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Mead Lovers Digest #0737
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #737, 23 April 1999
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #737 23 April 1999
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Bread yeasts (William Arthur Millett)
Cyser Recipes (Jeffrey Rose)
Re: Bread Yeast (Darragh Nagle) (Darragh Nagle)
re: smoked mead (Jim Sims)
Re: braggots and hops (Matthew Arnold)
Bread yeast correction (Mark Taratoot)
RE:Orange Blossom Honey (RDexter819@aol.com)
Clara Furness' Yeast Recomendations (Dan McFeeley)
Re: Bread Yeast (my two farthings) (Faulconess@aol.com)
mead source? (Mfkaless2@aol.com)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Bread yeasts
From: William Arthur Millett <williammillett@carbocloro.com.br>
Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 10:09:04 -0300
Hi you all out there!
I actually brewed around 20 batches (1gallon) of different types of
honey beverages (mead, pyments, cysers etc) using various brands of bread
yeast due to absolute lack of beer & wine yeasts available to the homebrewer
in this country. I also experimented with wine yeasts collected straight
from the grapes themselves and culturing them.
As to taste in the final product the best yeasts I found to be the
granulated dry ones (Fleischmann's for instance). The worst were the wet
yeast bricks or tablets - these gave a decidedly 'bready' taste that did not
disappear even with extended aging (2 or 3 years).
The bread yeasts (dry granules) performed well, in my experience,
producing dry meads (alcohol around 10 - 12 % vol), using 300 - 340 grams of
honey per litre of must. They did not perform well in high gravity must (380
- - 400 grams of honey per litre of must). They were killed off rather early,
giving very sweet meads and relatively low in alcohol. One must not use too
much of the dry yeast as the 'bready' taste will appear. I use about 2.5
grams per gallon of must. It is essential that the yeast be previously
roused in a smaller volume of slightly sweet water at about 30 degrees C. I
also use nutrient salts but no 'energisers'.
The yeasts collected from the grapes (two experiences so far) did
not perform as well as the bread yeasts regarding completeness of
fermentation and rate (slow). This does not mean that I have abandoned the
idea - it just needs a bit more thinking.
I am satisfied with the quality of the meads that have come out till
now, as are my friends and relations. However I purchased a few packets of
real wine yeast during my last trip to the US, and will try them out this
winter (best season in the year for brewing in this part of the world).
The bottom line is: try it out and see what happens! If the worst
comes to the worst, you can always make vinegar out of it.
Best of luck.
William
wmillett@fractal.com.br
------------------------------
Subject: Cyser Recipes
From: Jeffrey Rose <jeffrey_rose@eri.eisai.com>
Date: 21 Apr 99 09:15:06 -0400
Can anyone give out some good cyser recipes to try? I'd really
appreciate it.
Jeff Rose
jeffrey_rose@eri.eisai.com
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Bread Yeast (Darragh Nagle)
From: Darragh Nagle <darragh@netcom.com>
Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 07:49:32 -0700 (PDT)
Yes, I have brewed meads with bread yeast.
I just finished the last bottle last night of a Blackberry
melomel, brewed with bread yeast from the grocery store.
I enjoyed it very much, and so did three friends.
The yeast don't seem to be able to read the packaging
material they come in, they go about eating sugars and
producing CO2 and alcohol, as all yeasts do. I think
that champagne yeasts are cultivated to survive in higher
concentrations of alchohol, but bread yeast seems to be
able to produce enjoyable levels as well.
The flavor was not much different from batches brewed with
champagne yeast, as far as I could tell.
Jeffry Wright wrote:
>I'd like to say that,
>yea, the beverage was tasty, but the combination of using regular bread
>yeast with brown and white sugars resulted in a beverage that threatened to
>blow the roof off of my apartment.
I think you would have the same result with any yeast, combined
with lots of sugar. I have made similar rocket fuel, with champagne
yeast and sugar. (Ok, I was a beginner then.)
I noticed the unusually high activity level of the fermentation
in the carboy, and the cat even sat and watched the bubbler with a
suspicious eye. I even left it in the sink, so that any overflow
would go down the drain. Unfortunately, while I was out, it completely
redecorated my kitchen, adding blackberry coloring to the walls
and ceiling. The bubbler made a great nozzle, shaped very much
like the end of a rocket engine.
I plan to try a few more batches brewed with bread yeast, so that
I can research this further. It may require a lot of brewing and
tasting to determine what the differences may be, but somebody
has to do it. ;-)
Cheers,
Darragh
------------------------------
Subject: re: smoked mead
From: Jim Sims <jim.sims@game.net>
Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 08:59:23 -0500
I made an 'SCA mead' a few years back - some friends who were
homebrewers and big into the SCA asked me to demo mead-making at one of
their fairs. I brewed a basic mead - honey, lemons, water over an open
fire in early March. Passersby were facinated, I gave out several
samples (it was a chilly day, the warm honey-lemon must was nice).
A friend who is a big scotch drinker tried the result about a year later
and fell in love. Every time he came over from then on, I had to be
sure to have some chilled. It had a very scotch-smokey-peat flavor, I
assume from the open fire and extended boil time.
jim
- --
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all
progress depends on the unreasonable man. George Bernard Shaw
------------------------------
Subject: Re: braggots and hops
From: marnold@ez-net.com (Matthew Arnold)
Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 16:54:11 GMT
On 21 Apr 99 00:08:32 MDT (Wed), you wrote:
>To me it does. However, mead is often a different experience to
>different people. We could also discuss whether or not hops
>belong in a braggot :)
I've toyed with the idea of making a braggot for some time, and the recent
discussion really got me thinking (a dangerous thing, I realize). I was
thinking that a light bittering hop dose (~10-15 IBUs) and a some nice noble
hop flavor (Saaz or Hallertauer varieties) would be lovely. 50% honey / 50%
malt (pale ale and a bit of crystal) for sugars.
Man, I'm getting thirsty now . . .
Thoughts?
Matt
------------------------------
Subject: Bread yeast correction
From: Mark Taratoot <taratoot@peak.org>
Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 17:10:46 -0700 (PDT)
I must take back some of what I said in the last MLD. I talked
with my friend Sara T., and she told me she uses Red Star
Champagne yeast, not bread yeast. I am sure I knew this all
along, but my memory ain't what it used to be, and I don't
remember if it ever was :) I was accurate, however, that she
does make very nice, dry, clean mead, and it does have a nice
bready feel to it. I would still suggest that good mead could be
made with bread yeast, but wine yeast is not very expensive, so
that's what I use. Remember, however that bread yeast strains
may have been selected for CO2 production (especially the newer
quick-rise strains), not alcohol production or flavor profiles.
Bread yeast, therefore, may be more appropriate for low alcohol
meads. So, Jake, please let us know how your bread yeast mead
turns out. I'll be looking for an update some time next summer.
One final note: Thanks again, Dick, for keeping this digest
going. We appreciate all your efforts!
- --
Mark Taratoot
taratoot@peak.org
------------------------------
Subject: RE:Orange Blossom Honey
From: RDexter819@aol.com
Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 21:27:43 EDT
I live in Bradenton, FL near Tampa. I've found Orange Blossom Honey cheap
in almost all grocery stores. It's probably a little overprocessed for mead,
but I've also found it in a few of the little mom and pop roadside produce
stands.
------------------------------
Subject: Clara Furness' Yeast Recomendations
From: Dan McFeeley <mcfeeley@keynet.net>
Date: Thu, 22 Apr 1999 10:16:49 -0500
There have been queries about yeast types for mead on the digest from time to
time, so I thought MLD folk would be interested in this section from _Honey
Wines and Beers_, by Clara Furness, British author and mead maker.
This is where knowledge of commercial wine gives you confidence.
You select the wine type which your idealised mead is going to
emulate and buy the yeast cultured from that grape. This is
obvious advice for the home winemaker who may wish to emulate a
Sauternes with his applewine or a Burgundy with his elderberries and
blackberries.
But the mead maker is imitating nothing -- he is making a sophisticated
version of a true native wine. It is therefore best to consider the
purpose of the mead we are making. A light dry mead will need a
yeast cultured from a light, dry wine such as Hock or Chablis. A
medium sweet wine will call for a Sauternes yeast or one of the
Moselle types, Piesporter or Bernkasteler. Sweet mead is better made
with a yeast with a high alcohol tolerance -- sherry, port, Madeira.
I like Tokay yeast, though this is a wine fortified not with brandy
but with extra sweet grape juice.
(_Honey Wines & Beers_, p. 10)
Any comments or critiques? Do you all agree with Clara Furness'
recomendations? What reasons would you give for using different
yeast types?
<><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><>
Dan McFeeley
mcfeeley@keynet.net
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Bread Yeast (my two farthings)
From: Faulconess@aol.com
Date: Thu, 22 Apr 1999 22:15:21 EDT
<snip>
> I was toying with the idea of making a 1gal batch
> of traditional mead using bread yeast.
One of the main differences between brewer's and baker's yeast, is that the
varied strains used for brewing WILL generally stabilize, and stop
fermenting once the alcohol reaches a certain level. The yeast will die off
or go dormant, while there's still some suger left to make the mead taste
sweet.
Baker's yeast however, has no such scruples. It will just keep going and
going like the Energizer Bunny....and your must will get harder, and harder,
and harder. If you choose to age it...shoot, in a year, you could have
turpentine.
I live in the Appalachians, where homemade dandelion, "ramp", and other
country concoctions, are common. Ever had homemade Cider, or Apple Jack?
;) Baker's yeast is freely used around here. For "mountain wine", the
resulting extra dryness, astringency and alcoholic "kick" isn't a problem.
On
It all depends on what you want out of your mead. I too, used Fleischman's
Rapid Rise for my first batch (many years ago!) and it came out HORRIBLE
(IMHO) It was then I wised up and started using brewer's yeast, which I've
used ever since.
But that is MY taste buds talking; I like a medium to sweet mead, and I most
certainly DON'T like dry melomel!!!! However, friends who tried the same
batch (and who prefer their potables dry) sang its praises and begged me to
make more. Different strokes, as they say. :/
------------------------------
Subject: mead source?
From: Mfkaless2@aol.com
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 1999 12:40:10 EDT
Was wondering if you had any idea how I could go about locating a source to
purchase mead for a wedding. I cant seem to find a "distributor" very easily
here in Boston.
Thanks.
Laureen
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #737
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