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Mead Lovers Digest #0667
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #667, 4 May 1998
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #667 4 May 1998
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
RE: Maple Mead Recipe (Christopher Ravlin)
Problem of gravity (Nathan_L_Kanous_Ii@ferris.edu)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #666, 27 April 1998 ("Timothy Green")
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #666, 27 April 1998 (davep)
pyment starter/operator error (Gary Shea)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #666, 27 April 1998 ("Brian Ehlert")
Re: Honey wt. to volume ("Marc Shapiro")
my first meadmaking experience (Rusty Perez)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #666, 27 April 1998 re:honey weight to volume (Jen...)
Wyeast #3184 Sweet Mead Liquid Yeast ("Timothy Green")
stopping fermentation (FRANK COLOMBO)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: RE: Maple Mead Recipe
From: Christopher Ravlin <cbravlin@ntplx.net>
Date: Fri, 24 Apr 1998 22:44:55 -0400
I recently put down a 1 gallon "test batch" of a maple / clover honey
mead using 3/4 lb of Maple Syrup and 3/4 lb of Clover Honey. I intend
to add another 3/4 lb of each 1/4 lb at a time over the next 3-4 months.
I heated the honey and maple syrup in 1 qt of water and skimmed. I did
not boil for any length of time. Chilled, distilled water made up the
rest of the volume except for 1 pint which was made up by my starter.
I used a starter that was reccemended on this list some months ago:
Unrefined "raw" apple juice as a starter medium with two packages of dry
yeast. I have used this starter with 3 meads now and have been
EXTREMELY pleased by the results. I have not yet detected any unwanted
apple flavors in the meads using this starter.
Good Luck
Chris Ravlin
------------------------------
From: vhs@ornl.gov (Stephen J. Van der Hoven)
Date: Mon, 27 Apr 1998 15:31:30 -0400
Nathan,
I just logged on to the Lallemand home page at:
www.lallemand.com/brew/MainLallemandindex.htm
Don't know if that's the address you're using, but that's the address
Netscape is showing me now.
Steve
------------------------------
Subject: Problem of gravity
From: Nathan_L_Kanous_Ii@ferris.edu
Date: Mon, 27 Apr 1998 16:36:58 -0400
Straight mead. 12 pounds of In-law's honey, 4 gallons of water and anough
acid and nutrient to kill any self respecting yeast (see Roger Morse's
recommendations...far too much to list). Heated to 150 deg chilled and
pitched Premier Cuvee starter. Fermented for a few weeks, racked to
secondary. Tastes...well..tastes like I used a bunch of nutrient. Let it
sit about 5 weeks. Decided I wasn't satisfied. Bought 1 can Oregon Fruit
Puree (cherry). Added that and 3 pounds of honey (gravity prior to
additions was < 1.000). No activity. The yeast is probably pooped out
from sitting around so long. Checked the gravity and found it is 1.050!
Holy cow!!!! I didn't check the pH. Can I expect any of the standard
wine yeasts to ferment this down to between 1.010 and 1.020? I will
probably have to make another starter to do so, but what might I expect?
nathan in Frankenmuth, MI
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #666, 27 April 1998
From: "Timothy Green" <TimGreen@ix.netcom.com>
Date: Mon, 27 Apr 1998 16:44:02 -0400
Nathan wrote:
>I can't link to the Lallemand home page anymore. Any ideas what happened?
>nathan in frankenmuth, MI
After reading this I did some checking. My link also failed. I did some
searching around and founf the following:
The site to use is: http://www.lallemand.com/brew/MainLallemandindex.htm
Anything else seems to generate an error.
Tim
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #666, 27 April 1998
From: davep <davep@mpls1.mn.uswest.net>
Date: Mon, 27 Apr 98 16:58:42 -0500
>Is there a "general" rule of thumb for comparing volume to weight for honey?
I usually figure that a gallon is right about 12lbs, which comes from
when I bought my 5 gallons of honey a couple years back. It came in at
exactly 60 lbs, and the 5 gallon bucket was a little less than full. 5
quart ice cream pails generally sell as 12 lbs, but they're seldom full
to the top.
- -DaveP
Dave Polaschek - personal: davep@best.com or davep@mn.uswest.net
PGP key and other spiffy things at <http://www.best.com/~davep/>
"If it works, it must be obsolete."
- Ray Albers, Asst VP for Technology Planning at Bell Atlantic
------------------------------
Subject: pyment starter/operator error
From: Gary Shea <shea@gtsdesign.com>
Date: Mon, 27 Apr 1998 16:13:46 -0600 (MDT)
I picked grapes out of many back yards last fall, and am finally
about ready to defrost them and make a pyment. Probably would
have been a wine, but given that they sat around my kitchen for
several days before being frozen, I suspect that various bugs
probably got a decent foothold on 'em. My solution to this problem
was to make up a good-sized starter so that I can overwhelm the
competition at the outset, and make a mead instead of a wine, since
meads seem a lot tougher wrt resistance to bugs.
I am trying a competetive yeast (lalvin k1-v1116) for the first
time.
I decided to make the starter with proportionately the same
amount of honey as the final must will have, so I dumped
a quart bottle of pure concord grape juice into a half-gallon
bottle, and added 1.5 lbs of honey. Only today did I notice
I was off by a factor of two too much honey!
I added two (!) packets of yeast, and figured I'd be ready
to go in a couple of days. Well, after a week, about a
1/4 of the yeast is still sitting on the bottom of the
starter jug. I decided to check the gravity, and came up
with a whopping 1.185 or so!!!! Whoah.
The starter has been plugging along at about a bubble every
45 seconds. Pretty impressive, given what it's working in.
I tasted it today, and the acidity has gone down from about
3.8 to around 3.5 (I think... those little strips can be
hard to read...) and it's like drinking candy with a fishook
in the center of it -- quite a catch in the back of the
throat.
I guess I'll have to throw about half of it away and add
grape juice to get it to a more sane gravity. Whoops!
Gary
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #666, 27 April 1998
From: "Brian Ehlert" <behlert@host.cass.net>
Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 20:46:43 -0400
Is there a "general" rule of thumb for comparing volume to weight for honey?
"x" gallons= "x" lbs. ?
Yep, Just for the record 5 gallons of honey = 60 lbs. I usually purchase by
the 60 lb pail (which is a standard 5 gallon pail)
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Honey wt. to volume
From: "Marc Shapiro" <mshapiro@mail.inetone.net>
Date: Mon, 27 Apr 1998 22:34:22 +0000
On 27 Apr 98 at 9:14, mead-request@talisman.com wrote:
> Is there a "general" rule of thumb for comparing volume to weight
> for honey?
>
> "x" gallons= "x" lbs. ?
>
> The honey I bought from the local brew supply store was labelled net
> wt. 6lbs., and it was in a half gallon container. Is this accurate?
Yes. As a general rule, 1 gallon = 12 lbs. There are slight
variations with every batch, of course. Dark honey is usually
somewhat heavier than light colored honey, but it is a good rule of
thumb and can generally be relied on.
Wassail!
HTH
Marc Shapiro m_shapiro@bigfoot.com
Visit 'The Meadery' at:
http://www.bigfoot.com/~m_shapiro/
"If you drink melomel every day, you will live to be 150 years old,
unless your wife shoots you."
- --Dr. Ferenc Androczi, Winemaker of the Little Hungary Winery
------------------------------
Subject: my first meadmaking experience
From: Rusty Perez <rustyp@deltanet.com>
Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 01:23:58 -0700 (PDT)
Hi, a while back I tasted some mead and remember it was real nice. I've
decided to try making some. I want to start out small (as in a small 1 gal
jug). I've decided to get oone of those glass jugs like for apple juice
and the stopper from a brewing store.
But, I have a few questions. I want to go natural. I don't necessarily
want to boil or heat the stuff. Additionally, I don't want to have to use
aditives chemicles ETC.
Could some one please suggest a recipe with the particulars of time ETC?
I'm asuming about 3.5 lbs of honey will be sufficient. What I don't know
about is the yeast. How much? What kind?
I want a nice medium to sweet mead. And, if possible, I don't want to wait
too long:) isn't that what we all want?
Thanks for any help/advice you can give.
Rusty
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #666, 27 April 1998 re:honey weight to volume
From: Jennifer and Patrick Fimbres <patnjen@azstarnet.com>
Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 09:11:23 -0700
Subject: Regarding Micheal R. Tucker's question about honey wt. to volume.
From: Jennifer Fimbres <patnjen@azstarnet.com>
Date: April 28, 1998
In my experience, I have found that 1 gallon of honey is approx. to 12 lbs.
of honey, as a general rule. Micheal expressed concern about the finishing
sweetness of his mead; he was using champagne yeast. I personally have stopped
using champagne yeast unless I desire to make a rather dry sparkling mead.
Champagne yeast tends to finish rather dry and continues to become more dry as
the mead ages. For a sweeter finish I would recomend using Flor Sherry yeast.
It has a clean soft palate, and tends to finish a little sweeter, but not overly
cloying. It is my personal favorite for fruit meads. I brewed a strawberry
melomel with wildflower honey and a full flat of fresh strawberries and the flor
sherry yeast. It finished with a little sweetness and a soft rounded flavor. It
is 1 year old now and still retains some sweetness. I hope my input helps. I am
new to the Digest. I started brewing beer but when I discovered mead it has
taken over.
Jennifer Fimbres
patnjen@azstarnet.com
> Subject: Honey wt. to volume
> From: "Michael R. Tucker" <mtucker@frii.com>
> Date: Tue, 21 Apr 1998 15:32:39 -0400
>
> Hi All,
>
> I'm starting my second batch and want to ask a couple of quick questions.
>
> Is there a "general" rule of thumb for comparing volume to weight for honey?
>
> "x" gallons= "x" lbs. ?
>
> The honey I bought from the local brew supply store was labelled net wt.
> 6lbs., and it was in a half gallon container. Is this accurate?
>
> Since I used about 15 lbs of this honey in batch number 1 (about 2.5
> containers) and got a relatively dry product, I thought in batch #2 (which
> is to be a boysenberry melomel) I would want it a bit sweeter and used a
> full 1.5 gallons which should be about 18 lbs., is this correct?
>
> It has a very high OG, 1.096, and is very sweet. Am I on the right track
> here? btw, I am using a champagne yeast.
>
> thanks-
>
> - ---
> Michael R. Tucker
> http://www.frii.com/~mtucker
> mtucker@frii.com
>
> ------------------------------
>
------------------------------
Subject: Wyeast #3184 Sweet Mead Liquid Yeast
From: "Timothy Green" <TimGreen@ix.netcom.com>
Date: Wed, 29 Apr 1998 10:22:25 -0400
I have currently a 5 gallon batch of Vanilla Mead (12# honey, 5 gal water,
12oz pure vanilla extract, 5 tsp yeast nutrent) in primary. I used Wyeast's
sweat mead liquid yeast.
Can anyone who has used this yeast please tell me what to expect. For the
first week it bubbled away at about once every 2-4 seconds. During the
second week, it dropped off massively. Now, starting it's third week, I am
getting 1 bubble every 2-3 minutes. I sampled the must and it is still
overly sweet, almost cloying in fact.
Will this yeast eat some more of the sweetness, or should I add some
champagne yeast to it. I figured that with only 12# of honey in 5 gal of
water, that it would turn out semi-sweet at best.
Any help would be appreciated.
Private emails are ok.
Tim Green
timgreen@ix.netcom.com
------------------------------
Subject: stopping fermentation
From: FRANK COLOMBO <frankpizza@sprintmail.com>
Date: Sat, 02 May 1998 01:09:52 -0400
How do you stop the fermentation of meads. We just made a cycer, a mead
with apple cider. The apple cider had a OG of 1080 then we added 5
pounds of honey. It pushed it to 1100. We wanted a medium bodied
sparkling product.. With wyeast sweet mead yeast it fermented down to
1001. It was real dry with an alcohol finish. As you could imagine. We
do not have the equipment to pressure bottle. we carbonate with
secondary fermentation in the bottle. We want to try again in the fall.
when the cider is available and inexpensive.
Do we need a different yeast ?? Do we need to make a still product???.
Any help will be apreciated
Frank Colombo
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #667
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