Lord Rhys Chocolate Mead Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How much honey for 1 gallon of mead? ›

We'll go over it in further detail later, but we recommend using between two and three pounds of honey per gallon of mead — 2 pounds if you want it on the dryer side, and 3 pounds if you'd like it to be sweeter.

The ratio of water to honey depends on the type of mead you want to make. For a dry mead, the ratio is 4 parts water to 1 part honey; a sweet mead is 2 to 1. Kluz likes his mead sweet, so he typically uses 1 3/4 gallons of honey and tops it off with 3 1/4 gallons of water.

The fermenting process depends on various factors, like temperature, the amount of honey, the type of yeast, and the presence of additives and nutrients. Depending on how active the yeast is, it will take around 2 to 6 weeks.

Step 2: Making the mead

These instructions produce a light session mead at around 4%, this means we're going to start with 150g of honey per litre (so for 5 litres that's 750g). Add 5 litres of boiled water to the sterilised and rinsed bucket.

If you put in a bunch of honey and you get enough yeast (the right kind of yeast where it ferments all the way out) then you'll have a really dry, high alcohol champagne-like mead. You can use less honey to make a lower alcohol mead. Using less honey might make it a little bit more dry, though not necessarily.

The average mead recipe calls for 3 to 3.5 pounds of honey per gallon of finished mead, depending on the sugar content of the honey. This makes strong mead in the range of 14 percent alcohol.

The reason for mead no longer being popular comes down to simple economics. It's just more expensive to produce compared to beer or wine. As with many things in life, things that are easier are more likely to happen. Perhaps some day we'll see a mead renaissance.

So many mead makers don't bother boiling at all, preferring instead to simply dilute their honey with warm water. If you do boil, do so only briefly.

Many manufacturers of high-quality mead prefer to use orange blossom honey because it imparts a refreshing citrus flavor to the mead. It's also a great base product which can be experimented with endlessly by adding some distinct subtle flavors to it.

My short answer to the questions is: Anywhere from one week to five years, for drinking. So with a really basic, ancient style mead, you can start sipping on it whenever. If you want to really fully ferment a high-alcohol mead and bottle it, those usually benefit from time in the bottle.

Should you stir mead while fermenting? ›

Stirring twice a day is generally sufficient (if you have a fast fermentation, you might want to stir three or four times a day).

Traditional meads usually require six months to 2 years for the flavors to mellow and smooth and any off flavors to diminish. Melomels or fruit meads can take six months to 5 years for the flavors to fully integrate and the tannins and acids to mellow. Metheglin or spiced meads are quicker, six months to a year.

Lalvin D-47

This white wine yeast is the primary choice for many mead makers. It ferments at a moderate to fast pace with little foaming and is good for medium to dry meads. It tends to accentuate the honey characteristics so it is a good choice for traditional varietal mead.

The ratio ranges from 1 lb. honey per gallon of water for a very light "soft-drink" to 5 lbs. per gallon for a sweet dessert wine. The less honey, the lighter the mead, and the quicker it can be made.

One of the world's oldest alcoholic concoctions, mead is a combination of fermented water and honey. Spices, fruits, grains, and hops can be added to create diverse flavors. Viking mead would be likely more diluted (4-8% Alc), made with more water than honey, due to the resources available to Vikings.

A good starting point with most fruits is about 3 pounds of fruit per gallon of mead, though I have been known to use 5 or even 6 pounds of fruit. Fruit blends can produce some great-tasting meads.

1lb of honey in 1 gallon of mist should give you roughly 1.035 SG which of it ferments dry will give you 4.5-5% So a basic mead if you want 10%ish do 2lbs of honey then usually water to one gallon. Mix very well to ensure it's dissolved.

What type of honey should I use? The key is to use raw or unpasteurized honey to get the best and most unique flavors for your mead. Commercially processed honey often found in the grocery stores is pasteurized and ultrafiltered.