Recipe for Mushroom Mead

by Doug Ayen. From alt.drugs, 1993

Blue Mead:

First off, this is a mead (honey wine) that has, in addition to yeast, blue "'shroom" spoors added to the mix. The end result of this is a pale blue, psychoactive mead and a clump of 'shrooms about the size of your hand. The recepie is for 1 gallon, but you can expand/contract at will. WARNING: as with all brewing, and this one more than most, keep everything STERILE!!! I don't want any of you getting sick(er) because of stray bacteria.

Ingredients/equipment:

For Mushroom starter:

• 1 fresh blue 'shroom (Psilocybe Mexicana)*
• growth media (sterile solution of sugar/water)
• 2-3 petri dishes (The more you have, the better the chances of at least 1 success)

* Dried may work. What you really want are active spoors

For Mead:

• 3-5 lbs honey
• Yeast nutient *
• Wine yeast*
• kettle
• 1 gallon bottle
• cotton wad
• fermentation lock(optional)*
• anti-foam (optional)*
• Campdem Tabs*

Directions:

1 Week Before:
Make a mixture of 3 tbs sugar to 1 cup water. Boil, put in petri dishes, cover, let cool. Take 'shroom, quicly open each petri dish & add spoors from underside of 'shroom (a tap on the top should do it).Cover. Let sit for a week. By then, you should have at least one good culture going. If not, then try again with another batch of 'shrooms.

The Brewing Session:
Take the honey & mix with enough water to make 1 gallon. Bring to a boil and skim off the thick froth on top. Crush 1 Campdem tab, stir in, add yeast nutrient as per directions on the container, pour into bottle, put a wad of cotton in the top. Leave at least 2" of space at the top of the bottle. Let cool & settle 24 hrs.

Take the successful petri dish of psilocybe and a sharp knife. In rapid sequence: sterilize the point of the knife in flame, open the petri dish, cut out a 1"square section of the growing culture, remove the cotton from the mouth of the bottle, drop in the culture, and replace the cotton. Move as quickly as possible as to avoid contamination.

Wait one week (during which the culture should grow fairly rapidly (if not, repeat the above paragraph)) and add the yeast as per the directions on the packet. (I find champagne yeast works well.) Fit fermentation lock, and wait until all activity has stopped. Rack (i.e. pour off and save the liquid part, leaving the solids behind (including the mass of psilocybe mushroom (which can be used as normal))) and let age min 4 months in a cool, dark place.

Potency:
varies. Try a shot first, wait for an hour or so, repeat. Make a note of what happens when, so that you can gage future experiments. Please note: this is alcoholic as well as psychoactive. Use in moderation

Well, that's the recipie. Enjoy!!

--Doug