On Friday June 15th 2018 in the afternoon, we decided to visit the local supermarket to buy some honey for a first fermentation experiment [1], [2]. Because of our scientific background, we agreed to be very elaborate in our documentation and write down everything. This turned out to be very helpful to improve on the recipe, as proven by our first comments, which weren’t exactly motivating (Fig. 3.1 A-C). But as with many things, experience is key, and soon we started to get a hand on the fermentation process (Fig. 3.2).
Figure 3.1. Notes of the taste tests of our first batches ‘mead’. Note the positive evolution of our batches (A to C).
Figure 3.2. At least this time, it actually tasted like mead.
Over the course of many months, we tried to optimize the fermentation process by changing our ‘variables’ (e.g. the brand of honey, yeast strain, fermentation time(s), and clearing agents). FYI – you wouldn’t believe the importance of the quality of the honey. Eventually, we managed to brew something less vinegary and gasoline-like, and something more mead-adjacent (Fig. 3.3). By the way, what’s more satisfying than the magical bubbling sound of an airlock?
Figure 3.3. Very professional storing conditions of our mead during aging
Though the taste of our mead was going in the right direction, we felt we needed to add more character to our brews. But let’s talk herbs in a next post!
References
[1] G. M. Walker and R. S. K. Walker, Enhancing Yeast Alcoholic Fermentations, vol. 105. Elsevier Ltd, 2018.
[2] M. Parapouli, A. Vasileiadis, A. S. Afendra, and E. Hatziloukas, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and its industrial applications, vol. 6, no. 1. 2020.