Barkshack Ginger Mead
Submitted by lashj
Homebrew ginger mead with 7 pounds of honey, fresh ginger root, and optional fruit additions. Fermented with champagne yeast and aged 3 to 12 months for a smooth, spiced honey wine.
YIELD
24 bottlesPREP
60 minCOOK
60 minREADY
120 minWelcome to the rabbit hole of homebrewing, friend. This ginger mead is where a lot of first-timers get hooked.
Seven pounds of light honey, fresh grated ginger root, and corn sugar form the backbone of this batch, boiled with gypsum, citric acid, and irish moss before pitching champagne yeast.
The real fun starts with the customization. Toss in crushed sour cherries, blackberries, raspberries, or even rhubarb during the boil for a fruited mead that’s entirely your own.
At bottling time, steep a “tea” of lemongrass, citrus zest, or a whisper of cinnamon and add it directly. This trick lets you bottle two or three different flavor profiles from a single batch.
Age it anywhere from 3 months to a full year. Patience rewards you with a mellow, complex honey wine that’s worth every day of waiting.
Variations
- Fruited mead: Add 1 to 6 pounds of crushed berries, grapes, or stone fruit during the boil for color and depth.
- Herbal mead: Steep lemongrass or citrus zest tea at bottling for a bright, aromatic finish.
- Spiced mead: A very light hand with cloves, cinnamon, or hops at bottling adds warmth without overwhelming the honey.
Pro Tips
- Start with 1 ounce of ginger root for a subtle heat, or go up to 6 ounces if you want it to bite back.
- Remove ginger shavings before adding fruit to avoid a tangled mess during racking.
- Rack to secondary when specific gravity hits 1.020 or at 7 days, whichever comes first.
- Taste at 6 months for a preview of the final flavor profile, but a full year of aging smooths out any harshness.
- Serve well chilled. This mead shines ice cold on a hot afternoon.
Ingredients
Directions
Boil 1½ gallons of water, the honey, corn sugar, grated ginger root, gypsum, citric acid, irish moss, and yeast nutrient for 15 minutes.
Turn the heat off.
If you’re going to add fruit (this is entirely optional, as are the spices) then fish out as much of the ginger root shavings as you can.
Then add your crushed fruit or concentrate and let it steep for 10 to 15 minutes.
Some ideas for fruit are: Sour cherries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, chokecherries, rhubarb, grapes, grape concentrate.
go wild here. Pour the entire must (unsparged if fruit is added) into an open primary fermenter and add about 3 gallons of cold water. When cooled to 70 to 78 degrees, hydrate and pitch your yeast. After the specific gravity has fallen to 1.020 or within 7 days, whichever comes first, rack the brew into a secondary fermenter. Leave the fruit behind. Age 1 to 1½ months in the secondary fermenter. Bottle with ¾ cups priming sugar. If using spices or herbs as a flavoring, add them now by making a “tea” and adding them at bottling time. The flavors will be fresher and sharper. Some suggested spices are lemon grass, citrus peel (just the zest, not the white part), etc. If using cloves, cinnamon, or hops go lightly on these. Adding flavors in this manner also allows you to use different flavors in the same batch, since you’re just adding a “tea” to the mead at bottling time. You can bottle two or three flavors at once this way! This mead should age from 3 months up to a year to allow the harsh flavors to mellow out. Tasting at 6 months will show approximate flavor profile. Serve well chilled.
Comments
