ago
I disagree. I think there's a lot more to mead than "diluted honey." Varietal honey produces different flavors, not to mention all the variations you can produce by adding juices and spices. It's also one of the few homebrews that can save you money. A good batch of homebrewed beer is often not much cheaper than a good store bought microbrew. Compare this to my local meadery which charges $22 for 750 ml of mead. I can brew 5 gallons (~19,000 ml) of good mead for around $60.