Mead without yeast - a drink of storytellers, gods, heroes and honeymooners

Russian folk tale always endsthe victory of good over evil and is crowned with a feast in honor of this victory. Or the wedding of the main character with the main character and again a feast. As evidenced by the narrator himself with the words: "And I was there, honey, I drank beer ..." Stop! Can you drink honey just like beer? Of course. If we are talking about an old Slavic low-alcohol beverage - a mead.

All peoples who had the opportunity to collect honeywild bees, engaged in bortnichestvo since time immemorial. In Russia, they were engaged until the XVII century, gradually turning to bee-keeping with bees as forests were cut down and domestication of bees. The Slavs of honey were always in abundance - in the prince's mansions, and in the common people's cottages. Preparing from it and the main Russian alcoholic beverage (before the spread of vodka in the XVIII century) - a mead without yeast, then called honey is drunk or simply honey. Already the name indicates that the strength of the drink was increased by adding hops to it during fermentation.

Hence the first recipe - the oldest, mostclose to the Old Russian original. In it, the fermentation process provides berry juice, which is mixed with honey in a 2: 1 ratio. Hops into the mixture is added at your discretion. After that, you need to mix it for about a week. Once the fermentation is finished - pour into the container for aging. I must say that those who are looking for a recipe how to make mead without yeast, this method is immediately rejected. And not because it requires the presence of an underground cool storage for oak barrels. But because the mead in them should be aged for at least five years. Twenty is best. True, those who have the abyss of patience get an amazingly tasty and fragrant drink.

Preference is much more rapid -a five-month-old mead without yeast. In 2 liters of water you need to dissolve a pound of honey, boil for a quarter of an hour, then cool to +50 degrees. Clear the cherry from the bones. It can take 2 kg; if you want a more vivid and pronounced taste - 4 kg. Cherry with honey syrup. Before fermentation add 2-3 cones of hops. Cover with a lid of wet gauze, put in a warm place for a day. After that make sure that the fermentation process goes, and send the drink to a cold place. Here he comes within 3-4 months. Then it is filtered out and ... in principle, a mead without yeast is already ready for use. But if you want a better taste, keep it for another month.

Almost the same recipe is prepared and honeya drink not fortified with hops. The beginning of fermentation "starts" with raisins, which, like honey, you need to take 50 grams of water. You do not need to boil a mixture of water and honey, just add raisins to it. Insist at room temperature need two days. After filtration, pour into a container, seal it tightly and put it in a cool place for 2-3 months. At the same time, you do not need to install a water trap.

Dozens of diverserecipes mead, one more refined than the other. However, only the preparation of mead without yeast is closest to the original ancient Russian formula: after all, in those days, no "unicellular" mushrooms Rusichi did not know. And they did not need them.

Finally, it is worth noting that as a result, youit turns out that the drink is also low-alcohol, but rather insidious. The fact that his fortress - usually 5-6, maximum 10 degrees, should not lead you astray. The mead without yeast is quickly absorbed into the blood and pretty "knits" the legs while keeping the head in sobriety and clarity. However, after a short period of time (and with moderate use, of course), the legs will stop grinding.

And remember: mead - not for unrestrained libations. After all, the Slavs ritually shared it with their gods, and the Finns considered it a fairy living water, which would raise the dead from the grave. And how do you think that they drank newlyweds in the first month after the wedding, which is still called honey?