Mead?

[NeilMacleod]

I used to make Mead in the 70-80's, simple..
Honey , water, Lemon/Orange juice and a natural whole grape for the yeast. (Florida had Oranges in 1835)
In general Sugar was measured as 5%alc/1lb/Imp.gal. Honey would be 4%.
Age at least 6months.

 

[Red Owl]

Madeira wine is actually from Portugal, they own islands off the coast of Africa, the Madeira Islands and it is from there. Now a days, made everywhere. If you have had Veal Marsala, the Madeira is similar but I prefer it. Taylor had a cheap version for around $6 - $7 a bottle but if you can't find that- you'll pay around $16. It is in the class of sipping or desert wines, you drink just a little of it along with a cube of cheese, etc. You don't have a big goblet and drink it with your dinner/supper, as a normal thing.
No disrespect for the folks that like mead. I have tried to find some, most of what I have found- I think- it not the real thing. It is on my bucket list, my only issue was whether any was consumed here in Colonial Days. I have no idea, just never read about it.

 

[Whughett]

I mentioned in another thread that I home brewed for a period of time but stopped maybe 15 years ago. Pictured are two bottles of raspberry mead, from a recipe from Charlie Papazian, I believe. The orginial brew was 5 gallons which I bottled into 24 bottles. These two are part of maybe 10 bottles left. I had forgotten about them until this thread.
This was at least 20 years ago. I retired in “97” amd it was that time frame.
So I chilled these and cracked one open. Clear, high alcohol content very dry, to my uneducated palate taste is that of a dry rose wine.
I do recall mentioned in that book that the Meade was best aged.
The bottle caps used were supposedly designed for long term storage and prevented any intrusion of oxygen.

 

[Brokennock]

I really should try some. I've always wanted to, but it being described as a wine has made me hold off.
I can drink beer/ale, most hard ciders, and liquor (although there are quite a few hard liquors I just don't like), but I can't drink wine.
Doesn't matter if it is sweet or dry, or what color it is, as soon as it is in my mouth I get intense heart burn. And I mean INTENSE.

 

[DuncNZ]

I have read that the honeybee was brought as early as the late 1600’s.

I have read where the honey bee preceded the European settlement from east to west by a couple of years and the Natives called it the white man's fly

 

[glidingdoc]

Madiera was discovered by accident in all senses of the tale. The island was "discovered " by a Portuguese navigator who thought he had landed on the coast of Africa. His men built camp fires which got out of hand and he returned to explain to his sovereign that he had accidentally burnt down Africa. Later, the island was rediscovered and the burnt vegetation had made the ground very fertile so they grapes and made wine. The wine was shipped back to Portugal in wooden casks but the sailing ships lay becalmed for many weeks in hot sun. The crew thought the wine would be ruined but it turned out that they had discovered Madeira wine.

 

[Bnewberry]

I have read where the honey bee preceded the European settlement from east to west by a couple of years and the Natives called it the white man's fly

With good conditions the hives will grow and when the numbe of bees gets big enough they will swarm to create a second colony. If the beekeepe doesn’t catch the swarm or prevent it the bees will go wild.

 

[TNsourdough]

From my readings, I'd say that beer and cider in all its forms were more common, especially away from the cities. They were easier to make with local ingredients.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

No disrespect for the folks that like mead. I have tried to find some, most of what I have found- I think- it not the real thing. It is on my bucket list, my only issue was whether any was consumed here in Colonial Days. I have no idea, just never read about it.

For the longest time, what we had here in the US was imported "mead" and it was normally a pyment or pymeet.... it was a mixture of white wine and honey. Now one can find both sweet and dry mead, made only with honey.

I have read where the honey bee preceded the European settlement from east to west by a couple of years and the Natives called it the white man's fly

That is correct.

From my readings, I'd say that beer and cider in all its forms were more common, especially away from the cities. They were easier to make with local ingredients.

Well as with mead needing honey, if one is going to make cider aka cyder or syder, one needs the apples. And really good cider needs specific apples.

IF folks want to look at an online copy, here is the book mentioned by Townsends :
The Practical Bee Master

So here is a recipe from 1786 for Mead but since it uses hops, this is actually a methaglin:

Here are two from 1787, but the first is also a methaglin, and I'm not sure if (today) by adding sugar you still have "mead"

Perhaps the reason why it was not so popular by the 18th century was the time needed to age the product, PLUS it had become known that beer (well Ale) was much healthier (likely due to the B vitamins from the yeast within the beverage). It was also a water source when the beer was small beer, and one can't wait a year to have a drink, eh?

LD

 

[Cruzatte]

This makes me wonder if “port” was named such because it stayed in port rather than shipped or for some other reason. Just a wild guess there.

No, Port wine comes from Portugal and was originally exported through Oporto, hence the name. It's another fortified wine like madeira, or sherry.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Here's mead making for the complete novice...

How to Make Your Own Mead

LD

 

[Nuthatch]

No, Port wine comes from Portugal and was originally exported through Oporto, hence the name. It's another fortified wine like madeira, or sherry.

Ah, yes! Thanks for the reminder on that. I made some “port” years ago from local Zin grapes and brandy. Wasn’t too bad. Wasn’t too good though either.

 

[Nuthatch]

With good conditions the hives will grow and when the numbe of bees gets big enough they will swarm to create a second colony. If the beekeepe doesn’t catch the swarm or prevent it the bees will go wild.

Yep. After their forced relocation, some of the Cherokees settled at Honey Creek (OK, I believe), which was named for all the feral hives living in the trees there.
Nowadays, they live in cities in people’s walls and water meters. Though I have found a couple of feral colonies in the backcountry too. Those city swarms are a reliable source of bees for my small apiary.

 

[DuncNZ]

I had an old mate who used to make mead , he made dark and light in low alcohol , medium , strong and extra strong , in sweet, medium and dry . He used a solar still to "warm up the brew " all of it was most excellent , except the dark strong brew tended to slowly make one's legs go numb from the toes up .

 

[sportster73hp]

I don’t mean to make it a commercial but Ironstonemeadery.com has a selection of mead that he ships. If in the area he is an entertaining character to meet.

 

[Red Owl]

Well now I have to have Mead. Is it really the nectar of the gods?

 

[Brokennock]

Well now I have to have Mead. Is it really the nectar of the gods?

No.
That's coffee.

 

[Red Owl]

I'm by myself and now boiling coffee- I didn't know you could do that. One tablespoon of any grind, 1 1/2 cups water, let boil only 20 seconds and set aside. let the grounds settle and pour off the top cup, leave a 1/2 cup with grounds in the pot.

 

[William Lincoln]

Bees were in Greece , therefore Europe , over 2000 years ago. There are stingless Bees in
South Mexico. Anything to do with honey and bees is traditional to the Early
Colonists who brought bees here.

 

[tenngun]

Madeira is more like port. It’s fortified with another liquor to increase the alcohol content, which also makes it more shelf stable and allows some sugar to remain in the liquid without the risk of restarting fermentation. I recall that it was a pleasant accident that they discovered that this kind of port improved by making the voyage overseas to tropical climates & back, allowing the wine to evaporate a little and even carmelize a bit in the heat. How they continued to make it after that happy discovery is something I’ve never read.

This makes me wonder if “port” was named such because it stayed in port rather than shipped or for some other reason. Just a wild guess there.

Port was first made in Portugal.