Do you have dandelions growing like crazy around your yard? Do you have access to fields that aren’t subjected to pesticide and insecticide? Well, perhaps you’ll be interested in making a dandelion mead!

It’s easy to find classic, old-school wine and mead recipes online. Just be wary if those recipes tell you to add raisins as nutrient!

Most dandelion recipes have one thing in common… and that’s to use ONLY the petals, none of the green, and to pour hot water over said petals, then allow them to steep for a couple of days. At least, this is what I found when researching how to make this mead!

To really make this mead WELL, you definitely need to use nutrient additions, as well as add tannin and acid for balance. Otherwise, honestly this mead can be kind of boring?

It’s an experience making and drinking a 100% floral mead.

To note: The difference between the “Spring Flower” and the Dandelion mead, is the addition of clover flowers and violets. In Virginia we have a lot of these flowers growing willy-nilly, so if you don’t have say, violets in your area, find another edible wildflower to replace it!

After a year these meads did not impress – though this is in part due to my lack of acid and tannin balancing.

Recipe for Dandelion Mead
Primary:
1/2 pack Lalvin D47
5 Cups of Dandelion flowers collected (recommended 6, this is VERY labor intensive) Pour hot water over flowers and allow to sit in the fridge covered for about 3 days.
2.5 lb Clover Honey

Follow nutrient schedule – TOSNA 2.0 & GoFerm

Secondary:
Rack
Stabilize
Added handful of raisins (older recipes call for raisins as a flavor component)
1 tbsp Orange Peel
Lemon Wege & Juice
Backsweeten to Taste

Clear & Bottle