More ButterBeers... Alcohol Content

[alshainofthenorth]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tammy Rizzo" <tammy at m...> wrote:

> Oh, don't stop sharing there, Alshain!  Tell us more!  Give us a
recipe!  It sounds 
> quite tasty, and I for one would love to try it.
> 
> ***
> Tammy
> tammy at m...

OK. Disclaimer: IANAH (I Am Not A Home-Brewer). I'm not quite sure
I've got the hang on conversions from metric to imperial, so don't sue
me if anything goes wrong. Keep everything as clean as you possibly
can. Be careful with the yeast. I could tell you stories about
inadvertently making "champagne mead" by dividing every ingredient by
half except for the yeast, but they're infinitely more amusing when
told by somebody else.

Serious home-brewers might be more interested in making the medieval
version made with honey and spices (though not suitable for children).
Check e.g. http://www.rabbitsfootmeadery.com/

2 1/2 gallons of water
2 lbs. soft brown sugar (you'll get a lighter version if you use half
brown half white sugar, and an even darker version if you add molasses.)
2-4 lemons, to taste (If you're picky about pesticides you'll want
organic ones, since the rind is used as well)
One quarter of a teaspoon of *fresh* yeast -- we've always used baking
yeast at home, but I suppose you can use brewer's yeast if you have it.
That's the basics. Some people add dried mint, hops or fresh ginger.

Peel off the yellow part of the lemon rind, then peel away the white
part and discard. Slice lemons in thin slices (if you're feeling lazy,
just squeeze out the juice.)

Heat a gallon of the water to boiling temp and dissolve the sugar in
it. Mix this syrup with the peel+slices/juice of lemon and the cold
water in a large, clean container (I usually buy the cheapest kind of
plastic bucket and clean it with hot water)and let it cool to body
temperature. Dissolve the yeast in a small part of the liquid and add
to the rest, making sure that everything's properly dissolved. Cover
with a lid and leave in room temperature overnight.

Next day you'll bottle the mead, so wash up a lot of big plastic
bottles in hot water (glass *might* break, even though you don't use
that much yeast). Once the bottles are clean, add a teaspoon of white
sugar and 4-5 raisins (the sugar gives some extra boost to the yeast,
the raisins are there to tell you when the mead's ready to drink) into
each bottle and strain in the mead. Close the bottles and leave to
ferment again until the raisins have floated to the tops of the
bottles. In room temp, it takes between two and three days; in a
cooler place, about a week.  It keeps for about a week, stored in the
fridge.

Alshain (might just be about to commit the almost-heresy of making
mead in the autumn. Oh, Beltane or Samhain, who cares. :-) )