In its modern form, mead appeared in the XVIII century, although the Slavs learned to make hoppy drinks from honey a long time ago. Such low-alcohol honey drinks were part of the traditions and rituals. The manufacture of these old honey drinks did not include the presence of yeast. Real traditional mead with a pleasant mild honey taste and without the use of yeast can be made at home.
Selection and preparation of ingredients
The taste, aroma and color of the drink will depend on the quality of the honey used. It is better to choose varieties of honey with a pronounced smell, for example, buckwheat. In general, the main condition for choosing honey is that it is natural.
Important! Berries and raisins are not washed before use or wring, so that «correctly» start the fermentation process. Water is taken only of good quality (purified, purchased, well), not boiled.
As an additional ingredient to start the fermentation processes using berries or juices from them, hops, sprouted wheat or raisins.
Mead Recipe Without Yeast
There are some simple recipes for yeast-free mead. They usually do not have prolonged boiling, and they are easy to prepare. They are more useful, but they should be kept for a long time (up to six months) - otherwise, "put".
Classic recipe
10 l 2–3 weeks
granulated hops
20 g
Nutritional value per 100 g of product:
Dissolve honey in 7 l of water at room temperature.
With a knife, cut the honeycombs with the perga into small pieces in the form of narrow thin strips and throw into honey water. Mix everything well.
Boil 3 l of water and gradually, in one pellet, add hops for 20 minutes. Allow to cool the intoxicated broth and add to the honey-pepper solution.
The fermenter with the solution should be closed with a water lock, but instead of water, a strong distillate should be poured into the water trap to prevent bacteria from getting inside.
Leave the fermentation fluid for 2-3 weeks. If there is already no trace of fermentation in the water seal, then the drink is ready. Strain the drink through a sieve, and then through cheesecloth, separating the remaining honeycombs. Do not take sediment at the bottom of the fermenter.
Pour the filtered liquid into a 10-liter glass bottle and close the lid. Such a drink can already be drunk, but it is better to leave it for six months in a dark cool place so that the drink "ripens" and becomes sticky.
Dissolve honey in 7 l of water at room temperature.
With a knife, cut the honeycombs with the perga into small pieces in the form of narrow thin strips and throw into honey water. Mix everything well.
Boil 3 l of water and gradually, in one pellet, add hops for 20 minutes. Allow to cool the intoxicated broth and add to the honey-pepper solution.
The fermenter with the solution should be closed with a water lock, but instead of water, a strong distillate should be poured into the water trap to prevent bacteria from getting inside.
Leave the fermentation fluid for 2-3 weeks. If there is already no trace of fermentation in the water seal, then the drink is ready. Strain the drink through a sieve, and then through cheesecloth, separating the remaining honeycombs. Do not take sediment at the bottom of the fermenter.
Pour the filtered liquid into a 10-liter glass bottle and close the lid. Such a drink can already be drunk, but it is better to leave it for six months in a dark cool place so that the drink "ripens" and becomes sticky.Video recipe
Did you know? The ancient Slavs still made honey in the 9th century. The manufacturing technology of such a drink took a lot of time, since honey with the addition of berry juice in barrels was buried in the ground for a period of 5 to 40 years.
Raisin Drink
2.3 l3 months
Nutrition value of 100 g of a product:
- Dissolve honey well in water.
- Add unwashed raisins to the honey solution and cover the container with gauze in several layers on top.
- Put in a dark warm place for two days for fermentation.
- Pour the honey liquid into the bottle and put in a dark cool place for 3 months.
With a bee bread
1.2 l six months
Nutritional value per 100 g of product:
- Stir honey in water and bring to a boil, stirring. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Allow the liquid to cool and mix well with the beef, and then toss the raisins.
- Cover the container with gauze on top and place it in a dark, warm place for a week.
- Strain the drink through cheesecloth, folded in several layers and pour into bottles.
- Put the corked bottles with the drink in a cool place without light for six months.
Important! The temperature of the room where the primary fermentation takes place should not be lower than 25 ° C, otherwise the time for fermentation will need to be extended for more than a week.
Sunny cherry
3 l6 months
Nutrition value of 100 g of a product:
- Stir the honey thoroughly in water and put on fire. When the water boils, hold for 30 minutes over low heat. As boiling - remove the foam.
- Let the resulting syrup cool.
- Pour the cherries with the prepared solution.
- Add hops. To prepare the mead stronger, hops are added immediately. If a preference is given to a lower alcohol drink with a pronounced spicy taste, then it is thrown when this mixture has already fermented.
- The resulting mixture is filled in a container (jar), and then put in a dark place. Top with a piece of gauze.
- After a day, the mixture is poured into a bottle of glass and tightly corked with a lid or cork.
- After 5 months, it is filtered and poured into prepared dark glass bottles.
- Then stand another 1 month.
On vodka "shock dose"
2.8 L2 months
cloves, anise, cinnamon, nutmeg
taste
Nutrition value of 100 g of a product:
- Stir the honey thoroughly in water and put on fire. When the water boils hold for 10 minutes over low heat. Throw spices to taste.
- Then you need to let the resulting solution cool.
- Add vodka to the solution and mix thoroughly.
- Strain and pour into prepared containers (bottles).
- Move the containers to a dark, cool place for 60 days so that the drink is infused. It should be noted that, according to the recipe, 0.5 l of vodka is needed, but this volume can be changed and added, depending on personal preferences, more or less.
Features of storage of blanks
Mead prepared without yeast is stored for no more than 3 months. If vodka is included, then the shelf life is no more than 1 year. Store in a dark, cool place.
Did you know? Heady honey drinks were made by almost all the ancient peoples of Europe, not only the Slavs, but also the Scandinavians, Greeks, Germans, Welsh, Armenians. And only in the XVI century they began to be replaced by vodka. Nowadays, interest in old honey drinks has returned, and their recipe has been restored.
A method of manufacturing mead without yeast is a classic version of the drink. The absence of this ingredient and boiling brings it closer to the put honey, which was made by our ancestors in the most ancient times, retains useful properties.
