Col. RN Harrison (Mead)

[Tony]

Great idea .. I'll send you one of mine too!

I was really surprised at the difference a few weeks in the bottle makes. I've just given the old man 6 pints to take back to devon - 2 for him and 4 for my uncle as he sent the recipe book (I gave the old man some of my big and small beer ... he's only just recovered from drinking a bottle a couple of nights ago!. At some point over the next few weeks I plan to do granddad's parsnip wine as they should be starting to get a bit sweeter - or will do after the first frosts.

Great pics there rick, so pleased you're happy with it. I checked with my old man this weekend and he confirmed that my granddad used eucalyptus honey - so the next batch will be that or orange blossom. If you find a place doing it cheap - shout!

 

[rickthebrew]

Cheers Tony, Make sure you post the parsnip recipe as i`d love to give it a try :thumb:

 

[dpile1]

Just brewed up a gallon of this with the addition of a cup full of Strawberry juice. Photos here:

viewtopic.php?f=41&t=11409&p=115891#p115891

Smelled amazing it was whilst being made!

 

[Tony]

Nice! I've replied on the other post - had me really confused for a moment as I forgot I clicked on the link and thought I'd replied here... been a loooooong day!

 

[Tony]

Thought I'd get a bottle of this out as it's almost christmas n'all (well, to listen to my kids you'd think christmas is tomorrow).
Thought the brakspear glass was rather appropriate

 

[dpile1]

Well I've just bottled my mead and here's a couple of photos.

It looks and smells great although I'll try and leave it alone for a few months to let it settle down.

Thanks for the recipe! :thumb:

 

[dpile1]

Labels attached now:

 

[rickthebrew]

looking good - I bottled one gallon and have left the other gallon to age in the DJ for a year :thumb: Will crack a bottle open at xmas

 

[dpile1]

Thanks Rick.

I'm curious as to what you think yours is like come Christmas as I'm not sure how long I ought to leave mine before opening a bottle. Do you think a couple of months ought to do it?

 

[rickthebrew]

I only bottled mine in October - so will try just the one bottle to see how it is coming along, at 18% a taster on bottling was very nice but the alcohol needs time to mellow. I have every confidence this will age well into something exceptional but its always good to taste along the way........... just for research purposes :lol:

The gallon in the DJ will be bottled this time next year to see if it differs in taste - will post results :thumb:

 

[dpile1]

Look forward to hearing how you get on. :thumb:

 

[Tony]

That's looking fantastic!
I bottled mine in beer bottles as (at the time) I didn't have enough wine bottles - I've opened two so far and the second was better than the first with only a month between the two openings.

I'd say drink away at christmas but lay a couple of bottles down (oo eer, listen to me) for a year and drink next christmas!

Good luck with it, hope it's a real winner!
:

 

[dpile1]

Thanks for the recipe again Tony, I'm really looking forward to opening these bottles when they're at their best. I'll leave it a good while before I open one and report back. :

 

[dpile1]

Tony & Rick,

Did you both open a bottle of this at Christmas? If so, what where your thoughts on it?

Do you think I ought to leave mine for a few more months (bearing in mind I only bottled it 4 weeks ago)? I may even leave it til Autumn before opening a bottle........

Hope you both had a good Christmas :

Darren

 

[Tony]

I think mine is well on the way to being a great drink, but another year in the bottle would make it better - that's if I can keep my parents away for it. They've already taken about half of it!

As I was saying to Rick yesterday ... when I made it I 'forgot' that I'd added a small amount of hops... and should really have kept it out of the light Next time I'll wrap the DJ in thick brown paper.

I'd leave it another 2 months before sampling, it's almost impossible to resist the urge to sample but better than being disappointed... as I said, the difference between my first and second sample was immense!

 

[dpile1]

Thanks for the reply Tony, I'll leave mine til Summer / Autumn then before trying a bottle. :thumb:

 

[rickthebrew]

I haven`t opened one yet........ but after chatting to tony i`ll probably open one soon to see how it is, after all I have 2 gallons

 

[dpile1]

after all I have 2 gallons

Marvellous! I'd be very interested to hear what you think.

Darren

 

[somptingsaint]

what a fantastic thread so full of history and memorys for the author ,i think im going to make some of this as soon as i have some empty vessels ,and yes i think everyone that makes this should call it Col.RN Harrison`s Mead , as i know i will :) thanks again , damion

 

[Cononthebarber]

This looks like a lovely drink, definitely going to make a batch of this soon! :)

Also...what sort of yeast did you use? Ale yeast or wine?