Re: The Complete Meadmaker

I like the book. In my opinion, this is the first good mead making book ever to have been published. I'm slowly learning that the "relax, don't worry" approach yields excellent results in mead making. Now, how many brewing-specific books and research papers have been published in the past hundred years? Thousands. The truth is that there is not much hard scientific information out there on mead making. We should keep in mind there is a vast body of knowledge in biochemistry behind the summarized information that is available to us homebrewers. That wealth of knowledge simply doesn't exist in mead making. Much can be borrowed from current fermentation science but honey is as distinct from barley as barley is from grapes. I bring this up because Ken and I were discussing the very same issue at the national conference. Brewing and oenology have substantially evolved over the past couple centuries. Mead making has not. We are learning a lost art. Ken's book is an excellent start but it will be another couple decades before the industry starts to mature and home mead makers will then have access to more detailed information. I look forward to it.