Mixmead

I've had a mead going for quite a while now - started on September 6th, 2008 - which I just racked for a second time. Its proving to be a troublesome brew, perhaps because I never had a clear vision of what it was supposed to be. I have been calling it the "Mixmead" since its a hodgepodge of all sorts of honey that I was able to get in 2008. Here's the exact recipe:

1. 1.5 lbs Late Summer Wildflower Honey (Talking Oak Farm, WI)


2. 3 lbs Northern Brewer Orange Blossom Honey (CA)


3. 3 lbs Skalko's Honey Bee Farm Honey (Esko, MN)


4. 3 lbs Duluth Whole Foods Coops Honey (God Knows Where, USA)


5. 1 cup Northern Brewer's Gold Malt Extract (for protein, rather than that nasty chemical mead nutrient)


6. 1 handful o'hops from Grant Anderson (thank you Grant!)


7. Lalvin EC-1118 Sabayanus Champagne yeast (Champagne yeast:beer yeast::SWAT team:suburban cop)

I racked this on November 16th, 2008, and added 1/2 cup of Hungarian Adro Forest Honey (fantastic stuff). Tasted too sweet then, despite the commando-like efforts of the champagne yeast.


This second racking, I added a tiny bit (3/16 cup) of brown sugar and 2 heavily steeped tea bags of some rather bitter Ceylon tea. I hope the tea will cut the excessive sweetness a bit (this is a pretty traditional thing to add to meads).


If all goes well, this will be bottled in a month.