Greetings to all MHbA members and mead lovers. Saturday is the 3rd Annual Mead Day. This is a day to celebrate and make mead together. Last year we sampled dozens of meads and made 32 gallons (6 batches) of mead. This year's club festivities will take place at Steve Piatz's house, starting Saturday August 7th at noon. Please let Steve know if you plan to attend (Piatz(a)cray.com <mailto:Piatz@cray.com> ) so he has a rough count. Steve house is located at: 3631 Woodland Trail Eagan, MN 55123-2400 651-452-2444 The driveway for the house immediately to our south lines up with Arbor Court as a reference point when you come down Woodland Trail. Here is a link to a map: http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?country=US <http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?country=US&countryid=US&addtohistory=& searchtab=address&searchtype=address&address=3631+Woodland+Trail&city=Eagan& state=MN&zipcode=55123-2400&search=++Search++> &countryid=US&addtohistory=&searchtab=address&searchtype=address&address=363 1+Woodland+Trail&city=Eagan&state=MN&zipcode=55123-2400&search=++Search++ Steve will have: propane burner in the garage for those that want to boil per the AHA recipe natural gas available in the basement brewery grill plates and utensils water and filter as needed sanitizer solution beverages - beer and meads Please bring a dish to share and anything (like brats) you'd like to grill. Those who will be making mead, please bring your mead making equipment and ingredients. You can make the official AHA Mead Day recipe or any recipe you choose. For those of you who haven't seen the official recipe: Official 2004 Mead Day Recipe from three-time AHA National Homebrew Competition Mead maker of the Year, Byron Burch "Epiphanaic Exspearmint" Mead with Fresh Spearmint 2001 AHA National Homebrew Competition Best of Show Mead Recipe Ingredients for 5 U.S. gal (19 L) 18 lb clover honey 4 gal. water (or enough to make 5 gal of mead) 4 Tbs tartaric acid 1 Tbs malic acid 8 oz bruised spearmint leaves 2 oz The Beverage People yeast nutrient for mead (or 2 tsp each of yeast energizer and yeast nutrient) 4 tsp acid blend 10 g dry Prise de Mousse wine yeast 6 g Sparkalloid 5 tsp stock Sodium Metabisulfite solution (after fermentation) O.G.: 26o Brix (Approx. 1.110 SG) Total Acid 6-6.5% Instructions Heat water until warm, turn off stove and stir in the honey until it is dissolved. Boil five minutes, skimming, and add nutrient and acid. Cool to room temperature and transfer to a sanitized fermenter. Sprinkle yeast on the surface. Stir in after 12 hours. Ferment two to three weeks. Place spearmint leaves in a mesh bag in another fermenter and rack mead onto the leaves. Age one week, then fine with Sparkalloid (boil in 1-2 cups of water for 15 minutes, then stir into mead) and add Sodium Metabisulfite. Age four more weeks, rack off the lees, then bottle. See you Saturday! Jonathan