Medieval brew is a blast from the past
Katherine Timpf
Issue date: 11/19/09 Section: Focus
Most Hillsdale College students probably think of mead as something belonging only in medieval literature. For some at Hillsdale, however, it belongs in the kitchen.
Senior Jody Lent keeps his mead in his bedroom. He said the drink is aging in a six-gallon container. He plans on using it for a party around spring break or graduation.
"It's the brew of the Vikings," Lent said. "Once you hear the idea, I don't think there is a manly way to say no to that unless you're against the drinking of alcohol."
Lent's brewing buddy, sophomore Alex Cothran, said the pair decided to make the drink after a friend challenged them to a "mead-off." Cothran said the process will take two to four months.
The pair heated two gallons of spring water to 160 degrees, added a gallon of honey and some yeast nutrient before stirring it for a half an hour and then adding another two gallons of water.
Next they poured the mixture, as well as another gallon of water they used to clean out the pot, into a giant glass container.
The yeast's addition causes the drink to ferment, and putting a stopper on top, Lent said, lets CO2 escape from the container while still trapping oxygen.
"We wrapped it in a giant towel so now it sits in a corner of my room," Lent said.
Their next step is to "rack the mead" by siphoning it into two 5-gallon buckets and clean the bottle out with rubbing alcohol.
While they wait for the proper time for siphoning, they are using the buckets to brew hard cider. Lent said he is also brewing blackberry brandy.
Lent said the ingredients and equipment cost about $110, which he didn't consider a bad deal for six gallons of 40 proof alcohol.
Students aren't the only ones brewing Anglo-Saxon beverages at home. Assistant Professor of Mathematics, Thomas Treloar, said he started out brewing his own beer, but "ventured over to mead a couple of times."
Treloar uses a different method than Lent and Cothran, in which he waits only about 24 to 36 hours before siphoning the yeast, sometimes putting it in the refrigerator to speed the process.
He said he has used other liquids in place of water, such as apple juice and even beer, to create different flavors.
Treloar recommended 3.5 lbs of honey per gallon of water. He said the mead he makes is usually somewhere between 10 to 16 percent alcohol by volume, equal to a bottle of white or red wine, respectively.
Senior Jody Lent keeps his mead in his bedroom. He said the drink is aging in a six-gallon container. He plans on using it for a party around spring break or graduation.
"It's the brew of the Vikings," Lent said. "Once you hear the idea, I don't think there is a manly way to say no to that unless you're against the drinking of alcohol."
Lent's brewing buddy, sophomore Alex Cothran, said the pair decided to make the drink after a friend challenged them to a "mead-off." Cothran said the process will take two to four months.
The pair heated two gallons of spring water to 160 degrees, added a gallon of honey and some yeast nutrient before stirring it for a half an hour and then adding another two gallons of water.
Next they poured the mixture, as well as another gallon of water they used to clean out the pot, into a giant glass container.
The yeast's addition causes the drink to ferment, and putting a stopper on top, Lent said, lets CO2 escape from the container while still trapping oxygen.
"We wrapped it in a giant towel so now it sits in a corner of my room," Lent said.
Their next step is to "rack the mead" by siphoning it into two 5-gallon buckets and clean the bottle out with rubbing alcohol.
While they wait for the proper time for siphoning, they are using the buckets to brew hard cider. Lent said he is also brewing blackberry brandy.
Lent said the ingredients and equipment cost about $110, which he didn't consider a bad deal for six gallons of 40 proof alcohol.
Students aren't the only ones brewing Anglo-Saxon beverages at home. Assistant Professor of Mathematics, Thomas Treloar, said he started out brewing his own beer, but "ventured over to mead a couple of times."
Treloar uses a different method than Lent and Cothran, in which he waits only about 24 to 36 hours before siphoning the yeast, sometimes putting it in the refrigerator to speed the process.
He said he has used other liquids in place of water, such as apple juice and even beer, to create different flavors.
Treloar recommended 3.5 lbs of honey per gallon of water. He said the mead he makes is usually somewhere between 10 to 16 percent alcohol by volume, equal to a bottle of white or red wine, respectively.
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