Hello, I have been reading about the various types of honey and am interested in making 10 gallons of sweet mead. I have made one gallon of sweet, clover honey and am extremely pleased, but was wondering if most of you prefer other types like orange blossom or wildflower. I know that it all depends on personal palate (taste) but I also suspect that there are one or two types that most prefer for accentuated aroma and taste for the sweeter palate. I am making 10 gallons of sweet wildflower tomorrow (excited). Thanks
Which type of honey do you favor for sweet mead?
- Thread starter deenis
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Welcome deenis !!!
You will no doubt find a LOT of opinions from the members on this site ..... personally, it all depends on what stylel of sweet mead you are going to be making. I have made some very good sweet melomels, acerglyns, and show meads. I guess if I could only have one favorite, it would be wildflower (and the taste is going to vary considerably depending on the 'wildflowers') as some of my better sweet meads were made with that.
Again, WELCOME ABOARD !!!
- GL63
You will no doubt find a LOT of opinions from the members on this site ..... personally, it all depends on what stylel of sweet mead you are going to be making. I have made some very good sweet melomels, acerglyns, and show meads. I guess if I could only have one favorite, it would be wildflower (and the taste is going to vary considerably depending on the 'wildflowers') as some of my better sweet meads were made with that.
Again, WELCOME ABOARD !!!
- GL63
Thank you for your opinion of "if you had to pick just one...." . That helps. Also, thanks for the warm welcome. I should introduce myself. I am indeed new to the forum and to mead. I am drinking a two month old sweet mead that I made (one gallon) and have fallen in love with it. I have been brewing alot of beers but have decided to turn toward mead. It just tastes so good and is so easy to make! I am a USPS letter carrier in upstate Vermont. I think I have found my drink in mead. At 49 years of age, it will help take the chill off the cold winters.
My daughter will be getting married next year and I wanted to make about 10 gallons of traditional sweet mead for the occasion (any maybe another 20 for me
. With the price of honey what it is, I wanted to buy 60 pounds, and just wanted to get the right type for a traditional mead. Thanks again.
My daughter will be getting married next year and I wanted to make about 10 gallons of traditional sweet mead for the occasion (any maybe another 20 for me
. With the price of honey what it is, I wanted to buy 60 pounds, and just wanted to get the right type for a traditional mead. Thanks again.Welcome Deenis,
One of my favorites is Orange blossom honey and its pretty popular with most meadmakers. It makes a delicious sweet mead that doesn't require a lot of aging to become drinkable. When I lived back in Ohio my favorite honey for sweet mead was Tulip poplar it is a slightly dark honey with a mild flavor and a distinctive aroma that makes a very complex sweet mead due to its high maltose content. Wildflower also makes a good sweet mead but as Grant said it depends on the type of wildflowers. WF honey is what I mainly use because thats what is available here in DE and it is what the local beekeepers sell. But what it comes down to is personal taste.
Cheers :cheers:
Jon
One of my favorites is Orange blossom honey and its pretty popular with most meadmakers. It makes a delicious sweet mead that doesn't require a lot of aging to become drinkable. When I lived back in Ohio my favorite honey for sweet mead was Tulip poplar it is a slightly dark honey with a mild flavor and a distinctive aroma that makes a very complex sweet mead due to its high maltose content. Wildflower also makes a good sweet mead but as Grant said it depends on the type of wildflowers. WF honey is what I mainly use because thats what is available here in DE and it is what the local beekeepers sell. But what it comes down to is personal taste.
Cheers :cheers:
Jon
Hello and welcome!
Varietal honey is good, blends are good too! For a good sweet mead, you might want to take a single varietal honey and blend it with a few others for complexity. Also, don't leave out the yeast strain. You'll need to choose a good yeast strain that will go well with the kind of mead you're planning.
Keep posting! That's what we're here for!
Varietal honey is good, blends are good too! For a good sweet mead, you might want to take a single varietal honey and blend it with a few others for complexity. Also, don't leave out the yeast strain. You'll need to choose a good yeast strain that will go well with the kind of mead you're planning.
Keep posting! That's what we're here for!
Welcome to the forums deenis!
You sure asked a question that may generate a variety of answers. For a traditional sweet mead, I think my first choice would be meadowfoam honey. It gives a vanilla/marshmallow flavor that works great in a sweet mead - at least for me. It is darned expensive though.
Whatever choice you make, I wish you great success with it!
Good meading!
Medsen
You sure asked a question that may generate a variety of answers. For a traditional sweet mead, I think my first choice would be meadowfoam honey. It gives a vanilla/marshmallow flavor that works great in a sweet mead - at least for me. It is darned expensive though.
Whatever choice you make, I wish you great success with it!
Good meading!
Medsen
Well it's not cheap in Colorado :
-- but I agree; it makes first class sweet and semi-sweet meads!
-- but I agree; it makes first class sweet and semi-sweet meads!I went ahead and ordered 60 lb. of orange blossom. Medsen, meadowfoam honey, I will try that in the future. I did not see anyone offering it for sale and did not know it existed, but it sounds like it might be nice to serve at one of my fall bon fires.
