Black Horse Home Brewing: October 2012

MEADS & CIDERS

Mead, Honeymoons and Love

Who would have thought that the bees, the moon and the magical brews of man could combine to add to the bliss, luster and memories of weddings?

Mead is a beverage of love. The drinking of mead has been held responsible for fertility and birth of sons. This is where the tradition of the honeymoon got its start. If mead were consumed for one month (one moon) after a wedding, then in nine months a son would be born and the mead maker congratulated. The custom of drinking mead at weddings and for one month after, initiating our present-day custom of the honeymoon.

Interestingly, mead drinking developed quite a reputation for its ability to increase the chances of bearing sons, so much so that a special drinking cup, called the Mazer Cup, was handed down from generation to generation. The couple that drank from the cup would bear sons to carry on the family name and increase the male birth rate, important in the days of constant war.

Fact or folly? Scientists have been doing animal experiments and have found they can increase the chances of bearing males by altering the body’s pH. It is known that the acidity or alkalinity of the female body during conception can influence the sex of the newborn. Blood sugar levels do alter pH.

Mead is indeed a noble drink. For more than 5,000 years, Virgil, Plato, Plutarch, Zeus, Venus, Jupiter, Odysseus, Circe, the Argonaut, Beowulf, Aphrodite, Bacchus, Odin, Valhalla, the Sanskrit Rid-Veda, Thor, King Arthur, Queen Elizabeth I, the French, Greeks, Mayans, Africans, English, Irish, Swedes, Poles, Hungarians, Germans, present-day homebrewers and even the Australian Aborigines all likened part of their enjoyment of life to mead.

Centuries ago the making of mead was art, regulated by custom and statutes. The brewing of mead was not done by just anyone. Certain individuals were trained and held in the highest esteem for turning honey into the magic of mead.

Today every homebrewer has the know-how to become a dignitary and the maker of mead for special occasions or for any occasion. The stronger versions keep for years, as does a good marriage.

And as for having sons, you will have to experiment on your own.

Cactus Fruit Prickly Pear Melomel 5 gal

Started: 9/09/12
Rack 1:
Rack 2:
Bottled:
•Yeast: D-47 (2 packet)
•Water to 6 Gallons
•18 pounds light Mesquite honey
•10 pounds Prickly Pear
•The juice from 6 lemons
•The juice from 6 limes
•3 teaspoons of yeast energizer
•6 teaspoons of yeast nutrient
•3 teaspoons of peptic enzyme
•1 Green tea bag
•3 oz. Hungarian Oak Cubes (Medium Toast)

2012 Strawberry and Cactus

5 gallons of Strawberry Melomel and 5 gallons of Prickly Pear Mead.

18 lbs. of Honey form Dehorne Farms in Ellsworth, MI and 12 lbs. Strawberries. Add water to 6 gallons and pitch yeast. Ferment and age one year, racking several times. This is the best enjoyed on the sand bar of Torch Lake.

18 lbs. Mesquite honey, 12 lbs. Prickly Pear Cactus fruit, 6 gallons water and yeast. Mix and ferment for one year. Rack as needed.

Orange, Cinnamon, Buckwheat, Blackberry, Raspberry and Strawberry

Apfelwein

6 gallons OG 1.080

FG 1.004 - Alcohol By Volume: 9.98%

Batch Size: 6 gallon carboy full

Primary Fermentation

Ingredients:

Yeast: Red Star Montrachet

6 Gallons 100% Apple Juice - Kroger brand with 100% juice ascorbic acid added pasteurized

2 pounds of dark brown sugar

2 five gram packet of Montrachet Wine Yeast

Strawberry Mead 5 gal

Started

Rack @ 1 month - add oak

Rack @ 3 months

Bottled @ 9 months

•Yeast: D-47 (2 packets)

•Water to 6 Gallons

•18 pounds light honey

•12 pounds Strawberries

•The juice from 3 lemon

•The juice from 3 lime

•3 teaspoons of yeast energizer

•6 teaspoons of yeast nutrient

•3 teaspoon of peptic enzyme

•1 green tea bag

•3 oz. American oak cubes (heavy toast) in secondary

•7 Campden tablets crushed first 24 hours prior to pitching yeast

Blueberry Melomel 5 gal.

Primary: 10/04/13

Yeast: D-47 (2 packets)

Water to 6 Gallons

18 pounds light honey
12 pounds blueberries in secondary

3 teaspoons x 2 of yeast energizer
6 teaspoons x 2 of yeast nutrient
3 teaspoon of peptic enzyme in secondary
4 Campden tablets crushed first 24 hours
prior to racking onto fruit in secondary

Start