Mead
Mead , also called honey wine , is an alcoholic drink made from honey and water . In some cases, especially in private production, various spices, fruits and fruit juices (mostly apples and apple juice) are added or used instead of water. Mead was originally made using spontaneous fermentation . Today, pure yeasts are mostly used, as they are also used in the actual winemaking from grapes. Depending on the yeast used , the amount of sugar (honey) and other environmental conditions during fermentation , mead can contain up to 20 % by volume of alcohol (11% to 16% by volume are common). Mead is drunk both hot and cold.
Mead fermented with cherries or mixed with cherry juice is often referred to as Viking blood or Odin's blood . Mead or Viking blood with a sharp mixture of spices is also known as dragon's blood .
history
Origin of the word "Met"
The German word Met has its roots in the Indo-European word stem * medhu- , which was mostly used to describe honey. The following examples show how widespread this word stem is in the Indo-European language area: The Slavic “med”, as well as the Spanish and French “miel” mean honey. In Greek Met is μέθυ, in Lithuanian and Latvian “midus” (honey is “medus”), in Danish and Norwegian “mjød”, in Swedish “mjöd”, in Polish “miód”, in Russian “мёд” and in Ukrainian “ мед “. It is called “mead” in English and “mede” in Dutch. Hungarian, although not Indo-European, has also adopted it in the form of the word “méz”. In Sanskrit , the word “mádhu” describes a sweet, intoxicating drink or honey, which the Ashvins (mythical twins) drink according to the ancient Indian Rigveda . The terms Madhu and Soma are used synonymously in Rigveda for the same god potion.
Discovery of mead
Processes for making wine were already in use in ancient Egypt and the Middle East around 3500 BC. Known, mead production has a somewhat older tradition . The honey was not only eaten, it was also used as a preservative for perishable foods. Honey with a high water content was often used or stored in a damp place. It was only a matter of time before mead was discovered, as the fermentation of honey starts automatically when the humidity is high enough.
History until today
Since ancient times, people who had enough honey made mead. The spontaneous transformation of honey water into a much tastier drink with the intoxicating effect of alcohol made mead a drink and gift of the sir (gods) in Germanic / Nordic mythology . The honey wine was not only drunk in large quantities at celebrations, but was also used as a drink for the gods in ritual acts. Due to its cultic status, the excessive consumption of mead was at the same time a sacrifice to the gods. The Edda contains detailed descriptions of regular drinking bouts and the consequences of the next day - due to the background, the bouts were not just “ binge drinking ” but also acts of sacrifice. The difference between celebration and sacrifice was basically only to whom the eaten food was dedicated.
In addition to its use for festivals and ceremonies, mead was a normal everyday drink, comparable to beer in medieval Europe. Mead enjoyed a high status until the Middle Ages. With the emergence of beer in the north and wine in the south of Europe, the consumption of mead decreased steadily, because the production of the drink using Metsieder is more expensive and more complex than beer and wine.
Nevertheless, mead was produced and drunk even in the Middle Ages. Emperor Charlemagne wrote that bees should be bred and mead produced in every model farm. Around the year 1000, mead, along with cheese, was also served as dessert in the St. Gallen monastery .
Today only northern and eastern European areas know a mettradition. Mead recipes are still known in Great Britain and some are in use. In the classic wine-growing regions in southern and central Europe, the mead has almost completely died out. In metal culture, among the Asatru (neo-pagans) and the medieval scene , mead is a popular drink alongside beer thanks to its traditional meaning.
Previously used
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Mead was used in many ways by the earlier peoples. It played a role in hospitality, in church services , as an offering to the gods, as grave goods, at religious festivities, as a health drink and in medicine . The ancient Greeks almost exclusively drank wine, but historians agree that mead was made in areas rich in bees. In ancient Greece, the Melikraton was considered the noblest donation for the gods. At first it was a product made from milk and honey, later water or wine was used instead of milk. Pedanios Dioscurides also calls Melikraton honeydew mead. He describes it as a mixture of one part honey and two parts water that is placed in the sun. The Melikraton played a special role in necromancy and in the cult of the dead . The Romans did not know the mead at first. It was not until the Roman conquests of Asia that the mead found its way to Rome with the rising prosperity. The Romans mostly drank wine mead, the “ mulsum ”, as a table and health drink . They sweetened their mostly sour wine with mead, or brewed their “mulsum” directly in wine instead of water. As the following episode shows, “mulsum” was a drink for the rich and was mostly served for “gustatio”. “Appius tells Varro (...) that in his youth he did not drink mead out of thrift and only began to prepare mead in his house after he had inherited it; When good friends came to visit, however, he always served them with mead. ”Occasionally“ mulsum ”was also used as a“ worry breaker ”because of its intoxicating effect.
Mead as a remedy
Produced and mixed with a wide variety of ingredients, mead, also in a diluted form as water mead (also mead water, hydromel ), was used against a wide variety of diseases. Many of the effects ascribed to it were based partly on superstition and partly on facts. Honey and mead have an antibacterial effect. Even ancient textbooks attributed healing powers to stomach and intestinal problems or to diseases of the respiratory tract. Met was also used as an emetic and laxative for poisoning. He was gargled against ulcers and inflammation. The Romans used their mulsum mixed with different ingredients against a variety of diseases: “with the addition of finely pounded hazelnuts to combat chronic coughs, mixed with Lolch it cures hip pain, mixed with erven flour it serves women to regain a certain body after illnesses and is beneficial Emaciation. ”The mead has also been used many times to sweeten bitter-tasting medicines.
Manufacturing
Making mead is easy. By adding different spices you can give the mead a completely different taste. In addition, with the right fermentation, dry or bitter mead can be produced. The yeast converts sugar into alcohol and its metabolites enter Met the typical taste.
Honey content
The lower the honey content and thus the concentration of the sum total of the sugars it contains, the easier the mead ferments. However, this happens at the expense of the taste. The brew, which is ultimately a sugar solution in relation to the fermentation process, tends to dilute itself by absorbing water that is withdrawn from the yeast cells. When the sugar concentration increases, this effect is amplified. All metabolic processes in the yeast (including those for reproduction) take place in an aqueous solution. If the water content of the cell decreases, the metabolic processes of the yeast cell are inhibited. The size of the cell also changes and the cell membrane becomes wrinkled: in the end, the cell dies. That explains why honey has an almost unlimited shelf life. Honey has an extremely high sugar concentration and thus deprives cells, e.g. B. invading bacteria or fungi, the water necessary for life.
The alcohol formed during fermentation also removes water from the yeast cells. The osmotic suction of sugar and alcohol add up in the fermentation mixture. As a result, the higher the alcohol content, the less sugar the yeast can tolerate. Even a mead with a very high sugar concentration begins to ferment. But as soon as there is little alcohol, the yeast cells die and fermentation comes to a standstill. One solution to this problem is "staggered sugaring": the honey is added in portions. In this way the yeast is never exposed to extreme osmotic conditions and its metabolism can work unchecked.
fermentation
For a successful fermentation, a strong, pure cultured yeast should be used. The temperature should not drop below 15 ° C because the yeast will then stop working. The honey solution usually only ferments slowly due to the high sugar content. For this reason, constant monitoring of fermentation is necessary. The fermentation can be monitored with the help of a fermentation lock due to the development of carbon dioxide . At the beginning of fermentation, a steady development of carbon dioxide can be observed in the fermentation lock. The further fermentation has progressed, the fewer bubbles go through the fermentation lock. The main fermentation is over after 7 to 9 days. The duration of the main fermentation is very much dependent on the sugar concentration and the choice of yeast. After the main amount has fermented, the excess brew should be separated from the sediment for the first time by cooling it down and then vacuuming it (known as a fume cupboard in professional circles). This prevents the mead from being spoiled by dead yeast lying on the bottom of the bottle through yeast autolysis . So if you have an airlock, tracking fermentation is not a problem. During the main fermentation the mixture is very cloudy. When the main fermentation is over, sedimentation and dead yeast cells - and thus clarification of the excess fermentation mixture - can be determined. In addition, constant tasting of the mixture would be helpful, but is not recommended because of the associated supply of atmospheric oxygen to the mash.
Preservation
Residual sugar can become a problem if there are still living yeast or spores in the bottle. Fermentation can start again, spoil the mead and burst the bottle due to the carbon dioxide that is produced. Other microorganisms that are harmful to the wine could also multiply. The following methods can be used to prevent this:
High alcohol content
Alcohol has a preservative effect from a concentration of over 14%, i. In other words, you no longer have to worry about harmful microorganisms. In order to prevent a possible secondary fermentation, the mead can be preserved by spraying it on with spirits (only for private consumption, after spraying the product is legally not mead in Germany). For some, however, the resulting alcohol content will be too high. On the other hand, there is the possibility of adding a new taste note to the mead with the corresponding schnapps.
Sulphurization
When sulphurising mead with potassium disulphite , the usual oenological conditions must be observed. This not only prevents the multiplication of harmful bacteria, but also protects the mead from oxidation, which is ultimately not the goal, because with mead no reductive expansion is sought. The alcoholic fermentation is not inhibited up to an SO 2 content of 50 mg / l. If sulphurisation is above this value due to certain circumstances, fermentation only starts again when the content has fallen to this value. For sulphurization when fermentation is stopped, values of 75 mg / SO 2 to 100 mg / SO 2 , which corresponds to 15 g / hl to 20 g / hl potassium disulphite, should be aimed for. It should be noted that the subsequent further oxidation of the SO 2 to sulfuric acid increases the total acid content and the content of SO 2 residues when it is sold to the consumer must be 50 mg / l by law.
Warm filling
Yeast and other microorganisms die - like all living things - at a certain temperature. This effect is intensified by the alcohol in the mead. In the wine industry, the wine is filled into the cold bottle at a temperature of 55 ° C.
For quantities on the liter scale, heating and filling can be carried out with simple means. When heating, make sure that the vessel remains covered to keep the loss of alcohol to a minimum. After filling, the bottles should be stored at an angle so that germs can also be killed on the closure.
Cold sterile filling
The gentlest method of preservation is cold-sterile filling, in which the mead is filled into cleaned bottles using a filling system that has previously been sterilized with steam. Because of the high cost and the necessary sterile working method, this form is almost only used in the commercial sector.
Finishing
After the actual fermentation process, it is possible to achieve a certain taste by adding other substances.
Spices
The addition of spices is as old as the mead production itself. In the simplest case, the spices are hung in a linen bag in the fermentation barrel . However, the honey wine must be constantly checked for its taste in order not to miss the right moment to remove the sachet. A more modern method is to remove their aroma from the spices with water or alcohol and then add this extract to the mead.
Dark colour
With mead, a dark, intense color is often judged to be more valuable than a light one. However, there is no direct connection between the quality of the product and its brightness, since ultimately the darker color is only due to an increased content of natural coloring agents, and even very light types of honey can lead to very good mead. In addition, in some cultures a light color in particular is perceived as a sign of particular purity and thus quality.
One way to get dark mead is to use dark honey. This is more expensive and is sometimes ruled out for economic reasons. The same result can be achieved with caramel . In old recipes it is also recommended to reduce caramel.
Oak flavor
A drink aged in an oak barrel is considered valuable and carefully prepared. This is offset by the high price for oak barrels and the difficult cleaning. The same taste effect can be achieved by adding oak chips or adding oak aroma to the fermentation vessel.
Honey choice
The most important component of mead is honey . It influences the taste and color of the mead. In principle, all types of honey can be processed into mead. Even problem honeys, such as those with a water content that is too high for sale, can be fermented. This is particularly interesting for beekeepers who would otherwise have to dispose of this honey. For economic reasons, inexpensive honey such as rapeseed honey is often used for fermentation and sweetened with flavor-intensive honey such as blossom or forest honey. This keeps the selling price low and the mead still has an appealing aroma.
Wrong mead
So-called false mead is the name given to wine cooked with honey, which has a similar taste to fermented mead, but is much easier to produce.
See also
- Tej , Ethiopian honey wine
- Medowucha , a Russian honey drink
- Honey beer , brewed with the addition of mead
- Bärenfang and Krupnik , spirits based on unfermented honey
- Gvirc , Croatian honey wine
- Sima , Finnish alcoholic drink made from honey and water
literature
- Karl Stückler: Mead: making honey wine - made easy! Stocker Verlag, Graz 2011, ISBN 978-3-7020-1301-1 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Met. In: Jacob Grimm , Wilhelm Grimm (Hrsg.): German dictionary . tape 12 : L, M - (VI). S. Hirzel, Leipzig 1885, Sp. 2141-2142 ( woerterbuchnetz.de ).
- ↑ Dieter Lehmann: Two medical prescription books of the 15th century from the Upper Rhine. Part I: Text and Glossary. Horst Wellm, Pattensen / Han. 1985, now at Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg (= Würzburg medical-historical research. 34), ISBN 3-921456-63-0 , p. 222.