My buddy got some 12% spiced mead-

Boy was it NOT what I was expecting. I was expecting something sweet, honeyish, with alcohol.


It tasted liked super-watered down paint thinner.

At first it tasted like warm water, then with a paint thinnerish taste, and then othing. I was massivly dissappointed.

EDIT: Spelled the fucking topic correctly

How the Hell do you know what watered-down paint thinner tastes like?

Quoted: How the Hell do you know what watered-down paint thinner tastes like?

Ever play truth or dare?

I have an ETX 90 Mak-Cass that is a great spotting/spying scope.  Hey, you were asking about Meade





Now the alcoholic drink made from honey, that is Mead.  Lots of stuff about mead.

Try drinking some Mead next time.

Quoted: Try drinking some Mead next time.

oops, I forgot Meade is different than Mead!


psh- you know what I meant. So have you ever had it before?>

Meade?  Mead?  Absolutely not!

Quoted: Try drinking some Mead next time.

Amen....the MEAD that I have had was PHENOMENAL.

Even in small doses it will knock you on your ass!

fixed it.

Brew my own every year.  If done right, it is REALLY good and pretty sneaky.

I've had commercial mead that didn't taste good and some that actually tasted like "honey wine". I've known people who take a sour, white wine and add honey to it and call it mead (it's not).
A friend makes home made mead that is truely the nectar of the gods. It's sweet, smooth, golden fire that'll knock you on your butt before you even feel the burn. Yum.


So, I guess what I'm saying is, don't judge mead by what your friend gave you. Just like beer, or anything else, different recipes make different tastes.

Didn't the term "honeymoon" come from the custom of drinking mead on your wedding night?  Like honey - moon?

Anyone?

I make my own. Usually hovers around 15%. Its like a port but made from Honey. I make a Sack Mead. I am going to try a Raspberry Sack next.

ETA I have 2 bottles of Cyser that smell and tast like Apple pie still in the garage.

Quoted: Didn't the term "honeymoon" come from the custom of drinking mead on your wedding night?  Like honey - moon? Anyone?

You are correct.

Yeah a gf of mine made it.   Sweet tasty, and hot.

yep, tastes like crap and thats all I remember from those three or four days

They just a Meade sampling at Thunder Bay Brewing last month.  That stuff ole sneak up on ya.  But was absolutely delicious.

Funny you should mention this! I had a bottle of it last night! Good stuff!

I've actually been considering making some.  I have quite a bit of research to do before attempting it though.  

Quoted: I've actually been considering making some.  I have quite a bit of research to do before attempting it though.

sterilize-  sterilize - sterilize and you will be fine. Hardest part is the waiting.

I am going to buy a filter kit as my patience sucks and using eggwhites to clear it is risky. I noticed my meads taste best at 2 months (still cloudy) or 2 years, everything in between is poor. I am going to just start bottling at 2 months.

My first time making mead involved 2 liter soda bottles and baloons, bread yeast, store bought honey and some raisins for energizers. I have never boiled my must yet I guess thats why mine takes forever to clear.

Olivet winery in Indiana makes a good mead.  My wife and enjoy some every now and then.

Wow you must have gotten a funky batch of the stuff because one of my buddies makes mead and his was great. A little alcohol bite but very tasty indeed. From what he says, when it tastes like that, it needs to age longer.

Mead is only as good as the maker.
To point, when I first started making it friends called it "liquid rocket fuel". Then I learned what I was doing.
Since then I've probably made 100 gal's of it.

Mjöd rocks!

I could wish to have been the first to fall in Catraeth,
As the price of mead in the hall, and the beverage of wine;
I could wish to have been pierced by the blade,
Ere he was slain on the green plain of Uffin.
I loved the son of renown, who caused blood to flow,
And made his sword descend upon the violent.
Can a tale of valour before Gododdin be related,
In which the son of Ceidiaw has not his fame as a man of war?

Like beer and wine...there is the good stuff, and there is the paint thinner tasting sucky stuff.

Seems you tried the latter.

"Tis constancy in the good fight alone,
Best justifies the mead thy valiant sons have won."

Yep. My roommate brews the stuff. Some of it is pretty damned tasty - but the stuff I tried from the store shelf tasted like cough syrup.

Not to hijack...but does anyone know of a good commercial brand???

If so, IM me so I don't steal the thread.

Quoted: Quoted: I've actually been considering making some.  I have quite a bit of research to do before attempting it though.   sterilize-  sterilize - sterilize and you will be fine. Hardest part is the waiting. I am going to buy a filter kit as my patience sucks and using eggwhites to clear it is risky. I noticed my meads taste best at 2 months (still cloudy) or 2 years, everything in between is poor. I am going to just start bottling at 2 months. My first time making mead involved 2 liter soda bottles and baloons, bread yeast, store bought honey and some raisins for energizers. I have never boiled my must yet I guess thats why mine takes forever to clear.

is it against th elaw to ship mead?  If not, I'll buy some off of you, I've always wanted to try it.

I've never had a commercial mead that I thought tasted very good.  One of my friends brews several differant batches of mead a year and I've yet to taste something of his that I outright do not like.  That said, it takes a long time to brew and if you open the bucket early and try it green, look out.  

Quoted: is it against th elaw to ship mead?  If not, I'll buy some off of you, I've always wanted to try it.

It's not the shipping that is illegal, it's the buy part.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I've actually been considering making some.  I have quite a bit of research to do before attempting it though.   sterilize-  sterilize - sterilize and you will be fine. Hardest part is the waiting. I am going to buy a filter kit as my patience sucks and using eggwhites to clear it is risky. I noticed my meads taste best at 2 months (still cloudy) or 2 years, everything in between is poor. I am going to just start bottling at 2 months. My first time making mead involved 2 liter soda bottles and baloons, bread yeast, store bought honey and some raisins for energizers. I have never boiled my must yet I guess thats why mine takes forever to clear. is it against th elaw to ship mead?  If not, I'll buy some off of you, I've always wanted to try it.

I cant sell it but if your State is cool with it I can send you one no charge. Right now I dont have enough. In a couple months I should have some ready and I will make sure to contact you.

I love the stuff... if it's made correctly.

Quoted: Not to hijack...but does anyone know of a good commercial brand??? If so, IM me so I don't steal the thread.

+1 I would like to know as well.

Quoted: Not to hijack...but does anyone know of a good commercial brand??? If so, IM me so I don't steal the thread.

No, no, don't IM. Share the knowledge.

I've been on the lookout ever since I heard about it here. What's the best way to get some (I'm in NY)?

They dont sell much Mead near me thats why I make my own but the Chaucers Raspberry Mead is pretty good. Their regular stuff is ok but not great. I would recommend it for a first timer if thats all that was available.

MEAD - THE WEDDING STORY
While the origin of the terms "Wedding, Bride & Bridegroom" have been traced back as far as the 9th century, young men have been "wooing" young women only since the 11th century, about the same time that they first called each other "dear". We've only been calling each other sweetheart since the 13th century and we've only been "courting" since the 16th century. Even more recently than that, during the 17th century, young Irish men began referring to their sweetheart as a "flame". Marriage in the Middle Ages was quite different than it is today. To begin with when people spoke of good match, they were referring more to what someone could bring to the union in the way of possessions, rather than possibilities.

However the expression "Honeymoon" may be older than most of the terms above. The phrase "Honeymoon" did not evolve from a term of endearment of a decryption of an event. It literally depicted the period of time during which a particular marital convention followed; specifically what the bride and groom did for one full moon after their wedding.

If not for some Irish monks in the Middle Ages, none of us would refer to the post-matrimonial period as a "Honeymoon". Although it is said that the monks originally produced Mead for medicinal purposes, its popularity soon proved that it could make even people who were well, feel even better. Not to say that weddings would have been altered if Mead were not invented, it's more that the nature and quality of the celebration following the wedding would have been affected, the honey-based drink was the origin of the term "honeymoon".

Even since the fame of the Irish monks' "brew" spread throughout medieval Ireland, it was believed that mead was essential for sending off the bride and groom after wedding. It was used both as a final toast and as a proper beginning of the marriage. Following the wedding, the Bride & Groom were provided with enough Mead to toast each other after their wedding, hence the term "honeymoon".

This delicate, yet potent drink was not only considered the best way to start a new marriage, it was also believed to enhance such valued qualities as fertility and virility. On numerous occasions the groom laced with generous amounts of Mead, was carried by his friends to the bedside of his bride. If nine months later, a bouncing baby appeared, credit was given to the Mead.

References have been found on Mead as early as the 5th century and it was in wide use by the Middle Ages. So it seems that the "Honeymoon" tradition may be even older than our contemporary wedding traditions. According to Irish tradition, when it's time to bring festivities to a close, the wedding party gathers around the bride and groom. All fill their glasses with Mead;

The newly wedded couple raise their new honeymoon goblets and, if they wish, recite an Irish toast;
Friends and relatives
So fond and dear
'Tis our greatest pleasure
To have seen you here.
When many years
This day has passed,
Fondest memories
Will always last
So we drink a cup of
Irish Mead
And ask God's blessing
In your hour of need.

The family and guests in the Wedding party raise their glasses of
Mead and respond:

On this you're special day,
Our wish to you,
The goodness of the old,
The best of the new,
God bless you both,
Who drink this Mead,
May it always fill
Your every need.

ETA: The above is from the Bunratty website.  I have a bottle of their Mead(e) that I have not had the reason to open.  I could not vouch to it's flavor, but I hope it's good!

Chaucer's is pretty good.
Also these people do a pretty good mead.White Winter