Here is a recipe for this ancient, delicious beverage, from P.

Mead.

This recipe is simple and will make 24x 750ml bottles of medium sparkling mead it you should see plenty of it this October.

Ingredients

6kg of Honey

20 litres of clean water

1 packet of yeast

1 packet of yeast nutrient (talk to your local brew shop about the best yeasts and nutrients)

1 packet of brewing lozenges (or white sugar)

Equipment

1 beer brew kit.

25 litre sealed container (fomenter vat)

1 air lock

1 bottling hose

1 long spoon

1 thermometer

24 x 750ml bottles and caps

Procedure

Clean, clean, clean everything. You can use regular home brew products or just bleach and hot water just be sure to rinse every thing before use.

For those who are used to beer making just treat the honey as you would your beer malts.

Boil 4 litres of water add your honey to dissolve it and add the mixture to your vat.

Fill the vat with the other 16 litres of water and stir. Make sure the mix is dissolved.

Make sure the water temperature is less than 28 degrees Celsius. Add your nutrients then your yeast. Close your fomenter vat and put your airlock in place.

The mix will bubble away for at least 2 weeks depending on your ambient temperature. Cooler temperature will mean a longer fermentation time.

Wait for fermentation to stop at least for 2 days. Other recipes will ask you to decant your mead into another container at this stage to clarify the mix. But we want a little live yeast left to allow a fizz.

Clean your bottles.

Add 2 lozenges or a tea spoon of sugar to each bottle. Fill the bottle and cap.

Leave for 1 month before your first taste. The mead won’t be at its best until at least 3 months after bottling. It might be a little cloudy but no more than an ale would be.

It’s best to cut your teeth brewing beer before you try mead just to get used to the processes. Good Luck.