In which Ricky the Meadmaker takes his annual Midwinter Ramble.
It's that time of year again for my annual midwinter ramble.
Welcome to Ask the Meadmaker, where I, Ricky the Meadmaker, answer your questions about mead making, mead drinking, mead brewing, and really any question you're willing to send to me.
Usually, as I mentioned in the cold open, it is time for my annual midwinter ramble. Every year I like to take this time to reflect about you folks, my Meadiacs around the world, and what you mean to me. Now, if you're not into philosophical treatises, I would just stop this episode right here. I'm not answering questions about mead making, mead drinking, mead brewing, but I am answering the question, "Why do I do it? Do I enjoy making these videos?" No, no, I do not. They're the bane of my existence. Every two weeks, it gets to be Thursday or Friday, and I say to myself, damn, I have to shoot Ask the Meadmaker. Yet this is my hundred and second episode. I've never missed one. Even when my daughter was born, we had an episode come out that week. We did pre-shoot it. Don't worry, it's not from the hospital.
The question is why? The answer is pretty simple. Mead is very easy to make. Very, very, very, very easy. If I haven't made that clear over the last hundred one episodes, I'm doing my job wrong. Honey, plus water, plus yeast. That's it. Things can go wrong. Add some nutrient, you'll have a better fermentation. But why? Why am I here week after week after week? Great question. Because you keep watching. And I think the reason you keep watching is it's not about the mead. It's about the Mead Hall. It's about what mead represents in our culture.
We have a world where people sit on boats and enjoy light beer. I'm one of those people. I enjoy fancy wines. I enjoy brandy and I enjoy whiskey. But mead represents something in our culture that no other beverage does. It represents a type of celebration that feels forgotten. So, today is the midwinter festival at the Mead Hall. As you are watching this, I am wearing my floor-length green robe, dancing around a bonfire, and eating one portion of 145 pounds of ox shoulder that's cooking right behind me. Midwinter Fest represents to me a moment of the year where everything is dark, and full of joy, and full of food and full of mead, and other beverages. See, the thing is, the world seems very scary right now. And it's not. It is no scarier than it's ever been. It is in fact less scary than it used to be. But it is a little boring. We don't have the highs and lows of the year that we used to have. Mead in your home and in mine represents that one thing, that one piece of the past where we can say this is a drink for celebrating. So, in your own home, whether you're with me at the Mead Hall, or just doing your own midwinter festivals, cheers.
Keep sending your questions. You guys mean the world to me. I'll get to them as soon as possible. Cheers.
