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Mead Lovers Digest #0303
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #303, 12 May 1994
From: mead-lovers-request@eklektix.com
Mead Lover's Digest #303 12 May 1994
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
vintage honey ("Daniel F McConnell")
Tej ("Larry Lynch-Freshner")
Priming with Honey? (SPEAKER.CURTIS)
Yeast nutrients in Mead (Mark Ottenberg)
Aging Mead (John DeCarlo x7116)
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------------------------------
Subject: vintage honey
From: "Daniel F McConnell" <Daniel.F.McConnell@med.umich.edu>
Date: 11 May 1994 14:15:14 -0400
Subject: vintage honey
Robb Harris asks about old honey:
>I also started a batch 2 weeks ago using S. Californian honey my father
>raised. The honey is about 17 years old, and taste fine when it was added.
>Are their any +'s or -'s to using old honey?
Here is some information on enzyme content and storage of honey. Most
of the information was taken from Eva Crane's book and a USDA Technical
bulletin by Jonathan White. The bottom line is that if the honey was not
stored at or below 0 F the character has certainly changed. I am sure that
it will still make mead, and perhaps since this stuff in not _just_ old,
but _vintage_, the mead character will be very unique. So FWIW.....
ENZYMES
Enzymes are very critical ingredients in honey. The sucrose contained in
floral nectar is converted into dextrose and levulose (the invert sugars)
by the enzyme invertase, also known as saccharase or sucrase. Invertase
activity is believed to begin in the bee, and continues indefinitely
barring excessive heat exposure. Diastase is also present in honey, along
with glucose oxidase, catalase and phosphatases.
STORAGE AND STABILITY
Honey is not widely considered to be a fragile substance, but for the
purposes of brewing, it should be considered as such. The volatility of
the aroma constituents makes pasteurization an unappealing option,
and there are a number of other problems which can result from age
and improper storage.
>From the time the honey is produced by the bee, its constitution is in
a constant state of change. Invertase is continually working on the
sucrose content to convert it to levulose. There is additional evidence
to indicate that as much as 9% of the dextrose may be converted to
more complex sugars, thus changing the balance of levulose to dextrose.
Additionally, gluconic acid is a primary by-product of the invertase
conversion process, and other acids may be added to the blend as the
result of additional enzymatic activity. Some honeys have an
appreciable increase in acid content during storage. Diastase, due to
its own instability, will tend to decrease in storage, and color in
virtually all honey stored at room temperature will darken.
Perhaps the most hazardous of all storage problems is granulation
or crystallization. Honey granulates by building up dextrose around
a "crystal nucleus" of a dextrose crystal, dust particle or pollen
grain, and will crystallize most rapidly when stored at temperatures
between 50 F and 60 F, (the optimal temperature for initialization of
crystallization is 41 F to 45 F). Crystallization is particularly
hazardous to unpasteurized honey because the concentration of solids
around the crystal creates a higher moisture content (above the
critical 18 - 19% level) in the residual uncrystallized honey. This in
turn promotes fermentation, resulting in alcohol and, in the presence
of oxygen, the alcohol will break down to acetic acid and water. If
crystallization is present, and a distinct separation of solids and
liquids is apparent, your honey is at distinct risk of fermentation.
The end result is honey which is sour and definitely not conducive to
premium mead creation. The moral of the story is, don't buy your
honey in August, put it in the basement at 55 degrees for months, and
then haul it out and brew with it when its old and crystallized.
All of these problems can be avoided through immediate use of fresh
honey, or through proper storage of your honey. The ideal temperature
for long term storage is 0 F or below, as honey kept at very low
temperatures, even for prolonged periods, shows little or no degradation
of flavor, color, aroma or its other physical properties. If freezing is
not an option, short term storage between 61 F and 80 F is the best
option, and storage above 80 F will cause particularly rapid deterioration
of color, flavor and enzyme content.
DanMcC
------------------------------
Subject: Tej
From: "Larry Lynch-Freshner" <Larry_Lynch-Freshner@taligent.com>
Date: 11 May 1994 11:17:39 -0800
Tej
About 2 years ago, I got a recipe for Tej from the owner of a local (now
defunct) Eretreian (sp?) resteraunt. The owner made here own Tej, and sold it
(probably illegally) in the place. I'm still madly looking for it to post
here, but I do remember a few details. It was sweet, consumed after only a
few weeks. It had hops, but was not boiled, so they were for flavor, not
bitterness (thus the distiction from mead ale). I also remember that it was
fairly cloudy.
Still Looking...
Larry
------------------------------
Subject: Priming with Honey?
From: CSS2@OAS.PSU.EDU (SPEAKER.CURTIS)
Date: Wed, 11 May 1994 15:52 EDT
I'm thinking about trying to make me next batch of mead sparkling...Has anyone
tried priming mead at bottling time with honey instead of corn sugar? What
would be the appropriate amount for a 5 gal. batch? I've heard some
beermakers on the "other" digest say that they use 1/3 cup for 5
gallons...Does that sound about right? Would more make a sweeter mead, or
just overcarbonate it? Does it take longer to develop carbonation (given the
amount of time mead spends in the bottle, I hardly think that this is an
issue)? Any advice on this subject would be greatly appreciated; private
email is welcome...:)
Curt Speaker
css2@oas.psu.edu
------------------------------
Subject: Yeast nutrients in Mead
From: Mark Ottenberg <marko@cap.gwu.edu>
Date: Wed, 11 May 1994 20:56:31 -0400 (EDT)
Greetings Sean:
Yup! Get some yeast nutrients!! Yeast beasties seem to need nutrients
that honey alone cannot well provide. My first batch of mead was made
without the benefit of nutrients. Geologic is a good description of the
time span on this one. I eventually wised up and added nutrients, acid,
etc and after a quick finish, finally bottled after a combined year! Now
I have to let it age probably between 6 mo and another year!
>From what I understand and am finding, with nutrients etc, etc, meads can
finish primary fermentation in as little as a month and be ready for
bottling in about 3 months.
Nitrients can also keep your yeasties from pooping out. My first batch
did just that, but when I added nutrients, it sprang back to furious life
and moved right along!!
Welcome to the world of mead brewing!!
-- Mark
------------------------------
Subject: Aging Mead
From: John DeCarlo x7116 <jdecarlo@homebrew.mitre.org>
Date: Thu, 12 May 94 08:17:27 EST
Robb S. Harris writes:
>Also, have any of you aged mead in gallon volumes? I have some antique
>1 gal jugs that will hold a wine cork. I know that bigger quanities
>(22oz. bottles compaired to 12oz. bottles) will help in better aging.
>If I use these I will probably have to bottle the mead without
>carbonation, I don't think the corks would hold otherwise.
Hmmm.
I guess it depends on what you mean by aging mead. I have only aged
mead in 5 gallon carboys (15 months before bottling). Hey, if you have
the space, carboys are relatively cheap. Of course, my mead is now in
the bottle four months and I will keep some around awhile and it will
continue to age. Still, I think it worthwhile to consider aging it in
bulk over a year before bottling.
You are right that bottles not built for carbonated beverages are unsafe
for carbonated beverages--not built to withstand the pressure. Either
the cork will come out or the bottle will break.
John DeCarlo, MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA--My views are my own
Fidonet: 1:109/131 Internet: jdecarlo@mitre.org
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #303
