Homebrew!

[DieMonkeys]

I've decided to make some mead. Yesterday on my google homepage there was a link to the wikihow dealing with making homemade wine, then after looking around a bit I found a recipe that'd allow me to make mead, aka the nectar of the gods! Me being the big nerd I am decided that mead was a much finer choice of first-time brew, also because it takes 2 months to make instead of 6 months for good wine.

Here's the link: http://www.winepress.us/forums/index.php?showtopic=6114

Now, I used a gallon milkjug (sterilized beforehand) and a balloon as a airlock (let it fill with c02 then pierce it with a needle so it lets the c02 out and no air in). I also sterilized all the water used beforehand, it doesn't mention doing that on the website.

Anyone else gonna try?

[Loonette]

Sorry dude - count me out. The last time I touched homemade wine was New Year's Eve, 1982 - I was turning 15 years old at the strike of midnight, and that darn wine made me so sick. Well, maybe it was how much I drank (duh!), but ever since then I've sworn off the homemade brews. I like to leave it to the professionals. Good luck though - let us know how it turns out.

Cheers,
Loonette

[Shiv]

Awesome. There's tons of forums on how to make homebrew stuff too.

I used to be into growing tomatoes (for an entire season, none the less) and since tomatoes are considered a fruit, the forum I looked on to compare whether my tomatoes leaves should really be a sickly brown color - which they're not, by the way - would have a ton of grape growing people who loved nothing more than to have a home made winery.

[Shorts]

Anyone else gonna try?

No. I'll just go to the liquor store.

[DieMonkeys]

Anyone else gonna try?

No. I'll just go to the liquor store.

I don't think you can get mead in the liquor store.

Though, I've never really looked.

I just checked on the mead, it's in a cabinet in my kitchen where it should be safe, at least until my mom starts cooking and decides to use it in something.

It's all bubbly, which is good, means the yeasties are alive and kicking!

[Shorts]

lol I was just referring to 'if I want alcohol I'll go to the liquor store', not necessarily to buy mead

[jmillheiser]

A better liquor store may have one or two varities of mead. There is not a lot of commercially brewed mead out there and most of the stuff you can get at a liquor store is terrible in comparison to even a semi decent homebrew.

Best place to find advice on brewing mead would be a local SCA group, theres always a brewer or two floating around most larger SCA groups.

You also want to age the mead longer than 2 months, the longer its aged the smoother the flavor, and dont use sulfiteing agents to stop the fermentation that always ruins the flavor.

[TechTMW]

Anyone else gonna try?

No. I'll just go to the liquor store.

I don't think you can get mead in the liquor store.

That's because Mead is disgusting. But then again, maybe I've just never had any "good" mead.

Next time try doing some beer or wine. If your mead comes out drinkable, step up to the biggies. A little patience goes a long way.

If I may share a story ... One of my neighbors is an Old italian guy who raises pigs and chickens, and makes his own wine in a great big cellar. (He makes a few hundred bottles a year of both white and red) Anyway, One day a female Italian friend along with my wife and I went to buy some eggs from this guy. We found him in his wine cellar, and when he saw us come in, he started going nuts and shouting in Neapolitan "What do you want!?" He pointed at the Ladies and demanded, "Are you on your Period!?" And both women were surprised, but the (older) italian lady says, "No, I'm on menopause." And she turns around and asks my wife if she's 'on her period', which my wife was not. So the old man calms down a bit and sells us eggs, but he's glaring at the women until we all leave.

I stuck around and asked him for an explanation, and he told me that women can not enter the cellar during wine making season when they are having their period because it will surely ruin the wine!

Just a little Italian wisdom I thought I'd pass along to you...

[DieMonkeys]

That's because Mead is disgusting. But then again, maybe I've just never had any "good" mead.

Next time try doing some beer or wine. If your mead comes out drinkable, step up to the biggies. A little patience goes a long way.

Most mead is made with honey, that's what mead is, honey wine. However you can make it without honey, for example, instead of honey just use sugar.

I'm doing mead because it seemed like a good intro into homebrewing. Also, I've never tasted mead and I'd like to know what it tastes like, mainly because of the mentions in all sorts of folklore.

I'd like to do beers and wines, maybe a cyser next, after I get my carboy and airlock. A nice drink for christmastime.

I figured that a nice slowpaced hobby would be good to counter my fastpaced hobby of motorcycling. (TWO MORE WEEKS! WOOOOO!)

[Shorts]

Anyone else gonna try?

No. I'll just go to the liquor store.

I don't think you can get mead in the liquor store.

That's because Mead is disgusting. But then again, maybe I've just never had any "good" mead.

Next time try doing some beer or wine. If your mead comes out drinkable, step up to the biggies. A little patience goes a long way.

If I may share a story ... One of my neighbors is an Old italian guy who raises pigs and chickens, and makes his own wine in a great big cellar. (He makes a few hundred bottles a year of both white and red) Anyway, One day a female Italian friend along with my wife and I went to buy some eggs from this guy. We found him in his wine cellar, and when he saw us come in, he started going nuts and shouting in Neapolitan "What do you want!?" He pointed at the Ladies and demanded, "Are you on your Period!?" And both women were surprised, but the (older) italian lady says, "No, I'm on menopause." And she turns around and asks my wife if she's 'on her period', which my wife was not. So the old man calms down a bit and sells us eggs, but he's glaring at the women until we all leave.

I stuck around and asked him for an explanation, and he told me that women can not enter the cellar during wine making season when they are having their period because it will surely ruin the wine!

Just a little Italian wisdom I thought I'd pass along to you...

lol oh that's nasty