We served mead at our wedding, brewed by us and other members of Helgafel Heathen Fellowship. If you would like to try mead, ours is not for sale, but you can buy mead from reputable brewing companies. If you are feeling adventurous, you can brew it yourself!
You'll need two one-gallon (or four half-gallon) glass jugs, some balloons, some yeast (baker's yeast is fine), about a gallon of water (tap water or spring water will work, but distilled water lacks nutrients needed by the yeast), iodine, a thermometer, and 3-4 lbs of honey, some table sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of potassium sorbate.
- clean all implements and half your vessels normally, then sterilize them in iodine and cold water
- heat about a 2/3 gallon of water to boiling
- reduce heat to just below boiling
- add 4 lbs of honey and stir in, maintaining the heat but without boiling
- cool the mixture to 70 degrees F
- make a yeast starter by adding some tepid water and a spoonful of honey and sugar to your yeast, and stir
- when the yeast starter smells like its working and has many bubbles, add it to the cooled mixture and fill to 1 gallon volume with cold water.
- poke 2-3 holes in a deflated balloon, and fit the balloon over the mouth of the vessel(s)
- put it in a dark place that is reasonably stable between 65 and 75 degrees
- clean the rest of the items you used, sanitizing with iodine water as before
- wait two weeks
- sanitize the remaining vessels, their caps, and a funnel
- put 1/4 teaspoon of potassium sorbate in each vessel
- gently and steadily pour the fermented mixture into the new vessels, leaving behind as much of the sediment as possible
- let that sit for 1-2 weeks and go clean up the mess as before...
- your mead is ready to enjoy, although you may find that you want to sanitize the first vessels and drain off any sediment again
If you think 4lbs will be too sweet, or if you are using baker's yeast, maybe consider using 3.5 or 3 lbs of honey. You can also add things like cinnamon, vanilla, or other extracts. If you want to add fruit, you'll want to read up on how to use Bentonite to clarify your batch.
