[mickwood]

Hi, I've decided that I'm going to venture into the world of beekeeping and as such have been asked "Are you going to make your own mead then?" and that started me thinking 

Has anyone made their own? How would I go about doing it and what equipment would I need???

Thanks in advance

Mick

[Stoatus]

Here is a recipe from CJJ Bery

Mead (dry)
Honey - 2kg
Orange - 1
Lemon - 1
Water - 4.5 l
Wine yeast and nutrient
Pectic enzyme

Put the honey into the water and bring to simmering point, skim then pour into a fermenting bucket and allow to cool. Add the juice from the orange and lemon and the yeast and nutrient. NB It is most important to add a good nutrient, since honey is deficient in essential minerals. Pour into fermentation vessel (demijon) and fit an airlock. Allow to fermet to completion - this is liable to take longer than with most wines - and rach when no further bubbles are passing. Mead should be matured for at least one year after this.

You need at a minimum a fermenting bucket (5 litre), demijon (5 litre) or two, airlock, wine yeast, enzyme nutrient, syphoning tube, bottles, sterilising powder (sodium metabisulphite). Also maybe a hydrometer and thermometer.

[SG6]

See if Amazon have:
Making Mead by Bryan Acton and Peter Duncan.
SBN 900841079

The publisher is listed as:
The Amateur Winmaker Publications Ltd
South Street,
Andover,
Hants SP10 2BN

Don't know if they still exist.

[Stripey_cat]

I like to add a little tea (powdered tannin would do).  I've never tried the orange juice, and don't see why you'd need the pectin enzyme. 

If you want a slightly stronger wine, add more honey part way through - I personally like mead fermented absolutely dry and as strong as I can manage it, but sweeter is more in line with people's expectations.

It is important to boil and skim, unless the honey is shop-bought (at which point it's safe to use as it is), as there is a small risk of botulism in honey, and a low-acidity anoxic environment will suit it well; contamination from pollen and other bits in the honey can also give you a nasty hangover.

[aelf]

Mead is the only wine I have made that tastes just like its' main ingreadient. Neads yeast nutrient to ferment out fully.
luvely

[SnooziSuzi]

I bought this book on beekeeping and it details everything from setting up, keeping the bees, the checks you need to do etc and at the back there's a fantastic section on things you can make with the honey or wax and has recipes for foods and mead

I can't wait to get some bees and try it all