Tysen came up with this batch trying to experiment with the flavors of star anise and clove. And he added a little bit of saffron to see if he could impart any great color to the mead as part of the process. And he isn’t the only one to try saffron. Here’s a link to Superstition Meadery out in Prescott, AZ giving saffron a try.

The Ingredients

Honey: 3.5 lbs wildflower honey per gallon
Spices:
10 saffron stigmas per gallon
4 whole star anise per gallon
4 whole cloves per gallon
Nutrients:
1 tsp yeast nutrient per gallon
1/2 tsp yeast energizer per gallon
Yeast: Lalvin ICV D-47

The Process

Dissolve 3.5 lbs honey into water, to total one gallon for primary fermentation. Aerate must well.

Rehydrate D47 per packet instructions (pour yeast into 2 oz of 104-109 deg F water, wait 15 minutes and stir yeast slurry).  Add yeast to primary fermenter.

Add nutrients and energizer per a modified staggered nutrient addition process. Add half of the total nutrients at pitch. Add 1/4 of the nutrients at 24 hours, and the remaining 1/4 at 48 hours after pitch.

When primary fermentation has completed, rack to secondary. Add the spices to secondary, and age for ~40 days, or until spice has met your tastes. Note, Tysen loves spice, so if you want more subtle flavors, consider halving the spice additions are cutting the aging time on the spices.  Rack to tertiary for additional aging.

After a considerable time from when the mead was added to the tertiary for aging (3 months or more), bottle and drink!

 

Wondering how Tysen thought the concoction came out? Check out Episode 003 of the MeadMakr Podcast, where Tysen will sample this mead and provide his tasting notes while discussing the basic meadmaking equipment you will need to get started in the hobby.