Mead Making

1682 University Avenue,Berkeley CA 94703

11 September, 2021

Description

Make mead that is drinkable in one month! Traditional meads take a year (or more) to age and be drinkable, but meads can be made much faster Make mead that is drinkable in one month! Traditional meads take a year (or more) to age and be drinkable, but meads can be made much faster. This process allows you to experiment with small batches, get results quickly, and repeat with a big batch of a particularly tasty recipe or honey. You will learn about yeast, what equipment you need, how to prepare must (unfermented mead), what flavors work well together, fermentation, sanitation, and bottling. You will learn how to use a hydrometer. There will be a tasting of some of Jim’s meads along the way. We will then make batches of mead in class to take home to ferment! Be warned that making meads faster requires a more complicated recipe than traditional mead and more cooking science understanding, but this class is still accessible for beginners. The quick, reliable results are well worth the effort.Instructor: Jim Veitch is a Berkeley beekeeper who has been making fast mead for the last 5 years and experimenting with different delicious recipes, including ginger, galangal, dry wine mead, and more.About class cost: The class cost of $85 includes the cost of the equipment you need to make mead (1-gallon glass carboy, airlock, hydrometer), which you will get to take home with you to reuse for future batches. It also includes the cost of enough yeast for your first batch, which is critical for the mead making process. It does not include honey. You need to bring a quart of your own liquid honey (purchased or from your own bees, not crystalized) with you to the class, and then you will be able to make your first batch of mead during the class. Jim also has honey to sell: $30 for a quart. Email to let us know you'd like to buy honey from him. If you would like to OPT OUT of the mead making supplies for a reduced ($30 off) ticket price, please let us know ASAP. We order supplies before the class date and don't want to order more than we need. FAQsWhat should I bring to the event?one quart of honey (necessary to make mead during the class) a notebook and writing utensil! What does my ticket price cover? The class itself, the equipment to make mead (carboy, airlock, hydrometer), yeast for your first batch. Not honey. What will I go home with? A 1-gallon batch of mead (ready in one month!) and the equipment to make more batches in the future. When will the mead I made be ready?About a month after the class - so early/mid October!  BioFuel Oasis is a worker-owned cooperative that is a biodiesel station and urban farm store. We teach classes on urban farming, including beekeeping, backyard chickens, herbal medicine, mead-making, fermentation, and more. We believe in divesting from large corporate systems of food, agriculture, and energy, and strive to invest in local, sustainable practices of living by connecting local instructors to you and building self-sufficiency in our community. Our store is located at 1441 Ashby Ave., in Berkeley, CA - stop by to chat with one of the worker owners, to fill up your diesel car with our recycled veggie oil biodiesel, or to pick up your urban farm supplies!