The Brewer

Mead Making Guide: Nectar of the Gods

Mead Making: The Golden Elixir

Mead is not just for Vikings. It is the oldest fermentable beverage known to man, predating wine and beer. At its core, it is simple: Honey + Water + Yeast. But if you just mix those three and wait, you will make something that tastes like jet fuel. Modern mead making is about Nutrient Management.

1. The Honey

The quality of the mead depends entirely on the honey.

  • Wildflower: Complex, changes with the seasons. Good base.
  • Orange Blossom: Highly aromatic, citrusy. The gold standard for traditional mead.
  • Clover: Mild, sweet, generic. Good for fruit meads (Melomels) where you want the fruit to shine.
  • Raw vs. Pasteurized: Always use raw honey. Pasteurization boils off the delicate floral aromas.

2. The “Rocket Fuel” Problem

Honey is pure sugar. It has zero Nitrogen. Yeast needs Nitrogen to build cell walls. If you ferment honey without nutrients, the yeast gets stressed and produces fusel alcohols (hot, solvent-like flavors) and sulfur (rotten eggs). This takes years to age out.

3. The Solution: TOSNA

TOSNA (Tailored Organic Staggered Nutrient Addition) is the modern protocol.

  1. Use Organic Nutrient: Fermaid O (dead yeast hulls). Avoid chemical DAP (Diammonium Phosphate) which causes speed-wobbles.
  2. Staggered: Don’t dump it all in at once. Add nutrients at 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, and the 1/3 sugar break.
  3. The Result: A mead that is drinkable in 3 months instead of 3 years.

4. Styles of Mead

  • Traditional: Just honey and water.
  • Melomel: Honey + Fruit (Berries, Cherries).
  • Metheglin: Honey + Spices (Vanilla, Cinnamon).
  • Cyser: Honey + Apple Juice.
  • Hydromel: “Session Mead.” Low alcohol (5-7%), carbonated, refreshing.

5. Dry vs. Sweet

Yeast will eat all the sugar until it’s dry. If you want sweet mead:

  1. Method A: Use so much honey that the yeast dies from alcohol toxicity before eating it all.
  2. Method B (Better): Ferment dry. Stabilize with chemicals (Sorbate/Sulfite). Then add more honey (“Back-sweeten”) to taste.

Conclusion

Making mead is less work than brewing beer (no boil!). It is a game of patience and precision nutrients. A bottle of homemade Orange Blossom Mead, aged for a year, is a gift fit for a king.