Making mead is almost as easy as making cider and if you’ve already purchased the equipment and materials from the cider post you are ready to make a batch of mead. 

Equipment

1-gallon carboy

Airlock and bung

Auto-siphon with tube

Crown cap bottles with caps and a bottle capper or swing top bottles (I use swing top)

Optional – funnel; hydrometer (to determine ABV if desired; see below)

Materials

Yeast – I’ve used EC-1118 and D47. There are many different brewing yeasts available, but don’t use bread yeast: it will work, but the flavor won’t be very good.

32oz honey

0.8 gallons distilled water

A no-rinse sanitizer – I use Five Star PBW

Instructions

Sanitize your carboy, airlock, bung, and funnel if using, following the instructions of your chosen sanitizer. Put water and honey in a pot and heat until the honey has dissolved. Cool to below 120F. Take an initial reading with your hydrometer if you choose. Once your equipment is clean add your honey water to the carboy. Many yeast packets are 5 grams. You don’t need the whole packet for 1 gallon of mead so add 1/3 of a packet to the carboy. If your carboy came with a cap use that now; otherwise add the bung, put a clean finger over the hole, and shake the carboy for 2 minutes. This oxygenates the liquid which will help jump-start fermentation. Set the carboy in a dark space like a closet and stopper it with the bung and airlock (you’ll need to add water to the airlock up to the fill-line).

I allow my mead to ferment 6 weeks. Sanitize your auto-siphon, tube, bottles and tops. Taste your mead; if you are satisfied you can bottle it. If you would like your mead slightly carbonated and a little sweeter you can backsweeten by adding honey. I backsweeten by adding 1 tablespoon of honey directly to my 16-oz bottles before using the auto-siphon to fill them (called racking), leaving 1-1 1/2 inches of headspace. If this is your first time you can use a priming sugar calculator. Know that your mead still has active yeast – this produces carbonation in your bottles but if you add too much sugar your bottles could explode from the pressure. Also note that the longer you age your mead in the bottle after backsweetening the more alcoholic and less sweet it will become. I age my mead 6 months in the bottle before I put them in the refrigerator and start drinking them. If you are going to age your mead for several years the crown caps are a much better choice; don’t use swing tops for long aging times.

If you want to calculate the alcohol by volume (ABV) you’ll need a hydrometer along with this equation: (Final gravity – Initial gravity) X 131.25. I use this equation because I’m a homebrewer and I don’t need an exact ABV. If you want a more accurate measurement there are ABV calculators online. I’ve included instructions how to use a hydrometer below under Notes.

I’ve been making my own mead for years but I am still very much an amateur. The instructions above are as far as I’ve gone with mead-making and are adequate for my needs. There is much more to learn and if it interests you I suggest joining a brewing club or following several brewing sites for more expert advice.

Notes

To use a hydrometer

• • Before adding the yeast take a sample of the honey water

• • Put the hydrometer into a test jar and fill with the sample honey water until the hydrometer floats freely

• • Spin the hydrometer to remove air bubbles and note the reading at the meniscus – this is your initial gravity reading

• • To take the final gravity reading, take your sample after the fermentation period right before bottling and repeat the steps above
    
    • • The ABV will change a bit during aging but it becomes less accurate to take a gravity reading after carbonation occurs