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Mead Lovers Digest #0052
Mead Lover's Digest #52 Wed 09 December 1992
Forum for Discussion of Mead Brewing and Consuming
John Dilley, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
Pineapple mead suggestions? (KENYON)
Period sources for Boiling/brewing (Patricia.McGregor)
Carboys--cheap (Joseph Nathan Hall)
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Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1992 07:51 EDT
From: KENYON%LARRY%erevax.BITNET@pucc.Princeton.EDU
Subject: Pineapple mead suggestions?
I'd like to make a Pineapple mead. The plan is to use about 1 gallon of
canned pineapple juice and 12# of clover honey for a 5-gallon batch. I'm
looking for suggestions on quantities and for other fruits/spices/honeys
that would blend well and add character to this drink. Thanks in advance
-Chuck-
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Date: Tue, 8 Dec 92 10:34:50 EST
From: Patricia.McGregor@um.cc.umich.edu
Subject: Period sources for Boiling/brewing
On 12/8 "Rick (R.) Cavasin" <cav@bnr.ca> said:
> About Dick's question on boiling the must:
> The fact that there is something there to scoop out when the must is
> heated indicates that something is being coagulated by the heat.
> My understanding is that this is albumin-like proteins, wax, etc.
> Whether or not removing this will affect the taste of the final product
> is another question, but the concensus seems to be that it can
> contribute some off flavours (never tried an A/B comparison).
> I think alot depends on the particular honey as well. If you want
> to convince yourself that there is something there to precipitate,
> try forced cooling your must after a brief pasturization or gentle
> boil. In the honey I use, this causes the immediate formation of
> this really wierd sponge-like precipitate that slowly collapses into
> a sediment on the bottom. I don't know many people who advocate
> long boils (indeed, some 17th century meadmakers stipulate that the
> must should only be boiled briefly once the honey is added).
> If you're making a fairly strong mead, I don't see why you couldn't
> get away with not sterilizing the must providing a good yeast starter
> is used. If I recall correctly, all the recipes in Digby prescribe
> at least a brief boil.
Over the summer I was pleased/amused to find several period sources
which advocated boiling the must and skimming the scum, particularly
since the main book I learned mead-making from says explicitly that
medieval meads were obviously horrible since they were never boiled
and had no quality control.
The sources were:
El Libro de Cocina, a 15th C. Spanish cookbook put out by their
equivalent of the Early English Text Society
Tallevand
"A little book of ancient recipes", collated in 1650 from recipes as
old as 1485~.
Pat McGregor, smor@um.cc.umich.edu
(ann arbor, mi)
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Date: Tue, 8 Dec 92 19:13:15 EDT
From: joseph@joebloe.maple-shade.nj.us (Joseph Nathan Hall)
Subject: Carboys--cheap
> Just thought I'd mention that 3 gallon glass carboys can be found.
> I picked one up at Fun Fermentations in Orange County, CA a couple
> of years ago, specifically for mead, strong beer, and "experimental
> batches", when I don't necessarily want an entire 5 gallons. They're
> made in Italy, I believe that they're imported by Crosby & Baker. I
> remember it being quite expensive, probably close to $20, but I really
> like it. I can do a closed primary in a 5 gallon carboy (plenty of
> head space), and then rack into the 3 gallon for secondary.
Yes, you can pay nearly $20 for them by buying through a homebrew
shop. On the other hand, you can go to your friendly hippie-run (no
offense, not much anyway) coop and get them for $8 each. Most beermaking
supplies can be ordered through a coop for roughly wholesale prices.
The only disadvantage of this system is that sometimes these folks
are so laid back that they don't place your order for several months.
uunet!joebloe!joseph (609) 273-8200 day joseph%joebloe@uunet.uu.net
2102 Ryan's Run East Rt 38 & 41 Maple Shade NJ 08052
- -----My employer isn't paying for this, and my opinions are my own-----
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End of Mead Lover's Digest
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