The Compleat Meadmaker : Home Production of Honey Wine From Your First Batch to Award-winning Fru

Ken Schramm
The Compleat Meadmaker : Home Production of Honey Wine From Your First Batch to Award-winning Fru

The Compleat Meadmaker : Home Production of Honey Wine From Your First Batch to Award-winning Fru
ISBN: 9780937381809
Publication Date: 27 September 2003

Since The Compleat Meadmakerwas first published, mead has continued to grow in popularity as crafted beverages have become an established part of the beverage market in America. In 2003 there were roughly 60 commercial meaderies in the US, but by 2020 this number stood at 450. Naturally, many hobbyists are also discovering the delights of making this "nectar of the gods" themselves. Thanks to the global distribution of bees and, therefore, honey, you will find mead-like drinks in virtually every corner of the world. No wonder historians recognize it as one of humankind's oldest fermented beverages. Mead production never really ceased in Europe and Africa, but its star was eclipsed with the increasing production and distribution of wine, beer, and distilled spirits from the 1600s onward. With the rebirth of brewing and the establishment of world-class wine producing regions in the US, it is time for mead in the twenty-first century to be brought back into the limelight. Mead needs to establish a vocabulary of its own and find a place in the hearts of homebrewers and home winemakers.

In The Compleat Meadmaker, veteran meadmaker Ken Schramm--one of the founders of the Mazer Cup Mead Competition, North America's oldest mead-only competition--introduces the novice to the wonders of mead. With easy-to-follow procedures and simple recipes, he shows how you can quickly and painlessly make your own mead at home. In later chapters, Schramm introduces flavorful variations on the basic theme that lead to meads flavored with spice, fruits, grapes, and malt.

The author covers the many aspects of meadmaking in a comprehensive but easy-to-read fashion, with something for novices and experienced brewers and vintners alike from basic equipment for m...