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Mead Lovers Digest #0239
Mead Lover's Digest #239 3 December 1993
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
Removal of beeswax from honey. (Malcolm Roe)
Re: maple??? (Richard Beach)
vinegar in mead (ehlert@msuces.canr.msu.edu)
Re: Campden tablets (Dick Dunn)
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Subject: Removal of beeswax from honey.
From: roe@crosfield.co.uk (Malcolm Roe)
Date: Wed, 1 Dec 1993 13:28:34 +0000 (GMT)
James W. Smith asks:
> Now I'm the proud owner of 22 jars of orange blossom honey with the comb.
> How am I going to get that much wax out of the honey? Any good skimming
> techniques?
The melting point of beeswax is just over 60 degrees C. (I don't have
my books here to look up the exact temperature.) Also it is less dense
than honey so separation is easy.
Put the mixture of comb and honey in a container. Put the container in
the oven set to a somewhat higher themperature than the wax melting
point and wait until the honey has warmed right through. The wax will
melt and rise to the surface. Take the container out of the oven and
leave for a few hours or overnight and you will find all the wax
solidified and floating on the surface rather like ice floating on water.
This method is often used by beekeepers to extract honey that has
crystallised in the comb. (The heat liquifies crystallised honey as well
as wax.)
Don't get the honey too hot or leave it too long. You can easily see
once the wax has all melted. If you overdo it there is a risk of loosing
some of the substances that give the honey it's flavour.
--
Malcolm Roe Phone : +44 442 230000 ext 4104
Crosfield Electronics Ltd Fax : +44 442 232301
Hemel Hempstead, Herts. HP2 7RH, UK E-mail : roe@crosfield.co.uk
------------------------------
Subject: Re: maple???
From: Richard Beach <rbeach@advtech.uswest.com>
Date: Wed, 1 Dec 93 11:04:37 MST
I've made two "meads" using just maple syrup and water. Yes they
are dreadfully expensive, but they have been small batches, and I was
experimenting. The first one was a little too sweet after fermenting
out, and a little thick feeling in the mouth. The maple flavor was
fairly pronounced, and after 9 monthes or so it was pretty good in small
quantities.
The first bunch had been like a one-to-one mixture by volume of
water and maple syrup. I tend to think fementation stopped because the
alcohol level just got too high for the Red Star shampaigne yeast (poor
little beasties).
The next try was two-to-one water and maple. It came out much
more drinkable, and almost dry. About the only flavor it has is the maple.
On a whim we mixed some of it with some ginger-ale (Canada Dry type, not
home-made), and it was excelent.
I'm planning to do another small batch soon, and add some ginger
to it. I'll let the mailing list know how it turn out (sometime next year :)
Richard.
------------------------------
Subject: vinegar in mead
From: ehlert@msuces.canr.msu.edu
Date: Thu, 2 Dec 1993 07:26:36 -0500
I did my first two batches of mead. Started two months ago, Oct 1.
One 2 lb batch and one 3 lb batch following Papazian in TNewCJOH.
I have one small problem. There is a vinegar overtone to the 2 lb batch. It
smells and tastes of it. Does anyone have any ideas why this may be there?
It cleared right away and has quite a kick not much flavor but a lot of
alcohol. I am wondering if I let them sit too long before the first racking,
2 weeks, they were going along like gangbusters at first.
There is already a clearing question in MLD #238 so I won't repeat that one.
Thanks.
Brian Ehlert
ehlert@msuces.canr.msu.edu
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Campden tablets
From: rcd@raven.eklektix.com (Dick Dunn)
Date: 3 Dec 93 00:38:51 MST (Fri)
"George R. Flentke" <GRFLENTK@vms2.macc.wisc.edu> writes:
> ...Sulfites can be difficult for people with allergies and
> asthma. Because some people respond very violently, all commercial
> wines that use sulfites must label their products...
George is right...anyone who has a problem with sulfites (and may have
found out via allergy to normal wine) will want to avoid mead that has been
stabilized along the way with sulfites.
There are a couple of things to realize about sulfites in wine and the
sulfite warnings--not to pooh-pooh them, but only to keep perspective:
* Most wines have been made using sulfites all along. The practice is
a very old one; it's the labeling requirement that's relatively new.
(Your '76 d'Yquem and that '82 Petrus have sulfites in them even if the
labels don't say so.;-)
* Many other foods have added sulfites...the anecdote is that if other
foods required sulfite labeling at the same level as wines, every salad
bar in the country would have a warning sign.
On a related note...
I'm curious just how many people use Campden tablets (sulfite), how many
really boil the must, how many fuss and heat tentatively to near-boiling...
I've given some thought to whether we might survey mead-lovers about their
mead-making techniques.
---
Dick Dunn rcd@eklektix.com -or- raven!rcd Boulder, Colorado USA
...Simpler is better.
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End of Mead Lover's Digest #239
