jarandhel

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.

My project list is getting a bit long again. Working heavily on the Babalon Matrix v2.0 project, trying to get the full design laid out on paper for the final device, at least as much as I can without seeing the specific motherboards I end up with for it. On top of this, I've been feeling a bit of a pull towards (finally) getting involved in fermentation, pickling, and cultured foods. I've been interested for a while, but it's never felt like the right time. Now, though, it does. To the point where, when making our lists for the office secret santa program, all three options I gave were books on that subject. Wild Fermentation, The Joy of Pickling, and Nourishing Traditions. (The last one was a compromise, I really wanted The Permaculture Book of Ferment & Human Nutrition, but that was way too expensive for an office Secret Santa.) I've also been dragging my feet about finding a local brewery supply store and finally trying to make my own mead. Mainly because I think I've asked Ri where one is about three times now, and I never seem to remember to write his answer down. I actually got to the point where I was telling myself that I would try to make a very small batch with baker's yeast and a nalgene bottle (pretty airtight and not too likely to be able to explode, even under pressure) and if that worked I might see about the more expensive equipment. Then tonight, I was out at a store that under no circumstances should carry this kind of stuff, with no thought in my head about getting anything relating to brewing. I was at CVS, looking to see if they carry space heaters. (They carry fans in the summer, why the heck don't they carry space heaters in the winter?) And what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a microwbrew kit and it's called MrBeer. It's not the fanciest, it's probably a piece of crap compared to the better ones, but it's cheap and I'm reasonably certain that it will work for making mead. I'll probably toss the corn syrup solids ("Booster") and West Coast Pale Ale Beer Mix (wort) that came with it, unless anyone wants that, but at the very least I can use the brew keg, bottles, and brewing yeast. Even if they only last for a few batches, they didn't cost much, and I can see if I want to try doing this at a more serious level. Of course, since it's beer yeast it will have a lower alcohol tolerance, but that's not necessarily a bad thing... it's not the relatively low alcohol content that makes me object to drinking beer in the first place, it's the flavor and smell. And I know to use less honey to make mead with beer yeast than I would with champaign yeast or wine yeast. I've already got enough honey to try to start making a batch, and I think I might do so either later tonight or tomorrow. If this batch turns out alright, I've got a few ideas for future batches already. HMart, for those who don't know, sells two types of honey that I like a lot... one of them is cactus honey infused with pomegranate extract. The other is cactus honey infused with deer velvet antler extract. Each of them has instructions on how to mix it with warm water to create a nice, flavored honey tea. Both are quite enjoyable. I really enjoy mixing the two together and drinking that as a tea. I wonder how those would taste made into a mead, either separately or together?