Quick Mead - Ancient Orange
By definition brewing mead is a slow process and as many experienced folks know, you should try to avoid impatience when trying to craft something special. A quick mead recipe throws out those long held beliefs, trading them for a brew that is, not quite perfect but, certainly delicious, easy and accessible to everyone. Make sure to use a glass carboy for this one - this is my favorite one!
Once you try a quick mead you will change your mind about waiting a year for every mead you brew. Sure, a long fermentation time, rest and the aging process can produce amazing results and should not be ignored. Sometimes, though, you just 'gotta have it quick!' The following is a recipe for a quick orange mead that has been passed around the dark depths of the internet for many years. Its original name is Joe's Ancient Orange Mead and was formulated on the idea that mead should be simple. Way back when, mead was not as complicated and he thought we should get back to the roots. I have tweaked the recipe ever so slightly, so feel free to do the same.
Targets Style
1 gallon Sweet Mead
ABV ~14%
Ingredients
3 lbs clover honey (or Wildflower!)
2 oz buckwheat honey
1 orange or 3 clementines (ripe, in season only!)
30 raisins
1 stick cinnamon (spicier sticks will show through well)
3 whole cloves
1 tsp Fleischmann's Yeast
or better yet, Champagne yeast
Materials
1 gallon glass carboy
drilled stopper
airlock
siphon & bottles/caps
(as always, sanitize all of the above)
sanitizer
Procedure
Mix the honey with tepid to warm water, filling half the jug. Shake the hell out of it, seriously, for like five minutes. Wash the orange, cut it into slices that will easily fit in the jug (getting them out is less work if the pieces are small) and stuff them in. Add the raisins, cloves and cinnamon stick. Fill the jug, leaving two inches of airspace for bubbles and foam. After the water has reached about room temperature, add the yeast and swirl. Stopper it up, set the airlock and put it, covered, in a dark room and watch it go! Warmer temperatures are fine but I would still recommend keeping it between 60 and 70 F.
the grape juice is for the grape mead found here!
Leave the mixture, untouched, for 60 days, siphon off to bottles and enjoy! This mead does age well but that is not the point! Drink it when you feel like it and be free from the heavy burden that goes with drinking a bottle that is 5 years old that you only have a case of.
Cheers