Dandelion Mead Recipe (Dandelion Wine Made With Honey) (2024)

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Dandelion wine is an old school recipe that has been around for centuries. The yellow petals have a honey-like flavor and they make a delicious wine! I prefer to make dandelion mead, as I feel like it is even more flavorful that way.

Dandelion Mead Recipe (Dandelion Wine Made With Honey) (1)

Simple Mead Making Ebook

If you want to learn more about making mead, I have a Simple Mead Making for Beginners eBook just for you!

It has ingredient and equipment checklists and detailed instructions for brewing and bottling your mead, so be sure to check that out if you’re new to the mead making process.

Harvesting Dandelions for Mead or Wine Making

The first thing you will need to do is go out and forage for some dandelions. This usually isn’t too difficult, as they are quite prolific in most areas!

When you do your spring foraging you’re almost certain to find some. Just be sure that they haven’t been sprayed with any toxic chemicals, because unfortunately many people still consider dandelions as weeds.

(If you want to learn more about edible and medicinal weeds that might be growing in your backyard, check out my Wildcrafting Weeds eBook!)

You’ll need about one cup total of the yellow petals only, with as little of the green part as possible. It’s ok to have a bit of green, but too much will make the mead or wine bitter.

This takes a bit of doing as you will need to pluck all of the petals from the flower head. Don’t worry, it’s worth it!

Related: 6 Reasons You Don’t Need to Save Dandelions for the Bees

Dandelion Mead Recipe (Dandelion Wine Made With Honey) (2)

Dandelion Mead Recipe

Mead is simply wine that is made with honey instead of sugar. This dandelion mead recipe is easy to make and uses the abundance of foraged dandelions to make a delicious and highly drinkable beverage!

This dandelion mead recipe is a variation of my simple one gallon mead recipe.

For more detailed directions and photos of the process, head on over to that post.

You can find all of the equipment and ingredients you need for mead making here.

This dandelion mead is technically called a metheglin, which is any mead that has herbs, spices, or flowers added.

Some other metheglin recipes I have on this blog are wildflower mead and elderflower sparkling mead. Yummy!

Related:

Dandelion Mead Tips

I prefer to leave the dandelion petals in the fermenting jug while it’s brewing so that it will continue to infuse as it ferments.

If you’d rather not leave the petals in, you can strain them out after the initial steeping, before adding the honey.

Leaving the petals in can make bottling the mead a bit tricky though, as they will want to go up the auto siphon.

If you put a small piece of cheesecloth attached with a rubber band over the end of the auto siphon that goes into the jug while bottling, it will keep the petals out.

Dandelion Mead Recipe (Dandelion Wine Made With Honey) (4)

This dandelion mead turned out so delicious, even after just a short amount of aging!

It will continue to clear up and develop more flavor over time.

One thing that I love about my simple mead recipes is that they are usually quite drinkable after a short amount of aging (but longer aging never hurts)!

If you want to make dandelion wine, take it one step further and make this delicious dandelion mead! You’ll be so happy that you did.

More Easy Dandelion Recipes

  • Infused Dandelion Vinegar
  • Dandelion Pesto
  • How to Make Dandelion Tea
  • Dandelion Jelly: Low-Sugar or Honey
  • Dandelion Lotion Bar Recipe
  • How to Make Dandelion Salve
  • Dandelion Soap Made With the Whole Plant
  • Dandelion and Fennel Kombucha
  • Dandelion Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream Frosting
  • Dandelion Kombucha
Dandelion Mead Recipe (Dandelion Wine Made With Honey) (5)

More Mead Recipes

Ready to start brewing your next batch of mead? Here are 15 mead recipes for you to try including:

  • Blackberry Mead
  • Elderberry Mead
  • Elderflower Mead
  • Maple Mead
  • Wildflower Mead

Dandelion Mead Recipe (Dandelion Wine Made With Honey) (6)

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4.47 from 26 votes

Dandelion Mead

This is a delicious mead made with foraged dandelion petals.

Course Drinks

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Fermenting Time 42 days days

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 32 servings

Calories 156kcal

Author Colleen @ Grow Forage Cook Ferment

Ingredients

US CustomaryMetric

  • water non-chlorinated or filtered
  • 2-3 pounds honey depending on how sweet you want the end product to be
  • 1 cup dandelion petals
  • 1/2 package champagne yeast
  • 1 lemon

Instructions

  • Sanitize everything that will be used in the brewing process.

  • Put 1/2 gallon of non-chlorinated water and the dandelion petals in a pot and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and let steep for 15-20 minutes.

  • Add the honey and stir to dissolve, then add the juice of the lemon and carefully pour the honey water mixture into the jug using a funnel.

  • Top off the jug with cold non-chlorinated water, leaving at least 2 inches of head space on top. Put the lid on the jug and gently mix everything around a bit.

  • Make sure that the temperature of the must is below 90°F, then add 1/2 packet of champagne yeast. Put the lid back on tightly and this time shake the jug for a minute or two to distribute the yeast.

  • Put a little water in the airlock to the line, then put the rubber stopper end into the jug. Put the jug in a dark place. It should start bubbling within 12-24 hours.

  • After about 6 weeks of fermenting, or once the bubbling has completely stopped, the mead can be bottled and aged. When bottling, it is helpful to put a piece of cheesecloth over the end of the auto siphon that goes in the jug to keep the dandelion petals out.

Notes

If you put a small piece of cheesecloth attached with a rubber band over the end of the siphon that goes into the jug, it will keep the petals out.

Nutrition

Serving: 4ounces | Calories: 156kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g

Dandelion Mead Recipe (Dandelion Wine Made With Honey) (2024)

FAQs

Can you mix honey when making mead? ›

You can combine honey with other sugars. You can use regular straight up cane sugar if you're doing this at home and want to make something “mead-like.” You can also use some other things to make beer-wine hybrids or beer-mead hybrids. You can flavor fermentations with pretty much anything.

Is dandelion wine made from dandelions? ›

Many people have heard of dandelion wine but may not have had the pleasure of actually tasting it—or making it. This recipe captures the sunny color of spring's dandelion flowers in a bottle. Despite the sugar in the recipe, once fully fermented, the result is a deliciously dry wine.

Is dandelion honey safe? ›

Honey Alternative

Dandelion honey is a good alternative for vegans or anyone who may have an allergy to traditional bee's honey, with a surprisingly similar flavor. The consistency is thinner than most honey.

Is dandelion wine medicinal? ›

For centuries, dandelions have been prized for their medicinal qualities, often consumed in the form of dandelion wine or tea to aid in digestion. In New England, there's a long tradition of drinking dandelion wine as an early-spring medicinal tonic.

How much honey is too much for mead? ›

Use 1.5 to 5 pounds of honey per gallon, depending on your target for residual sweetness and alcohol content. The more honey, the more residual sweetness and the greater potential for a high, final alcohol content.

Is raw honey OK for mead? ›

What type of honey should I use? The key is to use raw or unpasteurized honey to get the best and most unique flavors for your mead. Commercially processed honey often found in the grocery stores is pasteurized and ultrafiltered.

How much alcohol is in dandelion wine? ›

Dandelion wine is made by fermentation of natural sugars in dandelion flowers into alcohol by yeast. The resulting beverage has alcoholic content ranging from 8% to 14% by volume.

Is dandelion wine good for the liver? ›

Dandelion wine is the classic flower wine, made with the bright yellow flowers of the plentiful and easy-to-find weed. Don't believe the hype of the manicured lawn lobby; dandelion is not only beautiful and tasty, but potent liver-cleansing medicine.

What do dandelions symbolize in dandelion wine? ›

Pressed into wine and bottled, the dandelion represents summer itself, and a drop of the drink brings the taste of magical life. The many bottles of wine, one for each day of the summer, represent the memories of events that have passed by, and drinking one is like remembering that particular day.

Who should not drink dandelion? ›

People with kidney problems, gallbladder problems, or gallstones should consult their doctors before eating dandelion.

Who should not eat dandelion? ›

Bleeding disorders: Dandelion might slow blood clotting. In theory, taking dandelion might increase the risk for bruising and bleeding in people with bleeding disorders. Ragweed allergy: People who are allergic to ragweed and related plants (daisies, chrysanthemums, marigolds) might also be allergic to dandelion.

Why is my dandelion honey bitter? ›

Remove the green parts of the dandelions as they can give the honey a slight bitter taste. The easiest way is to pull the petals off whilst holding the base of the flower.

What is dandelion wine good for? ›

Dandelion wine is a medicinal drink. Dandelion flowers are beneficial to digestive health because they aid in the cleansing of the kidneys and liver, and the blossoms include vitamins A, B, C, and D, and also a considerable quantity of potassium.

Is dandelion wine really wine? ›

Dandelion wine is a country wine brewed with a combination of citrus fruit, raisins, sugar, water, yeast, and, of course, dandelions. It's floral, slightly sweet, and pours as clear and golden as honey.

Can you eat dandelions from your yard? ›

Not only are dandelion greens safe to eat, but they also provide a range of health benefits. All parts of a dandelion plant are edible, from the top of the yellow flower down to the roots. The green leaves of the dandelion can make a healthy addition to salads, sandwiches, omelets, and more.

Can I add more honey during primary fermentation? ›

If added to the end of primary fermentation it can increase the alcohol content and add a more intense honey flavor and aroma. Honey can also be used to bottle condition and carbonate beer. You can add up to 50% of your total fermentable sugars as honey; it all depends on how much honey character you want in your beer.

How to mix honey and water mead? ›

For a dry mead, the ratio is 4 parts water to 1 part honey; a sweet mead is 2 to 1. Kluz likes his mead sweet, so he typically uses 1 3/4 gallons of honey and tops it off with 3 1/4 gallons of water. It produces a mead that is between 13 percent and 14 percent alcohol.

Can you mix anything with mead? ›

1) Mix the mead, rum, and bitters with some ice in a shaker, then make your best co*cktail barman impression (we suggest growing a trendy moustache, putting on a waistcoat and looking oddly severe as you give it all a good shake). 2) Put a few ice cubes into a small tumbler and pour your mixture into it.

Does more honey make mead stronger? ›

Potentially, using the most amount of honey can lead to up 18% ABV which makes it a strong beverage. Using one pound, or 1.3 cups, of honey tends to result in a very light drink in terms of both flavor and alcohol content. That is expected since the yeast will not have much to eat.

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