The old time-tested mead recipe

Mead is an alcoholic drink that is obtained by the natural fermentation of honey. The finished natural product is popular because it has a delicate aroma and unusual taste, which is remembered for a long time after the first sip. For its preparation, it is recommended to stock up on optimism and carefully study the mead recipe, production technology and storage rules for an alcoholic drink.

Features of making an alcoholic drink

The most interesting thing is that the process of making mead is simple, and the result pleasantly surprises with its refinement and freshness. To make a homemade drink that is endowed with a large number of beneficial properties for the human body and has a sweet taste with tart notes, you need to choose the right ingredients and prepare containers for its preparation.

Selection of ingredients

The quality of the finished product depends on the type of honey. It is recommended to use natural buckwheat, acacia or lime honey. It should not foam and be runny.

If the honey is solid and crystallizes, this confirms its naturalness.

In the manufacture of mead, you can use both dry and brewed, culinary yeast. It is not advisable to prepare a drink in hard, disinfected, distilled water. Spring water is considered the best option.

The taste of the drink can be varied with different herbs, spices, fruits. It all depends on taste and desire to experiment.

Preparation of containers

Dishes, which should be perfectly clean and completely dry, are considered important in the technology of making mead.

It is forbidden to use metal, aluminum, copper containers at any stage, in order to avoid oxidation, which can impart bitterness to the product.

When choosing utensils and equipment, give preference to devices made of enamel, glass, wood, stainless steel.

A selection of the best mead recipes

There are several successful mead recipes, each of which is characterized by its own taste, color, strength. Therefore, before cooking, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the proposed methods and choose a more suitable option for yourself.

Homemade mead according to an old recipe

This old-fashioned mead recipe doesn't take too much effort. It is important to be patient and strictly adhere to the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 300 g of honey;
• 2 liters of water;
• 1 tsp dry yeast;
• 5 g hop cones;
• spices (cinnamon, nutmeg).

To make a strong mead at home, the following procedure is required:

1. Take a saucepan and, filling it with water, wait for it to boil. Add honey to boiling water, stirring occasionally with a spoon. After 5 minutes of boiling the composition, a foam forms on the surface, which should be carefully removed.
2. After removing the foam, add spices and hops, which will give the drink an interesting taste and a light spicy note. Stir everything and remove the container from the heat.
3. Cool the composition to 25-30 ° C and combine with diluted yeast. Send the pan to an unlit room, the temperature of which is 25 ° C, after tying it with gauze cloth, in order to avoid the penetration of various insects into the wort. After 2 days, foam will appear on the surface of the composition, and the hiss will begin.Transfer the contents of the pan to a fermentation vessel, place a water seal or a glove pierced with a needle on the neck to release carbon dioxide.
4. After 5-6 days, the fermentation process will end. The signal will be a deflated glove or the termination of the water seal and blowing bubbles.
5. Pour the honey drink into a separate container, while the sediment should remain at the bottom, and filter through a gauze cloth.
6. Fill bottles with ready-made mead, tightly seal and send to the cold. Let it brew for 3-5 days and you can take a sample

Strength of the finished drink 7-10%.

Classic Yeast-Free Mead Recipe

The tricky part of this mead recipe is that you need to find a simple and healthy alternative to yeast, since when honey is combined with water, the fermentation process will not start. You can resort to two options: use berries such as cherries as a catalyst, raspberries, strawberries or add raisins.

Drink with raisins

A yeast-free mead recipe at home includes the following set of ingredients:

• 80 g of honey;
• 40 g raisins;
• 1 liter of boiled water.

Sequencing:

1. Dissolve honey in water, add raisins, after kneading it with a fork.
2. Cover the container with the resulting composition using gauze cloth and send it to heat.
3. Fermentation will not be long in coming, its first signs will appear on the second day.
4. Strain the resulting mash and pour into a container with tight lids.
5. Place the purified mead in a room with a cool temperature for maturation.
6. After 3-4 months, you can start tasting.

This simple recipe creates a light, refreshing drink with a slight sourness.

It is not recommended to wash the raisins, as there are live microorganisms on its surface - natural yeast, which provide fermentation.

No-boil cherry mead recipe

A rich, fruity alcoholic beverage infused with berries has always been popular. In addition, cherries in this recipe act as a fermentation catalyst.

Grocery list:

• 1 kg of honey;
• 2 g cherries;
• 2 liters of water.

Stages of producing mead at home:

1. Remove the pits and chop the cherries using a wooden pestle.
2. Boil water, cool and combine with honey, mix well.
3. Send prepared cherries to the resulting composition. Close the container with the contents with a water seal. Leave to ferment for 7-8 days at a temperature of + 22 ° C, shaking constantly.
4. Strain the pulp, pour the drink into a glass bottle, put on a glove on the neck and put it in a dark room for maturation.
5. After 3-4 months, filter and bottle the honey drink.

The strength of the alcoholic product is 5-6%.

Storage term and conditions

It is necessary not only to know how to make mead, but also how to store an alcoholic drink so that it does not lose its properties for a long time.

To do this, it is important to comply with several requirements:

1. Store mead in glass containers - bottles, jars, bottles.
2. Keep at a temperature of 5-10 ° C, out of direct sunlight.
3. Provided the product is located in the refrigerator, cellar, basement, the shelf life will be more than 5 years.
4. Drink the drink within 1 month after opening the bottle.

Sweet mead with a harmonious taste and aromatic notes will delight you with perfect naturalness and will definitely become an adored drink for the whole family.

Mead video recipe