Traditional Mead UK

Mead-Making Equipment: A UK Beginner’s Checklist

You do not need a miniature winery to make good mead. For a first 4.5-litre batch, concentrate on equipment that keeps the must sanitary, lets carbon dioxide escape safely and helps you verify that fermentation has finished.

This checklist pairs with the beginner’s traditional mead recipe.

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Essential equipment

Food-safe primary fermenter

Use a food-safe brewing bucket or wide-neck fermenter with at least 6 litres of capacity for a 4.5-litre batch. The extra space gives foam somewhere to go during active fermentation.

A glass or PET demijohn is useful for later clearing, but a narrow 5-litre vessel can have too little headspace for vigorous primary fermentation. Glass must be handled carefully and discarded if chipped or cracked.

Bung, lid and proper airlock

The fermenter needs a compatible closure and fermentation airlock. An airlock vents carbon dioxide while limiting insects and airborne contamination. Fill it as the manufacturer directs and keep it upright.

Do not substitute a balloon, and never tightly seal active fermentation.

Cleaner and brewing sanitiser

Cleaner removes residue; sanitiser treats an already-clean surface. Buy a food-safe brewing product and follow its dilution, contact-time and rinsing directions precisely. “No rinse” only applies when the correct concentration is used.

Anything touching cooled must or finished mead must be clean and sanitised: fermenters, spoons, bungs, airlocks, sample tools, siphons, bottles and closures.

Hydrometer and trial jar

A hydrometer measures specific gravity. It lets you:

Choose a trial jar tall enough to float the hydrometer freely. A plastic hydrometer is less fragile; a traditional glass model is widely available. Read the scale and calibration temperature before buying.

See how to use a hydrometer for mead.

Sampling tool

A wine thief, sanitised turkey baster or large syringe makes it possible to remove a hydrometer sample without tipping the fermenter. Avoid dipping unsanitised household utensils into the mead.

Siphon and tubing

A simple racking cane and food-grade tube transfer mead while leaving most sediment behind. An auto-siphon is easier to start but has more surfaces to clean. A sediment cap and bottling wand are useful additions.

Never start a siphon with your mouth: that can contaminate the mead.

Bottles and closures

For still mead, use sound wine bottles with compatible new closures. Screw-cap wine bottles are not necessarily designed to be resealed with generic caps.

For carbonated mead, only use pressure-rated bottles and closures. Ordinary wine bottles can fail dangerously under pressure. Still mead is the sensible first project.

Scales, measuring jug and spoon

Use accurate digital scales for honey and additions, a graduated jug for water, and a long food-safe spoon for mixing. Keep these dedicated to brewing if household use could leave grease or strong odours.

Useful but optional

Second demijohn

A second sanitised vessel lets you rack the mead off heavy sediment and leave it to clear with little headspace. Match its size closely to the liquid you have left.

Thermometer

Yeast performance and hydrometer accuracy both depend on temperature. A stick-on fermenter strip gives a useful trend; a sanitised digital probe provides a more direct reading.

Bottling wand

A spring-loaded wand fills from the bottom and reduces splashing. It also leaves fairly consistent headspace when withdrawn.

Degassing or mixing tool

A long spoon is enough for a small first batch. Powered degassing tools can introduce oxygen if used carelessly after early fermentation and are not essential.

Corker or capper

Your closure determines the tool. Hand corkers can be adequate for occasional use; floor corkers are easier for larger batches. Crown caps require a capper and matching beer-style bottles.

Starter kit or individual items?

A kit can be economical if it includes a genuinely useful fermenter, proper airlock, hydrometer, siphon and sanitiser. Check the vessel size and bottle type rather than judging by the number of accessories.

Examples already used elsewhere on this site include the Balliihoo one-gallon mead-making kit and Brewbitz mead starter equipment kit. Prices, contents and availability can change, so compare the current listing with the checklist above before ordering.

Buying separately is better when you already own wine-making equipment or want a larger primary fermenter and a separate ageing demijohn.

A sensible first setup

For the 4.5-litre recipe, a practical basket is:

  1. food-safe fermenter of at least 6 litres with drilled lid;
  2. matching airlock and bung or grommet;
  3. no-rinse brewing sanitiser;
  4. hydrometer, trial jar and sample tool;
  5. long spoon, scales and measuring jug;
  6. racking cane, tubing and bottling wand;
  7. 5-litre demijohn for clearing;
  8. six 75cl still-wine bottles and compatible closures.

Add yeast, an appropriate nutrient and 1.5 kg of honey, and you have the core of a reusable setup.

Avoid these shortcuts

Reviewed 11 October 2026. Product links and kit contents should be checked before purchase.