The Witch of Forest Grove

I’ve been hosting a ladies’ mead party at my home for about two years now with the help of a good friend and, in my opinion, the best local meadmaker we have. We all get together for a big potluck and either brewing, racking, or bottling. Why ladies only? Because at first it was only my witchy women friends who were interested in brewing and now that there are quite a few of us the local men are too afraid to come! Afraid we’ll tear them apart like maenads or something…

On Friday all ten of the ladies, who also happen to all be witches, got together in my kitchen to brew up some mead. We made a rhodomel with petals from an ancient rose called “thigh of the woodland nymph”, a ginger-lime methlegin, a 5 gallon batch of plain methlegin, and an apple mead. We also bottled the apple spice mead we started last fall and I was able to bottle my apricot mead – which turned out divine and is drinkable right now!

The next day one of the girls and her boyfriend came berry picking with me and when we got back we made a big 5 gallon batch of salmonberry mead. I plan on making 1-2 gallons of red huckleberry mead in the next week or two just for me. I have to try a huckleberry mead, I was talking to a honey producer and mead maker from Campbell’s Gold and he told me that I absolutely had to make some, that it would be the best mead I’ve ever tasted… so in about two years I’ll find out if he’s right! Ah mead, the most important ingredient is patience ♥