Mead beer wine ?

[drewan]

Capping or corking has to do with the pressures it'll be under. If you make it sparkling it has to handle the pressure.
If this is where you got the beer vs wine question, it's the same stuff, just carbonated or non carbonated. And that is a function of the fermenting/bottling process. I'll leave it to others more knowledgeable to explain the process.

no I just didn't know what it really was beer/wine since you see poured in big ass mugs in the movies lol I know it's sad .

[SmokinLee]

Not sure yet, My son sent the info to me and was planning on showing up. I'll let you know.

Lee, you going? I was toying with the idea....

The folks at Capt n Cork are great!

[drewan]

I was looking a extracts can you use juice or does it have to be juice with no additives like fresh pressed or juiced grapes for example? I would like to make a Blueberry style or a combo of bb strawbery.

[Richtee]

You do NOT want any preservatives, as their function is to prevent exactly what you want to happen...fermentation.

[drewan]

You do NOT want any preservatives, as their function is to prevent exactly what you want to happen...fermentation.

Duh ... didn't even think of that big time counter productive lol.
drewan

[Blue]

You tube making mead

There are a few 10 minute vids on the process.

Here is a recommended link as well:
[URL="http://www.stormthecastle.com/mead/"]

[drewan]

thanks blue I've been watching some and it's got my motor reven lol

[Meat Hunter]

Only made a few batches of mead over the years, the last being a Raspberry mead that I had conditioning for close to 2 years then I broke the carboy

Making mead is more akin to making wine than it is beer.
It is NOT hard to make at all. Like any kind of brewing, you want all your equipment "CLEAN". The cost of brewing beer, wine or mead is the initial equipment needed. Other than that, it's just a matter of purchasing the ingredients.

Check out Northern Brewer. Good reputation.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/c...result/?q=mead

Mead can of course be just made from honey with no other flavors added. In fact, depending on what honey is used, your mead can vary widely in tastes.
I think it was the very first mead I ever made had a nice overtone of cherry to it as the honey was harvested from bees that frequented a cherry grove. Honey will take on the flavors of the flowers/plants that the bees visit.
I once had a sage mead. Talk about a weird taste.
You can get a wide range of fruit additives online or a good brew shop to make different flavors.

Things you will need are.

2 Carboys. This can be either glass (preferred) or plastic. I say preferred because unlike plastic, the glass will not scratch when cleaned like plastic one will. And they will. Those micro scratches in plastic can be a great breeding ground for bacteria if not properly cleaned.
Plastic on the other had is lighter and you don't have to worry about breaking it if you set it down to hard on a tile floor. Not that I know anything about that
Fermentation can also be done in food grade 5 gallon pails, but watching it do its thing is pretty cool in a nice clear carboy.

Racking cane for transferring liquids. Some food grade tubing about 5 feet or so.

Some wine bottles. Check craigslist. Or start saving any that you have from store bought wine or you can buy them at a homebrew store.

Corks and a corker. Or if you think you will get in to brewing beer as well, you can get a capper.

Hydrometer and cylinder for taking readings.

Airlock.

Some sort of thermometer. They make ones that peel and stick to the side of the carboy.

A carboy brush and a cleaning solution. One-step is a cleaner that I use.

Bottle filler.

There are probably a few other things on there but these are the gist of em.

Best thing to do is find a online forum and read up on it. Just like the folks here, the folks on a brewing forum will be more than happy to help out

[eDJ]

Re:

I've done a bunch of it growing up. Learned it from grandad. (we're of French & German heritage)

First thing I'd suggest is to visit your Public Library and see what books on home brewing that they may have.

Second, ask around and see if there are any home brewing clubs in your area.

Yahoo has numerous home brewing groups you can join if you have a yahoo email address to log in with.

Check out some of the You Tube video's on home brewing too.

THE MAIN THING IS KEEPING EVERYTHING CLEAN AND STERILE !

NEVER TOUCH YOUR LIPS TO ANYTHING YOU'RE MAKING.....IT WILL TURN
TO VINEGAR ON YOU IF YOU DO. Why ? Cause you mouth contains some
powerful bacteria and the bacteria will cause your brew to go sour....as in vinegar. The air around you is also full of bacteria so you want to work in a cool area where there isn't much of a breeze that will stir the airborne bacteria. Everything you use should be washed in a mix of Chlorine Bleach
and water.

You will want to use fresh beer or wine yeast. Bread baking yeast will make your brew taste like bread.

There are things to use with your yeast like yeast energizer or yeast starter. So when you go to pitch your yeast to the wort (if you're making beer) then it will be a strong culture that can go to work instantly.

When making beer, consider making it with just malt, hops, water, and yeast. If you use sugar it will likely have a cider taste to it. The dark beers are easier to learn to start with. You may use a can of liquid malt extract and a couple pounds of dark dried malt extract with it instead of sugar.

The lighter beers will often taste a bit like cider. You'll likely want to start with cans of extract and dry malt powder. Then move up to brewing from grain.

[drewan]

Thanks everyone for your replies . I just wanted to know what I was going to be getting myself into befor I got into it lol. I am going to try this just have to get the funds together I'll be ordering through northernbrewing.com.
They seem to have the best deal everything I would need plus floor corker and 30 wine bottles for 199.99 just have to by the honey.
drewan

[Big Guy]

I've been making wine for years. I decided to try Meade about 1.5 years ago and made a small batch 15liters. It took a long time to ferment as compared to a regular grape wine and equally longer time to clear, but the wait was worth it. I have a 25 L batch settling out right now.

[drewan]

I'm thinking of trying an old school batch just to see if I like it or not I got the recipe from stormthecastle.com I don't have wine yeast so I'll be using bakers yeast and a balloon for the airlock I'm also turning the wife into a lush Had to get bottles so she picked up two 1 gallon or 4 liter bottles of sweet wine and I said I need one bottle emptied by the weekend . I was planning on putting peaches in it to give it a peach flavor.
I do have a question though he said to use spring water I have well water will this work or does it have to be spring ?
I thought I would try this first to see if I like it before dropping 2 C notes on supplies.
drewan

[eDJ]

Re:

Look around the area where you live and see if there is any Montrachet Yeast which is a universal yeast for wine making. The yeast you use can make a big difference in the final flavor of our brewing.

The Jug wine where you use a balloon for your fermentation lock will work OK. I have a couple one gallon glass jugs I make a simple wine from my Grandmothers cook book where I use 2 large cans of the frozen Concord Grape juice concentrate (not juice cocktail) and about 4 cups of white sugar. Then about 1/2 tsp of Montrahet yeast.

When the fermenting is finished I rack it off into the other jug and allow it to sit and clear. Clean out the fermenting jug and get it ready for the next batch. If I won't be using it I fill it with water and a little bit of bleach.

As the wine clears I syphon it into a clean jug and I may add a small amount of food grade glycerine to it to smooth the finished wine.

As for the water........I have well water too and it works just fine.

This is a pack of the Red Star Montrachet yeast which is inexpensive. Some wine/beer/party stores will carry some of these supplies.



Don't get too hung up on doing things perfectly to begin with. You don't have to brew the perfect brew. Just the brew that suitable for your pleasure. Take notes above all else as much of this is trial and error. In time you'll get better at this and slowly add to your collection of books and equipment. You'll do OK.

[SmokinLee]

What he said, The chosen yeast is an important ingredient and there are many. I'd hate to see you ruin the product, your time and expense using bakers yeast.

[Richtee]

What he said, The chosen yeast is an important ingredient and there are many. I'd hate to see you ruin the product, your time and expense using bakers yeast.

What? you CAN'T use baker's yeast... sheesh.