Maple Mead

Classification: mead, maple mead

Source: RON.admin@admin.creol.ucf.edu (RON), Mead Digest #269, 2/22/94

3 weeks after bottling had a dry - light "Bristol Cream" taste. Now has a great light mead flavor with a tangy maplish dry undertone.

Now I think 10 lbs of honey, light boiling and a different yeast to sweeten it up a bitand would make for a more flavorful maple mead.

Ingredients:

6 lb Canadian Honey
32 oz container of Canadian Grade A Dark Amber Maple Syrup
1 tsp. gypsum
3/4 tsp. pectin
1 tsp. yeast nutrient
1 tsp. table salt
1 tsp. acid blend
1 pkg. M&F ale yeast in 2 cup wort - yeast starter
1 oz. Saaz cube hops (1/2 boil, 1/2 fin)

Procedure:

Added gypsum and salt to 1.5 gal filtered water, boiled, removed from heat, added honey and maple syrup, back to heat, hops added (10 min), pectin, yeast nut., acid blend added (25 min), yeast starter started, boiling well, skimmed off albumin (sp?), heat off and fin hops(45 min), chilled in ice bath (~30min), put in 6 gal carboy, pitched yeast and enough water to make 5.5 gal. Racked in 2 weeks. Bottled 10 weeks later w/ 1/3 cup corn sugar + 1/2 cup Florida Orange Blossom Honey.

Specifics:

O.G.: 1.080
F.G.: 1.005