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Mead Lovers Digest #0646
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #646, 15 February 1998
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #646 15 February 1998
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Maple Syrup (PETER.ZINGELMAN@wemail.wisenergy.com)
crown caps & oxygen (Randy Paul)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #645, 13 February 1998 (NLSteve@aol.com)
The great Boiling/Sulfiting/Pasteurization debate (NLSteve@aol.com)
Heather Honey Experience? (Mark Cassells)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #645, 13 February 1998 (Mark Cassells)
Aeration and such (Dan Pillsbury)
cyser (Robert J Skala)
Re: Mead that Won't Clear (SweetnessL@aol.com)
gravity changes, (Chuck Wettergreen)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #645, 13 February 1998 ("Thaddaeus A. Vick")
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Maple Syrup
From: PETER.ZINGELMAN@wemail.wisenergy.com
Date: Friday, 13 February 1998 1:32pm CT
>From: "James Pokines" <pok1@midway.uchicago.edu>
>Date: Wed, 11 Feb 1998 17:27:39 -0600
>
>Question: Has anyone experimented with fermenting maple syrup alone (no
>honey or malt), and what are the proportions that you used per a 5 gallon
>batch?
Found a HBD posting by David R. Burley sent out in July 1996 that listed some
data which may be of help. His posting used figures from Papazian's "The
Homebrewer's Companion" (Avon Pub) pp 40-47 (1994).
According to Papazian's formulas, maple syrup and honey are not too different.
The tables list the expected OG using one pound of various malts and adjuncts
in one gallon of wort. Honey is listed at 1.030-1.035, while maple syrup is
listed at 1.030. This seems to be a swag as you can get different grades of
maple syrup, but it's a place to start. Of course since I don't have this
reference, I may be taking it out of context. Sounds like a good experiment
to try tho!
I've also talked to a few folks who have used maple sap in place of water in
their homebrewed beers. It takes around 40 gallons of sap to boil down to one
gallon of syrup, so that equates to roughly 1 pint in a 5 gal batch - a little
weak even for a maple beer, IMHO. Hope this helps!
Pete Zingelman
------------------------------
Subject: crown caps & oxygen
From: Randy Paul <randy@cais.com>
Date: Fri, 13 Feb 1998 15:37:37 -0500 (EST)
Crown caps used to have cork inside instead of plastic, yet it has been a
long time since I've seen any of these. These might be nice to bottle
mead with the equipment I already have and allow for the oxygen
permeability recently promoted here. Does anyone know of a place these
are available?
- -- Randy
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #645, 13 February 1998
From: NLSteve@aol.com
Date: Fri, 13 Feb 1998 16:41:50 EST
Regarding C.W. Hudak's comments on aeration & aging:
1.) If anybody knows what type of bottles (brown & 12 oz. or so) will accept
corks for aging and then be crown cappable for competition, & where to get
them, I'd sure appreciate the info.
2.) I'm not a wine expert, but I suspect that winemakers who are not concerned
about oxidation are either making certain styles of wine that do not display
the ill effects of oxidation very well or perhaps are relying on sulfites as
an antioxidant to some degree. Just a guess . . . I'd be happy to be
corrected.
Kate Collins writes, regarding oxygen "scavenging" crown caps that "No one has
yet demonstrated to me that these really make much difference--yet
some swear by them." I don't have it handy but I did see the results of what
appeared to be a valid study of normal caps vs. oxygen absorbing caps which
compared the levels of dissolved oxygen in beer after varying periods of
storage at varying temperatures. This particular study, published sometime in
Zymurgy a few years ago, reported that the beer in the bottles with oxygen
absorbing caps had dramatically lower levels of dissolved oxygen. For what
it's worth. . .
------------------------------
Subject: The great Boiling/Sulfiting/Pasteurization debate
From: NLSteve@aol.com
Date: Fri, 13 Feb 1998 16:51:33 EST
Many of us assume that mead must be made from honey which has been boiled or
pasteurized or sulfited. I was just wondering: has anybody out there ever
made mead using "clean" methodology -- but without boiling, pasteurizing or
sulfiting, and then pitched a strong active yeast source but later had a
contamination problem they blamed on this method? In other words, if we use a
healthy yeast starter, does anyone out there have any first-hand empirical
evidence that it is necessary that we boil, pasteurize or sulfite? Gracias.
------------------------------
Subject: Heather Honey Experience?
From: Mark Cassells <cstlmark@fred.net>
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 20:28:03 -0400
In MLD # 644, Wout Klingens wrote;
> Does anyone out there has experience with heather honey??
> I'm told that due to the strong taste and smell this honey should be
> suitable for a strong, high alcohol mead.
> I would like to make a plain mead, no herbs, no juice.
As it happens, yes. I was just rereading old MLD's when I came across one
I wrote promising to post an update to my heather batch, so this can serve
both functions
I was asked to make mead as a demonstation at the local county fair this
last year, and one day, this was my recipe;
3 lbs Heather Honey
1 tsp yeast energizer
2 tsp yeast nutrient
1 pkg Red Star Champagne yeast
I am not a boiler. I brought the water to boil, added the energizer and
nutrient to dissolve, turned off the heat and then added the honey. I
pasturized the honey at 160 degrees for about 15 minutes
My original pH was 5.4, and my initial SG was 1.095.
The problem with working with this honey, is that it is VERY cloudy. In
retrospect, I think I should have added some Irish Moss or some such. At
last racking, the SG had dropped to 1.016, acidity and pH were within
acceptable ranges. I intend to add about another pound soon, shooting for
a final gravity in the 1.026 range.
The smell is pure heaven. It reminds me VERY strongly of the Moniack
Castle Mead I brought back from Inverness. If mine tastes half as good,
I'll be very, very happy.
Unfortunately, most people that buy heather honey from me want a pound for
their table, rather than pay the admittedly STEEP price for a gallon...so I
guess I'll just have to make a five gallon batch or two...
Hope this helps;
Castlemark Honey
Mark G. Cassells
mailto:Cstlmark@fred.net
http://www.Castlemark-Honey.com
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #645, 13 February 1998
From: Mark Cassells <cstlmark@fred.net>
Date: Fri, 13 Feb 1998 18:14:53 -0400
In MLD 645, Dan McFeeley asks about the aging time for Heather Honey mead.
>
>English sources on meadmaking seem in agreement that heather honey
>is the best honey for mead but because of its strong flavor requires
>an aging period of about eight years to bring it into balance. This
>might be a spot of English bias on the writer's part, since there are
>many other varieties of honey known to produce outstanding meads, and
>with far less of an aging period needed.
>
>Any other information, opinions, et. al. on heather honey?
>
THE BEST MEAD I have ever tasted is the Moniack Castle Mead, from
Inverness, about 14.8% alc., not available in the U.S.
They have a turn around time of 18 months from start to shipping.
BTW, it is available in Canada.
Cordially;
Castlemark Honey
Mark G. Cassells
mailto:Cstlmark@fred.net
http://www.Castlemark-Honey.com
------------------------------
Subject: Aeration and such
From: lordofbrewing@webtv.net (Dan Pillsbury)
Date: Fri, 13 Feb 1998 18:44:35 -0600
Fellow mages of mead...
I too have noticed the same differences mentioned by C. Hudak relating
to the different attitudes taken by meadsters vs. beer brewers. I
believe from my experiences in the production of both classes of
beverages that basically O2 in beer is not wanted after fermentation,
this hsa been well documented elsewhere. Mead and wine though seems to
be a much more mysterious subject where this is concerned. Like Charles
I too used to be anal when racking mead, I now am not quite so concerned
believing that a small amount of O2 introduced actually helps the
maturation process. I don't have a lick of documentable evidence for
this..just my taste buds.
I also noticed the same posting relating to the maturation of capped vs.
corked meads, my last batch was bottled 3 months ago and split, 1/2
capped with O2 absorbing caps, the other 1/2 was corked. I patiently
await the results of this little experiment. CH also mentions capping
some for comps...I too enjoy entering comps, many allow corked bottles
as long as they are capped so you could hypothetically age in a corked
12 oz bottle and cap it before shipment.
Here's a question for the collective..does the action of racking or
introduction of O2 somehow promote sediment formation?? When I rack
cleared mead I use one of those handy siphon filters from Vino Filtro,
the mead is crystal clear in the receiving carboy and as far as I can
see the vast majority of the sediment is left in the original vessel.
Yet, without fail, within a couple of weeks another fine layer of
sediment has formed. I use Sparkalloid and a couple of weeks of
refridgerated storage for fining and the results are spectularly clear.
Is the sediment found in later rackings just bits o' crap that's too
fine to see while it's in suspension or is some other mechanism of
action at play here?? It's a bit aggravating to bottle a seeemingly
crystal clear mead only to find sediment in the bottle after a couple of
months....
Cheers,
Dan P.
Happily Homebrewing in Omaha
------------------------------
Subject: cyser
From: rkkskala@juno.com (Robert J Skala)
Date: Fri, 13 Feb 1998 21:40:20 -0600
I will be making my first batch of cyser this weekend, and I have
one question. Should I boil the cider with the honey, or just dump
it in the primary. The magazine where I got the recipe from doesn't
say whether you have to or not. The cider that I have is pure cider
with no preservatives, but it has been pasteurized.
TIA
Rob Skala
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead that Won't Clear
From: SweetnessL@aol.com
Date: Sat, 14 Feb 1998 01:54:00 EST
From: "P. Dennis Waltman" <waltman@bellsouth.net>
<<I have a mead made from a gallon of raspberry flower honey [roughly a 4
gallon batch]. It had not changed in gravity for 6-8 weeks at 1.015;
and has been in the fermenter since June. I used an ale yeast so a
1.015 final seemed right. I cannot get this one to clear at all.
I've tried, at a recommendation of some meadmakers, Chitosan Wine
finings. I tried chilling it to 35-40 degrees for 3 weeks. Recently
(in the last couple weeks) I've tried Sparkloid. And nothing seems to
work, it is just as cloudy, if not worse as it was before. I've had no
problem with flocculation of the ale yeast in beer.
I did not boil this honey and water, instead pasturizing it without
boiling. It was raw honey, perhaps I should have boiled and skimmed?>> (snip)
There is an excellent article on the subject in the February, 98 American
Bee Journal, by Dr. Roger Morse and et al at Cornell.
Dr. Morse has a very low opinion of boiling honey, noting that "traditional
mead makers have been known to store mead from three to seven years, probably
to mellow the faults caused by boiling."
Panelists in the Food Science Department who did blind taste tests rejected
meads made with even a flash 30 second boil, as having a bitter, harsh, resin-
like taste. Morse notes that boiling has little effect on glucose, but
fructose is delicate and burns easily.
Of course boiling is the traditional method to remove the proteins, which
later cause the cloudiness.
Dr. Morse goes on to describe an alternative filtering method that will
remove sufficient protein to prevent the cloudiness. Whether it is affordable
for the home brewer, I cannot answer. The next time I see Dr. Morse at a bee
meeting, I'll try to ask him about it.
Dave
Pollinator@aol.com Dave Green Hemingway, SC USA
The Pollination Scene: http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html
Jan's Sweetness and Light Shop (Varietal Honeys and Beeswax Candles)
http://users.aol.com/SweetnessL/sweetlit.htm
------------------------------
Subject: gravity changes,
From: Chuck Wettergreen <chuckmw@mcs.net>
Date: Sat, 14 Feb 1998 08:11:39 -0600
In MLD #645 Mark Taratoot taratoot@peak.org wrote:
A couple of weeks ago (in MLD #639) I asked about a mead that
showed no change in gravity over a one month period even though
it was (visibly) actively fermenting.
Mark recounted three responses he had received. One response suggested
adding CaCO3, to which Mark replied:
I discount this suggestion because the mead WAS fermenting
(visibly mixing up and giving off a slow but steady amount of gas
through the airlock). It just didn't show a drop in gravity.
I suggest that perhaps the mead is *not* still fermenting, although, a lot
depends on what Mark describes as "slow but steady". As we all know, any
undisturbed fermenting beverage is saturated with one atmosphere of CO2.
Any ambient temperature change will cause that beverage to either absorb
or release CO2. I have a setback thermostat which takes nighttime
temperatures quite low. But if you watch the airlocks on my carboys in the
morning when the furnace comes on, they're all happily bubbling away,
albeit slowly. But I don't have renewed fermentation, just a temperature
change that has caused CO2 to come out of solution.
On another matter, any of you who have read the MLD recently saw that I
have been experimenting with quick fermentations of meads using CaCO3 to
control Ph, and have realized (to my mind, at least) amazing results (many
thanks to Dan McConnell and Ken Schramm for their research in this area).
However, last night I dug deep in my cellar and pulled out a wildflower
show mead which I had bottled on 2/16/97. I say wildflower, but this honey
had a very high proportion of buckwheat. This mead had sat in a carboy for
at least a year, maybe more before I bottled it, because it refused to
clear. When I bottled it, the buckwheat components were so strong, that
they were overwhelming. The mead wasn't undrinkable, it just wasn't very
pleasant to drink.
What a difference a year can make. It was ambrosia! Dark golden yellow,
STRONG honey aroma and flavor that wasn't there when I bottled it (and this
is a dry mead). This is one of the best I've ever made.
So, I guess I'm saying, yes you can make excellent meads in a very short
period of time, but sometimes aging for a long period will dramatically
improve what you thought was a marginal mead.
Chuck
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #645, 13 February 1998
From: "Thaddaeus A. Vick" <thadvick@mindspring.com>
Date: Sat, 14 Feb 1998 16:27:58 -0500
>On used wine bottles, Thaddeus writes:
>> It is possible to get bottles for free
>>by dumpster-diving behind restaurants, or if that's not to your liking you
>>can try asking them to save them for you.
>
>Ahhh, but drinking the wine is much more fun. That's where I get all mine ;/
Yeah, but dumpster-diving to augment the homemade empties lets you
collect the requisite quantity of bottles faster so you can get on with
it. I don't drink very much (I give away most of what I make) so it took
me months to collect enough empties for my first batch.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Thaddaeus Vick, Linguist to the Masses | thadvick@mindspring.com |
| |http://www.mindspring.com/~thadvick|
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| "Papa Hegel he say that all we learn from history is that we learn nothing |
| from history. I know people who can't even learn from what happened this |
| morning. Hegel must have been taking the long view." |
| -- Chad C. Mulligan, sociology burnout |
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #646
*******************************
