Small meads (also known as short meads or quick meads) are ideal for

beginning mead makers, or for trying out flavoring experiments in planning

a recipe for long-term aging. They’re also quick and easy to make using
leftover honey and ingredients from a larger batch. They require less honey
than most standard meads and can be either wild-fermented or fermented
with ale or bread yeast. Due to the small amount of honey and the size of
the batches, small meads are ready to drink much sooner than most meads.
You can let them age for longer periods, but the point is to drink them
young, sweet, and bubbly. I’ll outline the basic ingredients and process,
along with some suggestions for flavoring. Feel free to experiment.
Basic Small Mead
INGREDIENTS FOR 1 GALLON (4 LITERS)
1–2 pounds (.5–1 kg) honey, any variety
Enough water to fill a 1-gallon (4-L) carboy to its neck
Wild yeast, barm, bread yeast, or ale yeast (wine yeasts are designed for
longer fermentation)
10–12 raisins, one black-tea bag, bark tea, or other tannin/nutrient of
your choice
1 orange or lemon, 1⁄2 cup (125 mL) orange juice, or 1⁄4 cup (60 mL)
lemon juice (add to taste after fermentation commences)
Suggested flavoring additions: 1 cinnamon stick, 2–4 whole cloves, 1
whole nutmeg, 2–4 thin slices ginger, etc.
PROCESS1. Mix the honey with the room-temperature water in a wide-mouth
vessel and wild-ferment; or add one packet (2 teaspoons [10 mL])
yeast, barm, or other starter.
2. If you’re wild-fermenting, wait until the ferment is active and
pour it into a 1-gallon (4-L) jug with a funnel, or pour in fresh
must and add yeast or barm.
3. Aerate the must by placing a lid (tightly) on the jug and shaking it
vigorously, or using a thin stirring implement such as a chopstick
to stir it vigorously.
4. Add the tannin and flavoring ingredients.
5. Airlock via your preferred method.
6. Taste a week or so after fermentation to determine if acid is
needed and add to taste.
You have a few options for aging. You can wait about a month after
fermentation commences to drink it. If doing so, handle carefully to keep
the sediment (lees) that has settled to the bottom from mixing in (although
lees has plenty of nutrients to impart), and pour or siphon into a drinking
vessel. It will be mildly alcoholic, a bit bubbly, and plenty flavorful. Or you
can siphon or pour it into some champagne bottles (which you’ll need to
cork), flip-top bottles, or even 2-liter plastic soda jugs, and put it in the
refrigerator for 3 to 10 days. Handle sparingly and carefully, as pressure
will be building. The refrigerator will slow down fermentation, though. You
will have a sparkling, effervescent beverage if you go with this method.
Drink it straight, or fortify it with your favorite liquor to make a cocktail. I
recommend bourbon, Scotch, or brandy, but feel free to experiment to your
heart’s desire.