We were very excited to have Jody Hankins as our host to share her recipe and techniques for making mead for our January 2024 HVNB meeting.
Jody introduced us to two contrasting flavors, one very dry and one very sweet wine, which we were invited to taste to see what the extreme results might be. It was delicious.
We also learned that different batches of honey give the mead different flavors from year to year. So, it is likely that mead tastes different depending on the harvest and location.
During the workshop, Jody took us through the mead making process and explained how to control the sweetness or dryness of a wine. Now it just needs to sit and ferment.
If you make mead, please let us know how it turned out. My equipment just arrived and I’m ready to go. Anyone want to join in? Stay tuned, maybe we’ll be able to taste the first results this fall!
Below is a list of the equipment and Jody’s recipe.
Essential equipment
- Buckets/carboys/other vessel for mixing and storing
- Hydrometer – for measuring potential alcohol
- Yeast
- Sodium metabisulfite or Campden tablets (for sanitizing)
- Any additives for the mead recipe you plan to use
- Fermentation airlock
- Auto siphon with a pinch clamp for racking off and bottling
Optional equipment
- Wine thief (to move liquid for ease in sampling)
- Clear graduated cylinder or tall glass for taking hydrometer measurements (you will need at least 5-6 inches height of liquid in order to take a proper measurement with the hydrometer – it needs to float)
Jody’s basic mead recipe
It will take approximately 2-3 lbs of honey per gallon for the starting solution depending on the desired potential alcohol
For each gallon of honey/water at 11% potential alcohol, add to batch for fermentation
- 1 tsp. yeast nutrient (I typically divide this and add half immediately, second half added 2 days after fermentation starts)
- 1 tsp acid blend
- 1 ½ tsp citric acid
- ¼ tsp tannin
- Yeast (1 package of yeast is sufficient for up to 5 gallons, my favorite yeast is a wine yeast Lalvin brand D47)
Optional: Prior to bottling/storing add ½ tsp potassium sorbate per gallon to inhibit further fermentation
Yield: 1 gallon batch of mead will yield approximately 5 bottles of wine (750 mL is the standard wine bottle volume)