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Mead Lovers Digest #0672
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #672, 23 May 1998
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #672 23 May 1998
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Subject: Wyeast Sweet Mead Yeast opinions? ("Paul A. Hausman")
contamination and melomels ("Belinda Messenger Ph.D.")
...Back in time for the feature! (Charlie Moody)
Sweet Sparkling Mead (Andrew Lynch)
Re: Wyeast Sweet Mead Yeast Opinion ("Mr. Warren Place")
Re: Wyeast sweet mead yeast (NL Steve)
Re:sweet tooth (Peter Miller)
Re: Fermenting with fruit (Peter Miller)
sweet mead (kathy)
metheglin suggestions (WCavender)
Stopping fermentation, one man's opinion. (Ed Iaciofano)
Millennial Meads (Charlie Moody)
Stuck Fermentation (Troy Glover)
NOTE: Digest only appears when there is enough material to send one.
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Subject: Wyeast Sweet Mead Yeast opinions?
From: "Paul A. Hausman" <paul@lion.com>
Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 10:32:49 -0400
I suspect you'll recieve many opinions on this yeast.
I fermented my first two meads with it. Luckily, I had not yet
heard the complaints of others by then or I would have been scared
away from it. My experience has shown both plusses and minuses.
On the minus side:
* It can take forever to ferment out and clear--Use as big a starter
as you can. The extra nutrients from cider addition should help
(it did for me).
* It takes quite a while to mature after bottling.
* By "sweet mead yeast", I believe Wyeast means "you can start
with a pretty high gravity". This is not a high attenuation
yeast but is certainly a bit more agressive than ale yeast.
if you want low alcohol and sweetness, stick to ale yeast.
On the plus side,
* After a year or so in the bottle these were some of the best
meads I've made (YM(and tastes)MV).
> "Andrew M. Hartig" <andrew@butter.ucsb.edu> wrote:
>
> I have been thinking about making a simple cyser (3 qts cider and ~3 lb.
> dark wildflower honey) with a SG of probably not more than 1.120. I am
> interested in this ending up somewhat sweet (maybe medium sweet). My local
> brew supply has a packet of Wyeast Sweet Mead Yeast (#3184?). Any
> opinions on this? Anybody out there have any experience with this one?
> Things I should look out for, or special precautions? Or am I better off
> going with an ale yeast?
- ----
Paul A. Hausman <paul@lion.com>
Lion Technology Inc., Lafayette, NJ, 07848 USA
------------------------------
Subject: contamination and melomels
From: "Belinda Messenger Ph.D." <belindam@agraquest.com>
Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 08:44:45 -0700
>2. How many people have *really* contaminated a mead? One of the things
> I keep noticing over the years is the absence of discussion of contami-
> nated mead...compared to beer it just doesn't happen. I'm not saying
> it's impossible, only that it's awfully rare.
This is a heartening thought, considering that I am despairing over my
Cherry Vanilla Melomel (12 lbs frozen cherries, 15lbs wildflower honey, 2
whole vanilla beans, ale yeast). Up until about a month ago, everything was
going fine, it tasted great (high alcohol (~13%) and still sweet), bubbling
almost stopped, starting to clear. Then I racked it to another carboy
through a sterile 10micrometer filter (hoping to get rid of any remaining
live yeast) and the fermentation went wild...bubbling every 2 seconds. Now
it's stopped, but there's a white film on top. Did I kill my melomel with a
raging bacterial infection?
Belinda
Belinda Messenger, Ph.D
AgraQuest, Inc.
Davis, CA
530-750-0150
------------------------------
Subject: ...Back in time for the feature!
From: Charlie Moody <chmood@mindspring.com>
Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 10:44:06 -0600
Hello, All!
After being out of touch for the whole of '98 so far, I'm back! I've
completed the first stage of my relocation to the Boulder, CO area &
am camped out @ my brother's place in Lafayette, and looking around
for permanent digs.
I have lots of area-specific comments & questions, and I'd like to ask
that list member in the Boulder Valley area who are willing to answer
questions about *good* local sources of supplies, honey & fruit, etc.
please email me, so I can avoid imposing my learning curve on the list
at large.
Congrats to Dick on his new(?) place in Hygiene (lovely area, but
flat!).
Thanks to Stephen Burns for his assurances that mead *can* be moved
long distances - my still-fermenting 6g carboy made it intact, no
spillage (I've yet to test for flavor, herb strength, etc)
Oh, and just so I can start back in w/ a question:
can maple syrup that's begun to ferment on its own (but shows no
contamination) be added to a must w/ good effect?
Enjoy!
- --
Charlie Moody http://www.mindspring.com/~chmood
PGP Fingerprint: 7F 0D 9E 8C 7E DF 33 11 2C 2B B8 19 6C 0F 2C 02
------------------------------
Subject: Sweet Sparkling Mead
From: Andrew Lynch <ampl@anim.dreamworks.com>
Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 10:28:57 -0700
How can I make a sweet sparking mead without force carbonating? I am
looking for a FG of 1.010 - 1.020 range. I currently have 3 batches
using Wyeast Sweet Mead Yeast in various states, but they are finishing
in the 1.030 range. Has anyone had any luck with ale yeast and retaining
some sweetness? I have seen a few people using Edme ale yeast. What was
the FG? If you primed, did you use corn sugar or honey? Did it turn out
sparkling? Thanks!
ampl
- --
Andrew Lynch / Animation Technology / DreamWorks SKG /
ampl@anim.dreamworks.com
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Wyeast Sweet Mead Yeast Opinion
From: "Mr. Warren Place" <wrp2@axe.humboldt.edu>
Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 11:49:56 -0700 (PDT)
Meaders,
Andrew asks about sweet mead using Wyeast. I have finally
composed a few recipies I have been happy with using this yeast. I think
as long as you keep the pH high (about 3.5-4.0), add nutrient, and pitch a
large starter, you should be okay. For the mead he suggested though,
containing 3 qts of cider and 3 lbs. of honey, this yeast would make a
mead undrinkable sweet(might be good on pancakes). I've found that when
using juice (I've tried apple and blackberry) you don't need to worry
about adding a lot of nutrient. I only add a tablespoon for 5 gallons.
For honey, I find that it's best to use 2 pounds or less. Then, if its
not quite as sweet as you like, you can add a little more. I've made 2
meads with variations to this recipe with sweet success!
Warren Place
wrp2@axe.humboldt.edu
www.humboldt.edu/~wrp2
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Wyeast sweet mead yeast
From: NL Steve <NLSteve@aol.com>
Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 18:55:50 EDT
Andrew asks:
<< I have been thinking about making a simple cyser (3 qts cider and ~3 lb.
dark wildflower honey) with a SG of probably not more than 1.120. I am
interested in this ending up somewhat sweet (maybe medium sweet). My local
brew supply has a packet of Wyeast Sweet Mead Yeast (#3184?). Any
opinions on this? Anybody out there have any experience with this one?
Things I should look out for, or special precautions? Or am I better off
going with an ale yeast? >>
I used that yeast once & it fermented out to about 10.5% alcohol, which I'm
told is about typical. So the OG you describe would leave you with a very
sweet mead. Also, I accidentally stopped fermentation merely by racking
during the primary, and had to re-pitch -- it does have a temperamental
reputation & does also require nutrient. So be nice to it. But it is
designed to leave plenty of honey flavor behind. So unless you get any better
advice, I'd say start with a gravity of around 1.000 to 1.010, pitch a good
starter culture of 3184, use nutrients,& enjoy. (It is possible that
nutrients won't be necessary due to your apple juice, particularly if it's
unfiltered, but I don't know.) -- Steve
------------------------------
Subject: Re:sweet tooth
From: Peter Miller <ocean@wr.com.au>
Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 14:04:59 +1000
>From: jfischer@access.digex.net
>Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 10:51:14 -0400
>
>OK, I admit it...I like sweet mead...really sweet...most of the
>recipies/tips I've seen are for making sure your mead isn't too sweet
>rather than the other way around...it may be declasse' but...how do you
>get a sweet mead?
Nothing wrong with liking sweet mead, but avoid the kind of product that
comes because you were too impatient to wait out the proper process and
bottled a low-alcohol high- sugar syrup (what my circle lovingly refers
to as cough medicine...). IMHO any good sweet mead must be offset by a
suitably high alcohol balance, in the same way you might make a tokay or
port. Otherwise you may as well just get some cheap wine and stir a
couple of spoonfuls of honey into it :-)
I believe that making good sweet meads is more time consuming and more
difficult than dry meads. To achieve something worthwhile you need to
choose a yeast that will tolerate quite high alcohol levels and "dose"
the yeast by adding the honey over a period of time: ie, start your
fermentation around 1.090 or so, let it ferment out and then add honey in
small increments to the tolerance of the yeast. When you've reached the
stage where the yeast will no longer ferment any more honey, you just
sweeten to your taste. Aiming for alcohol of 16% or higher is desirable.
In my experience (and this is assuming you started off with a good
well-balanced must) the other complicating factor is temperature - you
need to keep it very even throughout the fermentation process, much more
so than making the much quicker dry meads.
The one thing to _definitely_ avoid is starting with a very high SG. The
yeast will churn away to eat up the sugars making the alcohol content
rise very rapidly. As soon as it gets close to the yeast tolerance (and
often well below) everything will grind to a halt and it will be nigh
impossible to get it going again.
I'd love to recommend some books about this to you but over many years of
searching have never come across anything decent on this topic. (If
anyone on the list knows of anything, please mail me).
Peter.
BTW - I'm also interested in info from anyone who has attempted or has
thoughts on fortified meads or mels.
<ocean@wr.com.au> http://www.wr.com.au/ocean/
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Fermenting with fruit
From: Peter Miller <ocean@wr.com.au>
Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 14:05:04 +1000
>From: Jeremy York <jeremy@ThemeMedia.com>
>Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 18:03:57 -0700
> But straining
>is not an option,
I'm curious to know why you think this. I've noticed a lot of people try
to siphon off the fruit pulp, but I never ever do it. I just strain it
gently through a clean nylon sieve, press the fruit softly to extract as
much of the juice as I can and then commence the secondary in a closed
container as usual. Fermentation breaks the fruit up quite a lot, so I
figure you don't miss much fruit flavour. Any small particles of pulp
usually drop straight out of solution when fermentation has finished.
It's a pretty standard way of making straight fruit (or "country") wines.
I rarely get problems with cloudiness (and when I do it's always for
other reason, like too high a temperature to sterilize the fruit or
somesuch).
Peter.
<ocean@wr.com.au> http://www.wr.com.au/ocean/
------------------------------
Subject: sweet mead
From: kathy <kbooth@scnc.waverly.k12.mi.us>
Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 22:34:51 -0500
"OK, I admit it...I like sweet mead...really sweet...most of the
recipies/tips I've seen are for making sure your mead isn't too sweet
rather than the other way around...it may be declasse' but...how do you
get a sweet mead?"
1) Buy a commercial mead.
2) mix some honey with the gasoline you just fermented.
wassail, jim booth, lansing, mi
------------------------------
Subject: metheglin suggestions
From: WCavender <WCavender@aol.com>
Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 08:03:41 EDT
I am fortunate to be working at a farm that grows a variety of herbs. I am
looking to brew a mead utilizing some of them along with our tulip poplar and
black locust honey.
The herbs we currently have are lemon thyme, thai basil, angelica, lovage,
chervil, sage, oregano, bergamot, chamomile, pineapple sage, chocolate mint,
orange mint.
Anyone with experience using any of these herbs please send me your notes. I
am interested in what the results were including flavor, amounts used, how
introduced to mead, etc.
Thanks for the help,
Bill Cavender
------------------------------
Subject: Stopping fermentation, one man's opinion.
From: Ed Iaciofano <Ed.Iaciofano@qntm.com>
Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 10:24:08 -0700
It seems that this is one of the topics that
pops up every now and then on this
digest. This time around I'll throw in my opinion.
I find a more reasonable approach to be mixing the
must intending to ferment dry, then sweetening before
bottling. Start with a starting gravity that when fermented
dry produces your intended amount of alcohol.
You can calculate (aprox.) the alcohol level from beginning
and ending gravity. Refer to the alcohol tables in the back
of The Bees Lees. I also have more detailed formulas that
I can post. E-mail me if you are interested.
Let the wine clear and the yeast settle. Rack to remove
sediment. The mead should now be clear dry mead ready
to be bottled.
Since there are now no fermentable sugars left,
you can then stabilize with sorbate or benzoate, which will
prevent fermentation from starting again after you add more
honey, and sweeten (and for that matter adjust acid level) to taste.
This is much more controlled than feeding until the yeast dies or
accepting whatever gravity the yeast leaves when it decides it is done.
Also, if you use sulphites I suggest adding them either when the
stabilizers or honey is added.
Questions/comments encouraged.
Regards,
Ed_I
------------------------------
Subject: Millennial Meads
From: Charlie Moody <chmood@mindspring.com>
Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 12:52:10 -0600
Hello, All -
Now that I'm only semi-transient, I've been thinking about mead
(duh...), and specifically I've been thinking about millennial mead.
I've got in mind an idea for a hi-gravity, complex braggot-style
'thingy' to stick away until 2000 / 2001, and *that* got me wondering
what others are doing for the Big Party.
Anyone else planning a special sip for the New Millennium?
Also, I'd love to hear about what kinds of meads folks have brewed w/
alfalfa & mesquite honeys....
Enjoy!
- --
Charlie Moody http://www.mindspring.com/~chmood
PGP Fingerprint: 7F 0D 9E 8C 7E DF 33 11 2C 2B B8 19 6C 0F 2C 02
------------------------------
Subject: Stuck Fermentation
From: Troy Glover <tglover@huntel.com>
Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 17:49:17 -0600
Hi All,
First, I would like to thank everyone who participates in this list.
Although I have only lurked until now, I have received a ton of info
from you guys (and gals). But now I have a problem.
In February, I started a must with an initial sp of 1.126. I used
liquid yeast from Wyeast designated for dry mead. Everything went fine
until the second racking in April and then the fermentation stopped.
Alcohol level is only 11% and there is still way too much residual sugar
for my taste.
The honey I used came from the family farm where my wife grew up in
North Dakota, and we live in Texas now. This was going to be a kind of
special batch (from her roots kind of thing). I can't get any more of
the honey so I can't do something like double the volume.
I was hoping to restart the fermentation. The guy at the homebrew store
sold me another pack of the same yeast, but before I make matters worse,
I would like to get a second opinion. Would I be better off making a
starter?
If so, what would be the best procedure? I know to restart wine, you
get the starter going and then slowly add in more and more of the must
to bring the alcohol level up to where the must is, and then add it to
the carboy.
Does anybody have a receipe for a starter?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Troy
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #672
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