Wildflower Mead....

Wildflower Mead Here is everything that you will need: 2-3 pounds raw honey, preferably wildflower honey wildflowers of your choosing a small handful of golden raisins 1/2 lemon one gallon jug with lid champagne yeast airlock and rubber stopper that fit your jug sanitizer  large pot, big spoon, and funnel are also very helpful First you want to make sure that you sanitize everything that will come in contact with your mead making, including the jug and lid, large pot, big spoon and funnel.  Keep your sanitizer handy in case you need it later on. Then you need to collect your wildflowers, if you haven’t already.  This is the fun part! Besides the dandelion that I had been collecting, I decided to go with yarrow and lavender, mainly because they are growing right in my front yard.  Roughly chop your flowers, cutting off as much as the green part as possible. A little bit of green on these is ok because they aren’t nearly as bitter as the dandelion greens are.  Next, put about a half gallon of water into your big pot with your flowers and bring to a boil. Once it comes to a boil turn off the heat and let the flowers steep for at least 20 minutes or so.  While the water is still warm add the honey and stir it until it dissolves. Use the funnel to pour the “must” into your one gallon jar. Add the golden raisins and 1/2 lemon, thinly sliced. Top off with pure (non-chlorinated) cold water, leaving a few inches of head space.  Next you will add the champagne yeast, but you need to make sure that the temperature of the “must” is 90°F or less (preferably 75°-80°F).  Use a thermometer if need be, and when it’s cool enough add 1/2 package of yeast (refrigerate the other half for later use).  Cap the jug and shake it for a minute or two to distribute the yeast. Then put your rubber stopper with airlock (filled halfway with water) on the top of your jug and wait for the lovely bubbles to start forming. The next morning it should be bubbling pretty vigorously.  All the flower petals may start to bubble up towards the top of the jug, just stir them around a few times throughout the first day or two with a sanitized butter knife or chopstick if need be to get the bubbles out. Let it ferment in a cool dark place for about 6 weeks, or until it completely stops bubbling.  Once it’s done you can bottle it and let it age for up to a year or even longer.  I’m probably going to drink mine before that, though!  I will let you know how it turns out, but I have high hopes for this one.  The lavender gave it a wonderful scent and mixed with the other wildflowers it was intoxicating!