Honey ale (mead)
54 Servings
Ingredients
| Quantity | Ingredient | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | pounds | Buckwheat honey |
| 4 | ounces | Styrian Goldings hops |
| 7 | grams | Red Star Ale yeast |
| 1 | teaspoon | Acid blend |
| 1 | teaspoon | Yeast nutrient |
| 1 | cup | Corn sugar |
Directions
Boil honey and 3 gallons water with 3 ounces hops for 47 minutes, add 1 ounce last 7 minutes. Before adding hops, skim off the scum that rises to the top. Cool and pour into fermenter and top to 5 gallons. Add acid blend, nutrients and re-hydrated yeast. When fermentation completes, mix with 1 cup sugar, a little yeast and bottle. This was the very first beer I ever made and 7 years ago most people I knew didn't worry about the bittering units of the hops. I would guess that they were around 3% AAU's.
Red star was the main yeast used at the time. Yeast nutrient is necessary since the honey does not have the required food for the beasties. I used buckwheat honey because I like the flavor. Do not drink this beer until at least 1 month after bottl- ing. Since it is made from honey the ale improves with age. A bottle that I saved for 4 and a half years tasted so good that I wish I had saved more! The beer had a very nice honey aroma and flavor. The hops were enough to balance the sweetness. I don't think that I would change anything except try to make more and keep it a while before drinking. Original Gravity: 1.031 Final Gravity: 0.997 Recipe By : David Haberman
From: Big Flavors Of The Hot Sun By Chr File