A Guide To Competitive & Amazing Mead Making

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

Loved the back and forth about the use of whole fruit. As a home brewer who’s been at it for 30-ish years I completely agree that fruit that hasn’t been at least chopped up is useless. However, using fruit that has been chopped up and frozen does even though it might not be the most efficient process and yes, it’s true that consistency is more of an issue than if you press the fruit. But going as far as saying you’re tired of seeing it? That’s a statement I have a bit of an issue with in a home brewing setting. It’s not bad practice per se to add (pieces of) fruit to your brew. Then again, I’m Belgian and my country has a history of adding pieces of fruit to beer to add flavour. Of course that’s my perspective and everyone is free to their own opinion. I did hoot when I heard ‘how did you juice the banana?’ I agree that you’ve got to get a grasp on your variables. Water, yeast, honey, temperature, your other ingredients, timing… it all enters into the mix. My process of recipe development/building usually starts with keeping a recipe simple (or using a known one) and then changing ONE variable. Then I check the result. It’s a slow process but it works for me.

[@chicane3239]

Nice mead panel discussion! There's not enough of these expert panel videos online. Mead makers are always such intense people. It always makes for an interesting conversation.

[@MeanBrews]

Thanks for hosting! Had a great time with this one!

[@ManMadeMead]

It was a blast! Thank you for involving me in this project!

[@paco8582]

Great advices from great people. I love this kind of video. Now i am going to try to bring my meads on the next level. Grettings from France!

[@andresacebal427]

Hey man I see you are really enjoying the competitive side of the hobby and thats awesome!

[@jaggersbrewingco]

Nice video, thanks for bringing this all together! I have had a few failed attempts at meads but I plan on playing around soon...

[@riukrobu]

Extremely interesting. Thanks man!

[@TigerPat_9180]

Some really good stuff in there . I'm not going to be entering any Competition's . But I noticed one Fellow said, one of the most important things is the Water 💧💦 . Thank Goodness I'm Blessed with Good Water . I have a friend who checked out what it took to Sell , Spring Water . All it took was to have a Well , a Spicket , and a Bottle to put it in . Which everyone in this part of North West Florida , outside of Town has . Anyway, Great Content . P.S. I've tried Bottled Water , from Florida . It had nowhere near the Good Taste our local Water has . 🐯🤠

[@yushe101]

As someone who just started mead making a month ago, this was really interesting and helped changed my perspective on a few things. Where I live there isn't a homebrewing community (or at least I've not been able to find them just yet) and would love to have others compare and tell me how my mead tastes. As well as expanding my pallet as well. I've only been drinking meads for about a year so I have a very green tongue (though I have an idea of what flavors I'd love to have). I also hope mead becomes more commercial in the sense that I'd love to go to any general liquor store (with a good selection) and have some option of some to try. I only know of one liquor store in my area that has any selection.

[@ManMadeMead]

I hope we can get it to grow too! I only have a few selections around me as well!

[@matthewwilliamson7213]

Sometimes a green tongue is an honest tongue. Like it because it just tastes good not that it's good because it expressed some flavor style! We desperately need good commercial mead.

[@dwadeweallin17]

I disagree with the fruit talk to a point, but I think the key is to focus on process. Fermenting with whole fruit has been part of the wine world for ages. Taking scientific evidence from the wine world to inform our mead making process is really important.

[@MeanBrews]

I found it interesting. Can't argue with 13 BoS meads in 2020 though. I know you're in the competitive realm as well but thats very impressive to me. I was intently listening

[@dwadeweallin17]

@@MeanBrews definitely can’t argue with that, especially speaking to how he has his process down. I admire hearing all of your perspectives. That’s the wonderful part of mead making even at the professional and competitive scenes. Many award winners have their different methods. Worth hearing that perspective!

[@nole900]

Really enjoyed this video and discussion. I am wanting to get into submitting some of my brews, but am a little intimidated right now. Hoping to be ready by next spring!

[@josechavez5467]

Great video!

[@ManMadeMead]

Thank you!

[@azcomicgeek]

I just started my 1st batch with that same Sam's honey. One week in and the airlock is slowing but not yet done. Not many videos about degassing but I occasionally swirl when I remember. I used the entire 3 lbs and plan on sweetening with a non-fermentable sugar (Splenda) if I think it needs it. The waiting is the hardest part. 😂

[@blakecroteau2320]

Dry Traditionals 4 Life.

[@matthewkahl7113]

I’m curious. Mr Williamson can you share the “ process “ you passionately describe? Also any of your award winning recipes?

[@necrosanct7467]

Just to clarify the guy who is talking about using a press for fruit, does that mean he's only adding the juice from the fruit or is it more of a puree?

[@ManMadeMead]

I want to say he purée’s it!

[@necrosanct7467]

@@ManMadeMead Ok thanks, I was just curious since he didn't seem like the sharing type!

[@matthewwilliamson7213]

Juice only.

[@josephcillojr.7035]

Where I come from, we drink our mistakes. But then, I’m not brewing 1400 gallons in a batch. Lol. If you are going to try meat in your mead, the go-to has to be bacon. I think that’s Grendel’s favorite. Lol.

[@MoeMcGrath]

No links for competitions in the comments? This is about competitive mead making 👀

[@dawgface2393]

You know that smell when you walk into a salon, or are sitting next to someone next to someone getting a perm? Is that normal? My brew is only 3 days old. Started it on Sunday, so I wouldn’t think it’s gone bad already…Could it be because I put whiskey in the airlock, and it’s counter acting the honey smell??

[@ManMadeMead]

I’m not sure I’m familiar with that smell! A yeasty aroma is normal early on!

[@dawgface2393]

@@ManMadeMead I was asking around, and was pointed to Doin the most's "get rid of egg smell" video. Even had someone at work find me a length of copper wire. THEN someone mentioned acetone. THATS what I was looking for, more so than eggs. I was just getting ready to head over and look at the article he posted about acetone in mead/wine. Wondering if I still should do a splash rack or two though...Just worried about losing my orange peels and raisins. I could put more fermaid k into it, though.

[@dawgface2393]

@@ManMadeMead I was asking around, and was pointed to Doin the most's "get rid of egg smell" video. Even had someone at work find me a length of copper wire. THEN someone mentioned acetone. THATS what I was looking for, more so than eggs. I was just getting ready to head over and look at the article he posted about acetone in mead/wine. Wondering if I still should do a splash rack or two though...Just worried about losing my orange peels and raisins. I could put more fermaid k into it, though.

[@JeffBridenthal]

Little late to the party here. Everyone's caught up in the comment on using a press for fruit, What about the guy who said he's never back-sweetened? ಠ_ಠ

[@tkanddrinks]

Best part of the video: How did you juice the banana? 💀💀💀 That Williamson dude comes off like a jackass (regardless of all the hardware on display) and that's a shame cause he probably has some good info that will get overshadowed by his arrogance. That being said, still want to try all those awarded meads.

[@DointheMost]

The cringe of watching that guy compliment himself over and over collapsed me into a black hole. So unfortunately I couldn’t finish the video because I’m now a gravity well slowly drifting through our solar system reevaluating all my life’s decisions.

[@tkanddrinks]

@@DointheMost so THAT'S what that was

[@MeanBrews]

LOL, I still believe in Matthew Williamson. i've had his stuff. Is he cocky? yes. but damn his meads are unreal. Unreal enough for me to invest in his future meadery.

[@scottskiles7779]

Most relevent quote IMO from this video-- "There's a reason why the press was invented 5000 years ago" i recently said almost the same thing in a conversation about homemade cherry wine. If the press wasn't an advantage, wine makers wouldn't waste the time or money on it.

[@yourmetalgod69]

haha so many assumptions that there are a local anything... Sorry I 100% make mead because I can not even buy it in the stores, there are no meaderies here, there are no clubs, at best guess there are 5-8 mead homebrewers in the whole state and only two of us live under 2hrs away from the next one. Even the closest mead competition is 8-9hr drive from me and I am the closest in the state to it. I am willing to drive the 2-3 hours to visit and trade brews don't get me wrong but not all are. I think the thing I HATE hearing the most in this hobby in groups is that if you want to get good you need to make good traditional first... sorry I really dislike traditional meads they do not appeal to me at all, they are like a honey flavored white wine and are boring af. I fell in love with mead for the pure ability to have fruit and honey in a wine, I want that mix. As a chef I like to play with flavors and this hobby is killer for that. I randomly add a mystery item to my meads and don't write it down. I want to age it and taste it and think what is that? as long as I like it I am good. I should not drink at all as a diabetic but here I am with 14 brews in the last 6 months. I am still learning and growing for sure. And I have a local beer brewery interested in my meads from a word of mouth talking to the brewmaster, which is cool but after looking at the where does my mead fit into the copmititions I learned all but 3 now fit into only the experimental category which is funny and sucks I want to enter a competition one day but my brews are not there yet, the ideas are there but the recipes are solid just gotta get the ratios right and get them some age before I send stuff off. I refuse to make a type I don't want to drink I love fruit and order fruit from around the globe to play with.

[@yourmetalgod69]

and on a fun note I BLEND THE LIVING CRAP out of my fruit. I just use a simple stick blender it works it's fast, and it can be sanitized with the rest of my tools

[@beerandfire4810]

You can normally ship to competitions so no need to drive 8 hours to submit entries. One of the main reasons I started competing was I wanted feedback on my meads. If you have any questions about competitions please feel free to ping me.

[@yourmetalgod69]

@@beerandfire4810 not legally you can't ship to them. As a home Brewer anyway. Need license to ship interstate.

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

As I live in Belgium where mead is almost unheard of, I get what you mean. That being said, as a chef you have a trained palate, you understand balance. That’s extremely helpful. You probably circulate in an environment where there are more people who are accustomed to taste testing foods and beverages. You already stated you know people who produce alcoholic beverages and therefore understand yeast strain differences, the influence of the production of esters, the concepts of clarity, oxidisation etc. People who understand the nose/bouquet of a beverage, different stages of tasting/experiencing flavours and how it lingers in the mouth upon exhale etc. Those are good people to ask for feedback. It’s what I do. I ask them to judge and comment on my meads as a beverage, not as a wine, beer, cider or whatever they produce. Is it pleasant? Is it thin? Is it balanced. What does it lack? Is it harsh? Is it smooth? I might tell them part or all of the ingredients but usually won’t tell them if the list is complete. Some times I’ll just have them sample a brew ‘cold’ with no information at all and ask them what they think is in it. When I ask a sommelier or a commercial brewer of any kind to sample and comment, I’ll both ask for personal preference notes and on how the end product might appeal to the general public. Getting feedback from people used to taste testing things is always valuable. Maybe it’s because I’m less focused on what a mead is ‘supposed to’ taste like but more on making something that tastes good. Competitions are not a realistic option for a logistical standpoint for me right now. I am able to get good feedback on balance, smoothness, whether a brew is ‘too hot’, harsh, lacks balance (‘I’m missing bitterness or tannins’ ‘I’m missing tartness/acidity’ or similar comments are very helpful). Professional brewers might suggest additions, temperature adjustments, etc regardless of what they produce simply because they understand the general process. Some times they get curious as to the different stages. It’s worth venturing into further, even if your tasters don’t produce/drink mead on a regular basis.

[@yourmetalgod69]

@@eddavanleemputten9232 I am hands down my harshest critic. Even as a chef I was not trained in wines other than if I am unwilling to drink it don't cook with it lol. I live in a state of beer drinkers and people who think wine makes them a better drinker, which just hurts my brain on so many levels. I am still learning this craft but I learn very fast so I can say while my early meads are good or too complex I have gotten better with each recipe even though I made them all at the same time on paper. It' is a fun hobby I am happy to share. I am almost done with my first 18 meads(2 left to start) and I am already planing the next set. I will be revisiting my favorites so far and cloning a few commercial meads I like. I don't feel I have much time left in this world due to health reasons so I want to leave behind something my friends and family can toast me up with and have some good memories. I may not master this stuff, but I am working on my own yeast blend and learning more everyday(thank god for scientific white papers lol) I got a few extremely complicated ideas left and have one lb of mad honey for my last days mead. and I am gonna get them all done come hell or high water. I plan on publishing all corrected and updated recipes for the mead community to try for themselves as my way of immortality... it gonna be a wild ride but all will work out as Odin and Crom wish.