1) heat 2 gallons or so of water on the stove. warm, so the honey dissolves, but no need to make it anywhere near boiling.
2) stir in 10 pounds of honey. if you have it, you can add a teaspoon of yeast energizer or yeast nutrient...get it the same place you get your yeast...online or at your favorite local homebrew store
3) put 2 gallons of cool water in your sanitized carboy or bucket.
4) pour in the warm honey water. shake vigorously, you want to get lots of air into it.
5) top off to 5 gallons with cool water.
6) check the temperature. you want it less than 90F when you add the yeast.
7) take a gravity reading if you have a hydrometer (you should have a hydrometer...they're cheap and they're pretty basic to brewing anything).
8) pour in 1 sachet of rehydrated Lalvin D-47 (there are other yeasts, but this is my favorite for mead)
9) put on your airlock and you're done. last night it was about 60 minutes, start to finish.
Check your gravity over the next few weeks and, when you get down in the 1.000 to 1.010 range, rack to secondary.
Now's when you get to make it special. This is when you add whatever special, secret mix of herbs, spices, fruits or whatever is going to make it your unique, signature concoction.
Vanilla? Lemon? Orange? Roasted Jalapenos? Ginger? This one is going to have 2 ounces of mulling spices from the Spice House in Chicago added.
Let it sit on the flavor anywhere from a month to a year.
For my own tastes, I like the meads I make to be very lightly carbonated, almost like a sparkling wine. So not too much bottling sugar...maybe 1/4 cup for a 5 gallon batch.
Anyway, there you have it. You can't get much simpler, easier or faster.
And remember, whatever you do, no matter how tasty, hide a couple bottles away...mead just gets better and better the longer you wait.
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