Stawberry Mead Recipe

How to Make Mead (and What the Heck is it??)

You may have heard some whispers and rumblings about mead lately, as how to make mead has become a bit of a hot topic. But, what is it, anyway? In its simplest form, it’s a fermented alcohol drink made with honey and water, also sometimes called “honey wine” or melomel.

Some historians claim that mead is the oldest form of alcohol created by humans, dating back thousands of years. If people back then could figure out how to make this delicious drink, then we certainly can now, and it doesn’t have to be difficult.

Small Batch Mead Recipe

The best way to start is on a small scale, and a gallon batch of mead is the perfect size for beginners. This mead recipe features fresh strawberries, but you can easily substitute your favorite fresh fruit. Say, blackberries. 

You can also use foraged items like linden flowers or blended wildflowers.

Ingredients

⦁ Honey — You’ll need about a quart of honey. This is the ingredient that feeds the fermentation process. It may seem like a lot of honey, but the sweetness will be negligible in the finished product.

⦁ Champagne yeast — This is a specialized ingredient, for sure. You can also use wine making yeast. You can order it here. 

⦁ Fresh strawberries — This is what gives this strawberry mead its fruity flavor. You can feel free to substitute other berries here for a different flavor.

⦁ Raisins — Opt for organic raisins. 

Equipment Needed for a One-Gallon Mead Recipe

If you start looking up how to make mead, you will notice that a lot of the mead recipes seem complicated, requiring fancy equipment. Maybe after a few tries you will want to expand your skills to that level, but this one gallon mead recipe sticks to the basics.

⦁ A one-gallon jug with a narrow neck for brewing. I prefer to use glass for this, as I don’t care for plastic, but a plastic jug will work in a pinch.

⦁ An airlock with a rubber stopper. You can alternatively use a balloon with a pinhole that is attached to the top of the jug. The gasses will be able to escape through the pinhole without letting any oxygen in. (You can also get the glass jug with airlock together for a better price).

⦁ A stainless steel pot

⦁ A big spoon

⦁ A funnel, bigger is better

⦁ A thermometer. Just a regular meat thermometer will do.

⦁ Sanitizer, I like One Step brand as it is easy to use and nontoxic. It is very important that you sanitize everything that will be used prior to brewing.

As soon as you add any fruit to mead, it is then called a “melomel,” so that is technically what this recipe is. Feel free to use any fruit you might have on hand, or leave the fruit out completely and just do a straight mead if you’d like. The process is the same either way.