Mead made with wild yeast

[Frances]

I still think we need a place to put threads about beverages... brewing, destilling, wine making etc. Admittedly, you can't do them in the oven, but you have to drink something with your pizza after all...

Anyway, I came across this recipe for mead which has no added yeast, the idea being that it picks up the yeast from the air - like a sourdough starter.

Besides being completely enamoured of wild yeast by now, and anything that can be made from it, another advantage to my mind would be that you don't have to filter the finished product. And apparently can drink it right away (?)

You mix water, honey and spices, bring them to the boil, let them cool down and leave it all on a bowl covered with a cloth for 30 days until there are no more bubbles on the surface.

And if this works for mead, why not for other things such as blackberry or dandilion wine as well?

I also thought if I added a small spoonfull of sourdough starter to the mix I might give the resident yeast strains a head start, you know, so they could beat the molds to it.

So, does anybody have any experience with making mead? Tips, favourite recipes? What do you think, would this work?

[Frances]

Re: Mead made with wild yeast

One more question, are there any known health benefits from eating (or drinking) things made from resident yeast strains?

I know that eating local honey made from the flowers surrounding you is said help against pollen allergies - so has anyone ever heard anything similar about yeast at all?

[sarah h]

Re: Mead made with wild yeast

I've never heard of any specific benefits, however I think there are lots of benefits, generally, to dietary diversity so bring on the mead! I've often thought that would be a fun thing to make but never knew how. Sounds like a good winter project as I have enough on the go these days!

[Frances]

Re: Mead made with wild yeast

That's about what I thought as well (apart from the winter bit that is). We bought a bottle of mead at a middle age fair recently - Delicious stuff!

So far all I've got going is what I hope will turn into blackberry wine... one teaspoon of sourdoughstarter stirred in with some blackberries, sugar and water. It certainly smells as if its fermenting .

If I come accross a killer recipe for mead I'll be sure to post it.

The current bee in my bonnet ( ) would be to get some bees, so I could make my own honey for the mead...

[egalecki]

Re: Mead made with wild yeast

Oh geez, Frances, we must be twins separated by geography! I have a yen for bees too! Although I don't think they'll work very well here in town. But someday, when we have a place with more space...

I want ducks too- ever since I read Elliott Coleman's book on gardening nearly year round. He uses ducks for most pest control in his garden and gets lovely eggs too!

I haven't told my husband any of this yet- I suspect he'll have something to say about it..

[Frances]

Re: Mead made with wild yeast

Ducks, now there's a cool idea! I'd like to keep hens in my garden, but we have a nasty noise-allergic neighbour.


I dunno though, plants in a town need pollinating too, don't they? If you got some it'd nearly be a public service. I'm still trying to convice my husband there's enough space for some bees in our garden...

[Alfredo]

Re: Mead made with wild yeast

Elizabeth, Frances,

The idea of beekeeping in an urban environment is not as impossible as it might seem. One of the premier hotels in downtown Toronto started up an apiary this year in order to provide fresh (and, I'll bet, very pricey) honey to its guests. And when I say downtown, I mean really downtown - it's opposite the railroad station, on the fringe of the financial and entertainment districts, in a city of 3,000,000. TheStar.com | GTA | Royal York rooftop garden a hive for bees

Here's a link to the Toronto District Beekeepers Association mentioned in the article: Toronto District Beekeepers

[Frances]

Re: Mead made with wild yeast

Interesting, thanks for posting that Alfredo.

Do you happen to know how much space you'd actually need for installing a bee hive?

[Alfredo]

Re: Mead made with wild yeast

Frances,

Let me quickly warn you that I have no experience in this matter whatsoever. However, I have been fascinated by beekeeping for a very long time and have accumulated a fair bit of "book" knowledge about the subject.

For a hobbyist, not an awful lot of room is required. Here's an example: my apiary. In other words, an ordinary back yard will satisfy a family's needs.

BTW, if Google charged for searches, I would be broke - it is an astounding resource, and I use it for everything. Try Googling "Beekeeping in Switzerland" and let us know how long it takes you to get throught the 74,000 returns! The point is, there are a lot more folks doing this than we might otherwise suspect.

If you are interested in more of the Royal York Hotel's effort, you can listen to the podcast on "Radio Royal York": Radio Royal York. You'll have to excuse the corny puns, though

Ciao.

[sarah h]

Re: Mead made with wild yeast

Wow, perhaps we WFO builders are even more of a certain breed than we knew!

I too have always wanted to keep bees ... along with a goat or two, some pigeons, chickens (some neighbours did that a few years ago), ducks or geese and, lately, I've thought I'd like a donkey too (complete with those big baskets on it's back). I'm sure living in the wrong place for most of these!

Alfredo, I read about the Metro bees a while back and thought it was a really cool idea. Actually, with the new focus on local foods and the rising cost of food, I think there might be a return to a lot more backyard agriculture, even in urban cores.

An aster plant in my yard always attracts hordes or bees every autumn and I've often thought "If only I could find the hive"!

So who's going to be first to take on a bee hive? Frances, you could always tell your neighbour that you're performing an important ecological service to combat the colony-collapse that's occurring in so many places ... I can't remember, is it a problem in Europe too?

[Frances]

Re: Mead made with wild yeast

Hehe Sarah, the niose allergy would be caused by the hens I want to keep, not the bees. For bees I just need to convince my husband we've got the space. Oh, and learn how to do it etc.

In Switzerland one of the main problems is that most beekeepers are old men, and they're having trouble motivating younger generations to take it up. That and various pests and mites.

Talking of animals in the garden, I once visited some people who had their own sheep (3 of them I believe). They'd sheare (is that how you write it??) the sheep, die the wool, spin it and then knit it into pullovers... Now that's what I call a homemade pullover! I'd love to do that!

I think WFO building must attract a certain back to nature I-can-do-that-myself type of person. But it still pretty amazing how much we seem to have in common besides having built a WFO.

Alfredo, that was a very usefull article, just what I was looking for. I think I've decided where my behives will go...

[Ed_]

Re: Mead made with wild yeast

Shear the sheep, dye the wool.

I think you're right to a large degree about the sort of person who winds up here. There seems to be some common thread of interest in things like slow food, sustainable gardening, conservation, and so forth.

On the other hand, you have people like me claiming that some day Real Soon Now, we're going to start building an oven, honest. Doesn't mean I'm not interested in all the above-mentioned things; I might just be lazy.

Edit: Oh yeah, mead. If you're a willing guinea pig, I'd love to hear what you figure out!

[Frances]

Re: Mead made with wild yeast

Shear the sheep, dye the wool.

Oooops

Love the reason for editing...

[sarah h]

Re: Mead made with wild yeast

What, Swiss bees don't buzz?!

Although I said 'winter project' for me, I had just bought a jar of exceptionally nice honey and your mead post really piqued my interest, so, after finding a recipe I like the sound of, I have just returned from the winemaking supply store with a gallon jug and something called an air-lock (and a few other toys - isn't that always the way?). A few minutes of work once I get more honey, then just let it sit for a few months. My recipe has orange and spice, so I'm betting it'll be something nice to sip warmed up, as I'm outside cooking on those brisk fall days (coming all too soon).
We'll have to compare notes in a few weeks.

Sarah

[Frances]

Re: Mead made with wild yeast

Yay Sarah, good for you! Could you post the recipe now already? What proportion of honey did you add?

I've got some mead bubbling away now, too. The aproximate recipe for that is: 1 part honey to 2 parts water (by weight), one teaspoon of sourdough starter, one sliced lemon and various spices (hops, cinamon and cloves in this case).

We tried some of the blackberry "wine" the other day...

All I can say is, it definately has alcohol in it... though as to how much, your guess is as good as mine.
And with a spoonfull of honey added, it tastes... um... almost entirely unlike any wine I've ever drunk before. Nice though. Let's put it this way, there's still a full bottle left that I'd like to keep to see what happens when it matures a bit, but I'm not sure its going to get the chance.