Hey Guys and Gals! Orange and fresh ginger make a warming mead. Makes one gallon.
Ingredients
3 pounds honey
2 oranges, zest and juice
2 inch piece of fresh ginger, thinly sliced
1 gallon water
1 teaspoon yeast nutrient
1 packet wine yeast (Lalvin D47 works well)
Directions
1. Simmer the sliced ginger in half the water for 15 minutes. Take off the heat and stir in the honey until dissolved.
2. Zest the oranges, leaving the white pith, then juice them. Add the zest and juice to your sanitized primary. Pour in the ginger and honey water and top up to one gallon with cool water.
3. Stir the yeast into half a cup of warm water and let it stand 15 minutes until bubbling. Once the must is below 80F, add the yeast and nutrient.
4. Fit an airlock. Bubbling should start in 24 to 48 hours. Leave the fermenter about a third empty for frothing.
5. After 6 to 7 days, when the frothing has slowed, rack off the ginger and zest into a secondary carboy.
6. Ferment 1 to 2 months or more, until clear. Bottle with a siphon and age at least 3 months.