Mead Recipes by Jeanette Martin

Ginger Metheglin (one gallon)

Ingredients

• 3lb honey
• 4 oz chopped up fresh ginger root
• Juice of one lemon and three oranges
• 1tsp general purpose wine yeast
• 1 tsp of yeast nutrient.

Method

Get a really large pan and simmer the fresh ginger in 4 pints of water for half an hour to extract as much of the flavour as possible.

Remove from the heat.

Pour the honey into the hot gingery water and stir to dissolve.

Add the lemon and orange juice.

Using a funnel, pour the lot into a sterilized demi-john.

Top up with cold water.

Leave overnight.

Next day, add the yeast and nutrient and fit an airlock.

Leave for 2 months and then syphon off the clear mead from the sediment into a fresh sterilized demi-john.

You will have slightly less liquid in this new demi-john, so top up to the neck with cooled honey and water solution (half a pint of water with 3tbsp honey dissolved in it).

Leave for 3 months.

Syphon into a fresh demi-john again, but this time topping up to the neck with plain cold water

Leave to mature for six months.

Wild Flower Honey Mead (one gallon)

Ingredients

• 3lb runny wild-flower honey
• Juice of 2 lemons
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1tsp general purpose wine yeast
• 1 tsp of yeast nutrient.

Method

Boil a kettle or two of water (my kettle holds 3 pints, so 2 kettles-full are good for this).

Pour the honey into a sterilised bucket.

Pour the boiling water over the honey.

Stir until dissolved.

Add the juices of lemon and lime.

Using a funnel, pour the lot into a sterilised demi-john.

Top up with cold water.

Leave overnight.

Next day, add the yeast and nutrient and fit an airlock.

Leave for 2 months.

Syphon off the clear mead from the sediment into a fresh sterilised demi-john.

Top up to the neck with cooled honey and water solution (half a pint of water with 3tbsp honey dissolved in it).

Leave for 3 months.

Syphon into a fresh demijohn again, but this time, topping up to the neck with plain cold water. Mature (if you can stand it) for 6 months then enjoy.

With thanks to Harrogate and Ripon BKA

courtesy of EBEES