Expert: Chris Bushman - 9/6/2007

Question
QUESTION: Hi Chris,
I would like to brew my own mead and I would like to know if it is possible to make it without or to take out the alcohol. Also, how can I measure the sugar/alcohol level in the mead?
Thanks a lot;
Olivier

ANSWER: Well Olivier, that is tough to do on a small scale.

Since alcohol evaporates more quickly than water, if you put an alcoholic beverage in a vacuum chamber you can evaporate the alcohol but not the water. This is the technique used for "non-alcoholic" beer. Actually there is a small residual alcohol level that remains.

Since the alcohol presence in mead is a large part of the flavor profile, I would think you might end up with a beverage with very little character after going to great lengths to create it.

Sugar concentration is measured before fermentation using a "hydrometer". This is an instrument for measuring specific gravity ie. how much heavier it is compared to water, which has a specific gravity of 1.000.  The higher the specific gravity, the higher the sugar level. Alcohol is calculated by taking a hydrometer measurement after fermentation and comparing it to the measurement before the fermentation. The alcohol content is determined by the difference in the readings.

Example:  Original reading 1.100, Final reading 1.009, equals 12.12 percent alcohol by volume.

Chris Bushman
North Hollywood, California

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks alot for the information, it helps alot.
I have another question for you Chris.
What if I simply boiled the mead? Would it take out alot of alcohol? And would the taste change anyway?
Maybe I could add in some spice to compensate for the loss alcohol...
Thanks again!;
Olivier

Answer
Yeah, Olivier, heating the mead up to above 174 degrees F (the boiling point of ethanol) would evaporate the ethanol. Unfortunately the heat would also break down some of the aromatic and tasty chemicals in the mead. That's the reason they don't use this technique to make non-alcoholic beer. You could end up with a rather unpleasant brew.

If you want to play around a bit, you might want to try designing a beverage without the fermentation part. Maybe a bit of honey in water with perhaps something to balance the sweetness and some spices? Might be fun to experiment with.

I make my own ginger ale at home using fresh ginger, honey and sugar with a bit of fresh squeezed lemon to taste. I then put it in an old soft drink "keg" and carbonate it with CO2.

It's all fun.

Chris