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Mead Lovers Digest #0206
Mead Lover's Digest #206 Thu 16 September 1993
Forum for Discussion of Mead Brewing and Consuming
John Dilley, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #205 (September 15, 1993) (Kelly Jones)
RE: obtaining consistent sweetness in finished meads ("Bob Jones")
re: Yeast attenuation, pyment, hippocras (Dick Dunn)
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Date: Wed, 15 Sep 93 05:21:37 -0600
From: Kelly Jones <k-jones@ee.utah.edu>
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #205 (September 15, 1993)
In Mead Lover's Digest #205
jmiller@genome.wi.mit.edu (Joyce Miller) asks:
>Does any one out there know the attenuation of various mead-type yeasts,
>namely: Red Star Pasteur Champagne,
> " Pris de Mousse
> " Montrachet
>Vierka Mead Yeast
>I'd like to be able to reliably make a slightly sweet mead, and I need to
>know the EXACT percentage alcohol these wee beasties will konk out at.
There may be some confusion here between attenuation, which is related
to the percentage of available sugars a yeast will convert to alcohol,
and alcohol tolerance, which is the maximum percentage the yeast can
tolerate.
Also, I believe you are asking for trouble by assuming that a yeast
has a given, constant alcohol tolerance, then using enough sugars to
produce that much alcohol plus an extra dose for sweetness. Alcohol
tolerance will vary, depending upon many factors such as nutrients
available, possible mutations/variations in the yeast, and just what
mood your yeast happen to be in that day.
A better way to do this is to shoot for a mead/wine of, say, 12%.
When hydrometer readings show that this sugar has all fermented dry,
add a bit more sugar (sugar meaning honey or whatever). When this has
again fermented dry, add a bit more. Continue until the yeast refuses
to cooperate any more (the hydrometer will not drop further). At this
point, you have reached the alcohol tolerance for that yeast in that
batch, and you may now add whatever additional sugar is desired for
sweetness.
Good Luck,
Kelly
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Date: Wed, 15 Sep 1993 07:28:42 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Bob Jones" <bjones@novax.llnl.gov>
Subject: RE: obtaining consistent sweetness in finished meads
> From: jmiller@genome.wi.mit.edu (Joyce Miller)
> Subject: Yeast attenuation, pyment, hippocras
>
> Does any one out there know the attenuation of various mead-type yeasts,
> namely: Red Star Pasteur Champagne,
> " Pris de Mousse
> " Montrachet
> Vierka Mead Yeast
>
> I'd like to be able to reliably make a slightly sweet mead, and I need to
> know the EXACT percentage alcohol these wee beasties will konk out at.
>
The most relibale and consistent method for obtaining a specific residual
sweetness in a finished mead is to taste, taste, taste as the mead nears the
desired end point. Then filter at .5um. Then one can artificially carbonate
if desired. It does take some extra equipment, but is the ONLY consistent
and reliable method I have seen. Yeast attenuation is way too variable a
factor, dependent on too many things for consistent results.
Bob Jones
------------------------------
Date: 15 Sep 93 22:03:00 MDT (Wed)
From: rcd@raven.eklektix.com (Dick Dunn)
Subject: re: Yeast attenuation, pyment, hippocras
jmiller@genome.wi.mit.edu (Joyce Miller) asks:
> Does any one out there know the attenuation of various mead-type yeasts,
> namely: Red Star Pasteur Champagne,
> " Pris de Mousse
> " Montrachet
> Vierka Mead Yeast
> I'd like to be able to reliably make a slightly sweet mead, and I need to
> know the EXACT percentage alcohol these wee beasties will konk out at.
The answer is easy, but it's not what you want: There is no exact percen-
tage. Alcohol tolerance of yeast is influenced by all sorts of things
other than the strain of yeast, including but not limited to:
- fermentation temperature (greater attenuation at higher temps,
within normal fermentation limits of course)
- acidity (proper acid levels increase attenuation)
- nutrients needed by yeast (adequate nutrients increase
attenuation)
- types and proportions of sugars present in the must (some sugars
are fermented hardly at all, or only under most favorable con-
ditions)
If you're making a still (non-sparkling) mead, the answer is fairly easy:
Ferment it out, stabilize with potassium sorbate, sweeten to taste. Yes,
it's a preservative, but it's dependable. It's one of the less obnoxious
preservatives, but when all's said and done it's still a preservative.
If you're trying to make a sweet, sparkling mead by calculating the sugar
so that the yeast just carbonate the mead correctly and then give up the
ghost...the best advice I can give is "Please don't try this at home."
It's an obviously logical idea, but the yeast may not cooperate and you run
a very real risk of making bottle bombs. Apologies if this isn't what you
had in mind, but I feel I should write the caution because exploding (over-
carbonated) bottles are seriously dangerous.
One last point: how would you measure "exact" alcohol content? This is
tricky, particularly with residual sugar. Alcohol and sugar both mess
around with specific gravity, boiling point, etc.; I don't know a good way
for a home zymurgist to get a single-measurement alcohol reading. (I note
that Joyce writes from a place that sounds like it might have serious lab
equipment and procedures for making such measurements...if so, I'm still
interested in how it's done.)
---
Dick Dunn rcd@eklektix.com -or- raven!rcd Boulder, Colorado USA
...Simpler is better.
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End of Mead Lover's Digest
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