I'm not sure if you know something I don't, but mead is a fermented honey drink. The process is very similar to making beer (I've made both, a lot more beer though). Neither is particularly complex. Anyone can do it if they have a recipe, and even making a recipe isn't that difficult, if you have the right tools.

[–] Atomic@sh.itjust.works 0 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

My dad worked at a brewery for a while. I've been there and seen the equipment at a tour and had the process explained to me. I suppose you COULD do it at home. But it's by no means a simple process.

There's a big difference between beer and "beer". At least where I live. Maybe the legal definition is more liberal in other places.

[–] Cethin@lemmy.zip 2 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago) (1 children)

At scale, yeah, it's got a lot going on. Especially if you need to ensure a consistent product, there's a lot of testing and measuring that needs to be done. It really isn't all that complex of a process though. It was discovered by accident after all. Basically you take grain, cook it to make the sugars available, let it cool, and add yeast. Then you wait for a few weeks while the yeast digests the sugars to make alcohol (and other stuff, like the vaccine in this case).

Different grains/sugar containing material, other products (like hops), ratios, and yeasts will make different products, but at the end of the day sugar + (the right kind of) yeast without oxygen makes alcohol. It's called beer when that's wheat/barley and hops usually. It's called mead when it's honey, wine when it's grapes, vodka if it's potatoes and distilled, etc. Some governments have more strict laws on what can be called what (Germany's Reinheitsgebot is notable strict).

The process though isn't that complex. Making a specific thing can be though. A chef at a nice restaurant is going to put a lot more effort in to be consistent than you will be cooking at home, but you're both making the same thing. It's the same for beer.

[–] Atomic@sh.itjust.works 3 points 9 hours ago

Very informative to get a refreshed guide on beer making. And I must concede my original perception wasn't accurate.

I suppose my confusion comes from the difference between beer and beer. Just like I think there's a difference between a steak and a steak.

I know breweries have it down to a science, with lots and lots of steps to get their perfect taste each and every time. Which is what I've been drinking as a lager beer.

I was wrong. Making beer is not that complex. It's making a good beer on a large scale that is.