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Mead Lovers Digest #0504
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #504, 18 October 1996
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #504 18 October 1996
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Mail order? (Peter Miller)
Pomegranite mead (Neal Dunsieth)
Fermenting Molasses (Douglas Thomas)
Help with my starter... (Steve)
unsubscribe (Steve McKeeby (Phone 616-342-3102 - Fax 616-342-3718)
PH level (John Taylor)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Mail order?
From: ocean@mpx.com.au (Peter Miller)
Date: Tue, 15 Oct 1996 11:39:55 +1000
Hi to all. I'm new on this list, tho' not to mead/wine making having been
at it (on & off) for some 10-12 years now. I have recently been shunted
back into the fray after opening an eleven year old Lemongrass Melomel, one
of two remaining bottles. Impressed? I think so, if I do say so meself...
I have a couple of questions that I'd like ask:
Are there any other Australian mead makers reading the list? Aside from my
direct circle of acquaintance I am not aware of any amateur mead makers
here. We do have at least one commercial meadery (Mount Vincent in the
Hunter Valley in NSW).
I am also looking for a good mail-order mead/wine making supply company
(with comprehensive catalogues). Many years ago when I first started it was
reasonable easy to obtain equipment and ingredients, but over the years
most of the brew shops (at least in my area) have become increasingly beer
oriented. Consequently even basic things like corks & bottle "foils" are
now getting difficult to get. I would obviously prefer a good local company
(Aust. or NZ) but would welcome suggestions for places in the U.S. or U.K.
that ship internationally (at a reasonable rate...)
Best,
Peter
------ < ocean@mpx.com.au > -----
Perpetual Ocean Music & Sound Design
http://www.mpx.com.au/~ocean/
------------------------------
Subject: Pomegranite mead
From: chaucer@erinet.com (Neal Dunsieth)
Date: Tue, 15 Oct 1996 09:30:29 -0400 (EDT)
My thanks to the folks that have responded regarding competition questions.
In my request for info I mentioned a pomegranite melo-meth which sparked
some interest from Sheryl Nance-Durst in the last MLD. As I looked back
through old digests, I came to realize that my "inspiration" dates back to
some discussion in April/May of pomegranietes in mead. It started with some
questions from Brian McGovney (chemist@io.com) in MLD #468
>Has anyone ever
>attempted a pomegranate mead before (I can't imagine that NO ONE has...) if
>not, GREAT! I get to contribute something new to the discussion here. If
>so, GREAT! I get to pick your brain.
It got a fair response. Some basic questions were answered by Dick Dunn in
the next issue. Rather than paste the entire reply, I would refer you to
his discussion in MLD #469 for some helpful information starting out. An
exchange between Robert Tisdale (tisdale@entomology.msstate.edu) and Rebecca
Sobol (sobol@ofps.ucar.edu) in MLD's #472 and 473 brought out this recipie
that you might want to look into.
>Brew date: June 5, 1995
>10 pounds raw alfalfa honey from Terry Dorsey (a local beekeeper).
>5 t yeast nutrient
>1 t gypsum
>Eldorado Springs water - enough for 5 gallons
>1 package Lalvin (EC-1118 we think) Yeast - started June 2 in honey water.
>6 qts. R.W. Knudsen Pomegranate juice
>
>Heat honey with water to almost boiling. Add gypsum and yeast nutrient.
>Skim scum. Keep hot for about 10 minutes to pasturize. Add juice and let
>sit covered (heat off) for 20 minutes. Cool, pour into carboy and add water
>to make 5 gallons. Pitch yeast. Stir and store with blow-off tube.
>
>Racked on July 7, 1995.
>Hydrometer reading (8/2) = 0.995.
>Hydrometer reading (10/12) = 0.995.
>
>3/4 cup corn sugar boiled with 1 cup water. Pour liquid sugar into pail,
>rack mead into pail and stir before bottling. Bottled October 12, 1995.
>- -+-+-+-+-+-+-
>This mead still has a nice red color, but it's fading to orange. Good
>pomegranate flavor comes through nicely. It's pretty dry and doesn't
>really sparkle. Still has a bite that I associate with a young mead
>that needs more aging. The last few sips from my glass tasted better
>and more like pomegranates than the first few sips.
Spicing can be variable, but I found the local health food store clerk an
amazing resource. I started out with some dried elder and juniper berries,
and she suggested that I balance it with jasmine and a small amount of
hibiscus. The jasmine-hibiscus combination is something I'm starting to use
a little more in lieu of traditional spicing. I also find that some mead
brewers I've talked to in the Dayton area use Celestial Seasonings teas to
balance out their mead. That tactic has also worked for me in a number of
batches.
But with the strong character of pomegranite juice, marriage to the right
honey is also something to consider. You can get a little more exotic
without detracting from the flavor. I used Tupelo honey which adds to the
spicy character of the mead. It really did the job well, but alfalfa seems
a logical choice as well. I was not looking to bring out the pomegranite
character so much as balance the mead, so to a gallon of melometh I only
added about a half cup of strong juice. Otherwise my recipie is not much
different than what I've seen floating around the digest.
I hope that answers your questions and sparks a few more.
Later
Neal
Parting Shot:
In a Blackwood article nothing makes so fine a show as your Greek. The very
letters have an air of profundity about them. Only observe, madam, the
astute look of that Epsilon!
Edgar Poe, "How to Write a Blackwood Article"
------------------------------
Subject: Fermenting Molasses
From: Douglas Thomas <thomasd@uchastings.edu>
Date: Tue, 15 Oct 1996 07:52:14 -0700 (PDT)
Last year I made a strawberry "Tawny Port" of my own design. It involved
feeding the must with alternately, 1# of molasses and 1# of white sugar.
It took a long long time, but got the alcohol up to 16% and a very good
strawberry taste. The molasses imparted a nice, depth of taste and
bouquet to the whole thing. Also, rather than the strawberries looking
un-naturally red, the port became a dark mellow red. I used only
"UNSULFITED" molasses. Some have high sulfar levels in them to prevent
spoilage.
Well, hope this helps
Doug Thomas
------------------------------
Subject: Help with my starter...
From: Steve <srockey@egyptian.net>
Date: Tue, 15 Oct 1996 22:27:23 -0500
Help,
I recently made a starter for my first batch of mead. I used 2 cups of
=
Welches White grapejuice, a half teaspoon of Fermax, and Wyeast 3184. I =
have waited two days for a Krausen to appear, and all I am getting are a =
few areas of small bubbles on the surface. If I shake the mixture a =
bit, there is a nice layer of krausen on the surface, but it only lasts =
an hour or so. =20
Is the mead yeast that different from the ale yeast I'm used to? Will =
it not form a good krausen?
Can I add some more juice to the starter to make a larger starter? =
There is already a small layer of sediment on the bottom.
Thanks,
Steve Rockey
srockey@egyptian.net
------------------------------
Subject: unsubscribe
From: uucp-1.csn.net!tcpcs3.dnet.etn.com!mckeeby (Steve McKeeby (Phone 616-342-3
102 - Fax 616-342-3718))
Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1996 06:26:41 -0400
unsubscribe
------------------------------
Subject: PH level
From: jltaylor@ix.netcom.com (John Taylor)
Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1996 15:28:20 GMT
If someone could point me toward, or tell me about, the method of
controling the ph to speed fermintation.
Do you control the ph in both primary and secondary?
How often do you ajust it?
How do you ajust it?
- --------------------------------------------
John Taylor [JLTaylor@ix.netcom.com]
Brew Stud pico-Brewery Austin, Texas <<Cofounder>>
Specializing in hand crafted ales & meads
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #504
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