Mead is about the honey first.
- Mead should taste like honey. If you can't tell the difference between a dry mead and a dry wine, what is the point?
- The honey should be the primary element. Everything else is an enhancement. If you can't taste the honey, it's not mead. It's something else.
- The most important ingredient in mead, after honey, is time. Time and aging make mead what it is. The impact of time can not be synthesised or emulated.
- The most crucial characteristic of a meadmaker is patience. Sometimes this can be mistaken for laziness, but don't be fooled.
- Outside of tasting like honey and time, there is no wrong way to flavor a mead. Mead should be made to be enjoyed. Just because you don't like the taste doesn't mean it's not a good mead. If it tastes good to someone, it's good mead to that person.
- One should not be afraid to try something new. Recipes are great, but until you make it and taste it, you won't know if you like it. Trying new, fun, weird, bold, and outrageous flavorings and methods is the essence of homebrewing. Experimentation is the only way to know for sure. Just don't disregard the above philosophies.
1 comments:
Your post struck a chord with me, especially when you said, "Outside of tasting like honey and time, there is no wrong way to flavor a mead." In fact, I just wrote about the divide between those who think mead should taste like beer and those who think it should taste like wine.
Erroll
Post a Comment