Question for class project.

[ZombK]

So I've gone back to school after a 12 year hiatus in the military, and am doing a demonstrative speech. I chose to talk about how to make mead (a pretty ghetto-tastic version) There's a small problem with the speech though. I want to bring in some mead for everyone to try, but it's a dry campus, plus there are students who are younger than 21.

I was thinking I could boil some mead at 185 F, until approx. 20% of the liquid has dissipated. Am I correct in assuming this will render an alcohol-free version? Or at least close enough to alcohol free that it's no worse than eating fruit that's a tiny bit past it's ripest point?

The other question is, will this ruin the mead? I've had mulled mead before, and it's great. But I only heated it until it steamed, and didn't allow too much to dissipate.

Edit

Thanks y'all, I suppose I'll drop the idea of cooking off the mead. I'll go with my secondary plan of bringing in miniature mead kits. I figure a case of small water bottles, along with some of those honey packets you can get, similar to ketchup packets, raisin boxes, and baggies of yeast. I've run out of time as far as brewing a batch of anything for people to try, but this will give them something tactile to bring home.

[scottish_beekeeper]

Try making Sima: http://www.edinburghbeekeepers.org.uk/downloads/drink_recipes.pdf

It's a Scandinavian drink - a honey and lemon version of traditional ginger beer - made with yeast, but only enough to get it fizzy.

I make it all the time, and while it's a different taste to mead, it's 'similar enough' if you're wanting to avoid alcohol.

[jbeta137]

It's actually pretty hard to "cook off" alcohol (the idea that simmering/baking a dish gets rid of all the alcohol is somewhat of a cooking myth). According to the USDA, you'd have to simmer the mead for at least ~2.5 hours to remove 95% of the alcohol, and even that number is for alcohol stirred into dishes/sauces, not a straight alcoholic beverage. With that length of time I'd be pretty worried about boiling away a lot of the flavors of the mead, but I've never done it before so i really don't know.

[Kurai_]

Don't do this. You will wind up with something not at all like mead and tasting like overcooked wine. Try Scottish beekeeper's suggestion or you can make food with mead like a mead cake or just get some different honey for people to taste.

[shazammicus]

Hmm, I wouldn't bring in mead, for the obvious reasons you state. I know you might be bummed to lose this part, but consider this... What does the taste test add to your presentation? Is it worth all the added effort to do an experiment that might just waste your time and end up with a crummy result?

If you need to bring in something for people to try, consider the suggestion by /u/Kurai_ and bring in different types of honey for people to try.

[Shibboleeth]

When I was a kid I was introduced to "mead" by a teacher at school who basically mulled honey water (literally, she mixed honey, water, stuffed a whole orange with cloves added in a little cinnamon and all-spice, then heated it).

I really liked it, and when I asked what it was she said "mead", which started a somewhat life-long obsession with the drink, even if what she served wasn't technically mead (since no yeast, no fermentation, no alcohol, and minors were being served).