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Ok, so, without getting into the details, I screwed something up bigtime on that last batch of mead, partially relating to the supremely inferior fermenter I picked up at (of all places) CVS. I am not letting this get me down. I just got in the mail my replacement drivers license (mine had gone missing, and I was obliged to jump through a number of hoops and generally outsmart the system by finding a backup copy of my drivers license number and ordering everything online in order to get a new one issued without having to provide photo id, which is difficult to do when one is attempting to replace one's photo id.) That means that this weekend, I am finally hitting one or both of the real homebrew stores around here, and grabbing some REAL brewing equipment, rather than the cheap thin plastic crap I got at CVS. On top of this, I have also learned of a VERY nice source for bulk honey... if anyone frequents the Maryland Ren Faire, you'll recall The Bee Folks. I had a small thing of mint honey from them that I was trying to use in the failed batch (I was using 1 pound of mint to 4 pounds of regular, I am not insane or trying to poison anyone) and I was disappointed that I would have to wait till the faire opens again to get more. Then I checked to see if they have a website. They do. And they sell bulk honey in 5 GALLON buckets. According to a friend of mine who is in to meadmaking, 5 gallons of water is about 20kg, which is almost 45 lbs. Their honey averages 120 dollars for 5 gallons. Now, clearly honey is much heavier than water, but assuming for the moment the honey weighed exactly as much as the water does, that would be 4.5 5-gallon batches of mead that could be made with an investment of only 26.66 dollars per batch. In actuality, since honey really is heavier, I'd more likely get at least 6 batches of mead with an investment of 20 dollars a batch. In stores around here, 5 pounds of honey retails for 12 dollars, so 10 pounds would be at least 24 dollars, so that saves at least four dollars for every batch I make. And I know the quality of The Bee Folks honey. They have a cranberry honey that they sell in bulk that is making me DROOL right now... and I know their killer bee honey is also to die for.... http://www.beefolks.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=5&cat=Honey%2C+Bulk
This shall be the weekend for making a renewed attack on the meadmaking idea. :) I am not going to skimp on this batch, and it will NOT turn to vinegar. Period.
This shall be the weekend for making a renewed attack on the meadmaking idea. :) I am not going to skimp on this batch, and it will NOT turn to vinegar. Period.
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