Today, I want to share some of my processing of metheglin. I have three batches currently running. The newest (below left) was done up about a week and a half ago. It is still opaque. I am stirring it about every other day at the latest and will leave it in this container for about a month. The middle batch below was done up in late February. Most of the sediment had dropped and it is beginning to really clear up. The batch on the lower right was done up in January and is clear enough to see through it. It appears to have less sediment in the bottom as I left this one in the plastic carboy for about a week longer than the batch in the middle.
If you want a quick front end read on the making of mead, but don't want to go out and buy a book at the moment, you may want to look up "Guide to Mead Making" from More Flavor. Here is the link: http://www.morebeer.com/public/pdf/wmead.pdf . It includes most of what I do and you can go straight to one of my sources without having to peck through this blog. I also, as I mentioned earlier, read out of The Compleat Meadmaker by Ken Schramm. He has pretty much the same information as the guide, but includes more detail, is a great read, and includes a number of recipes.
My basic process for starting a batch of metheglin is to first get the hardware. You need some type of fermenting container. The plastic bucket above was given to me as a Christmas present by Robin's sister Diane and her husband Scott. It is my favorite as it has measurements on the side and a spigot on the bottom. I'd recommend a glass carboy as well, but may not be required depending on how basic you want to go. I use the glass carboys and am very happy with being able to see the batch clarify. You also need an airlock for each container as well as a stopper if you use a glass carboy. You may be able to see two different setups on the glass carboys above. The one on the right has an orange cap with a different airlock than the other two. I am just collecting different types for the fun of it and it won't affect the end result. Beyond this, a couple feet of siphon hose (food grade). You can use a small length if you use a spigot at the bottom and elevate your plastic carboy. This is what I do and only need a 6 inch length for this part. You will need about three feet of it to siphon out the glass carboy though. A funnel with a strainer is a nice addition and I use one to strain out any bits from my spice mix that I put in the plastic carboy.
Beyond the carboys and other items mentioned above, you should have a spoon or spatula long enough to stir up your mix now and then. The rest of your equipment may be basic kitchen equipment, but I would recommend some type of muslin bag or fine mesh bag for your spices if you are going to try the metheglin. This will reduce sediment in your batch. Have a small pot that will hold about a half gallon of water as well. You will use it to steep your spices. Now you should just need ingredients.
I currently get my honey from Costco. Other things aside, it has the most inexpensive honey I can get around where I live. They also sell it here in six pound containers which works out well for my uses. For the yeast, I use Lalvin EC-1118 and pick it up at one of the two local Ace Hardware stores I use here in town. While just about any yeast will produce results, having a good yeast strain will give you better results and get more action than less refined yeasts. I chose the EC-1118 for more likely that it is available and is more of a champagne yeast and I thought that seemed pretty classy. It does a good job on the metheglin and I like what I get out of it. There is a strain of yeast developed for mead, but I have not tried it and probably won't for at least some time as I like what works and EC-1118 works for me. For the spices, I hit the supermarkets. Finding whole coriander can be a challenge, but you may find it on-line or in a specialty shop. I have found small supplies in the hardware store as well. I will use ground coriander in a pinch, but if you do that remember to reduce the amount by about half. What I use is: coriander, cloves, cinnamon sticks, allspice, whole nutmeg, and malodextrose. The latter I got at the hardware store. It is supposed to improve the body and mouth feel of the batch.
As far as quantities of the spices, here is the recipe:
12 pounds honey
1 package yeast
8 teabags (I use 4 Earl Grey, and 4 black)
1 tsp coriander
4 cinnamon sticks
4 tsp cloves
2 tsp allspice
1/2 shaved nutmeg
8 tbs malodextrose
First, I fill up a pot with about 1/2 to 3/4 full of water (about a half gallon). I put the teabags in the last three minutes of boiling so you can tie these together and set aside for the moment. Put your coriander, cloves, allspice, nutmeg shavings, and malodextrose in a bag. Put them in the pot once it is boiling and boil it for about five minutes or so. Put in the teabags in the last three minutes of the boil. Once the boil is done, pull out your spices and teabags and set it aside for a few minutes.
While the batch is boiling, you can re-activate the yeast. I put it in a few ounces of lukewarm tap water in a small bowl. I do add a few grains of sugar for luck but this is not required and some frown on this. You can also fill up your plastic carboy to the five gallon mark with lukewarm tap water. I use the non boiling method on the honey. I don't like boiling the honey and I don't do it any longer. Once you fill up the carboy, you can add in the honey. Don't worry about getting all the honey out of the container at the moment. You can use a funnel and put in some of your boiled spices in the honey containers, swish it about and pour the mix in the carboy. It works very well for me to get all the honey out. Your entire mix should be just under six gallons now. You can add the rest of the spice mixture in the carboy.
You can check the carboy temperature with a thermometer if you want, but it should be pretty close to warm and around 85 to 90 degrees. Use a spatula or spoon to stir up the mixture for a few minutes. Once you have it mixed up, your yeast should have been activated enough (about five minutes or so of re-hydrating in your must mix) so you can pitch it in your carboy. Stir and agitate this mix really well for a few minutes, put on your lid and your airlock and set aside in a cool corner of your abode.
You should wait a couple hours and check on your mix now and then. You should get some perking within a few hours. I put in a teaspoon of yeast energizer and a teaspoon of Fermaid-K that was dissolved in a small amount of water into the carboy once there was fermentation going on. This helps to feed the yeast and get it going pretty well.
For about a week and a half, I'll stir the mix every day or so and try to be patient. Once about two weeks go by, I add another bit of energizer and Fermaid-K as well as another 2 and a half pounds of honey to the mix. I will continue monitoring and stirring for a full thirty days for the start and then siphon off the mix to a glass five gallon carboy. If you did this as I did, you should be able to get a full five gallons in the carboy with only about an inch of head space from the top of the glass carboy. You should have very little left in the bottom of the plastic carboy other than the dead yeast cells at the bottom and about a half inch or so of not very clear green metheglin at the bottom.
That should do it for now. In the meantime, you can collect up some bottles. Clear ones are nice as they show off the metheglin well. I use corks, but be careful to monitor your bottles as some of mine got a bit perky and blew a few corks.
Until next time!
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