mmmm...mead

At dinner last night I tried some of the Abbey's mead - mmmm, it is delicious, made with honey from the Abbey's own hives, I understand.
The Abbey vintner closely guards her secret mead recipe, so i thought I'd share this recipe I found in a wonderful book I've been reading, The Great British Christmas by Maria Hubert.

8 quarts water; 2 pounds of honey; 1 lemon; 1 pint pale ale; 1/4 teaspoon bread yeast; a few raisins; a little sugar
Bring the water to the boil in a large preserving pan. dissolve honey in it. Peel lemon thinly, remove pith, slice fruit, remove pips, put slices and rind into pan. Turn off the heat, leave until almost cold. Add ale, and the yeast dissolved in a little tepid water. Leave to stand overnight. Strain mead into bottles adding two washed raisins or sultanas to each bottle with a teaspoon of sugar.
The author of the piece (`Anon') suggests using screwtop bottles - if you use corks, tape them down or they will pop out. Store the bottles in a cool dark place for a week or so.