Here are two batches of Mead made by a web visitor. He used two different kinds of honey. The one on the left uses a Wildflower honey and the one on the right uses a mesquite honey. And it isn't just the color that changes. The taste will of course change too!

So one bit of advice is that if you want a specific grade of color in your mead you should experiment with types of honey (wildflower honeys tend to be darker).

You can see more pictures of Walter's Mead and learn more about the recipe and how he made these here: Mead made by web visitors

The Compleat Meadmaker : Home Production of Honey Wine From Your First Batch to Award-winning Fruit and Herb Variations

This is the book I have been using and it is pretty much the de-facto standard for meadmakers. If you want lots of information, recipes, history and lots of great stuff about mead and how to make it then this is the book you must have.

Making Wild Wines & Meads: 125 Unusual Recipes Using Herbs, Fruits, Flowers & More

Love Kindle Books? I just published my kindle book on how to make mead. It is a no-nonsense easy guide to making a batch of mead. You can get it in the kindle store.

New, I and a friend made two wonderful meads today (melomels) a pear and a pomegranate. Just a few pictures and notes on what we did. Simply a lot of fun! See the pics here