Schramm - The compleat meadmaker: home production of honey wine from your first batch to award-winning fruit and herb variations

M ankinds record on taking care of its treasures leaves much to be desired. We have a habit of moving on to the next great fad, and forgetting everything worthwhile that has happened prior to fifteen minutes ago. We blindly allow our pace of life to be hastened beyond the pace at which life can be enjoyed, and fail even to take the time to ask ourselves what it is that life and our world offer us that give us pleasure and make it gratifying to await the change of the seasons. The cellular phones, answering machines, and Email meant to bring us freedom simply expand the amount of time we are accountable to our superiors and available to overcommit ourselves further. We abide by the rules and norms set before us by rulemakers, governments, and corporations, by advertising agencies, public opinion consultants, and management, and never stop to see if they make any sense or have any real value when viewed as part of the glorious web of life in which we spend our days.

Mead provides but one of a host of examples of this thoughtless rush into the future. Once the noblest of beverages in the northern European countries, it declined not due to its lack of worth, but rather as a casualty of it, as honey and its cherished product mead became affordable only to the extreme nobility and to the beekeeper. It was brushed aside in a maddening new rush of choices, novelty, and a love of convenience at all costs. The same can be said for cider, perry, and connoisseur fruits. Mead, once considered far superior to both wine and beer, fell into obscurity as honey became scarce and expensive, and was never reclaimed from the nobilitys vault in which it was laid. Through the work of many people, and by virtue of the quality of the beverage itself, mead is making a comeback. This book endeavors to push that comeback along.

The goal of this book is to bring the resources available to meadmakers nearer to the breadth of scientific knowledge and diversity of technique that are applied to amateur brewing and winemaking. I hope that these chapters provide a resource of new and valuable information about the various aspects of meadmaking that you can use to improve your mead. If you are totally new to meadmaking, youll soon be capable of making meads that compare with the best being made anywhere. If you have been making mead for several years, I hope The Compleat Meadmaker provides the type of information you have been seeking but have been unable to find compiled in one book elsewhere.