How do I make Mead?

Ingredients

  • 3 lbs. of Honey
  • ⅛ cup sugar
  • 0.7 gallon water
  • 0.3 gallon ice
  • 1pk Red Star Champagne Yeast

Equipment

  • 1 – 1 gallon pot
  • 2 – 1 gallon jugs/carboys
  • 1 – spoon
  • 1 – jar at least that holds at least 2 ½ cups
  • 1 – 38mm cap
  • 1 – 38mm drilled cap
  • 1 – airlock
  • 1 – hydrometer
  • 1 – graduated cylinder

Instructions

  1. Make a yeast starter by stirring the ⅛ cup sugar into 2 cups water.
  2. Add the dry yeast to the 2 cups of water.
  3. Pour the remaining water into your pot.
  4. Bring the water in the pot to light boiling.
  5. Warm Honey to around 100 degrees. DON’T BOIL
  6. Remove the water from the heat
  7. Stir in the honey until combined.
  8. Ad the ice to the mixture and stir until ice melts.
  9. You will want to cool to around 75 degrees.
  10. Fill the graduated cylinder.
  11. Measure the meads gravity with the hydrometer.
  12. Pouring the yeast into the mead.
  13. Pour the mead into the jug/carboy.
  14. Cap with a closed cap and shake 30 seconds to agitate.
  15. Remove cap and replace with drilled cap
  16. Fill airlock with water to suggested line.
  17. Insert airlock into cap.
  18. Put in a temperature controlled area (65-75 degrees suggested) for 2 weeks.
  19. Fill the graduated cylinder.
  20. Measure the meads gravity with the hydrometer.
  21. Move to a secondary jar/carboy, don’t pour the dead yeast.
  22. Put back in a temperature controlled area for 6 months.
  23. Fill the graduated cylinder.
  24. Measure the meads final gravity with the hydrometer.
  25. Bottle and/or drink.

Formulas:

og = original gravity

fg = final gravity

ABV 1: (76.08 * (og-fg) / (1.775-og)) * (fg / 0.794)

ABV 2: (og – fg) * 131.25

Calories from Alcohol: 1881.22 * FG * (OG-FG)/(1.775-OG)

Calories from Mead: 3550.0 * FG * ((0.1808 * OG) + (0.8192 * FG) – 1.0004)

Calories Total: Calories from Alcohol + Calories from Mead