Must-Read Books

[shunoshi]

When I started brewing beer I was introduced to a site www.howtobrew.com and a book by Charlie Papazian called The Complete Joy of Homebrewing. These texts are considered must-reads in the world of craft beer brewing and they really helped with my fundamentals. My question is, what book(s) is/are the equivalent in the world of mead? I'd really like to have a comprehensive text that answers some of the common questions so I don't have to ask them all here.

 

[wayneb]

Well, in answer to your question (which has already been answered here before :laughing7: ) the best, and probably only "must read," is Ken Schramm's 'The Compleat Meadmaker.' You really don't need any other meadmaking book, although the one that Oskaar and Vicky are working up will be even more focused on the meadmaking process (Ken covers a lot of ground in history and other related subjects) and it will be aimed at beginners. Until that one hits the shelves, go for Ken's!

Actually, much of what Schramm would teach you is already contained in the Gotmead archives in one place or another! Play around with the search tools, both the one on the forum and the more general one on the Gotmead main page, and you'll get answers to probably 90% of your questions without having to post them. This archive goes back more than a few years (more than a decade when you consider the AMA archives), and there's lots of stuff here that isn't contained in any published hardcopy book.

 

[ehanuise]

I read a couple :
- Ken Schramm's The compleat meadmaker
- Roger Morse's Making mead
- Harry Riches Mead Making, Exhibiting and Judging
- Pam Spence's Mad about mead

If you look in the posts on the forum, You'll find that Ken Schram's book is not only one of the most up to date meadmaking books available, but also regarded as one of the most extensive in its coverage.

I have to second that fully, if I must recommend a single book it'd be Schramm's.
They all carry interesting pieces of historical, technical, and something philosophical wisdom, but that one definitely stands out.

Please note however that there is a lot of information on GotMead? that is more current that what can be found in some of these books. Newer techniques such as nutrients addition schedule, which are easy to implement and very efficient are better learned on this site, until a revision or newer books get printed.

(NB This is just a personal advice, I can be wrong and don't hold 'the truth' )

 

[shunoshi]

Thanks to both of you! :icon_study:

I like books to give me the basics and know from beer brewing that current (and possibly improved) techniques tend to be formulated all the time. I'll check out that book and use this forum as a supplemental, which is what I do with beer brewing on homebrewtalk.com. They have a similar setup as this place, but the main focus is beer. They do have a single mead forum (like this place has a single beer forum), but it has nowhere near the depth of this place (for obvious reasons).

Thanks again! Looks like I have to hit Barnes and Noble tomorrow after work. :toothy10:

 

[Oskaar]

Don't forget Acton and Duncan and Brother Adam.

Oskaar

 

[punkideas]

The other resource you may find useful is the Mead Lover's Digest. It has a different atmosphere than GotMead, but has a lot of useful information and recipes in the archives. It's pretty much the mead equivalent of the Hombrewer's Digest.