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Mead Lovers Digest #0264
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #264, 6 February 1994
From: mead-lovers-request@eklektix.com
Mead Lover's Digest #264 6 February 1994
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
Mead a la champenoise (Ralph Snel)
Aging Meads? (John DeCarlo)
BJCP Exam Offered (Jim Liddil)
Sweet Mead ("Larry Lynch-Freshner")
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #263, 3 February 1994 (Jane Beckman)
mead holding carbonation? (Dick Dunn)
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------------------------------
Subject: Mead a la champenoise
From: Ralph Snel <ralph@astro.lu.se>
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 94 10:23:33 MET
The recent discussion on carbonating mead reminded me of one single
bottle that I still have lying around (a loooong way away from where
I live currently though). It's a carbonated mead, made somewhere in
1991, in a champagne bottle, nicely stored up-side-down with all
the yeast in the top, ready to be frozen.
I have tried the method before, it's a lot of work, but it actually
works pretty well. Chill the bottles to near freezing, make an ice
bath of crushed (!) ice, a bit of water and a lot of salt, and put
the bottles in the ice bath, about half an inch more than the yeast
in the neck of the bottle. Wait a few minutes (about 10-30, depending
on the thickness of the glass and quality of you ice bath) and pop
the cork or capsule, holding the bottle upright this time. Depending
on the carbonation you have you'll lose a part of the contents of
the bottle, but it shouldn't be too much. I've tried recorking after
this, but I noticed that a lot of the carbonation was gone when I
drunk the wine. I suggest drinking it immediately, but it does pose
some problems....
I've never managed to get the nice small bubbles you have in
champagne, I usually get the big coke-sized bubbles. I've heard
that the bubble size decreases as the wine ages, so it might be worth
it to open that mead soon (or in a few years from now).
In general I think that it's not worth it carbonating meads.
It's a lot of work, and it has an adverse effect on the taste,
IMHO. But for those who like carbonation, go for it!
Cheers,
Ralph
------------------------------
Subject: Aging Meads?
From: John DeCarlo <jdecarlo@homebrew.mitre.org>
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 94 08:20:11 EST
Hmmm. Could you give me some information on when you bottle? I made a
very simple straightforward mead (1 gallon honey for 5 gallons of mead)
and kept it in a fermenter for about 13 months (racking several times).
I bottled it in December and was drinking it (and getting good reviews
from meadmakers I know) in a couple of weeks.
Yet I hear of people who bottle in 4-6 months and then age in the bottle
another 6 months to a year.
Any comments on trade-offs involved would be very welcome.
John DeCarlo, MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA--My views are my own
Fidonet: 1:109/131 Internet: jdecarlo@mitre.org
------------------------------
Subject: BJCP Exam Offered
From: Jim Liddil <JLIDDIL@AZCC.Arizona.EDU>
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 1994 8:31:05 -0700 (MST)
The Old Pueblo Homebrewers will be offering
The Beer Judge Certification Program Exam
On May 7, 1994 at 10:00 am
The exam is tentatively scheduled to be offered at
2332 E. Adams St.
Tucson, AZ 85719
The fee is $50 for first time takers and $30 for retakes. The NON-refundable
fee must be recieved to the address listed above by April 1, 1994. Please make
checks payable to "Old Pueblo Homebrewers". If you have any questions feel
free to contact me via e-mail or call (602)881-8768.
jliddil@azcc.arizona.edu
------------------------------
Subject: Sweet Mead
From: "Larry Lynch-Freshner" <Larry_Lynch-Freshner@taligent.com>
Date: 4 Feb 1994 09:29:35 -0800
Sweet Mead
You don't have to resort to tricks to get a sweet mead. I've had very good
luck making sweet meads by using 3lbs/gal honey and using Epernay 2 yeast.
This is a slow fermenting wine yeast that will finish at a fairly high gravity
(like around 1.020-1.040). I'm not sure I agree that Chaucers is _really_
that sweet though.
Larry
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #263, 3 February 1994
From: jane@swdc.stratus.com (Jane Beckman)
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 94 10:59:47 PST
[Sweet meads, fermentation, etc.]
>Light- 1 lb/gal Honey 1-3 months Ferment time til bottling
>Med- 2 lb/gal 2-5 " aka dittoe
>Heavy 3+/gal 4-8
Are you sure about those? I use 5 lbs of honey to 1 1/2 gallons to get a
reasonably dry mead. Not really sweet at all, but it takes *forever* to
ferment. (I bottled after only 9 weeks, once, and the bottles shot out
their corks like bombs when the furnace switched on for the winter. ;-) )
--Jilara
------------------------------
Subject: mead holding carbonation?
From: rcd@raven.eklektix.com (Dick Dunn)
Date: 6 Feb 94 22:07:45 MST (Sun)
I've got a couple of meads that are really ready to bottle--they've fallen
clear and stopped fermenting--but they still seem to be holding CO2. If I
draw off a sample, there's noticeable carbonation in it. If I draw the
sample with a basting bulb and squirt it out into a glass, there's a rush
of bubbles and a bit of foam on the surface. It's not a lot, but I'd
rather not bottle with it like this when I'm after a still mead. Ideas?
Aside from looking for suggestions, I'm curious what's going on here. It
doesn't seem like the centimeter or so of water in a fermentation lock
would represent enough pressure differential to hold much CO2. And if I
left a soft drink sitting out for a month, I'd certainly expect it to be
completely flat.
---
Dick Dunn rcd@eklektix.com -or- raven!rcd Boulder, Colorado USA
...Mr Natural says, "Get the right tool for the job!"
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #264
