# Where's the recipies??



## TwT (Aug 5, 2004)

I seen on the head line of this forum that there are recipies, but can't find one, could yall post some recipies or are they secret's or something, I never tried making mead but would like to this coming year, just trying to see if I would have to buy a book or something.


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## kenpkr (Apr 6, 2004)

Ted, chew on these sites for a while. Lots of good info and recipes.

http://davespicks.com/writing/mme/contents.html

http://www.gotmead.com/

http://www.brewerylane.com/mead_recipes.html

http://www.ladybridget.com/m/smead.html


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## Ben Brewcat (Oct 27, 2004)

Try a search, but the resources above are good too. One thing to note in my experience is that a significant number of recipes posted on the internet recipe sites are posted by well-meaning enthusiastic peopole who are making their first mead or so, which is great! But it's worth reading the Introduction here and similar guides on other sites to get some basic groundwork so you can make something you'll like: sweet or dry, traditional or spiced or fruited. 

No need to buy a book unless you're a research freak like I am  ; lots of good info and opinions here and Gotmead too. You'll need some basic equipment, described in the Intro.

What kind of mead would you like? If you don't know, what kinds of wines do you enjoy? Mead can be dessert-sweet to bracingly dry, richly flavored in any number of ways to delicate and refreshing, still, lightly effervescent to champagne-like sparkling carbonation. 

And apologies for the recipe dearth... after the intro I haven't gotten organized on the recipe page or the yeast strain descriptions (which I have somewhere on this groaning hard drive). Let the gang know what you're interested in and I'm sure you'll get several promising recipes. Welcome to mead!


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## nursebee (Sep 29, 2003)

So Ben, what books do you like for research freaks?


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## Ben Brewcat (Oct 27, 2004)

Well, it's actually a pretty thin list that's specific to mead, but much of winemaking information is useful for mazers. The Compleat Meadmaker by Ken Schramm is the best all-around intro without going into agonizing depth, but covers all the basics accurately and readably. If you want one book, Compleat's an easy recommendation. I'd steer away from purchasing the Gayre, Morse, Colonel's and other older texts; read them first as much of it isn't terribly useful or is seriously outdated (I know mead is old, but knowing modern yeast information for example is a big plus!).

If you enjoy tech reading and having a library (and who doesn't







) a good book on yeast management like First Steps in Yeast Culture by Pierre Rajotte will benefit any home fermenter... yeast health is one of the most critical steps in making good mead, and certainly to consistently making good mead. In that vein, a few brewing texts suggest themselves for the cross-beverage enjoyer: 

Brew chem 101 by Janson includes a good treatment of off-flavors and yeast byproducts in non-matriculous accessible language and some sensory evaluation training,

New Brewing Lager Beer by Greg Noonan, and Principles of Brewing Science by the late Dr. Fix also have great info on yeast, fermentation, and sanitation and are staples of brewing literature that would be a good borrow or library book (these brewing texts would be overkill to purchase just for the mead-applicable stuff. Beer is especially fun for geeks because of the many more ingredients, processes, styles, etc than wine or mead). 

For online info, Jack Keller's site is good. I also learned a good deal of my early winer (er, that is, "winemaker") information form Jeff Cox' From Vines To Wines.

And lastly, the Homebrew Digest is a really great resource, though often esoteric and best enjoyed with a finger on the PageDown key. Many beginners of many beverages post here too and get great help, but you also occasionally get to read weeks (no exaggeration) of back-and-forth discussion of how a couple ppm's difference of dissolved oxygen affects various yeast strain's ability to produce 4-vinyl guaiacol and how this impacts the character of a Bavarian hefeweizen brewed with medium-sulfate water. You can skip what's geekier than you're looking for. 

All that said, I personally think the two best resources are 1) experience, and 2) a community like this, Gotmead, the mead Maker's digest, and your local homebrewing club.


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