Name: The Porter Beer Bars Viking Blod Recipe
Cook time: 168 h
Total time: 168 h
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Nordic
Ingredients: 3 lbs wildflower or clover honey; 2.5 l spring (or filtered) water; 1 tsp acid blend; 1 tsp yeast nutrient; 1 each pH stabilizer (campden tablet, crushed); 30 g dried hibiscus flowers; 50 g fresh ginger, sliced (unpeeled OK if scrubbed); 1 tbsp orange peel (no pith), twisted; 1 each black tea (strong brew or 1 teabag); 1 packet champagne or mead yeast (e.g., Lalvin 71B or EC-1118); 50 ml warm water for yeast rehydration; 1 tsp table sugar (for stabilizing yeast starter, optional); 1 tsp potassium sorbate (optional, for stabilizing before sweetening); 1 tsp fining (optional: gelatin or bentonite); 6 each sterile 4 oz bottles (or equivalent)

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Ham, cheddar cheese, fresh tomatoes, and arugula.

Ham and Cheese Sandwich

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Honey Wine/ Mead: traditional Nordic mead with hibiscus & ginger. Sweet & potent/4 oz bottle pour

Thoroughly sanitize all fermenting equipment (pot, spoon, hydrometer, primary fermenter). This prevents unwanted bacteria and wild yeasts.

Sanitize and prepare

Warm 1.0 l of the water to about 40–45°C (105–113°F). Do not boil—just warm enough to help dissolve honey.

In a large pot, combine the warmed water and the 3 lbs honey. Stir gently until completely dissolved to create the must. Top up with remaining water to reach ~2.5 l total volume.

Measure specific gravity if you have a hydrometer. Expect an OG around 1.120–1.140 (high gravity mead). Record the OG.

Add the acid blend (1 tsp) and yeast nutrient (1 tsp) to the must and stir to incorporate. Crush and add the campden tablet now and let the must sit, covered, for 12–24 hours to remove chlorine and wild yeast before pitching cultured yeast.

Meanwhile, prepare the flavor infusion: in a small saucepan, bring 500 ml (approx) of water to a gentle boil. Add the 30 g dried hibiscus, 50 g sliced ginger, and the tablespoon of orange peel. Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes to extract color, aromatics and some tannins.

Turn off heat and add the black tea (or teabag) to the hot infusion for 3–5 minutes to add tannin and balance the hibiscus sweetness. Strain the infusion through a fine mesh while still warm and add it to the must pot. Stir well to combine. Allow the combined must to cool to about 20–24°C (68–75°F) before pitching yeast.

Rehydrate the yeast per manufacturer instructions: sprinkle the yeast into 50 ml of warm (35–40°C) water with 1 tsp table sugar (optional) and let sit 10–15 minutes until foamy.

When the must-infusion mixture is at 20–24°C, pour the rehydrated yeast into the fermenter and aerate the must by stirring vigorously for 1–2 minutes (oxygen helps yeast multiply).

Fit an airlock and place the primary fermenter in a dark, temperature-stable spot at 18–22°C (65–72°F). Active fermentation should begin within 24–48 hours with visible bubbling.

Ferment in primary for 7–10 days until vigorous activity slows. Rack (siphon) the mead off the lees into a secondary carboy to clarify, leaving sediment behind. Top up with sanitized water to minimize headspace.

Allow to age in secondary for 4–8 weeks until fermentation is complete and the mead clears. Take gravity readings; target final gravity will vary depending on yeast but expect a sweet, potent mead — if FG is still high but yeast activity stopped, allow more time or consider nutrient addition.

Optional stabilization: if you plan to back-sweeten or want to stop fermentation entirely, add potassium sorbate (per packet directions) and a small amount of potassium metabisulfite; wait 24 hours before sweetening. (Note: this step is optional and will prevent re-fermentation in bottle.)

If you want a clearer mead, add fining agent per product directions and cold crash the mead for 2–4 days to help particles settle.

Sanitize bottles and siphon the finished mead into sterile 4 oz bottles, leaving about 1–1.5 cm headspace. Cap or cork securely.

Age bottled mead for at least 2–3 months for flavors to marry; hibiscus color and ginger spice will mellow and integrate. Mead will be sweet and potent; serve chilled or at cellar temperature. The recipe yields roughly six 4 oz pours (about 24 oz / ~700 ml total).

Label bottles with bottling date and expected ready date. Store upright for short term or on side if corked for longer maturation.

wildflower or clover honey

spring (or filtered) water

acid blend

yeast nutrient

pH stabilizer (campden tablet, crushed)

dried hibiscus flowers

fresh ginger, sliced (unpeeled OK if scrubbed)

orange peel (no pith), twisted

black tea (strong brew or 1 teabag)

champagne or mead yeast (e.g., Lalvin 71B or EC-1118)

warm water for yeast rehydration

table sugar (for stabilizing yeast starter, optional)

potassium sorbate (optional, for stabilizing before sweetening)

fining (optional: gelatin or bentonite)

sterile 4 oz bottles (or equivalent)

Viking Blod

Make Viking Blod Recipe in just 168h . Honey Wine/ Mead: traditional Nordic mead with hibiscus & ginger. Sweet & potent/4 oz bottle pour

Viking Blod

Descriptors

Tasting Notes

Food Pairings

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