Posted on 12/29/2010 10:09:41 AM PST by JoeProBono
PITTSBORO, N.C. (AP) -- Mead, that drink of viking saga and medieval verse, is making a comeback. But this ain't your ancestors' honey wine.
"It's not just for the Renaissance fair anymore," says Becky Starr, co-owner of Starrlight Mead, which recently opened in an old woven label mill in this little North Carolina town.
In fact, this most ancient of alcoholic libations hasn't been this hot since Beowulf slew Grendel's dam and Geoffrey Chaucer fell in with the Canterbury pilgrims at the Tabard.
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
That picture just screams “Horney” somehow.
Viking chicks are hot.
Mead is one of the worst hangovers you can get. It couples the usual alcohol hangover with a massive sugar crash. Tasty beverage but use in moderation or pay the price.
Did know that mead is the oldest alcoholic beverage known to mankind? It's a least a thousand years older than beer. That's because mead could be made by primitive hunter gatherer societies and beer presupposes organized agriculture and an excess of grains.
In some ancient tribes it was a death penalty offense to harm the mead-maker.
L
MY brother-in-law makes a dynamite mead. He doesn’t do it much anymore, but I hope he does again soon.
Mead fell by the wayside because it is an excruciatingly slow process to make it. Very hard to turn a profit while competing with grape wine and grain beer...both of which are often spiked with some type of sugar to speed up the fermentation. I would be really surprised if this new mead is really pure honey and water and no sugar added.
Mead is a vile beverage. Sounds quaint, tastes like vomit.
( I quote Organic Chemistry, third edition, Morrison & Boyd)
There's your sign.... Older is not automatically better, nor is newer. But to ignore advances in technology, especially brewing technology, leaves one thousands of years behind the curve. ;)
< /religious wars over booze>
/johnny
“I’ve been brewing mead for years. Properly done the stuff is wonderful and boy does it pack a kick.”
I’ve got 15 pounds of honey sitting in the basement right now ready for my first batch.
You've never had a good one.
Cute girl.
Mead sucks. Ugh.
Cute girl.
Mead sucks. Ugh.
L
12 pounds honey
2 pounds real maple syrup
1 quart fresh blueberries
Champagne yeast
Charging sugar
Cook the honey, syrup, and blueberries until the honey and syrup are completely incorporated and the blueberries have released all their juice, about an hour or so. Skim off the foam as it cooks.
Cool completely, toss the Champagne yeast, and pour into a sanitized carboy. Add airlock. Walk away.
Mine didn't stop fermenting for amost a month, YMMV.
When ferment has ceased transfer to another sanitized carboy to let solids settle out for a week or so.
Prepare the charging sugar as you would for beer. Cool mixture and add to fermented honey and syrup. Immediately transfer to PUNTED Champagne bottles (VERY important!), cork, cage, and set in a cool, dark place for 3-4 weeks.
When finished chill thoroughly before serving.
You'll end up with a wonderfully dry sparkling mead with just a hint of maple and blueberry flavor. Be warned: ABV on mine was over 12%.
And yes I know it's technically not a mead because of the addition of fruit, it's a melomel. Cut me some slack. All I know is the stuff ROCKS.
Happy New Year!
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