While I have been accused of being a "head" of my time (in the altered states sense), I'm probably more like 1500+ years behind the times in this case (pun intended)! Thanks for the cool article, Larry. I will forward it to some of my mead-making friends. It's kind of like an alcoholic subculture!

Zap, the article talks about adding something tart to the mead. which you do with great success. In the mid-70s, I made mead from my own bees' honey. One year I added the juice from organically grown red grapefruit to a batch. It was very fresh tasting. If you ever want to try it, you'll need Texas Star grapefruit. Let me know and I'll send you some when they're in season (of course, the season's just about over 'till next November or so but there might still be some out there). A lot of Texas grapefruit is sold out of state, but I don't think the Texas Stars are among them--we eat 'em all up here. (They don't have the bitterness that most grapefruit has.)

God laughs every time someone eats a grapefruit...

LOL. I remember my mom went on a grapefruit diet once in the 60's. Yuck lol...

Oh, but red grapefruit; not pink, but red, is sweet and not bitter. Very tasty.

I've given him a lot of laughs then, I'm one of those weird ones who actually likes grapefruit.

After our '98 hike across the Grand Canyon we spent the night at one of the less expensive hotels at the canyon but before leaving for home we wanted a good brekkie that had no resemblance to trail food so we went to the El Tovar hotel. The waiter brought me a big glass of fresh squeezed grapefruit juice and I swear all the aches from that hike melted away while I was drinking it. It was the best!

Thanks for the kind words about our mead and the offer of the Texas grapefruit, Shelly. Might not be for awhile, though. We still have over 20 lbs of elderberries in the freezer that we have to get to brewin' with!

I will be more than happy to help you dispose of the Elberberry glut!

I've never tasted mead, but I heard that using locally grown honey, for instance as a sweetener in tea, helps allergy sufferers. One teaspoon a day. In some way it's supposed to build immunity because of the pollination the bees do to make the honey.

I'm not so sure about grapefruit juice-the kinds I've tasted can be pretty nasty and sour. Luckily, grapefruit causes a bad side effect with one of my meds, so I can't drink it anyway.

In the words of the late Joe Strummer, "If you're after getting the honey, ya don't go killin' all the bees."

We have a beautiful grapefruit here called Ruby Red. Our departed Red Cattle Dog/Kelpie cross "Ruby" is buried under it in the orchard. So when we them we will always think of her.

Ruby Red is my favorite, next to Texas Star. It was Ruby Red that I used in that long-ago mead, but now there's one even better. And because of your Ruby, Louise/Deb, I'll like it the more. And yes, all other grapefruit is sour and bitter, but not those two.

Grapefruit has always been something with a fragrance I love but a taste I can't stand. Maybe I need to try some Texas grapefruit.

I agree with Judy. I do use the grapefruit dish washing liquid...

Maybe that could be arranged