There's a young heathen posting on another board I go to looking for somewhere to buy non-alcoholic mead. He's 17 and doesn't want to break the law, and his parents don't want him making his own anymore. Anyone have any ideas?
Non-alcoholic Mead?
- Thread starter Soyala_Amaya
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Not the slightest, I have my doubts that it exists commercially to be honest! The kid was making his own, how was he doing that, boiling off as much ABV as possible and then dilluting it back up? Seems like it would be an extremely difficult thing to actually pull off (I've wondered about making it for one of my straight edge friends, but it just seems nigh on impossible).
http://www.stormthecastle.com/mead/alcohol-free-mead-recipe.htm
This is a recipe he posted, it looks like apple cider and honey and spices mixed together.
This is a recipe he posted, it looks like apple cider and honey and spices mixed together.
Oh, why would his parents want him to stop making that? I'm a little confused!
The tricky part about finding anything like that is that it probably wouldn't even be called non-alcoholic mead, but I still have my doubts that such a product even exists, I can't recal ever in my life having seen an unfermented honey beverage for sale!
The tricky part about finding anything like that is that it probably wouldn't even be called non-alcoholic mead, but I still have my doubts that such a product even exists, I can't recal ever in my life having seen an unfermented honey beverage for sale!
As far as I can tell, mess. He has spices and honey on the table, taking up room...my suggestion would be to clean better but you know teenage boys.
Haha! Can't argue w that.
If he still wants to brew, tell him to pick up some kombucha. The end product is non-alcoholic, but he still gets to work w cool little micro-organisms that make delicious beverages out of sugar water. I've brewed kombucha w honey before to good effect. Orange blossom makes a nice kombucha.
Mead is alcoholic. Period. Not fermented it is basically honey water and to be honest doesn't deserve to be called mead imho. If I were him I'd replace it with cider until I could buy/make legally.
Making an alcoholic beverage nonalcoholic requires reverse osmosis equipment anyway and I doubt his parents would let him have that equipment. ;D
Making an alcoholic beverage nonalcoholic requires reverse osmosis equipment anyway and I doubt his parents would let him have that equipment. ;D
I think the general consensus has been just use apple cider till he's 21, if he doesn't want to continue making it himself, or learn to clean up better. It was just a thought that maybe, since there did seem to be a few online recipes, someone had heard of something. Beyond just the young gentleman, there is a 'water' horn we pass at symble that might have been nice to have a 'mead' in for those who chose or cannot imbibe.
One of the other posters who hasn't been on in a while was a non-drinker (but has the brewing bug bad!) and she'd make .5% stuff, just so she cold occasionally have some of her own stuff... but I don't know if that works for minors. Or messy minors' parents 
And come to think about it, my first home winemaking book had recipes for bottle-carbonated sodas, which worked out to .5%
And come to think about it, my first home winemaking book had recipes for bottle-carbonated sodas, which worked out to .5%
0.5% I think is considered non alcoholic, it's what alcoholics drink anyways so if it's fine for them I'd guess it's fine for kids (frankly I think it's all fine for kids, just moderation! But we already had that discussion!).
Kombucha being mentioned earlier I think actually gets up to a much higher ABV depending on how it's done, can go as high as 3% even just using common recipes.
Kombucha being mentioned earlier I think actually gets up to a much higher ABV depending on how it's done, can go as high as 3% even just using common recipes.
In the US 0.5% or below is considered NA
I don't know if it helps your friend, but in most states in the US it is legal for a parent to give their minor children small amounts of alcoholic beverages (basically don't get your kids drunk that's endangerment)
If that still doesn't help, brew something alcoholic then heat it just to the point that the alcohol evaporates but the water doesn't. Kind of like distillation but without collecting the alcohol. This is what the commercial NA brewers do most of the time.
I don't know if it helps your friend, but in most states in the US it is legal for a parent to give their minor children small amounts of alcoholic beverages (basically don't get your kids drunk that's endangerment)
If that still doesn't help, brew something alcoholic then heat it just to the point that the alcohol evaporates but the water doesn't. Kind of like distillation but without collecting the alcohol. This is what the commercial NA brewers do most of the time.
Actually boiling the brew to get a non-alcoholic beverage is not the way you do it, or the way the commercial NA brewers do it. It requires vacuum distilliation or reverse osmosis. Heating it to a temp to keep up a boil for evaporation would ruin the flavors, hence having to do it at a low temperature. See here: http://www.chow.com/food-news/53912/how-are-nonalcoholic-beer-and-wine-made/
Wow, non-alcoholic mead? No such thing. I do make a non-alcoholic cider, for the winter season for parties. I used to do it every year for a friend's caroling party. Basically it's whole apple juice, spices, honey for sweetening and simmer out 1/4 of the liquid volume over the course of at least 4-8 hours. Then during the party, just add more when ever the pot gets low, heat up as neccessary.
Am I the only one that laughed on one of Eureka's Episodes (a sci-fi tv show) when the guy that runs the restraunt in town offered non-alcholic mead?
Ok, nuff said of that. But seriously, If I was 17 again, I would brew as much mead as I could and not drink any of it. Once college hits and you can drink, Wow the stock would be great, well aged, and he would be the most popular guy at the party. That is if he has storage place for it all and brew space.
Surely it can't be illegal to brew it, just drink it. Prior to 21 in america that is.
Matrix
Am I the only one that laughed on one of Eureka's Episodes (a sci-fi tv show) when the guy that runs the restraunt in town offered non-alcholic mead?
Ok, nuff said of that. But seriously, If I was 17 again, I would brew as much mead as I could and not drink any of it. Once college hits and you can drink, Wow the stock would be great, well aged, and he would be the most popular guy at the party. That is if he has storage place for it all and brew space.
Surely it can't be illegal to brew it, just drink it. Prior to 21 in america that is.
Matrix
You could always try serving a Melicrate.
Or you could take a Melicrate and treat it like homemade soda, bottling it and allowing the yeast just enough time to carbonate it before sticking it in the fridge. That way you'd get a bubbling honey beverage with about 0.5-1% ABV that would be equivalent to making homemade rootbeer.
Or you could take a Melicrate and treat it like homemade soda, bottling it and allowing the yeast just enough time to carbonate it before sticking it in the fridge. That way you'd get a bubbling honey beverage with about 0.5-1% ABV that would be equivalent to making homemade rootbeer.
I don't think there's no such thing, if you fermented it and then removed most of the alcohol it would certainly not be honey-water, it would be non alcoholic mead. That said, it would be pretty much impossible to do at home.
And anyways, it sounds like the whole problem here is that this kid is making a giant mess whenever he makes his whateveryouwannacallit, not really anything to do with what he's making, just that he's making a mess doing it! So either cleaning up or buying something pre-made really are his only options!
And anyways, it sounds like the whole problem here is that this kid is making a giant mess whenever he makes his whateveryouwannacallit, not really anything to do with what he's making, just that he's making a mess doing it! So either cleaning up or buying something pre-made really are his only options!
I don't think you could make a true non-alcoholic mead unless there was a fermentation process involved at some point. The taste of mead is more than just honey and water, it's also other flavor notes contributed as byproducts of the basic honey --> alcohol fermentation. I suppose you could boil the alcohol off, but would that create a sort of boiled bochet?
Makes me wonder how commercial non-alcoholic wines are made.
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Makes me wonder how commercial non-alcoholic wines are made.
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It's mentioned above, basically vaccuums or reverse osmosis, sometimes I think heat is involved, they might combine methods too.
Spinning cone technology is commonly used by large wineries. It is expensive, but can be used to remove VA as well.
