Learning to Brew
Brewing and wine making are ancient arts that can be both fun, rewarding, and which can enhance your reenactment experience. I actually learned recently that it isn’t that hard to do either. So please don't treat me as an expert. I'm just learning how to do this and bringing you along for the ride as I go through the process.
Most of the basic equipment can be purchased from a number of suppliers locally and many of the ingredients for various brews are also easy to come by. Some of the brews don’t take very long to do. I recently made a hard cider that took 2 weeks, and I am making a honey mead also known as honey wine for my next project.
The basic brewing apparatus can be purchased as a kit or it can be put together by yourself. I currently am using a kit purchased from a company called Mr. Beer and a 5 gallon brew bucket that I bought from a local supplier.
Mead or Honey wine is one of the oldest fermented drinks known to man. It is basically made by mixing honey, water, and yeast together and allowing them to ferment for a month or longer. It can also be fermented with fruits, grain mash, or spices to give it different flavors.
Mead or Honey wine is multicultural with evidence of people drinking it in Europe, Asia, and Africa. So no matter what culture you’re persona comes from it is likely that this beverage was available.
For your recipe the honey is source of the sugar that the yeast will feed on during fermentation. If you want the wine to be sweet then use more honey or you can even add corn or cane sugar. If you want it to be dry use less honey.
I am going to make my mead with a 1 to 4 ratio of honey to water or one quart of honey to three quarts of water. I am also going to add some cherry juice for flavor. So I’d say that my recipe will be classified as a Melomel. Where if I had just left it plain 1 to 4 ratio honey and water that would have followed been following an ancient polish recipe.
The first thing that you will need is your get your hardware and assemble it. I realize that there is much better hardware than what I have. I have a basic starter kit for beginning brewers made by Mr. Beer but I decided that my original kit is to small. I went to the brewing supplier and but a basic 5 gallon brewing system made from a food grade 5 gallon bucket, lid, and a vent for right around $30. It can also be purchased with a built in spigot but I opted for the simple version. After talking to a more experienced brewer I am going to buy a 5 gallon glass carboy. The idea is to start the brew in the primary let it ferment for 2 weeks then switch it to the glass carboy for secondary. At this point I will add some spices. I’m thinking of adding some cinnamon. If you look around on Ebay or go to a local brew supplier then you can improve one the hardware that I am working with which will make your beverages taste better and improve their alcohol content. There is a wide variety equipment to choose from but believe me, and the more you have the better your brew will taste.
Next you want to sanitize. This is essential to making a good tasting brew. Microscopic bacteria, wild yeast, and molds can add undesirable flavors to your brew. So you first fill your keg with lukewarm water and add an odorless and tasteless sanitizing cleanser like Star San HB. If you have a spigot make sure that you sanitize that as well. Also make sure that you sanitize all the utensils, pots, and pans that you will be using as well including the can opener if you’re using one.
Ok you are now ready for brewing. Fill the keg half way with cold water. I like to use distilled or filtered water to ensure no off taste is added to the mix. Next you prepare the must. This process can vary slightly depending on the brew. For a hard cider I put a gallon of distilled water in a large pot on the stove and bring it to a boil. Then I remove it from heat and mix in my cider and sugar, and then mix it until the sugar dissolves. For honey mead its a little different. The honey has impurities in it. So mix the honey (and sugar which is optional) and a gallon of water together in a large pot. Bring the mixture to a simmer maintaining a temperature of about 180 degrees. As the mixture simmers the honey will dissolve into the water and the impurities will float to the top making a white foamy film on top. You will scoop this off as this happens and stir the mixture regularly, It will take some time to scoop off all the impurities it will make the brew taste better. Once the honey and water are mixed together well then you can dump it into the cold water. Mix in the fruit juice, spices, and sugar. Basically I want to mix all of this until all the sugar and honey is dissolved into the water.
Next I pour the must into the keg of cold water. Then I add water until I have brought the keg up to the desired fill line. My mr. beer keg fill line is 8.5 quarts and my bucket can hold up to five gallons, in this case I stopped the fill at 4 gallons. That leaves a little air gap for the fermentation to bubble. Mix everything up really well and let the mix cool down to room temperature. Sprinkle the yeast into the keg.
Next put the keg in a place that it is out of direct sunlight and the temperature is consistently between 59 and 75 F. Leave it there for at least 1 month for mead, but the minimum time depends on the brew. Hard cider is ready in about 2 weeks.
When you are ready to bottle sanitize all your bottles and caps. The yeast will be settled at the bottom. It is a good idea to filter the brew through cheese cloth or a coffee filter to reduce cloudiness and chunks of yeast. To carbonate add sugar to each bottle 1/4-4 ounces of brew, cap then store in a place out of direct sunlight 59 to 75 F for 7 days.
