Tommy's Biscuit Mead

I called it Tommy's Biscuit Mead because I used my wife's bread machine yeast for it. A friend laughed and said it would taste like sourdough bread. For a detailed tutorial on how to make this basic, but tasty mead, go here.

Special thanks to Will Kalif from StormTheCastle.com for helping me through the process and providing the recipe.

Recipe:
3 lbs Rice's Lucky Clover Honey
1 large orange
25 raisins
1 gal of distilled water
2-1/4 teaspoons Red Star Bread Machine Yeast

Estimated Bottling Date: 3/6/2009

11/23/2008 @ 9:15PM

Made must and pitched yeast

11/24/2008 @ 6:00AM

Fermentation started

11/30/2008 8:45PM

All of the honey has been consumed. I'm a little concerned about how quickly that went. How can the main fermentation process continue for another 1-1/2 to 2 weeks? The fizzing sound of the CO2 being released is still pretty active, though. It definitely smells very good, pretty much like mead. I'm also concerned about how to siphon out the liquid without sucking up the lees. I'm going to research racking canes to see if they have any sort of filtration built in. Also, I'm thinking that, when I rack it, I'm going to make a airlock out of clear plastic tubing. Since I don't have a 1-Gallon glass jug available (and I don't want to purchase one just yet), I'll probably just use a milk-jug-style plastic water jug for racking and then use some wine bottles for bottling. However, I need to research the ramifications of re-using corks.

12/10/2008 @ 9:25PM

If I empty the balloon, it is very slow to refill. I can still see that there are a fairly large amount of bubbles rising from the bottom, so I know the fermentation process is still going on. I'm four days shy of three weeks, and the tutorial ( http://www.stormthecastle.com/mead/fast-cheap-mead-making.htm ) says to rack it after 2-1/2 to 3 weeks. I may try to hold out until the weekend. I can't wait to get my first taste.

12/12/2008 @ 6:30PM

The balloon was sagging this morning, so I picked up a nice, clear water jug from the grocery store and a 10-foot length of tubing. Stephen helped me rack the mead. I had him hold the tube half way into the must jug while I started the siphoning. Then he held the tube to the bottom of the receiving jug while I took over the end in the must jug. Holding the tube to the bottom of the receiving jug helped prevent air from mixing with the mead. The tubing has a natural tendency to curve, so I was able to keep the opening flat against the side of the must jug and move it downward slowly as the water level decreased. Then I tilted the jug a little to get as much of the mead out as I could without sucking up the lees. So, filtration was unnecessary. Stephen and I took a small sample of the mead. It was deliciously sweet, and we could taste the alcohol in it. I then placed a new balloon and rubber band on top of the clear jug to let the mead clarify. Now to wait three months! Stephen had a great idea: Cantaloupe mead! Stevo's Cantaloupe Melomel.

12/13/2008 @ 8:00AM

There appears to be a fair amount of fermentation going on, as the balloon inflated rather quickly. There is also a lot of sediment/lees in the bottom of the new jug. I think next time I will arrange some filter for racking.

12/17/2008 @7:40AM

It appears that the fermentation is pretty much over. Quite a bit of lees had accumulated in the bottom of the jug. However, I'm not seeing any more white powder forming in the ridges of the jug (this is not a perfectly smooth jug). I'll watch it for the rest of this week. If no more fermentation takes place, I may rack it again into a clean jug so that the mead isn't sitting on lees. Interestingly, it no longer smells as sweet as it did during the fermentation process. Probably because it isn't producing as much gas. It will be interesting to see what it tastes like if/when I rack it again.

01/01/2009@4:45PM

It's coming along very nicely. I can just barely see through it now. So that's an improvement. It still smells really good. I'm thinking pretty hard about racking it again, maybe this weekend, using a filter. There is a fair amount of lees in the bottom again, and I definitely want to avoid any off-tastes if I can.

01/04/2009@4:30PM

I squeezed the air out of the balloon yesterday, and it never recovered. Linda helped me rack it this afternoon. I used a piece of a nylon stocking as a filter. This kept the floaties (probably fragments of the original orange) out. We tried to sample a little bit of it, but it was so good I ended up pouring about 1/3 of a wine glass of it! Linda actually liked it and said she thinks it has a higher alcohol content than the typical wine. It is good indeed. That should be the last time I have to rack it. I'm seriously thinking about racking 1/2 gallon of it into a glass jar I have and drinking the rest. I wonder if my patience will hold...

1/08/2009@6:30AM

It has made a leap in clarification. This morning I could see my hand through it. This wasn't possible two days ago.

2/08/2009 @ 6:30PM

Wend ahead and bottled it. It seemed really clear in the fermenting bottle, but I think it still has a VERY little bit left to go. No matter. It tastes GREAT. I bottled it in a 1/2 gallon fruit juice jug and a 1 quart Poweraid bottle. Decided to go the cheapest route since we're tightening up our budget somewhat and everybody needs to pitch in.

I had a little less than a pint left over, and Linda and I drank it. She says she really liked it and gave it an 8 out of 10.