hist-brewing: Historical Mead Recipe

[Wade Hutchison]

At 10:26 AM 3/29/2000, Marty Twombly wrote:
>Greetings all
>i am new to brewing and i was wondering if anyone had a source for period
>recipes. that they would be willing to share

Here is one of the few pre-17th century mead recipes:

German, from buch von gute speise (c.1350). Here is a translation
(not mine). I think there is another, and perhaps better, translation (of 
the whole cookbook) webbed.  There is a german copy available at
http://staff-www.uni-marburg.de/~gloning/bvgs.htm
         -----Wade Hutchison,
         Master Gille MacDhnouill in the SCA


14. Willst thou make Good Mead

He who wishes to make good mead he warms pure well water so that he can 
bear to put his hand in it, and take two measures of water and one of 
honey. One stirs that with a stick and lets it hang for a while and draw it 
then through a clean cloth or through a hair seive into a clean vessel. And 
seethe then the same wort so long a time as one needs to walk down a field 
and back up it again and skim the wort with a (vensterehten--windowed?) 
bowl (possibly a bowl with holes in it), so that the foam remains in and 
not the wort. After that pour the mead in a clean vessel and cover it so 
that the steam cannot get out so long that one can bear to put one's hand 
in it. So take then a half (mezzigen--measure?) pot and fill it half full 
of hops and a handful of savory and seethe that with the wort about a half 
mile (for as long as it takes to walk a half mile?). And pour it then in 
the wort. And take fresh yeast a half (nozzelin--nut sized piece?) and pour 
it therein. Pour it among itself (stir it in? pour it back and forth to mix 
it?), so that it becomes (gesschende-- foamy, effervescent, fermenting). So 
cover it so that the vapor cannot get out a day and a night. Separate then 
the mead through a clean cloth or through a hair seive and tun it up in a 
clean cask. And let it ferment three days and three nights and fill it 
every evening. After that one removes it and makes sure that yeast 
(sediment--ddf) doesn't come into it. And let it lie eight days so that it 
falls and fill it every evening. After that remove it into a (gehertztez) 
cask and let it lie eight days full. And drink it then only six weeks or 
eight so is it the very best.



	


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