Can You Use Fermented Honey To Make Mead?

Raw honey, water, yeast, and time are some of the key ingredients for making mead.

If you’ve already used raw honey to make mead, you might be wondering if it’s possible to use fermentable honey to make it again.

If you use honey that is already fermentable, it will have different flavors that will change the taste of your mead.

Fermented honey can be used to make mead, a wine-like beverage. You will need to add some yeast or fermenting agent to the honey. 

Then you can let the honey sit for a few weeks before drinking it.

If you want to use honey that has already been fermented to make mead, there are a few things that you need to keep in mind. We will find out here.

Mead

What Is Fermented Honey?

The first thing we need to talk about is what fermented honey is and how it is used. Honey that has already undergone the fermentation process is termed fermented honey.

With the addition of water, the sugars in the honey have been converted into alcohol by the natural yeast, bacteria, and enzymes.

Fermented honey is made from the beginning of raw honey.

Pasteurization, which is the process of treating with heat to kill off microorganisms that can cause spoiling, has not been done with raw honey.

The whole process of fermentation is still being carried out with the help of bacteria and yeast. The water content of the raw honey is less than 20%.

This isn’t enough for the process of making honey, so additional water is always needed.

Fruits and vegetables can be fermented in raw honey, from berries and bananas to ginger and even jalapenos.

Adding water directly isn’t necessary because the responsible microorganisms draw the water they need from the fruits and vegetables themselves.

The results are well worth the wait, as it takes more time for fermentation to complete because of this.

People usually enjoy their honey ferments spread on toast or dissolved into tea.

They are a great alternative to plain honey, jams, or even maple syrup, which you can also ferment. More commonly though, raw honey can be used to make a drink.

Fermented Honey

How Can I Ferment Honey Into Mead?

Before I get into using honey that has already been made, let me explain how it is made. The must is a mixture of raw honey and water and is called a honey and water solution.

It is important to Pasteurize to kill off any unwanted bacteria that can cause spoilage.

Not all mead brewers carry out this step, as they believe that it removes the honey’s natural flavors. The yeast is added to the must after that.

It’s important to remember that the mixture was heated to kill off all bacteria, so adding yeast is essential for carrying out fermentation.

The sugars in the honey will be converted into alcohol by yeast. Adding more oxygen and vitamins to the yeast will help it thrive and move the fermentation process along.

Depending on how you want your mead to taste, spices, fruit, grains, hops, and any other ingredients that can impart flavor are also added.

The last step in the process is fermentation. Between a few months and years before it is ready for consumption, the mead is left to be fermented.

Is It Possible To Use Fermented Honey To Make Mead?

If you know what the general steps are for making mead, then you can discuss if you can make it from honey that has already been fermented.

The key thing to note is that the naturally occurring yeast will cause the honey to develop its flavors, which tend to be sour and a bit funky since the honey has undergone fermentation.

If you want to make a sour mead, you can work with the sour flavors. A lot of people make sour mead nowadays.

In the last section, I said to follow the usual steps for making the drink.

The most important step that you should not skip is the pasteurization step since you are working with fermented honey.

If your honey is already starting to ferment, that means water has gotten into it. This means that you have organisms in the honey that are wanted and unwanted.

Bring your must to a boil and cook it for about 15 minutes to kill off any existing microorganisms.

The results can either go the other way or the other way around.

It is possible to get lucky and make something tasty, but it is also possible to end up with something that is not very enjoyable.

I always say that there is no harm in experimenting, but the safest bet is to use regular honey and yeast since they are usually used to make mead.

Conclusion

If you’ve read this article, you’ll know that honey is used with water and yeast to make a beverage called mead.

If you have honey that has already been made, you can use it to make your next batches of mead and see how it turns out.

It’s important to make sure you pasteurize it before doing this.

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