This storm brought back memories of a similar storm, the Halloween Nor'Easter of 2011. Folk were relatively well prepared for this storm as a direct result of that Nor'Easter. Living only a mile from the city, our home lost power for only 4 days, but many folk across the region lost power for as long as 10 days, and were forced to make arrangements for shelter from the cold for themselves or pets, and for the food that it was ironically too warm to keep fresh. While I was without for only a long weekend, The folk across the street from me and up the block were in the dark for the better part of a week. There was a constant hum of electric generators running.
While my home was cold, we were fortunate enough to have gas hot water and a gas range. The kids were away at Grandmas, so it was just myself and my wife. Guess what we did to keep warm?
We made mead, of course! Mead is the preferred ceremonial wine as well as social lubricant for most Heathens. It is made from honey, water, and a virtually limitless combination of juices, fruits, and spices. There are dozens of varieties of mead based on what type of fruit, spices, national origin, or even honey-to-water ratios. When I say mead, I'm all-inclusive of these varieties, even those that are not necessarily of northern European origin. There are countless mentions of mead in our lore, from Edda to Sagas to Beowulf.
I always buy my honey by the 5 gallon bucket, which can range in price anywhere from $100 to $200, on average. Given the quantities of honey used, it is not very cost effective to buy in smaller volumes for making mead. I usually have 1 or 2 buckets sitting around, and the nice thing about honey is that under normal conditions, spoilage is a non-issue.
While it's possible to brew in as little as a 12 ounce bottle, why go through the effort? My wife and I use 1 gallon bottles for experimental recipes to save the cost of making a 3 or 5 gallon batch of mead that is undrinkable. This usually yields 3-4 "fifths" (typical, 750 ml wine bottle) of wine, after loss to racking out sediment and some evaporation. A fifth is 1/5th of 1 gallon. For tried and true recipes, I don't make less than 3 gallons at a time, which translates to about a case (12 bottles) of finished mead.
First thing is first, gather your equipment! I recommend a basic, minimum setup of 2 glass carboys (1 for fermenting, 1 for racking), a siphon, an airlock and appropriate rubber stopper with a hole for it, a large (1 gallon at least) stainless steel pot, stirring spoon, a plastic funnel, and whatever containers you plan on putting your finished product into (and any necessary equipment to close said containers, like a corker, capper, etc. This may not be an issue, depending on your choice). Most of this can be bought at any home brew supply store, or on-line, and you should be able to buy all of these reusables for less than $150. You can also go cheaper, if you so choose, and buy, for example, plastic carboys instead of glass, but be sure it's designed for wine-making, or your mead may taste like plastic. Avoid opaque buckets. You want to be able to physically see what's going on in your mead. Also, pick up a good no-rinse cleaner to sterilize your equipment and a appropriate set of brushes. Soap is difficult to completely rinse out of a bottle and can affect the taste of your mead.
Now, choosing your ingredients. It doesn't matter if you are following a traditional, medieval recipe or improvising. The final product will only be as good as what you put in. I try and stick with local or semi-local honey from a known bee-keeper. Larger companies often import and there has been some bad honey coming in, particularly from China. There are all kinds of honey to choose from, so this is up to personal choice. Be aware, however, exotic honey does not necessarily mean good mead. I tend to favor spring and fall wildflower, or occasionally, some blend of the two. Also, at the risk of coming off like a nutty hippy, be sure all of your ingredients are all natural or organic. The reason for this is two fold. First, we want to avoid any preservatives, the purpose of which is to PREVENT fermentation in juices, which is the OPPOSITE of what we want! Second, we don't want artificial flavors, because they do not ferment the same as natural sugars. If you are making a cherry mead, you should be adding crushed or split cherries or 100% cherry juice, and not artificially sweetened and flavored cherry juice drink. The same is true about any herbs and spices. Keep all of your ingredients as all-natural as possible. You will be glad you did! Also, choose an appropriate yeast. Nearly any will work, but depending on your ingredients and goals, some may be better than others. Talk to the knowledgeable folk at your local home brew store.
Now, what to do with it all. If you are improvising, write everything down before you start and as you go. Keep a record. Do the same thing even if you are using someone else's recipe. This is especially helpful to track even minor changes, like the brand of yeast used. Combine your ingredients except the water and warm them in the stainless steel pot. Do not boil!! Warming makes the honey easier to mix. Add some water, whatever can reasonably fit into the pot. When warm and thoroughly mixed, pour through the funnel into the primary fermenter, one of your carboys. Add water until it the carboy is filled, leaving a few inched at the top. When it has sufficiently cooled, add your yeast, following the instructions on the packet. You're done! At least, for the next few months. In a day or two, you should notice your mead bubbling away and the airlock popping as the yeast goes to work. Hold your nose up to the airlock as it does it's job and notice the pleasant aroma of warm bread!
Eventually, as your mead clears, you will notice a layer of sediment forming on the bottom of the carboy. This is dead yeast, bees wax, and any number of impurities from your ingredients settling out of the mead. When the airlock stops, it's time to rack. All that this means is we are siphoning the good mead off of the sediment. This will cost a bottle or two worth of mead, you don't want this sludge. Consider the loss a price well paid. This is also an excellent time to sample your work! Don't be surprised if it tastes a bit rough, but this will give you an idea of how the mead is progressing. Clean, fill, and replace the airlock. You may have to do this 2 or 3 times, and each time the mead will clear a bit more, but at the cost of some more mead.
When the bubbling stops, it's time to bottle! First, you will want to add Potassium Sorbate to stop the fermentation, and Potassium Metabisulfite to take away the yeasts ability to reproduce. Both are available from any home brew supplier. Again, follow the instructions on the bottles. This may make some folk cringe, since we made the effort to use all natural and organic ingredients in the beginning, but the alternative is the potential for bottle bombs that release geysers either spontaneously or when the bottle is opened, and this can be quite forceful. Adding these two chemicals removes this possibility. I take comfort in the fact that I put these additives in myself, by choice, and not as part of some extensive chemical cocktail.
Siphon your mead into whatever final container you have chosen, and close the bottles. Don't forget to label it, even if done only with a piece of masking tape and magic marker. Some of the best meads that I have tasted have been made simply, and some very bad meads made by supposed experts.
You can take all kinds of temperature, hydrometer, and Ph readings, and while such information can be useful, it is a relatively new development in the history of wine making. Ancient mead was probably made in an open clay or wood bucket with honey-water with wild yeast, and certainly not so much as an airlock. Someone who wants to make his mead by putting the must into a 2-liter soda bottle with a balloon with a pinhole for an airlock could potentially make a decent mead, so don't be afraid to experiment with whatever equipment that you have available on a tight budget.
If you are interested in learning more about making mead, I recommend reading The Compleat MeadMaker.
Wes Hal, and Glad Jul!