Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Berry Mead Recipe and Articles by: Sorror Barbie

(other articles are posted as links below this one)

Berry Mead Making in reference towards Cakes of Light

Article Submitted in Cophnia Lodge, Oto's The Wand Newsletter 2/2/2000 e.v.
By Sorror Barbie (JeZeBeLe)

~ For perfume mix meal & honey & thick leavings of red wine: then oil of Abramelin and olive oil, and afterward soften & smooth down with rich fresh blood. ~ Liber Al vel Legis, III:23

The recipe for cakes of light calls for one ingredient that can be made at home. This ingredient is thick leavings. Thick leavings can be defined as to many things within homemade wine. This article is about making mead. Fruit mead is also known as melomel, mulsum.

To my definition, leavings are the remaining bacteria sediment within the bottle. In the recipe for cakes of light, I used blackberry mead leavings as a substitute. The main difference between wine and mead is its sweetening agent. Wine tends to use a variety of sugars. Mead is made with honey. (The sugars are what feed the bacteria content in the fermentation process)

You will be shocked as to the flavor of the mead. It tastes like wine because of the berry content. This is why I favor mead leavings as a great substitute for wine leavings in Liber Al vel Legis, III:23.

The Following Recipe will make approximately 1.5 Gallons of Mead.

Ingredients:
7 pounds of Honey
7 pounds of Berries
7 cups of Water
1 tsp. of Irish Moss
1 packet of Redwine Yeast

Tools Needed:
Cheesecloth
Cooking thermometer
Large Metal Pot for cooking
Ladle
Funnel
Glass Bottles (Approx. 1 gallon size and a few wine bottle size for storage)

Fermenting lids (for the bottles)

Bottle Corks or lids for the finished product.

Note: all tools need to be sterile before it has contact with the mead mixture.

Mix the water and honey in a pot. Let it boil. As the mixture boils, there will be frothy buildup on the top. Skim off the frothy mixture and Continue boiling for about 20 minutes. When the mixture is about 160 degrees add the berries. When the mixture is at room temperature, you can add the yeast and Irish moss. Keep the mixture in the same container and put a cheese cloth over it so no outside bacteria can contaminate the mixture.

Let the Berries sit in the mixture for a few days. Use cheesecloth and sift the fruit away from the liquid. Put the liquid in the large sterile bottles. Cap the bottles off with the fermentation lids. (Fermentation lids are designed to allow air to leave the bottle and contaminated air outside the bottle will not go into the fermentation chamber this is achieved by having water inside these lids. The water allows the mead maker to see the fermentation from the bubbling activity inside the lids. When the lids stop bubbling the fermentation process is over. (This can take a week)

When the Fermentation has ceased. Re rack the bottles (This means to put the liquid in smaller sterile containers. Put lids on them. In about six weeks, the mixture should be ready to drink. I suggest storing it six weeks to six months. The longer the mead sits the more it ages and makes fantastic beverage.

On the bottom of the mead, you will begin to see a sediment buildup. It's dead bacterial yeast. When sifting the mead pour it into another bottle. Don't pour all of it. The bottom part of the bottle has sediment inside it. Pour the sediment into a jar or separate airtight container. This will get richer and thicker with age. As it ages, it will appear to settle even more separating itself from the mead. There will be approximately a cup worth of leavings from racking this amount.

Berry Mead Making in reference towards Cakes of Light

Article Submitted in Cophnia Lodge, Oto's The Wand Newsletter 2/2/2000 e.v. By Sorror Barbie (JeZeBeLe)

The Following Recipe will make approximately 1.5 Gallons of Mead.

Note: all tools need to be sterile before it has contact with the mead mixture.

Article Submitted in Cophnia Lodge, Oto's The Wand Newsletter 2/2/2000 e.v.
By Sorror Barbie (JeZeBeLe)