Home Brewing
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The Stuff of Poetry ' Mead
   
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The Honeybush Miracle.
People have been drinking fermented beverages since the dawn of civilization. At first, the production of alcohol may have been accidental. Over time, it became an art.Perhaps a little eclipsed by the world-wide success of Rooibos, another natural South African health tea, Honeybush; is finally getting the attention it deserves. .....
Mead is a beverage made from fermented honey. This very drink was the founding father of wine and beer. A purist might just stick to just the simplest recipe of honey, water, and yeast, but some people, like myself, add a few additional ingredients to compliment the main ingredient.
My first introduction to mead was on my birthday. I prepared a medieval feast, each ingredient carefully chosen to be historically accurate or at least as accurate as it could be. A friend of mine brought along mead made by a brewery also known for brewing Tej, an Ethiopian honey wine. It was a welcome accompaniment to the sweet and savory flavors of the various medieval dishes.
I acquired a taste for mead while in Denmark. I was attending a folk school, and two of our favored activities were singing and drinking. A local liquor store carried mead in a ceramic bottle. The label depicted two Vikings, who seemed rather happy enjoying their brew out of horns. My friends and I started having little parties we appropriately dubbed 'Viking Giggle Fest.'
Odd Fact Or Oxymoron: Learning How To Cook Will Help You Drop A Few Pounds And Gain A Few Friends
Finding simple ways to reduce my waistline is always a personal objective. I am by no means a health expert, and I have not always been too .....
Finding simple ways to reduce my waistline is always a personal objective. I am by no means a health expert, and I have not always been too .....
After school ended, I returned home. I yearned to make mead. I had been brewing for years, but most of these experiments ended in failure. This time around I was determined to make something drinkable. My first batch was rather scaled down. I boiled honey in water, let it cool to room temperature, added yeast, and set it aside to ferment for two weeks. I wanted to try it, so after the two weeks were up, I decided to try it. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't wonderful either. It showed signs of carbonation, its bubbles gently tickled my palate. The taste was a little watered down, but I was working off of a theory and not off of a recipe.
The next time I brewed I was prepared. I went out and got a basic brewing kit. I used more honey this time and also decided to use a few additives and clarifying agents such as gelatin, hops, lavender, and rose hip. I used champagne yeast instead of bread yeast for better flavor. This brew fermented for two weeks, I then aged it for two more, bottled it, and left it to age on a rack for about two more months. The end result was something wonderful, and I gave my grandfather a taste. He had been an avid amateur vintner, so he knew a thing or two about how wine should taste. A tear came to his eye, and I could tell he was proud that I had been successful.
Home Brew Pennsylvania
Knowing Your Home Brew Pennsylvania Options
It is actually surprising the number of people who are starting to home brew their own drinks for themselves, and if you are not already in on this .....
Knowing Your Home Brew Pennsylvania Options
It is actually surprising the number of people who are starting to home brew their own drinks for themselves, and if you are not already in on this .....
For more information, visit these sites:
http://www.gotmead.com/making-mead/