Brewer: Carrick MacSeáin
Recipe Source: Tractatus de Magnetate et Operationibus Eius Folio 20r
Recipe Name: Basic mead
//ffor to make mede. Tak .i. galoun of fyne hony and to þat .4. galouns of water and hete þat water til it be as lengh þanne dissolue þe hony in þe water. thanne set hem ouer þe fier & let hem boyle and ever scomme it as longe as any filthe rysith þer on. and þanne tak it doun of þe fier and let it kole in oþer vesselle til it be as kold as melkwhan it komith from þe koow. than tak drestisof þe fynest ale or elles berme and kast in to þe water& þe hony. and stere al wel to gedre but ferst loke er þu put þy berme in. that þe water with þe hony be put in a fayr stonde & þanne put in þy berme or elles þi drestis for þat is best & stere wel to gedre/ and ley straw or elles clothis a bowte þe vessel & a boue gif þe wedir be kolde and so let it stande .3. dayes & .3. nygthis gif þe wedir be kold And gif it be hoot wedir .i. day and .1. nyght is a nogh at þe fulle But ever after .i. hour or .2. at þe moste a say þer of and gif þu wilt have it swete tak it þe sonere from þe drestis & gif þu wilt have it scharpe let it stand þe lenger þer with. Thanne draw it from þe drestis as cler as þu may in to an oþer vessel clene & let it stonde .1. nyght or .2. & þanne draw it in to an oþer clene vessel & serve it forth//
Redaction:
For to Make Mead
Dissolve 1 gallon of honey in 4 gallons of water. Boil for as long as the scum rises. Remove to a clean vessel. Allow it to cool until it is the temperature of milk from the cow. Add the lees of ale or barm. Cover with cloth or straw. After a few days remove from lees. Allow it to stand for a day or two, then serve.
- This mead was brewed using raw honey
- I pitched two cups of the dregs of a previous batch as yeast for this recipe. That batch used Lavlin D47.
- Contrary to my usual method, but in accordance with this process, I boiled the honey and skimmed the foam as it rose. “scomme it as longe as any filthe rysith per on”
- The recipe specifically states that it is important that the vessel be clean, and that the vessel be covered with cloth. Instead of an open tub covered with cloth, this batch fermented in a sanitized glass carboy with an air lock.
- Although the recipe implies that this mead was meant to be consumed in a couple of days, this batch of mead has been allowed to fully ferment and age for 2 months in the fermenter. The batch then aged an additional 6 months in the bottle, as allowed by the recipe:
- .2. at þe moste a say þer of and gif þu wilt have it swete tak it þe sonere from þe drestis & gif þu wilt have it scharpe let it stand þe lenger þer with.
Ingredients
15 pounds of raw honey
yeast dregs (originally Lavlin D47)
Process
Water for 5 gallons was heated to boiling. Added to the boiling water was the honey. Boiling continued, and the froth was skimmed until very little foam surfaced. At that time, the heat was removed and the must was cooled using an immersion wort chiller – cold water runs through coiled copper – until the must was at 70℉. At this time the must was transferred to a 5 gallon glass carboy. A Tilt hydrometer was added. This was left to ferment at 75℉ until the specific gravity reached 1.014. The mead was then racked to a secondary fermenter after 1 months, where it sat for an additional 1 month.
Bibliography
Original recipe: The University of Alabama at Binghamton Reynolds-Finley Historical Library https://library.uab.edu/locations/reynolds/collections/medieval-renaissance-manuscripts/tractatus/folio-20r
Carrick of Nordenhal 
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