Elderberry Mead, with kit
For those of you looking for an easier approach to meads, let me recommend the kits sold by Ambrosia Farm. I tried out their Elderberry mead kit, and was delighted with the result! It produces a short mead, similar to what was enjoyed in the 1600s, and can be found in cookbooks like The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Opened.
All you need in addition to the kit is 2 lb. honey and a gallon of water. You can stop the fermentation at your desired sweetness level simply by putting it in the fridge.
I loved the flavor and sweetness of my batch after about 6 days. Light, with light floral tones and heavier fruity ones, it was a wonderful and easy brew for the last warm summer evenings of the year. As it sat and aged a few more days at a time, the sweetness decreased, and was replaced with more of an alcoholic kick. It’s a rough kind of mead, but will definitely do the trick! ;)
Awww….No shipping to Canada…. = (
This looks great. Thanks for the suggestion!
I wish that you would have posted this two weeks ago. I just started a batch that will be ready in about 4 months. I could have used a kit like that when I was making it.
Awesome! What type are you making?
Greetings from germany!
Only 6 days of fermenting make a very rough and edgy mead, my own batches usual take several month. Longest time was 9 month fermenting with a fir honey mead on portwine yeast two years ago. Ended at about 16 Vol% alcohol at the time of bottling. I still have some for “special occasions”.
I started with just honey and water. I plan on adding cinnamon, vanilla, and citrus for the next batch. I’ll Probably make more kinds after that.
Tried the “red wine” type, I think the elderberry. Left it for the full 14 days because it was in the garage where it got kind of cool at night.
Its ok. It probably sat too long on the yeast and the flavor I’m getting might be the musty flavor they mention. I bought 3 so I’m going to try being a bit more diligent with the next batch.
Also trying the wilding cider at the same time.
Great! I look forward to hearing how the other experimental brews go…
What’s included in the kit? I’ve never done something like this, so I don’t really know where to get the kind of bottles you’d need for it.
You should be able to use the 1 gallon jug of water that can be bought at the store, and make the mead in that.
Be advised – my lady wife ordered two of these mead kits. The yeast packets included in the kits were both dead. We had to make a quick run to the local brew shop (which fortunately wasn’t closed for the day yet!) and pick up a live yeast culture.
Oh no! That’s such a shame! I’m glad you were able to make a last minute substitution.