1/29/2005 - I'm Just A Piece Of Mead

I started my Christmas 2005 Mead this morning. Ten pounds of honey for three gallons of mead, and a few teaspoons of lemon juice to take the edge off of the sweetness. It's a very simple recipe, but the magic comes in the aging.

I have four bottles of mead left from my last batch, which was started in March of 2004. Two of these bottles are going to be cashed like a paycheck tonight with my dear friend CC. That will leave two more bottles.

The significance of mead in my mind evolved from some of the old folklore. Long ago, in a land far far away, the father of the bride would make a batch of mead for the newlyweds. The belief was that, by keeping the new husband drunk on mead for the next month, it would influence the gender of the first offspring - a son. Honey wine for a month - The Honey Moon. That's where the term "honeymoon" comes from.

The concept of wanting a boy over a girl is misguided, but the concept of mead and romance is a natural match in my mind. The mead that I consider my specialty is a sparkling mead, which can best be compared to Asti Spumante. I have not yet met a woman who tastes my mead and says anything other than "This is fantastic!" I've had men say that my mead is good, too, but that kinda sicks me out. (shudder)

Mead is romantic. Mead is like love. It is sweet. It is complex. It is hard to come by. It takes a lot of time. It's sticky. And if you're not careful, it'll make you feel like throwing up.

So I have four bottles, one pint each, two of which are going to be emptied with my alter-ego this very evening. That leaves two. Two beautifully aged pints of mead.

I'll probably drink one of the remaining ones alone, pretending that the dearest love of my life actually exists and is sharing it with me, our fingers intimately interlaced, feeling her breath, her pulse, as the rest of the world slowly grows fainter until BAMMO, my daughter walks in and says "EW! Inflatable doll, dad? That is so sick!"

Just kidding. Lol.

The final pint of mead will be saved.