I have become spoiled where alcoholic beverages are concerned. I have discovered as have so many others, that brewing your own beverages is not only more economical, but it tastes better. You can customize your beverage to your own tastes. Most of all its a whole lot of fun! So whether you're bottling or kegging your own heart's delight, I hope you enjoy this page. You can find:
Meads are my favorite alcoholic beverages. Although traditionally moderately sweet, they can be made sweet as port or dry as a champagne with a taste that's like the nectar of the gods! Meads, especially varieties, are hard to find commercially, and the homebrewed version are usually better.
Unlike beer, mead can be very easily brewed in smaller batches for those with limited space. Most meads are made with 2-3 lbs. of honey and water to make a gallon of must. Meads have an alcohol content anywhere from 12% up to 20%. While, some meads are sparkling, most are still. I have tried both the original honey meads and Melomels. These are fermented honey and fruit. There are also many Methelgins, or spiced meads, that are well worth investigating. Traditional meads take anywhere from 2-5 years to mature, but very good mead can be made in about the same time as beer, when yeast nutrients are used.
The latest batch I've brewed is one gallon of Ginger Cyser. A cyser is fermented honey and apples. I have spiced it with ginger root and almond tea. I will have the recipe up soon.
One of the things I like to do to give my meads different flavors is to add my own favorite teas in place of acid blend. This can be done while preparing the must or before bottling for a strong taste. I have used Oolong and Darjeeling, but also like Earl Grey, which is primarily bergamot, and an almond tea. This is a nice way to give a basic recipe your own special touch.
Mead hall- This is a wonderful resource for mead makers as well as those who would like to know more about types of mead and mead making.
The Mead Lovers' Digest is an excellent resource for the beginner and expert alike. When subscribing, please include name and email address in body of message. Digest archives and FAQ are available for anonymous ftp at ftp.stanford.edu in pub/clubs/homebrew/mead.
For more information on the history and brewing of mead, please refer to the Recipes section. I've listed books that are helpful guides on your way to brewing Nirvana. Here's to the ancient art of meadmaking... Wassail!
Most beers mass produced in the USA are modeled after the Czechoslovakian Pilsner. Though the original drink is very satisfying, I find most mass produced beers contain nothing other than alcohol content. They have little body, taste or substance.
Microbreweries are springing up everywhere and offer fine alternatives to the run of the mill brews that the public is used to. Sampling their wares is a great way to discover just what it is you like in a beer. Many of us have turned to Homebrewing. We are demanding better products for our money. We also find that the hobby is rather addicting. Once I tasted my first bottle of home brew, I've not been satisfied with anything less.
There are three basic methods of Homebrewing. The first is using Malt extract kits. The moderately experienced combine Malt extract or DMEs (Dry Malt Extract) with specialty grains to give their beer more character. The Experts start from scratch, mashing their own grains. Some turn to gardening and raise their favorite strain of hops as well.
There are two basic types of yeasts used in brewing with many variations on each. Ale yeast ferments quickly at room temperatures 65-70. Lager yeasts need much cooler temperatures to ferment and the process can take months. The results are beers with much more body to them.
As for beer brewing, I am just an amateur still. I use Extracts and specialty malts to brew my beer. I've stuck to ales, and stouts so far as have no way to lager my beer... YET. I'm saving for a used chest freezer and the thermostat converter. I tend to like smooth, amber slightly nutty brews with a low bitterness to them.
I really enjoyed a batch of Marzen/Oktoberfest beer made last march. I also love Guinness and will be brewing a clone of that soon. I want to find something similar to Killians Red if anyone has a recipe for either, please feel free to e-mail me.
I've acquired a MasterCook collection of Brewing Recipes lately. You might want to look into these. I just finished my Wild Mountain Cherry Mead too. I think it's a winner.
Some internet references to look up are:
Many books are available on brewing today. If you are seriously looking for well established recipes, Homebrew Favorites is published through Storey Publishing. It has 240 recipes in it. Mad About Mead! by Pamela Spence is an excellent reference for meadmakers. If you are looking for a good book to start you out in brewing beer, I recommend The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing by Charlie Papazian. This tome contains some background information and recipes for mead as well. There are also two recipe books put out by the AHA: Winners Circle and Victory Beer. Both are culled from entries in their national homebrew competition. Winners Circle is the older of the two. Each has about 100 recipes. Another collection that I'm looking into is Steve Snyder's Brewmasters Recipe Log. This is a spiral bound book. A good source for these and many more books is one of my favorite shops, Barnes and Noble.
For a more interactive approach to comparing recipes and brewing methods, go to •news:rec.crafts.brewing - Where the art of making beers and meads is discussed the world over.
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Last updated November 29, 2002