Thing Forty-Five: Mead

Rome wasn't built in a day, and mead wasn't made in a day. That said, today, I started a new batch of mead. It's two batches, really, with two different honeys. I bought a three-pound jar of mesquite honey from Trader Joe's a while back, with the idea of making a gallon of mead with it. It sat there for some time. This past summer, at the Maryland Renaissance Festival, I went to see the Bee Folks (honey and wax vendors), and bought a SIX-pound jar of Brazilian pepper honey, intending to make a two-gallon batch of mead with that. Of course, what with being in the middle of planning a wedding at that time, I didn't get around to it for a while. I kept intending to do so, but it didn't actually happen until today. ( The process: )

I decided on a sweet mead yeast this time around because while I enjoy a dry mead, I worry that without having any extra honey of the type I used, I wouldn't be able to add more if a dry mead yeast or champagne yeast gobbled up all the available sugars and left me with something as dry as paint thinner. Also, it seems like within my group of friends, sweeter meads are more widely appreciated (though my husband is an exception). So, we'll see how this turns out. I'm excited to find out!