First, though, if you haven't tried mead,
try it. It takes so long to brew, it'd be a shame to wait a year or two for something only to discover you don't it!
For a gallon of traditional mead, you need:
- Reusable gallon container (up to about $5 - 10. Or free if you buy juice in a glass container.)
- Reusable Stopper for airlock (less than $1)
- Reusable Airlock (less than $2)
- Cleaner (varies by cleaner but you probably have bleach at home to start with)
- 2 to 3.5 pounds of honey (about $5 - 10, depending on quality)
- Yeast (less than $1)
- Nutrient (probably less than $2)
- Possibly water if the quality is poor or harsh
I think Joe's Ancient Orange cost me less than $10 in ingredients and $10 in reusable equipment.
For a larger 5 - 6 gallon batch, it gets a bit more expensive.
- Reusable carboy (The price is going up. I think new they're now around $60 but you can buy used)
- Primary bucket or something to rack to and from (A bucket is around $20 new)
- Reusable Stopper for airlock (less than $1)
- Reusable Airlock (less than $2)
- Cleaner (varies by cleaner)
- Reusable Hydrometer (less than $10) - I would recommend Test Jar ($4) for testing the hydrometer and thermometer
- Reusable Thermometer (less than $10)
- Reusable Bottle Brush
- Reusable Siphoning Equipment (about $10- 20 or more, depending on what you actually buy)
- 12 to 24 pounds of honey (about $25 - 50+, depending on quality and where you buy)
- Yeast (less than $2)
- Nutrient (probably less than $5)
- Possibly water if the quality is poor or harsh
- Any fruit, herbs and spices you want to add. If you get into mels, you could easily add 10# of fruit to a 5 or 6 gallon batch
Since these take so long to make, you will want to have a couple of batches going. That's where it
REALLY gets expensive!
I'd also recommend Ken Schramm's
The Complete Meadmaker. It answers all newby questions (under $20). And the patron's membership here is $25. These people will answer
ANY other questions you have.