"Every kid who has thought about entering the science fair has wanted to concoct some special mixture, some wild slurry of his own invention that would win a prize," says mead maker Ken Rehkopf whose prize-winning concoctions enchant and delight eager tasters. "It's a universal human desire, I guess, this urge to brew."
And it certainly is true that civilizations the world over have revered and consumed honey-based wines (mead) since the beginning of time. Baskets and ancient pottery show signs of having housed the honeybees, and legends tell of inviting the traveling brewmeister into the village so the fermentation could begin. Not only is mead celebrated in song and lore of the Vikings, Egyptians and Celts, it has health-giving properties as well.
"Bees, honey and mead confer on humankind some of the immortality of the gods, giving them long life, health and a deepening of consciousness and awareness,"says Stephen Buhner whose book, Sacred And Herbal Healing Beers: The Secrets Of Ancient Fermentation (Brewers Publications, ISBN 0-937381-66-7) contains history, recipes and how-to instructions for recreating the ancient brews that conferred enormous life spans (100-plus years) to those who lived on honey.
Long before grapes were grown, there was honey, and the ancients knew that honey plus water plus a visit from the bryggjaemann (yeast bearer) equaled mead. The quest for ecstasy, a universal human quality it seems, included plant-based beers and wines that not only tasted good-they were good for you! Ancient meads contained herbs that rendered them far more powerful than just intoxicating. Some were entheogenic, some were medicinal, all were universally prized in an era when the water could kill you.
Mead in its ancient form also contained vital nutrients as well as considerable amounts of protein and immunological agents that rendered it a formidable food for warriors and gods. Odin even gave his eye for its insights as he hung for nine days and nine nights on the Tree of Life, Ygdrassil. Now, few wineries make the stuff and most states prohibit its export. So the eager mead-lover gets to make it at home.
Luckily making mead is easy. All it takes is a five-gallon glass jug (the kind water coolers use), honey, water and yeast (not the bread kind, but available from local brewer supply houses or on the Internet) and a gizmo called a fermentation valve, which is essentially a one-way airlock that lets the bubbles out and keeps the "wort"clean so airborne contaminants don't turn your mead into a science project.
If you start your mead on the 4th of July, it will be ready for gifting at Christmas. This particular brew has a bit of a bite!
Firecracker Mead
12 pounds (about a gallon) honey
5 gallons clean fresh water
2 packets (5 grams) wine yeast (available at brewing suppliers and online)
1 dried chili piquin (about the size of a little firecracker) per bottle
Dissolve the honey in about two gallons hot water. Use a large pot because it's easier to mix in. Pour this syrup into a clean 5-gallon jug. Fill the jug to the shoulder with warm water. The goal is to have the mixture be about baby bottle temperature. Rehydrate the yeast in one cup of warm water. Add to the jug. Put the fermentation lock in place and set jug in a warm place. It will bubble and blurb for about six weeks. When the bubbles have stopped entirely, it's ready. On bottling day (this is a good Thanksgiving project), put a little firecracker chile in each bottle, fill with mead, cork (use a corking inserter) and hide bottles for a month.
If you need information or encouragement, contact Ken Rehkopf at rehkokc@yahoo.com.
Gwynne Spencer is author of Recipes for Reading which combines books of enduring quality with easy-to-make recipes for the classroom, Scout troop or library. She can be contacted at pengwynnes@aol.com
