# Help finding a great beginner mead recipe?



## wfuavenger (Dec 11, 2009)

I just started a batch of Joe's Ancient Orange. You can find the recipe at my blog listed below, or gotmead.com


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## Ben Brewcat (Oct 27, 2004)

The good news: given proper technique and quality ingredients, you can't go wrong. The bad: there are all kinds of mead to be made, and each mead isn't to some people's tastes. If you don't like dry, high-alcohol meads, and that's the recipe you get, some might think they can't make mead.

Have you ever tried mead? If not, we can make an imperfect analogy with wine... do you prefer dry, sweet, in between? Bold and acidic or fruity and buttery?

For a basic mead, try three pounds of honey per gallon of must and properly rehydrated wine yeast.

Let us know what you're looking for, and also read the Into to meadmaking (especially the Recipes paragraph).


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## beginnerhives (Feb 22, 2009)

Ben Brewcat said:


> The good news: given proper technique and quality ingredients, you can't go wrong. The bad: there are all kinds of mead to be made, and each mead isn't to some people's tastes. If you don't like dry, high-alcohol meads, and that's the recipe you get, some might think they can't make mead.
> 
> Have you ever tried mead? If not, we can make an imperfect analogy with wine... do you prefer dry, sweet, in between? Bold and acidic or fruity and buttery?
> 
> ...



Thanks. I like my mead more on the sweet side. I also like Fruity and buttery. I think all the mead I have ever tasted was the basic sweet mead. My wife likes chocolate and I had some chocolate wine that was very good. So far this has been the recipe I have been looking at. 
Medium Mead

•15 lbs of Honey
•4 gallons of spring water
•2 teaspoons of yeast nutrient
•2 teaspoons of yeast energizer
•2 packets of Lalvin 71b-1122 yeast (or suitable replacement) 

From the website 
http://www.stormthecastle.com/mead/mead-recipes.htm


The


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## Ben Brewcat (Oct 27, 2004)

That looks good, though skip the energizer and use the nutrients at half-strength BY THE PACKAGE DIRECTIONS. Never add additives by the recipe, they might have used a preparation with dramatically different usage levels.


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## rwlaw (May 4, 2009)

Gotta agree w/ Mr Brewcat, the energizer should be dropped, it's nothing but uric acid. Made a batch of pear mead w/ a gal and she put it in and in my opinon gave it a off taste. It's going on 4 yrs old and it's still there.


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## BJ (Sep 11, 2006)

I did a 2 batch's of joe's ancient orange last year too. One with 1118 and one with 1122 yeast. The 1122 was fantastic and the 1118 had a bit of a bitter taste, however i should have been more patient with it.

i also used different honey's too, your honey selection makes a difference in how a mead will taste.

have fun and be patient.


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