lid wrote:
Danno wrote:


Am watching my first 4 litres of mead bubble nicely on the kitchen table,
would have liked to have used my shiny new 23l carboy(s) to do it, but the
cost of the honey seemed too high to warrent the experiment.


Small first batches are a good idea. There is nothing more frustrating
than pouring out 5 gallons of brew after waiting a year.

How much did you pay for the honey? In the US, if you're paying more
than about $24/G you're paying too much.


My initial foray
seems to be going well so far, but am wondering if I can exchange some of
the honey with sugar? I was thinking of using a plain brown sugar in place
of a few kg of honey, otherwise, just a basic honey wine.


You certainly could, though it feels intrinsically 'wrong' to me. I've never
tried brown sugar against a honey base so I'm not sure how it would taste.
(Now against cider... mmmm, brown sugar, how come you taste so good?)

BTW, there's also a rec.crafts.meadmaking if you are looking for the
more mead-y than wine-y folks. Also, check out www.gotmead.com.

-- WB

I agree. Often if you buy direct from a beekeeper, either at his place
of business or a farmers market, you will get a better price than from a
store (plus you are supporting your local beekeeper, and the honey you
get from him will most likely be a quality than that bought in a store).
Beekeepers are interesting to talk to and you will learn things from
them about honey, also you may get a deal on honey they can not sell to
the public (crystalized, already fermenting, bad colour, unpopular
flavour etc). Honey prices are high right now because it the beekeepers
have had problems with mites and a bad winter last year (at least around
here, it was so cold that many beekeeper lost most of their hives). Who
knows you may even decide to take up beekeeping.

You might also be interested in the Mead Lovers Digest
(www.talisman.com/mead) which is sent by email, it has lots of
information on honey, brewing, mead, recipes, etc.
Ken