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Brew Talk: Mead (Melomel)





It has been a while since I have home brewed. After moving to North Carolina, time just got away from me. Then I bought a keggerator and my life was filled with great  kegs of beer I could easily buy without having to waste a half day making my brew.

Then a GoRuck Tough buddy donated his entire homebrew supplies to me on top of my mountain of gear I had to make all grain. I couldn't turn it down, and I sure wasn't about to just let it go to waste. So, after a major garage renovation, I had room to store my gear and I finally decided to dust off my old recipes and make something new.

This batch will be an experiment as I am changing my tried and true recipe to something a little lighter and should have a simpler finish. Most of my melomels have a silky finish and very high alcohol volume. This should be around the right alcohol volume and hopefully has the lighter, fresher finish.

I have made many different versions of mead. My preference of course is always to the sweater end. My first batch came from a simple 1 gallon fermenter, honey, raisens, and a standard beer yeast. It was good, but not what I liked.

My secret is to melomel is letting it ferment for a longer time, then re-rack the memomel usually twice. Then finish with stopping the fermentation and bottle it. I like the more expensive bottles with swivel caps because they look better and provide a way for excess CO2 to escape when the pressure is too great while still keeping closed. I have had a case or two of beer explode on me and boy was that a mess.

Once bottled, I have a hard time waiting to drink it. I do just like it it fresh. However, if patience wins out, I can let it sit for several months and I am granted with a delightful refreshment.

So, if you haven't had a chance to brew something on your own, it isn't as hard as you think. Just get out there and try a few recipes. Even failures can be pretty good!

Till next time, see you in the list!
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