<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Merry, Mirthful, Magical Meadmaking
Review: During my six years as Director of the American Mead Association, and leader of numerous meadmaking workshops, I must have encountered every possible way of making mead. Meadmakers of every stripe were forever pressing into my hands, their personal treasures - their bottles of mead, which might turn out to be bottles of heavenly ambrosia as well as the occasional mouldy, cloudy, dark mutterings of hell. As I state in the Preface to my book: meadmaking is not independent of the people who make mead - and this book is all about meadmakers and mead-related culture. It is about how the everyday meadmakers - visionaries, donkeyheads, alchemists, and dreamers, scientists, Hindu monks, beekeepers and schemers actually make mead - in spite of the spoilsports and naysayers who grumble about "serious" winemaking and proper procedure. I wrote this book as the book I would have liked to have had at my elbow when I began my first forays into meadmaking.I wrote it to entertain, to inform and to delight. It is an intentionally "first encounter" meadmaking book. My obsession for meadmaking grew out of my background in poetry and spirit-filled ministry. The hands-on pragmatic knowledge came from bugging all the scientific types I knew through the Ohio State University Commercial Beekeeping and Horticulture programs as well as the great folks at the Ohio Wine Producers Association and the professional Meadmakers associated with the Mead Association. Although one reviewer on this site has charged that I "advocate" illegal procedure, he is in error. I neither advocate nor do I favor one method or means above another - legal or otherwise. I simply discuss options and experiences so that the reader may make an informed decision as to his or her own methods.(I also discuss fermenting mead in a jaguar hide slung from a tree, but that should not be construed by the reader as endorsement on my part...). Since the book's debut in 1997, I have received dozens of letters, reviews and emails from people who enjoyed this book as a romp and roll through the magical world of meadmaking (Check out the special Medieval Wedding issue of Renaissance Magazine, for instance). Dr. Roger Morse, professor of Entomology at Cornell University and author of the much more serious classic, Brewing Mead, wrote me recently: "Mad About Mead...is wonderfully written and fun to read." I only hope that you have as much fun reading my book as I had researching and writing it. Wassail!
Rating: 
Summary: Good recipes, needs a copy-editor
Review: I like this book and found the recipes and technical details useful; readers fearing to be put off by jargon will find comfort with the writer's cheerful folksy style.
But it pains me to find a reference to "King Arthur and his Knights Templar" (an anachronism of no more than 1600 years) on the first page (xiii, actually) and a statement that "honey ferments naturally" on p. 3. She does go on later to say that honey must be diluted to allow the yeast to work; I know these are trifling details, but for me they cast a dubious light on the rest of the ritual and traditional material. I really want a word with the editor; I like the book and I am happy to refer to it when I start brewing.
Rating:
Summary: It has worked for us
Review: If you aren't the type of person who turns their nose up at the idea of a wine cooler you will enjoy this book. After deciding to make mead I purchased several books on the subject. Many of these were written by wine makers who seemed apologetic for meads "inferior" quality to grape wines. I found this book refreshing and different. It encouraged me to have fun and make a mead that would appeal to my individual taste rather than making a brew for some wine bigot. The methods taught were sanitary and consistent with other books I read. I was not encouraged to do anything illegal or unsafe. Buy this book. You will enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: A fun, easy to read book for the common person
Review: If you aren't the type of person who turns their nose up at the idea of a wine cooler you will enjoy this book. After deciding to make mead I purchased several books on the subject. Many of these were written by wine makers who seemed apologetic for meads "inferior" quality to grape wines. I found this book refreshing and different. It encouraged me to have fun and make a mead that would appeal to my individual taste rather than making a brew for some wine bigot. The methods taught were sanitary and consistent with other books I read. I was not encouraged to do anything illegal or unsafe. Buy this book. You will enjoy it.
Rating: 
Summary: A handful of good tips in a generally frothy pagan rant.
Review: If you're not a pagan, and are looking for a concise guidebook for making mead, then this book probably isn't for you. The first five chapters are dedicated to "historical" uses of Mead, whose accuracy is somewhat dubious, and which I found to be a waste of paper and my time. The last half of the book has some unique recipes and a general description of the process to make mead, but the author seems to have a blasé attitude about keeping things clean. Other more definitive books on general wine-making practices have stated however that cleanliness is the cardinal rule in making wine. And again, the process descriptions are riddled with unnecessary pagan inuendos and catch phrases.Excluding cleanliness, the overall processes described in the book are sound, and the information is useful, but it's no more than what you'd get from a more focused book on wine making, and other books on the market get to the point quicker. Also, after following the author's advice on acidity levels, all I successfully made was battery acid. And finally, the author indirectly advocates the distilling of mead. She does state that it's technically illegal, but there's nothing technical about it. In chapter 12, under the heading "Stuck Fermentation", she says you can use "shock therapy" to fix a batch of mead of 8 percent alcohol content (or greater). What she calls shock therapy, the boys at ATF would call distilling, and that's illegal. Originally I'd stated it's illegal for health reasons. After further research, turns out it's just a last vestage of prohibition that's never been repealed, and now never will be. The reader may do as he or she wishes, but the author should have been a little clearer as to the true nature of what is involved. In closing, this book might make a good companion to a more serious book on wine making, but as a primary source of information, it just doesn't measure up.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book for Pagans
Review: This book has been described as a "Frothy Pagan Rant" and that's really about on the mark but if you're into that sort of thing it's probably right up your alley. The author is a pagan and a bee keeper so she knows the practical business of making mead right out of the comb. She's also a bit easier to understand than other authors. She includes sample rituals as well as many recipes (including one for pumpkin) and goes a bit into the legal aspects of home brewing. A good book for pagans that want a well-rounded education when it comes to mead. Non-pagans might find it a bit over the top though. Hell, I'm a druid and I think she needs to take a chill pill too.
Rating:
Summary: Great book for Pagans
Review: This book has been described as a "Frothy Pagan Rant" and that's really about on the mark but if you're into that sort of thing it's probably right up your alley. The author is a pagan and a bee keeper so she knows the practical business of making mead right out of the comb. She's also a bit easier to understand than other authors. She includes sample rituals as well as many recipes (including one for pumpkin) and goes a bit into the legal aspects of home brewing. A good book for pagans that want a well-rounded education when it comes to mead. Non-pagans might find it a bit over the top though. Hell, I'm a druid and I think she needs to take a chill pill too.
Rating:
Summary: It has worked for us
Review: We were new to brewing mead and picked up this book to give us some insight into where to start. Not only have we had success with every recipe from this book that we have tried, her hints on fixing problems helped us save several batches of recipes from other sources. Like the reviewer above, cleanliness isn't pushed here... but as in all cooking, it is necessary and common sense. In the last two years we and our friends have brewed up over 200 gallons of various kinds of mead and malomels and enjoyed them all thanks to this book.
<< 1 >>
|
