An Advent experimental project. Have made good honey mead for several years in gallon fermenting jars. This time used a jug of maple syrup with some honey added to bring the calorie total up to what is found in 3 pounds of honey, then added my usual Lalvin EC-1118 French champagne yeast, a dozen home dried Venus raisins, juice of a homegrown Meyer lemon ( you can grow stuff like that here south of Fresno,CA), a big cup of combined black tea (a Chinese Keemun) and Angelica archangelica root tea. This is essentially the base mead recipe from the book, Make Mead Like a Viking. Bubbling richly now through the fermentation air lock.
Did a taste test, saw why this easy to ferment substance - maple syrup - isn’t used, tossed it as the only reason to drink it would be for the buzz, like pruno in jail. Honey is the way to go. We had a mead competition at the Christmas work party. I have been bringing mead for the past three years to the party to share and as a gift for the gift sharing game, resulting in conversions to meadery. Three of my coworkers competed with me for best mead in show in a blind tasting. I tied with once of the bosses 14 to 14, ten other votes being split with two others. My boss and I did the classic basic 3 lbs honey, cup of black tea, a citrus juice, dozen raisins, Lalvin EC-1118 champagne yeast in a gallon fermenting jug., I added also a cup of Angelica root tea to mine. I passed out a dozen recipes to other co-workers, expect more competitors next year. Explaining making mead is the easiest booze making for dummies route unlike beer and wine making. I can see why the Vikings went for it complete with a magical goat providing endless mead from its udders in Valhalla. Our Costco sells a reasonably priced raw honey sourced from the California Central Valley where we live. The two losers went the added extra fancier route showing simple is can be the best. I may try a cyser for my next round as I was gifted a Martinelli’s sparkling cider. Happy and blessed near year!
From what I have seen on the web maple syrup wine tends to be low in flavor not retaining the flavor elements unfermented maple syrup has, but had to try it anyway.
Thank you Michael for sharing this piece. I am in Australia and it is very hot down under at the moment - summertime here for us. And yet I too feel like I am in a dark place this Adventide. There is definitely something "in the air" as you state.
Congrats on your successful hunt! Or on being chosen by the doe.
What if the drones turn out to be a commercial stunt from a drone manufacturer? Probably not, though, given the government non-response.
I agree whole-heartedly on how 2020 & its aftermath have affected the various cohorts of young people. I see the scars still in my kids (now 13 to 21 years), and my 2 eldest didn't get time to catch up on what they missed before they hit legal adulthood. The younger 2 have been able to rebuild their peer network but slowly, slowly. My day job is as an NP, pediatrics and psychiatry. Your viewpoint on the cohort effects checks out; the 17-to-21 year-olds are suffering and I've started apologizing to them for the decisions that society made in the years their lives were shut down. Then we get on to the work of learning to leave the house without panic attacks, and realizing they have agency over their lives.
Your friend's advice is sound: returning to the Wheel of the Year is always helpful.
I concur. I haven't been out much lately either. I've still got some phragmites' seed heads to cut in the park by my house. I've been carrying around some anger, too. Some of it stems from student apathy. The light still shines in the darkness, Bro.
An Advent experimental project. Have made good honey mead for several years in gallon fermenting jars. This time used a jug of maple syrup with some honey added to bring the calorie total up to what is found in 3 pounds of honey, then added my usual Lalvin EC-1118 French champagne yeast, a dozen home dried Venus raisins, juice of a homegrown Meyer lemon ( you can grow stuff like that here south of Fresno,CA), a big cup of combined black tea (a Chinese Keemun) and Angelica archangelica root tea. This is essentially the base mead recipe from the book, Make Mead Like a Viking. Bubbling richly now through the fermentation air lock.
that sounds delicious!
Did a taste test, saw why this easy to ferment substance - maple syrup - isn’t used, tossed it as the only reason to drink it would be for the buzz, like pruno in jail. Honey is the way to go. We had a mead competition at the Christmas work party. I have been bringing mead for the past three years to the party to share and as a gift for the gift sharing game, resulting in conversions to meadery. Three of my coworkers competed with me for best mead in show in a blind tasting. I tied with once of the bosses 14 to 14, ten other votes being split with two others. My boss and I did the classic basic 3 lbs honey, cup of black tea, a citrus juice, dozen raisins, Lalvin EC-1118 champagne yeast in a gallon fermenting jug., I added also a cup of Angelica root tea to mine. I passed out a dozen recipes to other co-workers, expect more competitors next year. Explaining making mead is the easiest booze making for dummies route unlike beer and wine making. I can see why the Vikings went for it complete with a magical goat providing endless mead from its udders in Valhalla. Our Costco sells a reasonably priced raw honey sourced from the California Central Valley where we live. The two losers went the added extra fancier route showing simple is can be the best. I may try a cyser for my next round as I was gifted a Martinelli’s sparkling cider. Happy and blessed near year!
From what I have seen on the web maple syrup wine tends to be low in flavor not retaining the flavor elements unfermented maple syrup has, but had to try it anyway.
Thank you Michael for sharing this piece. I am in Australia and it is very hot down under at the moment - summertime here for us. And yet I too feel like I am in a dark place this Adventide. There is definitely something "in the air" as you state.
You got your deer!!! I have been wondering… Praise God. How blessed we are. 💗
✊
Beautiful
Thanks
Congrats on your successful hunt! Or on being chosen by the doe.
What if the drones turn out to be a commercial stunt from a drone manufacturer? Probably not, though, given the government non-response.
I agree whole-heartedly on how 2020 & its aftermath have affected the various cohorts of young people. I see the scars still in my kids (now 13 to 21 years), and my 2 eldest didn't get time to catch up on what they missed before they hit legal adulthood. The younger 2 have been able to rebuild their peer network but slowly, slowly. My day job is as an NP, pediatrics and psychiatry. Your viewpoint on the cohort effects checks out; the 17-to-21 year-olds are suffering and I've started apologizing to them for the decisions that society made in the years their lives were shut down. Then we get on to the work of learning to leave the house without panic attacks, and realizing they have agency over their lives.
Your friend's advice is sound: returning to the Wheel of the Year is always helpful.
thanks for sharing your thought, Erin. It's comforting in some way.
So beautiful. Thank you.
A Winter's Tale by Dylan Thomas
Read by Richard Burton
https://youtu.be/D0KWL7A3t0k?feature=shared
what a great reading
the way he rolls his RRRR's...sublime
they don't make 'em like that anymore
I concur. I haven't been out much lately either. I've still got some phragmites' seed heads to cut in the park by my house. I've been carrying around some anger, too. Some of it stems from student apathy. The light still shines in the darkness, Bro.