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Mead Lovers Digest #0677
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #677, 9 June 1998
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #677 9 June 1998
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Tea Wine Recipe (Dan McFeeley)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #676, 5 June 1998 ()
Honey Differences? ("Ben Pollard")
Re: Dandy Lions ()
Re: First Batch Gremlins (Mary Savage)
racking (kathy)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #674, 29 May 1998 (CW)
Re: Bulk Honey in MA? (Joyce Miller)
Making sweet mead (Joyce Miller)
Too Much Acid Blend (Phill Welling)
NOTE: Digest only appears when there is enough material to send one.
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Tea Wine Recipe
From: Dan McFeeley <mcfeeley@keynet.net>
Date: Fri, 5 Jun 1998 11:54:03 -0500
Found them! From C.J.J. Berry's _First Steps in Winemaking_, pp. 150-151
Argus Books, reprinted by G.W. Kent, 1991, Michigan.
__________
________
Dan McFeeley
mcfeeley@keynet.net
FARMHOUSE TEA AND RAISIN WINE (Medium)
Raisins (large) 1 1/2 lb.
Wheat 3/4 lb
Tea 1 oz
Sugar 1 1/2 lb.
Citric Acid 1 serving spoon
Water 1 gallon
Yeast and nutrient
Tie the tea loosely ina muslin bag. Pour the boiling water over it and
let it mash, leaving it in the liquor until it is lukewarm. Remove
the bag, and to the liquor add the chopped raisins (or 560 ml of white
grape concentrate), wheat, sugar and citric acid. Add a Campden tablet.
Dissolve one teasopoon of granulated yeast in the liquid and stir it in.
Leave it to ferment in a closely covered pan for 21 days, stirring often,
then strain into fermenting bottle, top up to bottom of neck, and fit
air lock. Siphon off into clean bottles when fermentation has ceased.
TEA WINE (Dry)
Tea 6 tablesps.
Sugar 2 lb.
Citric acid 3 teasps.
Water 1 gallon
Yeast and nutrient
Some of the scented Indian and China teas make lovely wines. Pour the
boiling water over the tea and sugar, stir well, and infuse until cool.
Strain into fermenting jar, add acid, nutient and yeast, and top up to
bottom of neck with cold water. Fit an air-lock, ferment out, and rack
and bottle as usual when stable. A clear, dry wine excellant for
blending purpose.
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #676, 5 June 1998
From: <SweetnessL@aol.com>
Date: Fri, 5 Jun 1998 18:49:51 EDT
From: Jeffrey Rose <jeffrey_rose@eri.eisai.com>
<< Can anyone tell me where to find bulk honey around New England >>
Try Todd Hardie, Charlotte, VT 802-877-6952, or Roland Smith at Oramund, VT,
802-948-2057.
Just across from MA in NY is BetterBee, Bob Stevens. I can't find the
address, but they also operate a meadery and are likely to be found using any
of the search engines.
QueenBJan@aol.com
Janice & Dave Green
Jan's Sweetness and Light Shop (Varietal Honeys and Beeswax Candles)
http://users.aol.com/SweetnessL/sweetlit.htm
------------------------------
Subject: Honey Differences?
From: "Ben Pollard" <classicferm@fia.net>
Date: Fri, 5 Jun 1998 23:01:35 -0500
I recently made 3 meads the same day using the same ingredients and they all
fermented side by side. The only difference was the honey. In each 1 gallon
recipe I used 3 lbs of honey, 3/4 tsp of yeast energizer, 1/4 tsp yeast
nutrient, 1/4 tsp magnisium sulfate, 1/4 tsp bentonite, and 1 crushed
campden tablet. The yeast was Lalvin D-47 (1st time I've used it) and I used
equal amounts in each gallon. For my basic procedure I add the yeast and
water to the jug to rehydrate, add additional water, honey, and chemicals.
Then I shake it to mix and aerate.
One mead used Blueberry honey and it is dry FG 1.000, it is starting to
clear, has a good flavor, but a bit hot. The next one was brewed the same
day and as above used Blackberry Honey, it is sweet and clear with an FG of
1.024. flavor is good. The 3rd one used Raspberry Honeu and also is clear
and sweet with a good flavor, it has a FG of 1.012.
All these meads were made the same day, with the same procedures and
ingredients (other than variety of honey), and fermented next to each other.
None show any active fermentation after 2 months, and will conyinue to bulk
age another few months.
My question is why did I get the different Final Gravities? Everything
started out the same and stayed the same. Has anyone else seen this using
different varieties of Honey. Not a big problem, just curious.
Thanks, Ben Pollard of Classic Fermentations, home of Ben's Bees, Beer and
Bulbs.
Amarillo TX. A fair distance from Hygiene, but fairly
close to Earth!
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Dandy Lions
From: <CLSAXER@aol.com>
Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 04:27:41 EDT
micah millspaw - brewer at large says:
> I make dandelion mead every year, when I was a kid my parents always made
> dandelion wine.
> We are all still alive. I fact I won a AHA national some years back with a
> dandelion mead.
> It is a good flower use it. BTW I live in MO
Do you have a dandelion recipe you would care to share Herr Millspaw?
It sounds like you have a good one. I would like to try it.
Thanks,
Carl Saxer
------------------------------
Subject: Re: First Batch Gremlins
From: menander@iac.net (Mary Savage)
Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 16:45:19 -0400 (EDT)
Ok, here's the story:
Almost 2 weeks ago I started a 3 gallon batch of mead. 10# honey, 3 gals of
spring water, 3 tsps nutrient, 3 tsps acid blend.. Heated properly, cooled,
dumped in a primary popped on the airlock, along with a champagne yeast
starter. A couple of days after, I fiddled with the lid and secured it all
the way
'round the bucket after not seeing any blubs in the 'lock.
After 10 days, I peeked and noticed almost no foam, strong odor of mashed,
ripe, bananas. Upon closer inspection, lots of tiny bubbling at the
surface. SG
was 1.050 (I did that just for practice) After a couple of days, I started
another
batch of champagne yeast and pitched it to see if anything would happen. It's
been 24 hours since then and still no blubs, no foam to speak of (trace amounts
here/there) and light banana odor.
I'm calling it quits on this batch, unless someone has any constructive
suggestions.
I chose a location where the bucket's sitting for convenience and quiet/dark.
Should I try for a warmer location (ambient's probably in the low 70's)?
Leo Horishny
------------------------------
Subject: racking
From: kathy <kbooth@scnc.waverly.k12.mi.us>
Date: Sun, 07 Jun 1998 10:32:55 -0500
One post talks of racking ones mead every month as long as sediment
collects at the bottom. I understand the practice of racking helps to
eliminate dead yeasts at the bottom so they don't autolyze and give a
burnt rubber odor and taste.
Questions....is clearing or autolysis the reason to rack meads?...or
both? Why would racking to a new carbouy and mixing in oxygen aid the
settlement process? Do the big boys rack their wines and meads every
month? Has anyone ever had yeast autolyze in their secondary fermenters
and give the burnt rubber odor? Is the oxygen desirable as some
oxidation is desirable in meads (as it is in wines)?
Thanks as usual,,,wassial , jim booth, lansing, mi
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #674, 29 May 1998
From: CW <cwelch@cais.com>
Date: Sun, 07 Jun 1998 11:28:42 -0400
Has anybody ever done a canalope/melon mead ? It's that time of year and
was wondering if this was too off the wall (since I've never seen a recipe
for one)...
Wassail!
Chris
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Bulk Honey in MA?
From: Joyce Miller <msmead@doctorbeer.com>
Date: Sun, 7 Jun 1998 21:31:47 -0400 (EDT)
I'm in the Boston area (Arlington), and if you're not after specific
varieties, you can get bulk honey in 5-gallon, 60-lb pails from the Harvest
Coop in Cambridge or Allston. Call first, so they can special order it for
you, and it will be 10% off. I bought such a pail just the other day for
$92 or so.
- -- Joyce
>Subject: Bulk Honey in MA?
>From: Jeffrey Rose <jeffrey_rose@eri.eisai.com>
>Date: 01 Jun 98 13:44:48 -0400
>
>Can anyone tell me where to find bulk honey around New England (or
>Massachusetts)? I haven't had much luck on the internet and apiaries are hard
>to locate via the telephone book.
- --- Joyce Miller, msmead@doctorbeer.com
------------------------------
Subject: Making sweet mead
From: Joyce Miller <msmead@doctorbeer.com>
Date: Sun, 7 Jun 1998 21:31:49 -0400 (EDT)
To make fairly sweet mead, I use an ale yeast (a fairly clean-tasting one),
and use a starting gravity of about 1.080. That gives a medium sweet mead
(for the yeast I use). Add more honey if you want it sweeter. With a
little experimentation, and using the same yeast all the time, you can
eventually learn the starting gravity needed for your yeast to produce the
final gravity you like.
- -- Joyce
- --- Joyce Miller, msmead@doctorbeer.com
------------------------------
Subject: Too Much Acid Blend
From: Phill Welling <kern@pcisys.net>
Date: Tue, 09 Jun 1998 07:22:30 -0600
I bottled my first batch of mead in January and I opened one
up to taste it. Well I noticed that for the first half of the taste it
tastes decent then it gets rough on me. I had a brewing friend
of mine taste it and he confirmed what I suspected. I put too
much acid blend in it. Is there any way to fix this?
Phillip J. Welling
ICQ #: 2579862
Visit my home page at:
http://www.pcisys.net/~kern/
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #677
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