Viking Mead
Murchadh
posting here have Viking ancestors in our family trees. The counties
of Sutherland and Caithness and the Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland
islands are all Viking strongholds as DNA studies are now confirming.
Not only are Viking first names popular in the Hebrides - Tormod,
Magnus and so on - but some - especially Hebridean - clan names are
Norse names translated into Gaelic - MacNeil - Nilssen; MacAuliffe -
Olafssen; MacCodrum - Gudrunssen, MacLeod, Lodssen. And of course
place names often reveal Norse rather than Celtic influence, from
Stornoway (Steorna's Bay) to Swordale (Grassy Valley) and Trollaval
(Troll Mountain).
As many people instinctively understand, making alcohol is just
another type of cooking. In the old days, every housewife would make
beer and/or whisky for the household, as did inns; indeed the room the
whisky was made in is still commemorated by the name "still room".
This is an original Viking mead recipe below. The ingredients, if not
the proportions, seem to be essentially the same as those added to
regular whisky in the Western Highlands to make a close approximation
of Drambuie if memory serves.
Berserk Mead
A Berserk is a Viking who goes crazy in battle and kills the enemy by
the score. In Gaelic this mental state is called Mire Chatha - the
Madness of Battle.
Mead was without hesitation the most important beverage for the early
Viking. The mead was divine in origin - in the Saga of the Ynglings
you can read Snorri’s tale about how Odin drowned in a mead-vat and
the mead became sacred. Due to this incident the Viking considered
that he drank the God himself when he drank the mead.
To brew approximately 18 litres of mead you need a 25 litre
cooking-vessel made of stainless steel, a 20 litre demijohn with
fermentation appliances (a rubber gasket and a ferment pipe), a
plastic tube, a straining cloth and a perforated ladle.
When you’re brewing mead all the tools need to be kept as clean as
possible. Therefore start the brewing by thoroughly washing up the
tools and vessels.
Ingredients
12 litres of spring water
6 litres of honey
1 decilitre of dried rosehip
1/2 decilitre of cloves
+
Ingredients for the fermenting
5 decilitres of water
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 teaspoonful of yeast nourishment
1/4 teaspoonful of citric acid
Wine yeast for 18 litres
Let the water boil with the spices. Add the honey and stir until it
has dissolved. Let it simmer for about an hour and skim frequently.
Store in a cool place over night.
Mix the ingredients for the fermenting and store this too over night
in a cool place.
Add the mixture when the mead is lukewarm, cover the vessel carefully
and put it in a warm place (room temperature).
Pour the must into a demijohn as soon as the fermentation process has
started. Seal the demijohn with the ferment pipe and the rubber
gasket. Let the must ferment in a warm place for seven to ten days.
Then filter the must and pour it back into the demijohn. Seal the
demijohn again and leave it until the fermentation process is finished
which will take another 3-5 weeks.
Filtrate the must once more and then pour it into bottles that are
hermetic.
The mead is ready to drink but you gain both flavour and strength by
letting it mature for a month or so.
Enjoy!
"Til àrs ok fridar"! (The phrase the Viking said when we say cheers -
it means "to the year’s crops and peace".)
The recipe is from the book "Vikingars Gästabud", Fant -98
This article was first published in Viking Heritage magazine, 1/2003.
Read more about the magazine and how to subscribe to Viking Heritage
magazine - http://viking.hgo.se/Newsletter/default.html
Murchadh.
Sally
> the mead became sacred. Due to this incident the Viking considered
> that he drank the God himself when he drank the mead.
>
> To brew approximately 18 litres of mead you need a 25 litre
> cooking-vessel made of stainless steel, a 20 litre demijohn with
> fermentation appliances (a rubber gasket and a ferment pipe), a
> plastic tube, a straining cloth and a perforated ladle.
>
>
> The recipe is from the book "Vikingars Gästabud", Fant -98
>
> This article was first published in Viking Heritage magazine, 1/2003.
> Read more about the magazine and how to subscribe to Viking Heritage
> magazine - http://viking.hgo.se/Newsletter/default.html
>
> Murchadh.
Re: Viking territory - was pretty well eastern Ireland and Western
Scotland including the Isle of Man. True they also preferred the
eastern side of *ngland.
The word Earl is from the Norwegian - Jarl. Sal
Allan Connochie
"Sally" <esd...@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:b8bcd929.04020...@posting.google.com...
Not forgetting northern mainland Scotland and the Northern Isles.
Alaln