23 Oct 2002: OK here is my mead book. I've left it roughly as it was years ago when I kept it around in hard copy. I've left in all of the silly mistakes, and whatnot. Hopefully people will learn from those. I did remove the section on the A&S. Its no longer relevant as that was a different kingdom over a decade ago.... Beyond that I hope you enjoy this. If you do use any recipies drop me a line and let me know how they turned out. If you borrow any of this for pulbication please let me know where it was published and if you can spare a copy please send it on to me. Hopefully someday I'll get back to doing some more of this.....
Some Notes on the book for those who happen across it.
This is an OPEN book. Feel free to read it. Feel free to find me and tell me
you have it and want to talk about anything in it. It may be used in whole or
in part in any publication (just note your source and DON'T quote out of context
- use whole paragraphs please). The ideas in it are mine and other people's
(usually noted). They certainly aren't secret, subversive maybe ... but not
secret.
Second note this book contains my recipes, notes on the mead tastings I have
done at Wars, notes on various things I was doing.
It is loosely organized as follows.
Section 1 covers my start up to my first War tasting
(PW XX).
Section 2 is from PW XX to PW XXI.
After that the fun starts as my concepts were getting too fragmented. Sections
after that are done by "Project". Currently those projects are
Other meads / melomels
Metheglins / Cordials (a joint project with some
herbalists)
Yeasts (catching my own)
Strength (getting over 20%)
Documentation (an under-construction
concordance of 'alcohol / drinking / beer / mead / wine' in the Norse sagas
/ Norse information sources;
Materials (notes on period material)
Period meads done from Period sources.
Bibliography
Flames from one log leap to another
fire kindles fire;
a wise man learns from the minds of others,
a fool prefers his own.
Enjoy.
Ragnar