Mark Green's Atheopaganism Blog

Brew this delicious sparkling mead now and have it ready for Yule!

Ingredients

Montrachet yeast (1 packet)

Yeast nutrient, 1 oz.

12 lbs. high-quality honey (thyme, thistle, or wildflower honeys are nice for this recipe)

Zest of four large or eight small oranges

5 cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces

12 cloves, broken

10 large slices fresh ginger, bruised with a hammer to release flavor

5 gallons water

Equipment

Large cooking kettle

Candy thermometer

Jar

Muslin

Rubber band

Food-grade five-gallon fermenting bucket

Brewing airlock

Racking (siphoning) cane

Glass carboy, 5 gallon

Champagne bottles

Caps and capping press

Method

1. Start the yeast 2 days ahead. Take a sterilized jar and add a tablespoon of honey. Pour on a ¼ pint to ½ pint of boiling water and stir to mix. When cooled to 20°C or below, add the yeast and yeast nutrient. Keep covered but not airtight, a muslin cover affixed with a rubber band or string is ideal.
2. Put the spices, zest and ginger into a large cooking kettle. Add about 2 gallons of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes, covered.
3. Put all but 2/3 cup of the honey into a food-grade fermenting bucket and strain the herb liquid through muslin cloth onto it whilst still hot. Stir the honey until dissolved. Top up with water to four gallons total.
4. Allow to cool to 20°C and then add the prepared yeast starter
5. A fierce fermentation should begin quickly. After a few days to a week the rate will have slowed and the must can be poured into a carboy and topped up to five gallons with cooled boiled water prior to fitting the air-lock.
6. Keep in a warm place until fermentation stops.
7. Move the carboy into a cool place and when ready to bottle, stir in 2/3 cup additional honey.
8. Rack off into champagne bottles (NOT wine bottles as shown, or they will explode), and cap.
9. Age for 3 months or longer in cool, dark place.