Herbal Mead

I wanted to make a mead out of California Orange Blossom Honey and knew I didn't want to add fruit to let the honey shine through but I thought it might be fun to add flowers herbs and spices. A mead flavored with spices and herbs is generally called a metheglin but I insist on calling this an herbal mead so I won't have so much explaining to do, not to mention I find the countless names for mead variations a little obsurd. I left a third of the batch still and carbonated the remaining two-thirds with Coopers drops rather than trying to determine how much sugar I needed to bulk carb. The mead was almost immediately drinkable and quite sweet but the flavor additions are present and come together nicely. The orange blossom honey has a fantastic aroma that remained as the mead aged. Over time the mead has dried out and the sweetness has subsided. All in all a delightful mead.

Herbal Mead Recipe:

3 Gallons Water

3 lbs. California Orange Blossom Honey
2 lbs. Clover Honey
6 grams Sweet Gale
2 oz Indian Corriander crushed
.5 oz green cardamom crushed
6 grams dried chamomile flowers
4 oz Heather Tips
2 oz Woodruff
Few dashes powdered ginger

Wyeast 4766 Cider

I heated water to a boil and stirred in honey then cut the heat and added all of the flavor additions, letting it steep for 30 minutes with the lid on before cooling and transferring to fermentor and pitching yeast.