The Hogtown Brewers Newsletter
August 1999

Sparkling meads

Skip the overpriced French champagne, and forget about the domestic swill. Celebrate your next big occasion with your own sparkling mead!

You already know how to make mead, and you know how to bottle condition beer. Well, then you know how to make sparkling mead. We will just briefly touch on some of the subtleties that you may want to be mindful of.

First, some mead makers pitch new yeast at bottling time. Often, if the mead has been fermenting for an extended period of time, the yeast will be slow and difficult to rouse. If the mead is relatively young, you should be able to prime it just like beer.

Some purists like to use honey for priming. It is difficult to measure and work with. Regular priming sugar works just fine. Use the same rates as for priming beer, and adjust to your desired level of carbonation. Many people prefer a higher level of carbonation in sparkling mead/wine than in beer.

Beer bottles work just fine, but they look like ... beer bottles. Domestic champagne bottles work and look great. They are made of heavy glass, and can withstand higher levels of carbonation than beer bottles. NOTE: French champagne bottles use a different size closure, and are not compatible with domestic champagne stoppers or crown caps, or capping equipment. Catering halls, limo services, and restaurants which serve Sunday brunch are all excellent sources for free bottles. (Be sure to bring them a few bottles of mead later.)

Closing champagne bottles is a bit different than corking a still mead. Purchase new plastic stoppers from your local homebrew shop. Plastic stoppers cannot be re-used, as the tiny ribs that form the seal between the shaft of the stopper and the neck of the bottle become deformed when inserted and will not re-seal properly if re-used. Use a rubber mallet to GENTLY drive in the stopper. (It is quite an experience to hammer the top of a bottle for the first time.)

Use a wire cage to secure the stopper. BE CERTAIN THAT THE WIRE IS FIRMLY BELOW THE LIP OF THE BOTTLE. Failure to do this will result in the spontaneous ejection of the cork once the pressure builds up. Traditionally, the cage is secured with "six half turns" This can be done by hand, but is much easier (on your flesh) if you use pliers or a wire cage tool.

Alternatively, you can seal the bottles with ordinary crown caps. Somehow, that is like eating caviar off paper plates. If you are going to the trouble of making a sparkling mead, and using the champagne bottles, then use the stoppers and wire cages. In addition, you can also purchase the foil for covering the cage and stopper assembly at your local hbrew shop, for a real first class appearance.

Next month, Fruit meads (melomels)