Type of Honey

[Ray Keller]

Soon to be a first time mead Maker I've read alot about the prosess through this Forum. My question is about honey types. My favorite Commercialy made Mead is Oliver- Camelot Mead from here in Indiana it uses honey from Orange Blossems. But does this matter if it is, a off the shelf store bought general honey or apple,cherry,wildflower or anyother type of Natural honey to make a good smooth sweet mead. (Any recomendations)
ALSO I come from a fruit wine background (Pear with good results) But I could use a little help as to the Idea of coldbrew, besides the fact of a faster to drink wine the pro's and con's of this method -v- standard mead making, thanks for any help

[east_stingray]

I won't claim to be an expert, but I do know that the taste of the honey WILL affect the taste of the mead. I think any specific fruit honey is bound to make a better tasting mead than regular old wildflower.

[ScottS]

The mead will vary dramatically by the type of honey you use. Go for something with lots of floral or spicy aroma. Remember that all of the sweetness will be gone after fermentation, so taste honey intended for mead with that in mind. For example, alfalfa honey seems too light for a plain mead, but would make a nice base for a melomel or metheglyn. Orange blossom is a traditional honey for plain meads, because of the strong citrus flavors and aromas.

I disagree about wildflower though, the honey I use comes from a guy that pollinates fruit in the area. The resulting honey is dark, spicy, and makes GREAT mead. It's labelled wildflower, because of the multiple nectar sources.

[Ray Keller]

Purchased anough pure unfiltered orange blossom huney to try a one gal batch from a local health-food store called Sun Spot. Thanks for the few replies I have recieved, anyone else Have semi- to sweet honey Ideas for mead wine(Honey types)thanks everyone

[nursebee]

Sweetness will depend upon fermentation conditions like variety of yeast, availability of proper nutrients, and the amount of honey you put in. Variety of honey will have NOTHING to do with how sweet the mead turns out.

[Ben Brewcat]

I'll second ScottS on the wildflower front... I am not as into the "varietal" meads but enjoy wildflower for its variety. Can you elaborate on the coldbrew statement? Do you mean no-heat preparation of must?