Mead

Mead is a fermented alcoholic beverage made of honey, water, and yeast. It is sometimes known as "honey wine" (for obvious reasons) and is generally pronounced "meed" (IPA: /miːd/), though South Africans usually pronounce it "med", to rhyme with "red" (IPA: /mɛd/). Download high resolution version (516x720, 44 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (516x720, 44 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... In its strictest sense, fermentation (formerly called zymnosis) is the energy-yielding anaerobic metabolic breakdown of a nutrient molecule, such as glucose, without net oxidation. ... Alcoholic beverages are drinks containing ethanol. ... Honey honey comb A capped frame of honeycomb Honey is a sweet and viscous fluid produced by bees and other insects from the nectar of flowers. ... Water (from the Anglo-Saxon and Low German wæter) is a colourless, tasteless, and odourless substance that is essential to all known forms of life and is the most universal solvent. ... Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a yeast used in both baking and brewing. ... A glass of red wine This article is about the beverage. ... Symbols of the International Phonetic Alphabet. ...

Mead was a favorite tipple of the Norse gods and heroes, e.g. in Valhalla, and the mead of Suttung, made from the blood of Kvasir, was the source of wisdom and poetry. The nectar and ambrosia of the Greek gods were probably draughts of fermented honey (see those articles and the history section below). Norse gods Divided between the Æsir and the Vanir, and sometimes including Jotun, the dividing line between these groups is less than clear. ... In Nordic mythology, Valhalla (Hall of the slain) is Odins hall, the home for those slain gloriously in battle, who are welcomed by Bragi and escorted to Valhalla by the Valkyries. ... In Norse mythology, Suttung was a Jotun, son of Gilling, who (along with Suttungs mother) had been murdered by Fjalar and Galar. ... In Norse mythology, Kvasir was created from the saliva of all the gods, making him the wisest of the Vanir. ... In Greek mythology, nectar and ambrosia are the food of the gods. ... In ancient mythology, Ambrosia (Greek ) is sometimes the food, sometimes the drink, of the gods. ... Greek mythological characters (Most of the gods and goddesses had Roman equivalents. ...

A mead that also contains spices (like cloves, cinnamon or nutmeg) or herbs (such as oregano or even lavender or chamomile) is called metheglin. The etymon of this word is the Welsh word meddyglyn, meaning "medicinal liquor", as healing herbs were often stored as metheglin so they would be available over the winter (as well as making them much easier to swallow). Slavic miod/med, which means "honey", derives from the same Proto-Indo-European root. External links Wikibooks Cookbook has more about this subject: Spice Food Bacteria-Spice Survey Shows Why Some Cultures Like It Hot Citat: ...Garlic, onion, allspice and oregano, for example, were found to be the best all-around bacteria killers (they kill everything). ... This article is about spices, the word clove is also used to describe a segment of a head of garlic and a clove hitch is a useful kind of knot. ... Binomial name Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blume Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum, synonym ) is a small evergreen tree 10-15 m tall, belonging to the family Lauraceae, and a spice obtained from the inner bark of this species. ... Species About 100 species, including: Myristica argentea Myristica fragrans Myristica malabarica The nutmegs Myristica are a genus of evergreen trees indigenous to tropical southeast Asia and Australasia. ... A herb (pronounced urb in American English and hurb in British English) is a plant grown for culinary or medicinal value. ... Binomial name Origanum vulgare Oregano (Origanum vulgare) is a spicy, Mediterranean, perennial herb, particularly common in Greek and Italian cuisines. ... Species About 25-30, including: Lavandula angustifolia Lavandula canariensis Lavandula dentata Lavandula lanata Lavandula latifolia Lavandula multifida Lavandula pinnata Lavandula stoechas Lavandula viridis The lavenders Lavandula are a genus of about 25-30 species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae, native from the Mediterranean region south to tropical... The name Chamomile or Camomile is ambiguous and can refer to several distinct species. ... Welsh redirects here, and this article describes the Welsh language. ... Proto-Indo-European Indo-European studies The Proto-Indo-Europeans are the hypothetical speakers of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language, a prehistoric people of the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age. ...

A mead that contains fruit (such as strawberry, blackcurrant or even rose-hips) is called melomel and was also used as a delicious way to "store" summer produce for the winter. Species see text The strawberry (Fragaria) is a genus of plants in the Family Rosaceae (Rose Family), and the fruit of these plants. ... Binomial name Ribes nigrum L. The blackcurrant is a temperate shrub which produces small edible berries with a high natural vitamin C content, which are very dark purple/blue in colour—almost black—hence the name. ... Species About 100, see text References:   U. of Illinois 2002-05-29 A rose is a flowering shrub of the genus Rosa and the flower of this shrub. ...

Mulled mead is a popular winter holiday drink, where mead is warmed (traditionally by having a hot poker plunged into it) and flavoured with spices.

Hippocras is spiced grape wine sweetened with honey. A grape-based wine with added honey is called a pyment. Species Vitis acerifolia Vitis aestivalis Vitis amurensis Vitis arizonica Vitis x bourquina Vitis californica Vitis x champinii Vitis cinerea Vitis x doaniana Vitis girdiana Vitis labrusca Vitis x labruscana Vitis monticola Vitis mustangensis Vitis x novae-angliae Vitis palmata Vitis riparia Vitis rotundifolia Vitis rupestris Vitis shuttleworthii Vitis tiliifolia Vitis...

Cyser is made with apple juice and honey; braggot or bracket is made with malted barley and honey.

History of mead

In Crete, fermented honey was an entheogen long before the introduction of wine, and bees remained sacred to Demeter. Mead was the drink of the Age of Gold, and the word for drunk in classical Greek remained "honey-intoxicated." (Kerenyi 1976 pp 35ff) This entry covers entheogens in the strict sense of the word (i. ... Dêmêtêr (or Demetra) (DEH-MEH-ter) (mother-goddess or perhaps distribution-mother) is the Greek goddess of agriculture, the pure nourisher of youth and the green earth, the health-giving cycle of life and death, and preserver of marriage and the sacred law. ...

Mead was very popular in Northern Europe where grapes could not be grown, but it faded in popularity once wine imports became economical. Mead was especially popular with the Slavs and was called in Polish miód (pronounced [m^jut]), meaning honey. Mead was a popular drink among the Polish szlachta. During the Crusades Polish prince Leszek the White explained to the pope that Polish knights couldn't participate in the crusades because there is no mead in Palestine. World map showing location of Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... The Slavic peoples are the most numerous ethnic and linguistic body of peoples in Europe. ... Szlachta ( pronounced: [ʃlaxta]) was the noble class in Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ( Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). ... This article is about historical Crusades . ... Leszek Biały Leszek the White (Pol. ... The Pope is the Catholic Bishop and patriarch of Rome, and head of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches. ... The term Palestine may refer to: Palestine: A geographical region in the Middle East, centered on Jerusalem. ...

In Finland a sweet mead called Sima (cognate with zymurgy), is still an essential seasonal brew connected with the Finnish Vappu festival. It is usually spiced by adding both the flesh and rind of a lemon. During secondary fermentation raisins are added to control the amount of sugars and to act as an indicator of readiness for consumption — they will rise to the top of the bottle when the drink is ready. The Brewer, designed and engraved, in the Sixteenth. ... Walpurgis Night (Valborgsmässoafton in Swedish, Vappu in Finnish, Volbriöö in Estonian, Valpurģu nakts or Valpurģi in Latvian, Walpurgisnacht in German) is a holiday celebrated on April 30, in Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Germany. ... Binomial name Citrus X limon {{{author}}} Lemons are the citrus fruit from the tree Citrus X limon. ... Raisins are dried grapes. ...

Ethiopian mead is called "tej" and is usually home-made; it is flavored with the powdered leaves and bark of "gesho", a hops-like bittering agent which is a species of buckthorn. A sweeter, less-alcoholic version called "berz", aged for a shorter time, is also made. The traditional vessel for drinking tej is a rounded vase-shaped container called a "berele". (Hops redirects here. ... Human taste sensory organs, called taste buds or gustatory calyculi, and concentrated on the upper surface of the tongue, appear to be receptive to relatively few chemical species as tastes. ... Species See text The Buckthorns Rhamnus are a genus (or two genera, if Frangula is treated as distinct) of about 100 species of shrubs or small trees from 1-10 m tall (rarely to 15 m), in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae. ...

Mead is probably also the origin of the word honeymoon as the father of the bride was said to give as a dowry a month's supply of the liquor. Mead is mentioned in many old north Anglo-Saxon stories, including Beowulf. A honeymoon is the traditional trip taken by newlyweds to celebrate their marriage, and presumably, consummate it. ... The Anglo-Saxons refers collectively to the groups of Germanic tribes who achieved dominance in southern Britain from the mid-5th century, forming the basis for the modern English nation. ... The first page of Beowulf This article describes Beowulf, the epic poem. ...

Mead can have a wide range of flavors, depending on the source of the honey, additives - called adjuncts (including fruit and spices), yeast employed during fermentation, and aging procedure. Mead can be difficult to find commercially, though some producers have been successful marketing it.

Many meads retain some measure of the sweetness of the original honey, and some can even be considered as dessert wines. Drier meads are also available, and some producers offer sparkling meads, which (like champagne) can make for a delightful celebratory toast. The word Champagne can have one of several meanings when stated alone. ...

How to make mead

Gather your equipment

You will need a fermentation vessel, preferably a glass carboy, an airlock and a rubber bung. Check with a local home brew supply store for these things. You will also need honey, water (filtered is best), and yeast. Fruit or spices are optional. A carboy is a glass vessel used in fermenting wine, mead and sometimes beer. ... An airlock is a device which permits the passage of objects, people, etc between a pressure vessel and its surrounding space while minimising the change of pressure in the vessel. ... A bung is an apparatus used to seal a container, such as a bottle, tube or barrel. ... Honey honey comb A capped frame of honeycomb Honey is a sweet and viscous fluid produced by bees and other insects from the nectar of flowers. ... Water (from the Anglo-Saxon and Low German wæter) is a colourless, tasteless, and odourless substance that is essential to all known forms of life and is the most universal solvent. ... Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a yeast used in both baking and brewing. ...

Sanitize all of your equipment (potassium metabisulphite is a common sanitizing agent, make sure to remove all traces of this chemical; if you are allergic to sulphites then use other sanitizing methods) and wash your hands before you begin.

Starter recipe:

3 pounds of honey per gallon (U.S.). (So if you have a 5 gallon (U.S.) carboy, use 15 pounds of honey.) 1 pound of raisins.(optional) 1 packet of dry winemaker's yeast EC1118 or similar as well as yeast nutrient. Honey honey comb A capped frame of honeycomb Honey is a sweet and viscous fluid produced by bees and other insects from the nectar of flowers. ... Raisins are dried grapes. ... Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a yeast used in both baking and brewing. ...

(n.b.: some vintners prefer to create a starter culture by preparing a mixture of one cup of room temperature sanitized fruit juice and the freeze dried winemaking yeast and placing it into a smaller one quart sanitized container fitted with a rubber stopper and airlock for a day or two until the mixture is bubbling. Keep this container at room temperature out of direct sunlight. This starter culture will cause the fermentation below to begin with vigor and may prevent your mead from failing to ferment.)

Fill a large pot half way with water and place it on the stove. As you heat the water, slowly add the honey. Heating will help dissolve the honey. There is a common disagreement among mead makers as to whether you should boil the honey or not; either way will work fine. Boiling will alter the flavor, but will enhance the clarity of the finished mead. As the mead is heated over medium heat, it will just start to boil after you have cleared the impurities, as pure liquids boil at a lower temperature.

After a time of heating the honey (which helps it dissolve and can also pasteurize it) cool the mixture to between (170°F/76°C) and (140°F/60°C) and add the raisins. Continue to cool, then transfer the honey/water to the carboy. Allow to cool to room temperature (68°F/20°C). Rehydrate the yeast according to supplier's directions, then add to honey/water mixture (must). Put on the airlock and wait. Place the carboy in a cool (68°F/20°C), dark place. In a few hours (possibly a day) your airlock should start to allow bubbles to escape. This is waste carbon dioxide (CO₂) and shows that the yeast is processing the sugar into alcohol. You may see the raisins rise to the surface of the fermenting mixture. This is normal. Do not interfere unless they block the airlock, in which case you will have to rack. Do not stir or agitate the fermenting mixture, as this may cause the liquid to rise up and spill out of the airlock. Pasteurization is the process of heating food for the purpose of killing harmful organisms such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa, molds, and yeasts. ... A carboy is a glass vessel used in fermenting wine, mead and sometimes beer. ... Must is the juice of freshly pressed grapes, prior to fermentation into wine. ... An airlock is a device which permits the passage of objects, people, etc between a pressure vessel and its surrounding space while minimising the change of pressure in the vessel. ... Carbon dioxide is an atmospheric gas composed of one carbon and two oxygen atoms. ... A sugar is a form of carbohydrate; the most commonly used sugar is a white crystalline solid, sucrose; used to alter the flavor and properties (mouthfeel, preservation, texture) of beverages and food. ... In general usage, alcohol (from Arabic al-khwl الكحول, or al-ghawl الغول) refers almost always to ethanol, also known as grain alcohol, and often to any beverage that contains ethanol (see alcoholic beverage). ... Rack may refer to any of the following: The rack is a torture device. ...

After a two to three week period you might want to rack your mead into a second sanitized (NB: an airlock is not necessary during primary (aerobic) fermentation) carboy. This racking will clear out the lees and allow your mead to clear faster. You will need a sanitized tube to siphon the mead into the second carboy, fill it with sterile water - do not suck on it. Avoid splashing the mead as it fills the carboy, as excess oxygen at this point may cause an unpleasant taste in the final product. Place an airlock on the second carboy. It is imperative that sterile conditions be maintained while the carboys are open to avoid infection (keep your fingers out!). Continue to rack every two weeks until all signs of fermentation have stopped (usually when the airlock doesn't produce any bubbles for a long period of time, ie: over 30 seconds between bubbles) and your mead has cleared (if you can read a newspaper through the carboy then it is clear). Rack may refer to any of the following: The rack is a torture device. ... Lees is the detritous of fermentation, consisting of dead yeast, fruit debris and schmutz. ... An airlock is a device which permits the passage of objects, people, etc between a pressure vessel and its surrounding space while minimising the change of pressure in the vessel. ... A carboy is a glass vessel used in fermenting wine, mead and sometimes beer. ... In its strictest sense, fermentation (formerly called zymnosis) is the energy-yielding anaerobic metabolic breakdown of a nutrient molecule, such as glucose, without net oxidation. ...

Then it is time to bottle your mead. Again, you will use sanitized bottles, and use airtight caps, or quality corks to seal the bottles. Be SURE that fermentation is complete, lest pressure build up inside your sealed bottles and cause them to explode. Allow your mead to age for at least 6 months in the bottle before drinking. Reusable glass milk bottles A bottle is a small container with a neck that is narrower than the body and a mouth. ...

Reference

• Kerenyi, Karl, Dionysus: Archetypal Image of Indestructible Life, 1976.