|
National Mead Day
The first Saturday in August, August 1st, Alternative Beverage / Homebrew Adventures will host the Carolina Brewmasters, the Gaston County Beekeepers Association
and the Mecklenburg County Beekeepers Association in a celebration of Mead.
|
This is the tentative schedule of the days proceedings:
|
|
9:00
|
Gates will open. Arrive early and help us set up. Thanks.
|
|
10:00
|
Welcome by Jess
|
|
10:00 - 10:30
|
A tribute bees and beekeeping (30 minutes) given by Cliff Mullis, a member of the Gaston County Beekeepers.
|
|
10:30 - 11:00
|
Information about mead making varieties, honey varieties and a short how to
session.
|
|
11:00 -
|
Kevin Martin &
Gary Cathey will teach you how to make mead as they make their batch. Question
and answer period will end this session. |
|
12:00 - 1:00
|
lunch
- Hamburgers and hot dogs will be furnished by Alternative Beverage. We
will be accepting donations that will go to a local charity. Everyone is encouraged to bring a
covered dish, chips or soft drinks. |
|
1:00 - 1:30
|
serve samples of different mead varieties
commercial and homemade
|
|
1:30 until |
Group Mead
participants will make up their batch of mead
|
Attendees should bring:
lawn chairs,
sodas,
covered dishes such as baked beans, potato salad, slaw, chips and picnic foods.
Mead makers are encouraged to bring some samples of their homemade meads and any
commercial meads they can share. Homebrewers, feel free to bring a few
homebrews.
Alternative Beverage will supply
cooker,
food,
paper plates, napkins, plastic ware,
ice,
water,
tables
& what ever is needed.
About 1:30 PM we will do a
Group Mead where individuals can brew a 3 gallon Mead. Participants will need a
5-gallon bucket and lid and a spoon for stirring. You can bring your own honey
or
|
3.5 Gallon Batch of mead |
|
ingredients |
price |
|
9-12 lbs Honey (discounted 15%)
options of:
Brazilian Pepper
Clover
Orange Blossom-Florida
Purple Star Thistle
Tupelo
Wild Flower-Florida
Wild Flower-China |
from $30.52
and up depending on variety |
|
Yeast Nutrient and/or Yeast Energizer |
.50 |
|
D47 Yeast for people that want a sweet mead |
.85 |
|
K1V-1116 Yeast for people that want a semi-sweet
to drier mead |
Participants in the mead making batch can buy anything they
need to brew the batch of mead. They can also bring anything they already have
including honey and equipment.
|
Equipment Needed |
|
5 gallon Plastic Fermenter & Grommeted Lid
5 or 6 or 6.5 gallon Carboy can be used for the primary |
9.44 |
|
Airlock & Stopper |
1.85 |
|
Hydrometer
Free use at during this event |
6.65 |
The equipment needed can be a 5 or 6 or 6.5 gallon glass carboy
which will be more than adequate size to accommodate the fermentation cap.
If you bring a carboy, don't forget to bring a stopper to transport the
mead to prevent spillage.
Participants will take their meads home where they will oversee the
fermentation process. We will encourage them to call with any questions during
the following weeks and months. Participants will be encouraged to bring their
bottled meads to next years 2009 National Mead Day event for tasting and
evaluation.
It should be a fun day with a lot of learning about mead making and meads and
beekeeping.
directions
A variety of commercial Meads will be sampled
|
