In Episode 004, we put into action everything we’ve brought up in our first three episodes (001, 002a, 002b, 003) and make a mead live for you during the recording. We take you through the steps to making your first mead batch. In our case, we are making a sweet traditional mead, but you can vary the honey content to make your mead on the drier if you’d like.
Author: MeadMakr
MeadMakr 003: Basic Mead Making Equipment
In Episode 003, MeadMakr tackles the important topic, basic meadmaking equipment. We present the equipment absolutely necessary to start in the hobby. We also cover the equipment required in the order that you will use it on your brew day, with some commentary on how and why you’ll need the equipment on your brew day. Last we summarize what you need for racking and bottling your mead after it has been made.
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AnCloFron: A Metheglin Recipe
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.
Mazer Cup 2015 Recap
Tysen and I recently returned from an epic weekend at the Mazer Cup. Here’s a quick breakdown of what happened, followed by some links to a few other recaps about the event.
For those who have not heard of the Mazer Cup, it is the largest mead only competition in the world. At 368 home and 327 commercial entrants this year, there is no other place in the world that provides the opportunity to taste and experience so many high quality meads (although the Kookoolan World Meadery Tasting Room comes close with over 150 commercial varieties).
Before the competition started, we were already hard at work. First order of business: the annual meeting of the American Mead Makers Association (AMMA).
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MeadMakr 002b: What is Mead? Part II
Episode 002b continues where we left off in Episode 002a, answering the question, “What is Mead?” In this episode, we tackle the historical types of mead, how they fit into the Beer Judge Certification Program mead specific categories, and how all of this relates to what you can buy in a liquor store. Hint: the definition of mead per the American Mead Makers Association differs greatly from the legal definition per the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.
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MeadMakr 002a: What is Mead?
In Episode 2, we answer the question, What is Mead? In reviewing the audio of this episode, we realized we went well beyond our target 20 minutes, so we have broken it out into Episode 002a and 002b. This episode, 002a, will cover mead’s history and the definition of a traditional mead.
We will post episode 002b in two weeks as our next installment, where we will further define the common categories of mead and discuss BJCP and TTB definitions.
Signing up for our feeds
Right now, we are still working on getting all the technical items up and running, to include fancy social buttons and the like. However, you can still subscribe to our feeds using the following links.
The General MeadMakr Feed
http://www.meadmakr.com/feed
The Podcast Only Feed
http://www.meadmakr.com/feed/podcast
You can add these to your favorite RSS or podcast applications, and they should sync to our latest updates.
How to Determine Alcohol by Volume
One of the common questions asked when I mention to friends that I make mead is how do you determine the alcohol by volume. And until I researched this post, I thought this was a relatively straightforward process. It only required a simple math equation, right? If you start with a known quantity of sugar dissolved in a must, measure the starting specific gravity, and compare to the finished gravity, the entire change can be attributed solely to the production of alcohol, right? Well, it turns out this logic is flawed, and the solution will vary depending on the source.
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MeadMakr 001: Introducing the MeadMakr Podcast
We made it! Episode 1 of the MeadMakr Podcast is now live! Thanks for checking it out.
You can download the podcast to your computer, or listen to it right here on the web. We will submit the podcast to iTunes soon, but we need a few more episodes completed before we can submit.
Right click here to download the mp3 directly.
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Wild Yeast Session Mead Recipe
One of the great things about mead is the variety of recipes that can be created, and the experimentation that results when fermenting with new yeast strains. After reading about the natural occurrence of wild yeast, I wanted to try my hand at capturing a yeast strain for brewing. So, after culturing wild yeast, I set out to make the following Wild Yeast Session Mead Recipe. Continue reading “Wild Yeast Session Mead Recipe”