Moonlight Meadery with Michael Fairbrother – BeerSmith Podcast 43

This week my guest is Michael Fairbrother from Moonlight Meadery. Michael is a national an international award winning mead maker who made the transition from making mead at home to professional only two years ago. Michael is going to share his tips on making great mead at home.

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Topics in This Week’s Episode (39:31)

Michael Fairbrother, head of Moonlight Meadery is my guest this week. Michael started making mead in 1995, and became an award winning mead maker at both the national and international level. He started his own full time meadery in his garage in 2010, and his business has grown dramatically to the point where he is on the verge of signing a national distribution agreement.
Michael starts by explaining a bit about the history of mead and where the term “honeymoon” comes from.
He tells us about some of the many variations of mead and what they are made from.
Michael walks us through making a simple 5 gallon batch of mead at home
We discuss honey varieties and where to find good honey for mead making
Michael shares the additives he uses and how a split nutrient addition can greatly accelerate mead making
We talk about which yeasts to use for mead making (actually its just one!)
Michael tells us how to aerate your must, and when to stop to get the best fermentation
We discuss the use of fruit in mead making and which fruits go best in mead
Michael shares a bit of his story about his transition from home brewer to full time mead maker
Finally, I’ll put in a plug – I’ve had his meads and they are outstanding. You can order them (no I don’t get a percentage) from Moonlight Meadery.