13,585
edits
Changes
Mead
,no edit summary
===Spontaneous===
Just about anything can be spontaneously fermented, which of course includes Mead. It has been demonstrated that while honey is antimicrobial due to its high sugar concentration and low water concentration, which inhibits the growth of microbes, honey is not inherently pasteurized or sanitary (see [[Mold#Mold_Growth_in_Wild_Mead|the Mold page for details]]). For the most part, it's very similar to spontaneous beers as far as capturing ambient microbes, the big difference is the controlling of microbes by types of carbon sources as well as acid contributions from hops. Hopping can be used of course but is not used in most Meads. Also unlike spontaneous beers, you normally wouldn't be heating must(unfermented mead) up to a boiling temperature so the cooling process is a bit different. To add a bit of control you could add things like maltodextrin or fruits/vegetables with complex sugars.
Being that raw honey can have a host of microbes within it, the only way to do a true spontaneous mead fermented with ambient microbes is to use a pasteurized honey with water that has been pasteurized or boiled. Outside of this technique, it would be considered a wild Mead. You could also pasteurize your own honey by holding the must at 170 F for 20 minutes but you may also risk losing some of the honey's attributes and flavors.