This is a sparkling metheglin (spiced mead) that turns out light, crisp, and very dry, similar to champagne. It is based on Papazian's Barkshack Gingermead recipe. It is fairly economical to make and has always been a real crowd pleaser. I have made several variations of the basic recipe. The version listed below took a Superior (first place) at Meridies Kingdom A&S in 1993.

Ingredients for 5 gallons:

--1½ Tbsp. fresh grated ginger root
--6 cups corn sugar
--7 lbs. honey
--1½ tsp. gypsum
--1 tsp. citric acid
--3 Tbsp. yeast nutrient
--¼ tsp. Irish moss
--2 packs dried Red Star Pasteur Champagne Yeast
--¾ cup corn sugar (to bottle)

Remove the bark from the ginger root. Grate the pulp. Pack the wet pulp to measure it. You can vary the amount of ginger to your taste; I have made versions ranging from a high of 3½ oz. to a low of 1½ Tbsp. I have used anywhere from 5 to 7 cups of corn sugar; no, it most likely ain't period (hmmm...Ginger Maize, maybe?) but it gives the light body that makes this turn out a lot like a very light, dry champagne, without the cidery taste that cane sugar would bring. I've tasted some gingered meads made only with honey; they are good but completely different, heavy, meadish, etc. I have used anywhere from 6 to 8 pounds of honey. The versions with more honey had less corn sugar, and vice versa. I have used light clover honey, natural/raw honey, and orange blossom honey. I prefer the orange blossom; the light clover version works well too. The all-natural was a bit heavy; it lacked the crisp edge of the other versions.

Boil everything except the Irish moss in 1½ gallons water for 15-20 minutes, skimming off the dross (the scum at the top.) Put the Irish moss in for the last 10 mins. I always strain mine to get the ginger root shavings out before fermentation. Add to cold water in fermenter to get five gallons. You ought to get an original gravity around 1.07.

Pitch yeast when cooled. Rack when bubbling stops (about 7-10 days.) Rack again whenever you get a good sediment. Age in bulk. Bottle at about 6 months, if clear. Bottle like a beer or champagne, with ¾-cup corn sugar (and a fresh pack of champagne yeast, since the old yeast will have settled out.) You ought to end up around 1.000 final gravity and about 9½% alcohol by volume. For mead, this matures relatively quickly. It is often quite nice within six months and always reaches peak within a year.

THLord Ansel the Barrister, CMC, OVO practices law in sixteenth-century London and brews for relaxation. Dennis Walker is an attorney with the Defense Logistics Agency who brews for relaxation.