u/Blackhawk610

So my mother and I got The Elder Scrolls: The Official Cookbook a while back, and we've really enjoyed everything in it so far. There is, however, an entire section of that book dedicated to drinks, and there's a sub-section of that specifically on mead.

I've been curious about trying some of those drinks for a while now, and recently when talking to her about it, my mother just sort of offhandedly mentioned, "Oh yeah, we've got a mead brewing kit around here somewhere. You knew that right?" I did not know that. Learning that fact has made me want to seriously try making two or three of the mead recipes in that book, especially since one of them calls for blackberries, and I know my my mother loves raspberries, so I think she'd really enjoy that.

However, I've run into an immediate blocker just reading the recipe, which is that it lists several different lengths of time for how long it should ferment. First it says, "Fermenting: at least 3 months." But then a bit further down in the recipe, it says you should taste it after just 1 week, and that it'll be ready to drink after just 2 weeks. Then even further down, it says it can be optionally aged for "several" months, without any number attached.

To someone with zero clue what they're doing (me) when it comes to brewing, the variety, and conflicting nature, of these different lengths of time has had a paralyzing effect on me. I don't know if maybe one of them is a typo; maybe instead of 2 weeks they meant 2 months, but even that still conflicts with the at least part of the at least 3 months. Or maybe it was the other way around, and instead of 3 months they meant 3 weeks, but then that at least part would still conflict! Argh!

So, my primary question is; which of these, if any sounds correct? I understand some of the length is just down to taste and personal preference; the book itself even says, and I quote, "In the end, just remember that meads are a lot like fishwives: The older they are, the less sweetness is left." However, I'd still like to at least know I'm being safe, and be sure I'm not going to end up making something that'll make me sick, or just end up really gross, because it was only fermented for 1/6th the amount of time it should have been minimum.

My secondary question is, if possible, I'd like for some more experienced homebrewers to look over the recipe(s) and see if there's anything else that sounds off, or otherwise is important to note for someone's first time brewing. Any steps that special attention should be paid to, or any steps that should taken but aren't directly stated in the recipe, and other stuff like that. I want to make sure I'm getting as much as possible correctly on my first try, because I'm worried if it comes out really terrible I'll just get discouraged from ever trying again.

So my mother and I got The Elder Scrolls: The Official Cookbook a while back, and we've really enjoyed everything in it so far. There is, however, an entire section of that book dedicated to drinks, and there's a sub-section of that specifically on mead.

I've been curious about trying some of those drinks for a while now, and recently when talking to her about it, my mother just sort of offhandedly mentioned, "Oh yeah, we've got a mead brewing kit around here somewhere. You knew that right?" I did not know that. Learning that fact has made me want to seriously try making two or three of the mead recipes in that book, especially since one of them calls for blackberries, and I know my my mother loves raspberries, so I think she'd really enjoy that.

However, I've run into an immediate blocker just reading the recipe, which is that it lists several different lengths of time for how long it should ferment. First it says, "Fermenting: at least 3 months." But then a bit further down in the recipe, it says you should taste it after just 1 week, and that it'll be ready to drink after just 2 weeks. Then even further down, it says it can be optionally aged for "several" months, without any number attached.

To someone with zero clue what they're doing (me) when it comes to brewing, the variety, and conflicting nature, of these different lengths of time has had a paralyzing effect on me. I don't know if maybe one of them is a typo; maybe instead of 2 weeks they meant 2 months, but even that still conflicts with the at least part of the at least 3 months. Or maybe it was the other way around, and instead of 3 months they meant 3 weeks, but then that at least part would still conflict! Argh!

So, my primary question is; which of these, if any sounds correct? I understand some of the length is just down to taste and personal preference; the book itself even says, and I quote, "In the end, just remember that meads are a lot like fishwives: The older they are, the less sweetness is left." However, I'd still like to at least know I'm being safe, and be sure I'm not going to end up making something that'll make me sick, or just end up really gross, because it was only fermented for 1/6th the amount of time it should have been minimum.

My secondary question is, if possible, I'd like for some more experienced homebrewers to look over the recipe(s) and see if there's anything else that sounds off, or otherwise is important to note for someone's first time brewing. Any steps that special attention should be paid to, or any steps that should taken but aren't directly stated in the recipe, and other stuff like that. I want to make sure I'm getting as much as possible correctly on my first try, because I'm worried if it comes out really terrible I'll just get discouraged from ever trying again.