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Mead Making
Hi Guys,
Tonight, I just attempted a new experiment with making mead. Instead of the usual spice mix, I also added dried dandelion. The dandelion was a very nice compliment to the flavour, and made the aromatic aftertaste somewhat light and musky with the herbs gently coming through. In the future, I would also like to try some dried red clover as I think it will add a sweet aroma to the brew. Has anyone else tried different herbs and what was the result?
I did a little bit of reading and saw some recipes for the use of herbs such as chamomile or wormwood. I am just wondering how the experiences of others have been with the use of herbs rather than fruits.
I am very familiar with the effects and use of wormwood - including the making of absinthe. No worries. Also, as far as medicinal go, I always suggest that people purchase and refer to an Herbal PDF (Physician's Desk Reference) as it includes dosage and comprehensive effects and usages of any particular herb - very useful! Wormwood is toxic, but not as overwhelming as first appearances might have you believe. The real problem is that it tends to be accumulative and so the more your intake over time the more of the chemicals that build up in your body.
Enjoy!!!
Hi lukas,
I will have to try to use chamomile in the next batch we make. Most of the meads I drink that are home brewed are at least 5 years old. I prefer the flavour of aged mead and I think the youngest I will drink of the homebrew is usually 3 years. The best mead I ever had and think I ever will have again was pure ecstacy - it was a wedding gift and was 24 years old. It is hard describe the smooth flavour and the only word I can really use to describe it was ecstacy!
Lukas, what part of the dandelion did you use? It seems to me that many parts of the plant are edible and usable in a variety of ways and I was just wondering whether it was flower, leaf or root. Thanks.
lukas wrote:
Tonight, I just attempted a new experiment with making mead. Instead of the usual spice mix, I also added dried dandelion. The dandelion was a very nice compliment to the flavour, and made the aromatic aftertaste somewhat light and musky with the herbs gently coming through.
I'm also curious as to what part of the dandelion you used. I once tried a recipe for dandelion wine, and it specified using the petals, but I wasn't sure which petals, you know? Just the immature yellow ones, or the ones that have started to flare, or...?
How did you manage to get an idea of the effect of the dandelion on the mead so soon, since it hadn't yet had any time to ferment yet? I usually try tasting the mix before putting it up to ferment, but that never really tells me much. Maybe my palette isn't refined enough! ;-)
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