theholtsite

I have now brewed five complete batches of mead. If you’re new to mead, it’s a fermented drink consisting of honey, water, and yeast. Some people think it’s the most ancient of alcoholic beverages. I’ve also been using fruit in mine (whole and/or juice), which technically makes it a type of mead called melomel.

I haven’t figured out how to measure the alcohol content yet, but I estimate they have all been somewhere around 15%, a bit stronger than wine. So far I have done the following batches:

– Orange melomel based on this recipe, using clover honey and a whole orange

– Blueberry melomel (same recipe as above), using clover honey

This recipe uses common bread yeast you get at the grocery store, regular honey, and some fruit. It turns out very sweet, almost like a desert wine. It’s very easy to make and doesn’t require racking (transferring the fermenting drink to another container for secondary fermentation).

– Pomegranate melomel based on this recipe, using clover honey, a whole sectioned pomegranate, and grape juice

– Black cherry and grape melomel (same recipe), using blueberry blossom honey and fruit juices

– Black cherry and blueberry melomel (same recipe), using orange blossom honey and fruit juices

This recipe is my favorite so far. It takes about a month to make, which isn’t very much for mead. It uses champagne yeast, which gives it a nice bubbly, carbonated taste. It’s sweet but not too sweet. It tastes fruity while still being a wine sort of drink. It’s fairly alcoholic without tasting like hard liquor.

I brought two bottles of the pomegranate batch to a neighbor’s party. Both were gone at the end of the night. Everyone said they loved it! Jill and I both like it too.

Today Jill and I tasted the first bottle of the black cherry and blueberry batch. It’s my favorite mead so far. I’m really proud of it! I’m not sure why, but I think it’s the orange blossom honey. Perhaps it just complements the fruit flavors well. Here’s a picture – come on over for a taste if you want!