Make Mead Like a Viking - Perry County 4-HMake Mead Like a Viking Make natural, wild‐fermented...

Make Mead Like a Viking

Make natural, wild‐fermented honey booze!

WHAT IS MEAD?

Honey + water + yeast = MEAD!Myriad flavoring possibilities.A truly ancient beverage.

Why not brew like a Viking?

…AND WHY MAKE IT LIKE A VIKING?

Large role in Norse mythology. 

MEAD CAN SAVE THE WORLD

Probiotic benefits of mead made with wild yeast and natural ingredients All manner of herbs and other ingredients can impart significant health benefits Don’t be afraid to leave out the chemicalsSterilization and sanitization: myths and fearsOne Step no‐rinse cleanser

Ancient cultures looked at mead as a mystical, healing gift from the gods

Iodophor: still a chemical but better than bleach

To truly brew like a Viking, mead‐making should be approached holistically and organically

Hydrogen peroxide is a natural alternative

DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE BEES

Make mead with low to no heat to maximize the benefits of honey.Keep your own bees or use honey from local, naturally treated hives.

Local, raw and unfiltered honey. Good for you. Good for the bees. 

Medieval Skep Hive

Langstroth Hive Top Bar Hive Klotzbeute Hive

GET ON WITH IT!

FERMENTATION VESSELS & BREWING EQUIPMENT

Start with 1‐gallon batches

Move up to 5‐gallon batches

Go crazy!

INGREDIENTS FOR MEAD & TYPES OF MEAD

Fruit mead (melomel)

Mead with herbs and spices (metheglin / metheglyn)

Mead with edible flowers (mead with edible flowers)

Vegetables, mushrooms, etc.

Grain‐based meads (bragot / honey beer)

Mead can range from dry, to semi‐sweet, to sweetShow mead: basic honey‐water‐yeast mead

jz1

Slide 7

jz1 Split into two slides. For first, talk about honey, water, yeast, nutrients, tannins, etc.

For second, talk about types of mead. Add photos for both. JeremeZ, 1/18/2017

FERMENTATION & FLAVOR ENHANCERS

Small amounts of tannins, acids and nutrients help achieve proper body and acid balance

Be kind to your mead and it will be kind to youHoney, water and yeast need a bit of help 

Tannins: buy in powdered form or use natural substances such as oak leaves, black tea or raisins Acids: powdered form or bits of citrus juiceNutrients: yeast need nutrition for a healthy fermentation and to avoid off flavorsPurchase yeast nutrients such as Fermaid K (or O), or add high‐nutrient ingredients such as fresh or dried fruit

YEAST: AN INCREDIBLY SIMPLE COMPLEX SUBJECT

Wild yeast is your friend, but so is commercial yeast Wine yeast: Lalvin D‐47, Lalvin EC‐1118, Lalvin K1‐V1116, Red Star Premier Blanc Dry Champagne Yeast

The oldest domesticated living organism is not a horse or a chicken, nor is it corn or wheat. It is a wild single-celled, asexual creature capable of preserving food, making bread rise, and fermenting drinks. It is yeast.

—Amy Stewart, The Drunken Botanist

Bread yeast or brewer’s yeast is acceptable for some meads

WILD YEAST WRANGLING

RACKING & FILTERING

BOTTLING & AGING

ENJOYING YOUR MEAD

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