My burgundy pyment was my first foray into actual varietal pyments. This particular recipe was the last one entered in a competition before the award of my Silver Hammer (Grant of Arms brewing award), and has been tweaked to my idea of perfection.

Ingredients for 5 gallons:

--1 96-ounce can Alexanders Burgundy wine base
--1 gallon (12 pounds) Missouri wildflower honey
--3 tsp. yeast nutrient
--1 packet Lalvin 1118 dry wine yeast

Blend the honey with a gallon of warm water in a large stainless steel stock pot. Raise the temperature to 170-180 degrees, stirring occasionally. As foam rises to the top, skim it off. After about 45 minutes, or when the foam layer has mostly subsided, remove the pot from the heat, and add the yeast nutrient.

Sterilize a 6 to 7 gallon fermenter. Add 2 gallons of chilled water and the can of Alexanders wine base. Pour the hot honey solution into the fermenter, then top it up to about a quart over 5 gallons with more chilled water. Do not use ice.

When the solution has cooled below 80 degrees, pitch the yeast and seal the fermenter with an airlock. You should notice activity in about 2 to 3 days. Primary ferment will last about 2 weeks. You can move it to secondary ferment for another 6 weeks or leave it in the primary until the water level in the airlock equalizes. Either way, when the airlock stops holding pressure, rack into a clean and sterile 5-gallon jug. I like the extended secondary fermentation, as I believe it gives a smoother finished product than leaving it in the primary does. I like to rack about once every 30 days for 3 months, or until I no longer get a dusting of sediment on the bottom of the jug. Bottle when clear.

The finished product will be slightly acidic and give a burning sensation on the way down. Let it sit in the bottle for at least 6 months, and this will mellow out. The end result is about a 15% to 16% medium bodied mead with a brandy-ish quality, and just on the sweet side of medium. It perfectly complements beef dishes on the table, or does well around a campfire on a chilly Fall evening.