Springtime Mead Making

 Springtime in the Rockies - New growth, fresh starts, clearing out the old! The bees are buzzing around dandelions and wee shoots are rising up everywhere. I followed my personal tradition, spring clean of the body. Aided, of course, by the yeasty beasties!

I mostly used the skin of the ginger, and diced and dried the rest for cooking.

Burdock root, Ginger, Lemon, and naturally every part of the dandelion plant! Sounds like a great cleanse, right? Well, after drinking a cup or two of this tea (with plenty of honey!), I dump the rest of my mighty pot into the bucket of solidified honey.

I used up most of last year's harvest of dandelion parts to make room for a new crop!

After this dissolved a good bit of honey I put it in the fermenting bucket and boiled a bit more water. That honey was good and solid! After all my liquids have cooled a bit I pitch some yeast and cover the bucket. In one year I'll have a batch of yummy Spring mead! In the meantime, last year's bottles are being cracked open and shared around in their fizzy sweet goodness. Ah, tradition!

Finds - Mead

I've been on a brewing kick. Each time I walk around and see fruits or herbs I think "ooooh, that would be good fermented!" In honor of one of the worlds oldest drinks, here's some fine uses of honey and yeast.

Like a lovely cross-stitch pattern from LadyBeta. Simplicity and deliciousness, the mainstays of the warriors of old!

And in the oldest traditions we can fill the horn and pass it around. From a simple cows horn, to exotic species, and horns crusted in silver and gold - what better way to honor the drink of the gods? Decorated horn from FableWorkshop with Celtic knots.

Now any fashionable Viking knows about the importance of beard conditioning... right? An oil from BathSabbath in perfect scent for Odin's followers. We're used to having our face smell like mead anyway.




If you are not so lucky as to posses a large beard (I'm not, can't get the damn thing to grow at all!) perhaps you can fill your house with the faint sweet scent of drunken revelry. A Mead candle from WitchCityWicks can add ambiance on a whole 'nother level! Light to see your bottles by.



To satisfy a non-alcoholic  sweet tooth perhaps some mead flavored lollies? TheGroovyBaker whips up batches for gatherings that need something for the kiddies... or those days when you can't carry the flask with you.

Now I know well enough to never leave the inn without a flask of elvish wine, or a bottle of mead! Any D20 user should beware getting caught without a little spare booze to finish that dungeon, here is "backup mead" from LokisLuckyCharms. Perhaps not as good as a backup flask, but perhaps one should carry both?


Traditional Celtic healing taught that there were three important healing elements. Water, Honey and Labor. I say let the yeast do the work and give them honey and water to work with. It heals me right up... What's your favorite tipple? Have you ever tried brewing?

Rhodomel

 I'm still learning about brewing, and it's the most fun I've ever had experimenting. Unlike cooking and baking, where a ruined experiment may be burnt beyond recognition or too salty to eat; The worst thing that has come of a bad mead had been that it was too weak. Oh no, I guess I'll have to drink it all to get rid of it ...

I started a Rhodomel last week. That's rose petals in mead. Roses and honey, awesome!

I started with gathering rose petals and drying them for about a week. Then I gathered a bunch of fresh ones as well.

I filled up  the secondary fermentation jar with dried and fresh petals all the way to the top. I even had a few petals left over, my mother has a very large summer rose I was gathering from. The recipe suggested 12 cups (which is about how much water was used in the first fermentation) but it's hard to judge volume with a fluffy item. How packed are we talking?

 After sitting overnight, the mead had turned a nice reddish color. Unfortunately the bubbles tend to lift the petals and force an overflow. It took several days in the sink to get things under control. It's now slowed down and maturing slowly. The balloon on top is my "air lock", it captures gas and can be vented while not allowing bacteria in the air to enter the drink.

 As for the rest of the petals? An herbal syrup of course! You can make a syrup of just about anything, on this day it was roses and elderberries. With a light fluffy plant fill the jar, with a dense plant just a few tablespoons on the bottom. You can use any culinary or medicinal plant for syrups.

 Add sugar to fill the jar 1/4 -1/3 full. You can use honey with strong flavored herbs like mint or sage, but sugar is better for delicate flavors. Boil water and place the jars on a towel or mat (expanding and contracting glass can crack when dragging across a counter top.) Fill with water and cap.

 Let the herbs infuse overnight. Afterwards you can keep them sealed in the fridge for months, heck even opened they will keep for weeks. You can use these to flavor teas and drinks. I like to mix one part syrup, one part good local vodka, one part sparkling water and a squeeze of lime. This is surprisingly good with savory herbs like thyme, rosemary, and sage!

I made the rose syrup into pink lemonade. Lemon juice, syrup, water and ice. A perfect relaxation elixir for a hot summer's day. Bring on the sun, I've got a shady porch and a lounge chair!

What's your favorite way to cool off in the heat?