Which Mead is Which?

     In an effort to further my understanding of Mead, I decided to look at what Wikipedia had available on the topic. There were a couple of very interesting discoveries that I made. Firstly, I found out that Mead and Honey-wine are actually two very different things. Mead is honey mixed with water that has been fermented with yeast then aged and bottled. Honey-wine on the other hand is actually Wine that has been flavored used Honey after the fermenting process has been completed.

       Secondly, upon learning this distinction I went on to further my understand of the different types of Meads. For example, Mead is often flavored using fruits, either during the fermenting or aging process; this type of Mead is known as a Melomel. I am currently brewing two five gallon batches of Mead that are actually known as Melomels; one batch flavored with Oranges and another flavored with Apples and Strawberries. It turns out that only one of my three batches is actually classified as a Traditional Mead. Meaning that the batch consists only of Honey with no additional flavors added.

      Thirdly, I found a list of types of meads that is very extensive; included are the types mentioned above: Meads, Honey-wines, and Melomels. In addition to these more typical kinds are types of another nature. Vikings Blood is mead mixed with cherry juice and White Mead is colored using egg whites. While I am not sure all of the other types of Meads suite my fancy, I do plan to continue experimenting with Meads.

Thoughts on Social Media

      I have been interacting on social networking sites for over eight years now.  While some people praise the abilities granted to you, others despise the very existence of Facebook and anything that looks like it. I can appreciate a person's desire to retain their privacy and anonymity, especially in the growing age of "Big Brother". Personally, I always seem to be the last of my friends to join any of these social networking sites but no matter how long I withhold, I inevitably find myself on the same sites as everyone else. Like a sad sheep I have joined these networks, unable to resist, they tend to consume my time and energy faster than any hobby of mine. Without requiring physical activity, I find that these sites tend to make me lazy, and often lead me to procrastinate even when I know I should not.

      There are many benefits to social networking sites and the internet's ability to connect us, but I believe that it is important to keep our activity on them in moderation. I have met people you spend hours on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram; I have even seen my co-workers use these sites while on the job, and friends use them while inside on a beautiful day. It saddens me a little to know that I myself have committed offense of this nature.

My Mead

         I have started producing my own mead and currently have 3 batches of mead fermenting and aging along. The first batch I made I used eighteen pounds of Berkley & Jensen Honey, four whole Oranges, five sticks of Cinnamon, and one hundred Raisins. I started this batch on November 14^th, 2012 and after 24 hours my mead began bubbling.

         The bubbling occurs because the yeast contained within the carboy (jug) has started to break down and consume the sugars in the honey, as this fermenting process ensues gases are released and travel out of the carboy through the airlock. If the Carboy of mead were capped off completely it would slowly pressurize and the glass jug would shatter, mead would go everywhere and it would be a horrible mess. Additionally the mead must be vented because if the mead is left un-capped at all the air will mix with the mead and will spoil the flavor.

       After three weeks, I racked the mead. Racking is the process of transferring the liquid from the carboy it is currently fermenting into a fresh, clean, carboy. The reason this is done is that as the yeast slowly eats the sugars it also slowly dies and begins to settle on the bottom of the jug. Racking allows you to leave the dead yeast behind so the sweet flavors of honey can be preserved and not destroyed by having dead yeast floating around in your glass. Yuck!

Check out this Mead

I first discovered mead about four months ago. I was at King Richard's Faire, a renaissance fair out of Carver, MA, where I was granted the opportunity to try a taste of mead.  It was delicious! I have enjoyed the taste of Honey for a long time but now to hold it in my hands in the form of an Adult Beverage brought honey to a completely new level for me. I started researching mead shortly after my visit to the fair and learned that it is a rather simple delicacy, which can easily be produced in the comforts of my or your home. Mead is a fermented beverage like beer or wine but more closely related to wine due to a lack of carbonation. To make mead you only need these simple items: twelve to eighteen pounds of honey (preferably pure, raw honey), a five-gallon Carboy (glass jug, which will run you around $35), yeast, water and an airlock (Which goes for around $1.25). That much honey can be purchased for around fifty dollars; if this all seems too expensive, the recipe can be scaled down to a one-gallon batch. Here is an example of a one-gallon recipe:

Orange clove mead

• 1 gallon of Spring Water
• Yeast: Fleishcmanns (1 packet)
• 25 Raisins
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 1 whole orange, sliced and peels included
• 1 pinch of allspice
• 1 pinch of nutmeg
• 3 1/2 pounds of clover honey
• 1 whole clove

  Here is an example of a brewing one-gallon batch.

Thoughts on Piracy

      Many people believe the piracy is destroying industries like the movie and music industries, but it would appear to me that most movie stars and rock, country, rap artists that are well known are still making millions of dollars. While piracy may reduce some of the money these artists would have otherwise receive, the commission they get from a cd is nothing compared to what they are paid for a live concert. Many people would not bother to spend the money on a cd even if they could not prate the songs. Yes, they might buy some cds but not nearly as much music as they are willing to take for free. But being subjected to music piracy artists are still getting their name out there and i think that is more important the more well known you are the more people will go to your concerts and you will still be making money. These artists are able to spread their message and communicate to the masses on a grander skill if they did not charge for their cd's for this reason many artists offer electronic versions of their work free online anyway. The internet is responsible for all of this not just the controversy but the way artists are communicating with their fans in general. Fans can now hear about concerts through tweets and facebook, they can watch video blogs of their artist on line and even listen to their music streaming on the internet.