First we brewed a plain mead. Then about a month later we added dandelion petals and chopped ginger.
Ingredients:
Yeast started April 9, 2001 in a pasturized mixture of a 1/2 pint jar of strawberry jam with one-quarter to one-half pounds of honey and some water.
April 12, 2001 - Heat honey with water. Add Irish Moss and yeast nutrient. Skim scum. Heat to 175, add must chiller, and keep hot for about 15 minutes to pasturize. Cool, pour into carboy and add water to make 5 gallons. Pitch yeast. Stir and store with a bubble lock.
May 10, 2001 - Picked dandelions and stripped the petals as we went. Poured boiling tap water onto flowers in the kettle. Added 2.5 pounds of honey and the ginger. Cooked at 160 F for 15 minutes. Cooled and poured into bucket. Racked the plain starter mead on top.
May 17, 2001 - Racked. SG 1.042 - We had more than would fit in a 5 gallon carboy, so an extra gallon jug was sanitized and filled.
January 24, 2002 - Boiled corn sugar with a cup of water for 10 minutes. Racked contents of carboy into bucket with sugar water. Bottled. Contents of the gallon jug was kept seperate and did not have sugar added before bottling.
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