~e been for years searching for my own personal version of the philosopher's
stone. In my view, this elusive quantity doesn't transmute lead into gold nor
does it (necessarily) insure live everlasting.  It does, however, bestow upon
its possessor the metaphorical "gift of the gods" and one hell of a rewarding
drink. 

What I have been searching for is the "perfect" honey based
beverage....and at last I think I have now found it.  It is not a pure "mead"
in that it does contain substantial quantities of spice (so it is a
Metheglin) but man alive does it taste great!

It has excellent aroma, substantial body, very good acid-tannin balance and
finishes remarkably cleanly.  The final alcohol is about 12% (by volume).  It
has quite a sweet quality to it as well......so watch when drinking in
quantity.

I urge all of those interested in a truly good metheglin to give this recipe
a try.

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ANDY'S VIKING METHEGLIN


I will assume you are going to make 5 Imp. gallons.


Ingredients:

- 16 lbs of fine buckwheat honey (or 3.2 lbs/gallon)
- 1 1/2 tbl of Allspice
- 1 nut of nutmeg
- 5 sticks of cinnamon
- 2 1/2 tbl of whole fresh cloves
- 2 oz malic acid
- 1 oz tartaric acid
- 1 1/2 tsp grape tannin
- 1 complete lemon peel
- 1 pinch of Irish moss
- 2 packages of Champagne yeast
- 20 mil. of you favorite finnings

Method:

1)  Using what ever means are available to you (a brewer's grain mill is
excellent) grind to medium consistency the nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and
allspice.  Place them in a bowl and put it aside for now.

2)  Open the 2 packages of yeast and re-hydrate them in a sterilized cup of
luke warm water.

3)  Peel the lemon and discard the fruit....keep the peel though.

4)  In a large stock pot, bring @ 2 gallons of fresh water to a rolling boil.
 Add to this the malic acid, tartaric acid, grape tannin, and the lemon peel.
 Let boil for 5 min.

5)  Slowly add the honey to the boiling water (stirring constantly).  Add 1
pinch of Irish moss to the pot and let the entire mixture boil for 3 min. (no
longer).  

6)  Remove the pot from the heat source and skim off the sludge on the top.  

7)  Empty the contents of the spice bowl into the bottom of the primary and
pour in the still very hot liquid right on top of it.  Let it sit for about
15 min (for pasteurization of the spices to occur) then top up the primary to
the 5 gal. mark with fresh water. 

8)  When the temperature falls to 85 degrees, pitch the yeast, seal up the
primary and air lock it. DO NOT USE A 5 GALLON PALE FOR THIS PURPOSE or you
will in short order have must spitting all over your floor.  Make sure the
pale has at least 4"  of plastic above the must line.

In my experience that within a day the must will enter a rather violent
primary fermentation which will last some 3-5 days.  

Once the must has entered anaerobic fermentation (secondary), leave it in the
original primary container for 1 week.  This will allow the spices to fully
influence the mixture.

When the 1 week "soak" is over, rack the fluid into a clear glass carboy, air
lock it again and let it sit.

Secondary fermentation will be over in about 3-4 weeks.  

From here on in it becomes a matter of personal taste.  In order to achieve
maximum flavor from the metheglin it should be stored (in the carboy) in a
cool place for anywhere up to a year before bottling.  However, one of the
most remarkable aspects of this brew is that it is very potable (once finned)
as soon as 3 months after the completion of the secondary.

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If you try this recipe I urge you to let me know how it turns out.  I can be
reached at 

Good Luck

Andrew D. Biggers  
e this tag line.  

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