New to Mead(s)

[Fly*guy]

Want to try a mead I have a few pounds of honey but I'm not sure what to do next. I just wish to try it with a gallon or 2, to see how it works
Do I make it as I would wines? what SG do I start with? where is a good place for info on the internet?

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[nursejohn]

The very first one I tried was Joe's Ancient Orange Mead. It is pretty simple and straightforward. Good luck, John.

 

[fivebk]

vcasey is the one that can answer any questions you may have.
To make mead is a lot like making wine except maybe it requires more time to mature

BOB

 

[vcasey]

Meads are fun!
You make them much like wine but like Bob said they can take a long while to mature. You'll need to decide several things before you begin: The first is do you want a traditional mead (honey &amp; water) or do you want a melomel (honey, water and fruit)? The second is what kind of honey you'll be using, believe me the many different honeys can make a difference. Once you decide what you want to make than its much easier to guide you along.
Another thing is I would highly recommend is to pick up The Compleat Meadmaker (Ken Schramm)http://www.finevinewines.com/ProdDetA.asp?PartNumber=7313 You can not go wrong with this book and it does have a few very, very good recipes.
Also, I may be a little slow to respond because I am nuking and reloading my computer, although I hope its now just a matter of cleaning up!

 

[Fly*guy]

My intent is to use the honey I get from work with is FREE for one and already low temp pasteurized, ( don't know how they do it).
What can I expect the taste of a honey &amp; water mead to be like? and can I add flavoring to it like I would wines, just before filtering? I have some flavors left over from my wine making and I thought I could use them up as I have no fruit ready to use at this time and I was only going to make about 1 gallon to try meads for the 1st time.

 

[gaudet]

You can do whatever you like to the mead. Its a matter of personal preference and taste. I have done a couple meads, which although young are very tasty to me. I enjoy the melomels mainly, haven't tried to make a plain mead yet. As far as getting fruit, you can get some from Wally world, they have frozen blueberries, strawberries, and mixed fruit you can simmer and juice. I started a thread about a base mead I'd made back in December. There is a lot of info in there. Vcasey has a lot of experience with making meads, so I definitely listen closely when she says something. She's got an interesting bunch of flavors going on out there.......

 

[vcasey]

My intent is to use the honey I get from work with is FREE for one and already low temp pasteurized, ( don't know how they do it).
What can I expect the taste of a honey &amp; water mead to be like? and can I add flavoring to it like I would wines, just before filtering? I have some flavors left over from my wine making and I thought I could use them up as I have no fruit ready to use at this time and I was only going to make about 1 gallon to try meads for the 1st time.

Free is always good! What kind of honey are you getting - clover, orange blossom...? What kind of flavorings are you planning on using?
One of the easiest and tastiest meads to make is actually a cyser. Instead of using water use apple juice/cider. Really watch the SG as you are adding the honey and don't be afraid to beat the heck out of it to mix the honey up to get a good SG reading. If you go this direction start with 1 lb of honey and add until you're happy with the final alcohol content. At this point you'll have lots of choices you can add spices to the mix or not, you can also add oak (med toast).
Another option is to pick up a bag or 2 of frozen blackberries and mix about 3-31/2 lbs of honey (depending on you final alcohol) + your water and made a rather nice melomal.
What it ends up tasting like will really depend on the varietal of honey you use and the type of mead you make. You may want to just read through the mead topics, you may get an idea or 2 there.