Months ago I decided to brew my first batch of mead. I took the steps and recipe from Hugh - I've edited the recipe to show what I did and how it worked.

  1. Sterilize
  2. Boil then cool 2 litres of tap water and 0.5 litres of pure apricot juice
  3. Pitch the honey - I used 1,875 grams of set honey and I pitched at around 80 degrees c
  4. Stir honey until dissolved
  5. Cool the mix to 20 degrees
  6. Whilst the honey/water mix is cooling take some out and cool it down more quickly then use this smaller batch as a place to pitch your yeast - shake it to get plenty of air in then add a full sachet of wine yeast and a teaspoon of Young's yeast nutrient
  7. Pour the mead into a demijohn and shake
  8. Add the yeast mix
  9. Add 24 raisins and some cinnamon
  10. Put an airlock filled with vodka on top and move to a warm dark place
  11.  After 2 days the airlock was bubbling at a rate of once every 6 seconds
  12. After 4 days add another teaspoon of yeast nutrient
  13. Taste after around 1 month when the mead starts to clear and the bubbles slow
  14. Bottle into sterilised bottles after 4 months

Doing this I did a lot of research into whether set honey could make mead as the River Cottage site clearly stated not to use set honey. I couldn't find anything so I went for it. I also elected not to boil the honey - I didn't want to kill all the good stuff off.

For the future I'd like to experiment with some of the following flavours:

  • Chilli & Vanilla Pods
  • Chocolate & Cherry Juice
  • Orange, Star Anise & Nutmeg

OG:20140322_130129

FG: 1.038

Taste Test: There is no question that this worked. Like 100% worked. I personally think that it tastes nicer than the gold-standard of meads, Lindisfarne Mead! I've shared with a few people and even Ruth was seen voluntarily drinking it!! I'm calling this one a winner and I'm definitely going to rebrew.