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Mead Lovers Digest #0607
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #607, 29 October 1997
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #607 29 October 1997
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Yeast starter question (Harlan Bauer)
Pectic Enzyme Data Point ("John Heubel")
the color of mead (Dick Dunn)
Vanilla mead ("David Johnson")
Neutralizing acid (Spencer W Thomas)
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Subject: Yeast starter question
From: blacksab@midwest.net (Harlan Bauer)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 1997 02:11:44 -0600
Being new to mead-making, but not to home brewing, I wanted to know what you
all use as the medium for your yeast starters. I tend to use pure cultures,
either liquid or from slants. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
TTYL,
Harlan
Harlan Bauer ...malt does more than Milton can
Carbondale, IL To justify God's ways to man.
<blacksab@midwest.net> --A.E. Houseman
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Subject: Pectic Enzyme Data Point
From: "John Heubel" <jlheubel@wf.net>
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 1997 21:28:55 -0600
Howdy,
Awhile back I asked some questions about pectic enzyme, boiling the fruits,
etc for a Prickly Pear Cactus melomel I was undertaking. The recipe said to
boil the fruits, so I did. I later read (in response to a post on r.c.b.)
that you should use the enzyme prior to fermentation as alcohol tends to
inhibit its action. Well, I decided to use it anyway, even though there's
about 17# of Mesquite honey (so far!) in this 5 gal batch. I've been
adding it to gradually sweeten the mead but it keeps fermenting down
(Prisse de Mousse). Anyway, I preboiled/chilled some water and added 3
Tbsp of the enzyme and the mead dropped clear within a week. So it does
work in some pretty high alcohol.
A question: did I just *brute force* it with way too much enzyme for a 5
gallon batch? How much is a *normal* amount to add? I've also thought of
adding a little food coloring (heresy I know) to get that crimson color
back which the fruit showed when I cut them open. Right now it's sort of a
golden to blush color. Any thoughts? I know many meadmakers are
minimalists when it comes to additives (and I'll try that approach too - in
time) but this is my first and I want it to look just right. Will the
coloring affect the flavor any? Are there any natural colorings I could
use that wouldn't?
John Heubel
Wichita Falls, TX
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Subject: the color of mead
From: rcd@talisman.com (Dick Dunn)
Date: 27 Oct 97 21:23:43 MST (Mon)
This ought to be one for the measurement freaks. (Anybody got a trans-
mission spectrometer handy?)
In all of my straight meads, as well as any meads with additions that
didn't obviously affect the color, I have noticed a particular cast of
color. If I were being mundane, I'd describe it as light gray-ish; if I
were being romantic I'd describe it as a platinum hue. (If I were feeling
nearly as romantic but more proletarian, I'd say "pewter" instead:-) Well,
"whatever"...I know I can recognize it easily, and I'm curious what it is.
When I say I can recognize it easily, I mean that if you were to pour a
traditional mead that finished light, and then pour something similar in
apparent light color wine (say, a Sauvignon Blanc), the mead would have
an obvious cast that would allow you to identify it right away.
When I say I'm curious what it is, I mean (in the measurement-freak sense)
that I'd like to know what's unique or unusual about the color that makes
it stand out so. And, of course, in the more general sense I would like to
know what this color-characteristic comes from.
I'm also curious whether other folks on the MLD have noticed this curious
color of mead.
- ---
Dick Dunn rcd, domain talisman.com Boulder County, Colorado USA
...Reality is neat! It works even if you don't believe in it!
------------------------------
Subject: Vanilla mead
From: "David Johnson" <dmjalj@inwave.com>
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 01:23:07 -0600
I am in the planning stages of a vanilla mead. I am planning on using beans
instead of extract. I also intend on using Lalvin K1-V1116. I would like
some info on using beans in mead and and the fermentation characteristics of
this yeast (specifically I need to know the alcohol tolerance since I would
like to leave a little sweetness. I plan to either bottle still or force
carbonate.
Also, when researching the archives on this subject, I ran across Michael
Hall's "Treatise on Mead Judging" and found it fascinating. It was before I
joined the list, I was wondering what kind of discussion it started. Dave
------------------------------
Subject: Neutralizing acid
From: Spencer W Thomas <spencer@engin.umich.edu>
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 10:17:45 -0500
I hauled out a very acidic melomel the other night to try doing an
acid neutralization experiment. I drew off some and measured the
acid content. Unfortunately, I overflowed the test vial before
completely neutralizing the acid, but it appeared to be about 1.25%.
So then I took about 20ml and mixed it with CaCO3 (foam city!) and let
it settle. The supernatant (no centrifuge!) was still a bit cloudy,
but I poured it into a glass and tasted it. Bitter. Darn! Then I
added an equal amount of untreated mead. It cleared instantly and
tasted fine, with a reasonable acid balance.
So, says I, let's see what happens with larger quantities. So I ran
off a bit less than a bottle full into a clear bottle and added 1/4tsp
CaCO3. After foaming and swirling, it appeared to be all dissolved.
I kept up this process, eventually adding a total of 1tsp of CaCO3.
At this point there was a bit of undissolved sediment at the bottom.
(So how much CaCO3 do I need to neutralize 1.5 gallons?!) I carefully
poured it off into two other bottles (1/2 each) and filled each to the
top with untreated mead. I capped them and stuck them in the basement
to "meld".
More on this later, after I've gotten some feedback from others on the
blended bottles.
=Spencer Thomas in Ann Arbor, MI (spencer@umich.edu)
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End of Mead Lover's Digest #607
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