Meads I

mead is a type of wine made with honey instead of fruit (although you can use both) . in either case yeast organisms ferment the beverage by eating sugar in the honey or fruit juice and pooping out alcohol and carbonation. this process continues until all of the sugar has been consumed or the alcohol content of the wine becomes so high (about 14% I think) that the yeast can no longer survive. then you filter and strain the liquid, leaving the sediment in the bottom of the fermentation bottle. the whole process of primary fermentation takes about 1 month, after which you can drink it immediately for an effective if not so tasty brew, or bottle and age it to achieve more palatable results :)

- Professor Rabbitfoot

An update (and tentative promise)

      ahem. so i haven't really been posting regularly but i've been plenty busy! in the future i'm going to try and post daily, at least a little something.  i'll still cover alchemical processes as promised, but im going to use my updated functional list instead of the 'big 12' mentioned in my last post.
so what's new?


- started a new mead with jalepeno, honey, & juiced green apples. this fermented violently, foamed into the airlock & exploded during the 1st night, spraying foamy apple goop all over my room... o_O it has since calmed down to a healthy bubble.


- started another mead with organic raw honey, cloves, & dried cranberries. this one smells delicious but refuses to ferment, possibly because of the antimicrobial / preservative properties of raw honey? i recently tried to render the honey inert by boiling the entire concoction, but still no luck so far.


- began macerating an anti-menstrual cramp tincture (made of cramp bark, black cohosh, ginger, & partridge berry vine). i'm calling it silver bullet, should be finished on the next full moon ;)


also, i've started a 'steampunk empire' account, if anyone would like to check it out!
thesteampunkempire.com/profile/ProfessorRabbitfoot


- Professor Rabbitfoot

The Twelve Cardinal Processes of Mutation

      There seem to be several different configurations of the 'core' alchemical processes, but I like the twelve cardinal mutations because of their structure & the fact that most of them are useful (& relatively simple to perform).  They are broken into 4 categories, each of which I will describe in further detail in my following posts.  

DECOMPOSITION:

      Digestion

      Fermentation / Putrefaction

      Calcination / Oxidation

SEPARATION:

      Filtration

      Distillation

      Sublimation

MODIFICATION:

      Congelation / Coagulation

      Ceration

      Fixation

UNION:

      Dissolution

      Multiplication

      Projection

More about these later,

- Professor Rabbitfoot

Alchemy (n. al-kuh-mee)

The practice of procedures designed to turn base metals into noble metals

Or possibly to find the elixir of everlasting life.

Or to create a substance that any and everything will dissolve in?

Or an unenlightened proto-science...

Or a religion come philosophy of personal transmutation.

Or you get the idea.  Alchemy is confusing & secretive but also surprisingly accessible - there are very few alchemical procedures that would be impossible for a committed hobbyist, provided they wanted to work for two months & end up with a vial of sulphuric acid.

      Personally, I'm a hands on learner, so I'm trying to concentrate on Alchemy I can practice & use - procedures to create medicine, food, or other useful supplies. I'll be posting here as a journal of my research, a reference for recipes, & eventually a record of my experiences traveling across the United States!

Yours truly,

- Professor Rabbitfoot