Ancient mead is cheap, quick, easy and fun to learn to make. You will add a range of interesting ingredients and flavours to match the season, to make Summer or Winter or Christmas mead. You will be provided extensive notes, some very simple home-made brewing equipment (consisting of plastic bottle fermenters with the simplest of 'air locks'), yummy tastings AND you will take home fermenting mead you make in class. No prior brewing experience necessary.

Mead – Homemade Honey Wine

Course Description

Step into the ancient world of honey wine and discover just how easy, affordable, and enjoyable it is to make mead at home. 

This hands-on course introduces you to the basics of brewing with nothing more than household ingredients and a few clever tricks – no prior experience or fancy gear required. 

You’ll learn to craft small-batch meads using seasonal ingredients, exploring variations such as spiced winter blends or summery fruit infusions. 

Along the way, you’ll be guided through tasting techniques, enjoy samples, and leave with your own bottle of mead already fermenting. 

Whether you’re drawn to the history, the flavours, or the fun of fermenting, this course is a spirited starting point.

Please do not drink and drive – everyone metabolises alcohol differently, and individual tolerance levels can vary. 

Please note that participants must be aged 18 or over to attend this course.

Course Structure

The course begins with a fascinating look at the history of mead, from its role in Viking feasts to modern home kitchens. 

You’ll then dive into the essentials – learning about honey varieties, the simple equipment needed, and the steps involved in starting your first batch. 

A hands-on demonstration will show you how to sanitise gear, mix ingredients, pitch yeast, and set up fermentation using an easy plastic bottle setup. 

You’ll experiment with different ingredients to flavour your mead for the season – think cinnamon and clove for winter, or citrus and berries for summer. 

We’ll also explore fermentation timelines, common troubleshooting, and how to bottle your brew. 

Finally, enjoy guided tastings, learn how to evaluate and tweak your creations, and discover how to pair mead with food and age it for even better results.

Course Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Summarise the cultural and historical significance of mead
• Identify different types of honey and choose suitable ingredients for seasonal or themed meads
• Use basic home-brewing equipment safely and effectively
• Prepare, ferment, and bottle small-batch mead using step-by-step techniques
• Sanitize equipment properly and troubleshoot issues like stuck fermentation or off-flavours
• Differentiate between mead styles such as melomel, metheglin, dry, and sweet
• Use sensory evaluation tools to assess aroma, taste, and quality
• Record brewing details and tasting notes to improve future batches
• Select food pairings and serving suggestions for different mead types
• Understand how yeast, nutrients, and additives influence the flavour and finish of mead.

Your Tutor is Dennis Keillor

Dennis Keillor BAppSci (Physics), DipEd has been teaching at WEA since 2007. 

As a ‘Cycologist’ Dennis has been a successful financial market forecaster, trader and educator since 1997.

As a ‘Fizzacist’ Dennis has been producing homemade brew since Adam was a boy!