My first tip... Buy this:
Brew or Die by our very own Baronsamedi
Yeast: My favorite is: Lalvin 1118 (will go as high as 18 to 20% alcohol "pretty strong")
Don't sweat measuring specific gravity.... that'll come later.
My second tip: Avoid varietal honey for now... It will take some experience to make something special.
As Clint says in his book.... Even your worst brew will be better than anything you can buy. (or something like that)
Another reason for avoiding varietal honey is the cost... it's expensive.
I use SueBee honey, and buy it from Sam's Club by the case. It's still expensive, but it's neutral flavor is conducive to letting your recipe shine.
If you buy Culligan Water from say... Walmart... you can use the gallon jugs and balloons (with a small X cut in the tip as your first fermentors. They really work well for small batches. Swap over to glass when the funds allow. Glass is a little pricey but the bubble locks and stoppers are inexpensive.
1.33 cups of honey = 1 lb.
Here's a good first recipe: (This one got me hooked)
Orange Clove Mead (This is one of the best recipes, tastes great and is easy to make. If you are looking for a first recipe to try I recommend this one.
Interesting flavor and makes 1 gallon
• 1 gallon of Spring Water
• Yeast: Lalvin 1118 (1 packet)
• 25 Raisins (lightly crushed, skins broken)
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 1 whole orange, sliced and peels included
• 1 pinch of allspice
• 1 pinch of nutmeg
• 3 1/2 pounds of clover honey
• 1 whole clove
Simply mix all the ingredients then pitch your yeast. Caring for this mead? The beautiful thing about this mead is that you can rack it off of all the oranges and raisins any time you want to, or you can just leave it all in there. When the oranges sink to the bottom you are ready to drink it or bottle it… It’s as simple as that. I recommend you bottle it and let it age for a couple more months. This recipe is just simply delicious.
Most importantly... like smoking pipes, everybody is a little different...
So, just have fun!
Edit: Gluten is the substance that holds bread together (kinda).
As long as you don't use wheat, barley and the like you should be fine.
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