Mead

Boil 4 pounds of honey for 10 minutes, let it cool, add some champagne yeast. What could be simpler?

I made some mead in August last year, based very loosely on the recipe in Charlie Papazian's Microbrewed Adventures. My previous attempt at mead was not overly successful. I think I must have decided that the 5 litre jug that had, in a former life, been a water bottle on a shelf at Tesco, was just as good at keeping air out as the more expensive empty bottles available on the internet. Six bottles of vinegar later, and I can see why there's a market for the empty bottles.

This time around I had an honest-to-goodness demijohn to make use of. Compared to brewing, the process is quick and simple. It does take a little longer to end up with a drinkable product – the stuff in my glass now is just 6 months old, but it's supposed to be best after 50 years – but it really is a "fire and forget" brew.

Depending on my OG (it was either 1.100 or 1.090, I forget which), my mead is either 12 or 13% (the FG I did remember to write down: 0.998). It smooth, light, honeyed, and completely unobjectionable. I will be making much more of this.