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Mead Lovers Digest #0787
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #787, 31 January 2000
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #787 31 January 2000
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
PLEASE NOTE: We don't do computer training here (Mead Lover's Digest)
Re:microwave corks (Gregg Stearns)
Re: mead list (Gregg Stearns)
RE: yeast nutrient (Gregg Stearns)
Re: My House Smells Wonderfull! (Gregg Stearns)
DAP, urea (was Re: Wedding Mead) (Dick Dunn)
Perfume and entertainment (Dave Burley)
mazers (Steve Daughhetee)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #786, 29 January 2000 (Vicky Rowe)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #786, 29 January 2000 (OxladeMac@aol.com)
Re: mead list (Elfboy0@aol.com)
Re: Heather Metheglin ??? (Dan McFeeley)
Re: Heather (Kevin Mc Lean)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #786, 29 January 2000 (OxladeMac@aol.com)
Sorry, forgot plain text! ("Robert Goulding")
Heather, comments on (Jerry Harder)
Edme yeast (Jerry Harder)
1600 recipe (Jerry Harder)
Survey response (Jerry Harder)
leftover must (joel tracy)
Thiabendazole again (Cam Lay)
questions and comments ("Alan Meeker")
racking mead (Jeff Norman)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #786, 29 January 2000 ("Wout Klingens")
PS ("Wout Klingens")
NOTE: Digest only appears when there is enough material to send one.
Send ONLY articles for the digest to mead@talisman.com.
Use mead-request@talisman.com for [un]subscribe/admin requests. When
subscribing, please include name and email address in body of message.
Digest archives and FAQ are available for anonymous ftp at ftp.stanford.edu
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: PLEASE NOTE: We don't do computer training here
From: mead@raven.talisman.com (Mead Lover's Digest)
Date: 29 Jan 00 10:33:55 MST (Sat)
Folks, please keep in mind that this digest is about mead, not about
learning how to use e-mail or the Web. I understand that when you first
encounter new uses of a computer it can be confusing, hard to understand,
and hard to make your software do what you want it to. But it is not
reasonable to ask me for help, nor especially to try to post questions to
the digest itself, asking help with using your mailer or browser. I want
to spend my own "mead time" keeping the digest running and making mead!
And I don't want to spend digest space on computer help Q&A. The digest
is deliberately run in a very simple and traditional format so that all
mailers should be able to handle it.
There are literally hundreds of "computers for the layman" books to help
you learn. Your software should come with a manual and/or online help.
Your ISP may be able to help you or may have Web-based help. Use these
resources to learn how to use your computer, and keep the MLD about mead.
Also, realize that answers to your questions often depend on your partic-
ular hardware and software, which is why I can't just give quick one-size-
fits-all answers.
- ---
Mead-Lover's Digest mead-request@talisman.com
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor Boulder County, Colorado USA
------------------------------
Subject: Re:microwave corks
From: Gregg Stearns <gregg@ispi.net>
Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2000 12:10:37 -0600
I dont' think i'd recommend this. It might work, but with a microwave,
it's hard to tell just how hot it really is. plus, you still need to
soak them to soften them up, and if you only used water, you'd risk
contaminating the corks, so you'd need a sterile solution anyhow.
an afterthought though...what if you put your corks in a bowl with the
solution, and slowly heated it the in the microwave?? do it careful.
i'm sure some of those chemicals release bad fumes if boiled.
- --
Gregg Stearns | "All your metal armor drags me down,
Editor VnewsInsider.com | nothing hurts like your mouth."
gregg@ispi.net | BUSH: Mouth(razorblade Suitcase)
------------------------------
Subject: Re: mead list
From: Gregg Stearns <gregg@ispi.net>
Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2000 12:17:22 -0600
Yeah, yeast can't survive well in a super saturated sugar environment.
There is such a thing as too much honey, and i think your comment
"I don't know if fermentation is supposed to be normally difficult at
higher
OG's - I'm assuming so since my vanilla mead took forever to get
started, and
my lemon mead started a bit slow. " supports this idea. Think of it
like this, yeast is alive and needs sugar. People need oxygen. Give
yeast too much sugar, and it doesn't do so hot. Give a human too much
oxygen, and their lungs get burned.
The reason that your melomels did better is due to the vitamins in the
fruit.
There's nothing wrong with using 20-25lbs for a 5 gallon batch...but I'd
suggest starting with 15lbs, and after a week, add 5 lbs, and in a few
more weeks, add the other 5 lbs. Fermentation should go more smoothly.
- --
Gregg Stearns | "All your metal armor drags me down,
Editor VnewsInsider.com | nothing hurts like your mouth."
gregg@ispi.net | BUSH: Mouth(razorblade Suitcase)
------------------------------
Subject: RE: yeast nutrient
From: Gregg Stearns <gregg@ispi.net>
Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2000 12:22:16 -0600
Original clip:
- --------------------------------------
First add nutrient. Get ammonium
phosphate or diammonium phosphate not the stuff with urea in it. Many
times it is marketed at homebrew shops as "nutrient". Ask what's
in it to be sure.
- --------------------------------------
If you can get it, Wyeast nutrient is great. It's got minerals,
vitamins and ammino acids galor, and no urea. It's like adding the
benefits from a melomel without making a melomel. I ALWAYS use it
- --
Gregg Stearns | "All your metal armor drags me down,
Editor VnewsInsider.com | nothing hurts like your mouth."
gregg@ispi.net | BUSH: Mouth(razorblade Suitcase)
------------------------------
Subject: Re: My House Smells Wonderfull!
From: Gregg Stearns <gregg@ispi.net>
Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2000 12:27:34 -0600
Original:
- ------------
Subject: My House Smells Wonderfull!
From: "Philip J Wilcox" <pjwilcox@cmsenergy.com>
Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2000 14:47:51 -0500
The last Traditional I made was with Fruit Blossom honey and I didn't boil it or
heat it in any way. I disolved it in water, Properly rehydrated 10 grams of wine
yeast (EC-1118?) cooled, tempered and pitched. There it sat. It krausened just
fine, and then after a few months it developed a Mold? Or some such inconsistent
white film-plecile over the top of the must, some large bubbles some white
blotches. I dont want this to happen to my Heather honey. Which I would expect
it would have much less wild yeast than the Fruit Blossom Honey from the
orchard.
- -----------
Phillip, I too once had a white film form in the carboy, just towards
the end if primary. I consulted with the local brew god, and he said
that yeast can do funny things, and that it might not be a contamination
factor. I would like to add that it was forming large, soap like
bubbles (3-4" across) at the same time. Well I tasted it, and it was
fine! No sour/bitter/weird off flavors.
Just the same, I would simmer your honey, at least half of it (one
batch) to be on the safe side.
- --
Gregg Stearns | "All your metal armor drags me down,
Editor VnewsInsider.com | nothing hurts like your mouth."
gregg@ispi.net | BUSH: Mouth(razorblade Suitcase)
------------------------------
Subject: DAP, urea (was Re: Wedding Mead)
From: rcd@raven.talisman.com (Dick Dunn)
Date: 29 Jan 00 14:37:41 MST (Sat)
Jerry Harder <mastergoodwine@alltel.net> wrote (in a note about hurrying a
mead along):
> ...First add nutrient. Get ammonium
> phosphate or diammonium phosphate not the stuff with urea in it...
What's the argument against urea? A naive chemical guess says that if it's
providing available nitrogen, that's the main point, isn't it?
Do yeast have a significant requirement for phosphorus that would otherwise
go unmet?
- ---
Dick Dunn rcd@talisman.com Hygiene, Colorado USA
...Simpler is better.
------------------------------
Subject: Perfume and entertainment
From: Dave Burley <Dave_Burley@compuserve.com>
Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2000 16:16:44 -0500
Message text written by INTERNET:mead@talisman.com
><
Butcher asks if anyone else watches their fermentations with passion. I do.
I am compelled to look at it almost every time I walk by and am delighted
by it. Interestingly, I have always felt like this for over three
decades, going on four, of fermenting. And the perfume of a new
fermentation that fills the air is delightful and uplifting to me, even if
others disagree...
Dave Burley
------------------------------
Subject: mazers
From: Steve Daughhetee <sdd6@cornell.edu>
Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2000 16:33:08 -0500
With all of this talk about mazers, I realize that I've never seen
one. Anyone have a digital photo of a mazer (from the mazer cup or
otherwise) which they would like to post to the web or send me as an
e-mail attachment?
Thanks.
Steve Daughhetee
Perry City, NY
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #786, 29 January 2000
From: Vicky Rowe <gotmead@mindspring.com>
Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2000 17:19:18 -0500
> Subject: Heather Metheglin ???
> From: Joe Callahan <fjc2947@networksplus.net>
> Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2000 11:39:02 -0600
>
> While at the GABF (Great American Beer Festival) last fall I tried
> several beers that had Heather as a substitute for hops. Heather could
> be one of several herbs in combination which would be called a gruit. I
> am considering making a metheglin using heather as the herb. The book
> =93Making Wild Wines & Meads=94 by Pattie Vargas & Rich Gulling, Storey
> Books copyright 1999 suggests using dried herbs at the rate of 2-3
> ounces per gallon of metheglin, however the heather packages suggest a
> rate of 2 ounces per 5 gallons of beer. Quite a difference.
>
> Is the use of heather totally inappropriate in mead making?
>
I made a heather metheglyn last year. The recipe was:
1 gal acacia honey
20 oz heather blossoms (dried - from the herb shop)
1 oz crushed rose hips
5 tsp yeast nutrient
1 pkg premier cuvee yeast
I boiled 2 gal of water, then held it at around 160 while I added
the honey. I poured that over the bagged heater and rose hips.
I also added 2 more gal hot water and let this sit 24 hours on
the heather to cool. Then I squeezed out the heather bag and removed
it. I let it sit for 30 days in primary, then racked it. One
month later it was thin and had an interesting flavor. By another
month it was better, but a bit sour. 2 months after that (no more
racks yet) it was a bit sharp. A week later I racked it and added
about 6 cups of boiled water with about 2 pints of honey dissolved
into it. In three months, it was a little sweet, but needed more
aging. In another month, it was still a bit sweet, with a tartish
finish. I bottled about 4 months later, and the SG was .992.
The final flavor at bottling was a nice woodsy, slightly sweet
herbal taste, with nice legs and a tart finish. I served a bottle
2 weeks ago, and it was much the same, a bit mellower perhaps.
All in all, a good batch, I think.
> Is the flavor component all bitterness or is there a floral flavor
> contribution as well?
There is a nice floral touch.
> How many ounces of heather per gallon would be appropriate? (It would be
> added in the secondary).
I added mine in the primary, and let it steep for 24 hours like tea. I
used 20 oz for a 4.5 gal batch
> Should the honey be clover honey or orange blossom?
I used acacia honey
> Anybody=92s previous experience with heather would be appreciated.
>
> TIA Joe Callahan, Nano_Brewer
>
Wassail!
Vicky Rowe
The Meadwench
Come see my mead pages at http://www.gotmead.com
Recipes, techniques, history and links!
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #786, 29 January 2000
From: OxladeMac@aol.com
Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2000 08:03:54 EST
OxladeMac@aol.com writes:
> I know that there are those out there who will disagree, but I think the
> savior for sweet meads is a weak yeast. I have used champagne yeast, and
> will never do so again. Unless you interceed, or have an amazingly high OG,
> it's going to end up dry. That's what champagne yeast was designed to do
- -
In a message dated 1/29/00 12:00:35 PM Central Standard Time,
mead-Elfboy0@aol.com writes:
<< I pretty
much use between 4 1/2 and 6 lbs. of honey per gallon (thus a 5 gallon batch
is made with 22 1/2 to 30 lbs. of honey) with dry mead yeast or champagne
yeast. Plus around 7 lbs. of fruit. For my one exception, I think I used 20
lbs. of honey with 5 lbs. of fruit and champagne yeast (I hadn't started
keeping that great of records yet), and from what I can tell (it's still
aging) that is too low. But I think when I used 25 lbs., that was okay. >>
I think this falls into the category that I labeled "Amazingly high OG."
Assuming an average of 35 gravity points per pound, 4 1/2 pounds = 1.157, and
6 pounds = 1.210. Then you've got the fruit on top of that! On the 6 pound
recipe, if you can keep your yeast alive in such a must, you could go all the
way to the alcohol limit of naturally fermented beverages (23%) and still
have an ending gravity of 1.032!
Ox
------------------------------
Subject: Re: mead list
From: Elfboy0@aol.com
Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2000 14:18:01 EST
gregg@ispi.net writes:
> Yeah, yeast can't survive well in a super saturated sugar environment.
...
> There's nothing wrong with using 20-25lbs for a 5 gallon batch...but I'd
> suggest starting with 15lbs, and after a week, add 5 lbs, and in a few
> more weeks, add the other 5 lbs. Fermentation should go more smoothly.
Actually, I do something resembling this for my melomels anyway. However, the
key here is not simply to reduce volumes, but instead to use different
proportions. 15lbs for 3 gallons, and then adding 5 lbs/gallon a gallon at a
time is still 5 lbs/gallon from the start, and won't do any good. I think
that 3lbs/gallon is a good mark, leaving either 16 lbs of honey to put into
2gal., or 13 lbs into 1gal. Doable, but next time I'm making a starter
culture. :)
- Joshua
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Heather Metheglin ???
From: Dan McFeeley <mcfeeley@keynet.net>
Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2000 13:53:58 -0600
On Sun, 23 Jan 2000, in MLD 786, Joe Callahan wrote:
>While at the GABF (Great American Beer Festival) last fall I tried
>several beers that had Heather as a substitute for hops. Heather could
>be one of several herbs in combination which would be called a gruit. I
>am considering making a metheglin using heather as the herb. . . .
>
>Is the use of heather totally inappropriate in mead making?
Oh yes, the use of heather is very appropriate in mead making! Heather was
used by the Pictish people of the British Isles in their fermented beverages
for millenia. A pottery sherd dated at 2000 BC was found at a site on the
Isle of Rhum off the coast of Scotland. Analysis of the sherd showed traces
of a fermented beverage which used heather. Both meads and ales were made by
the people living in the British Isles, easily from the time of the
Neolithic era.
Steve Buhner, _Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers_, has a recipe for heather
mead. The recipe calls for 6 lb.s heather honey, 10 cups lightly pressed
flowering heather tops, and four gallons of water. An infusion of the
heather tops is made by heating water to 170 F, adding 6 cups of the
heather and allowing the mixture to stand overnight. After straining,
the infusion is boiled, removed from the heat and then the honey is
stirred in. The hot must is run through a sieve filled with 2 cups
of heather tips and then fermented. Once the fermentation slows down,
1/2 gallon of the fermenting mead is removed, heated to 158 F, and two
cups of heather tips are added. This infusion is steeped for 15 minutes,
covered, and then returned to the fermenting to finish out.
<><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><>
Dan McFeeley
mcfeeley@keynet.net
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Heather
From: k.g.mclean@cqu.edu.au (Kevin Mc Lean)
Date: Mon, 31 Jan 2000 08:36:29 +1000 (EST)
Joe Callahan asks about using dried herbs with mead, specifically heather -
>>suggests using dried herbs at the rate of 2-3
>>ounces per gallon of metheglin, however the heather packages suggest a
>>rate of 2 ounces per 5 gallons of beer. Quite a difference.
>>
>>Is the use of heather totally inappropriate in mead making?
Herbs tend to vary when fresh, and are probably reasonably standard when
dry - but I'd still use them fresh in reduced quantities. I've also tried
essential oils (in minute quantities - six drops to a five gallon batch)
and that's probably good for some herbs - but not all. With heather, Duncan
and Acton mention that heather honey has a large tannin content (tannin,
hops and 10% plus alcohol content preserve drinks generally) and heather
mead is probably not drinkable for eight years or so - but is exquisite
when finally sampled. I'd say that this is the reason why there is mention
of a reduced quantity of heather. However, I do recall coming across a
recipe for heather ale on the net, which was drinkable in a relatively
short time - so if you can find that, you might get a better idea of how to
handle heather.
Anyway, that's the extent of my knowledge on the subject of heather.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Kevin.
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #786, 29 January 2000
From: OxladeMac@aol.com
Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2000 17:51:04 EST
In a message dated 1/29/00 12:00:35 PM Central Standard Time, mead-Ken Mason
<kjmason1@yahoo.com> writes:
<< 1 week mead! (pun intended??) I've had lots of fun
making these "honey beverages" during the week for a
mild brew on the weekend. I'd certainly like to give
any quick mead a try. So supply the recipe sometime. >>
Here it is:
4 1/2 gal water
7 1/2 lb. honey
1/2 hand sliced ginger
1 tablespoon lemon balm or mint balm
2 tablespoon spearmint
2 tablespoon elderflowers
4 cloves
2 lemons
Edme ale yeast
Zest lemons. Place 2 gallons of water in pot, bring to boil. Add honey,
heat, skim dross. Add ginger, balm, spearmint, elderflowers, and lemon peel.
Cook until ginger is limp and various flavors are evident - about 30 - 35
minutes. Add cloves. Cook until cloves appear in bouquet - about 5 minutes.
Removed from heat. Pour 3 gallons of cold water into fermented. Strain
must into fermented. Top off to 5 gallons. Allow to cool to about 100F.
Pitch yeast and shake well. Let work for 3-5 days, and bottle or keg. Ready
to serve in 7 days. Alcohol content about 2%
MUST BE DRUNK QUICKLY!!!!! IF ANY REMAINS AFTER 2 WEEKS, REFRIGERATE!!!!
This recipe was redacted by ld. Tadhg macAedian uiChonchobhair and was based
on a recipe from Digbie: "Take ten quarts of water and one of honey, balm a
little, minth, limon-peel, Elder-flowers, a little ginger, wrought with a
liggle yest, bottle after a night working."
I've had this and it's DURN good!!! Tadhg makes it in one of those Edme
pressure kegs. It's a light carbonated honey beverage - the equivalent of
lemonade on a hot summer day!!!
I'd take Tadhg's advice on refrigeration seriously - hand gernades if you
don't!!!
Ox
------------------------------
Subject: Sorry, forgot plain text!
From: "Robert Goulding" <sanctuary@RAPIDNET.COM>
Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2000 17:05:58 -0700
Subject: Quibbling
From: NLSteve@aol.com
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2000 17:01:54 EST
>From Robert Goulding's enjoyable post:
"Sterilization IS important however. I bring my water to a
boil, turn off the fire and add my honey and other ingredients. . ."
Maybe it depends on how you define the "IS" in "Sterilization IS important."
I am a convert to the Church of Meadmaking Without Fuss, in which the
practitioners don't bother to boil, pasteurize or sulfite. Instead, the
practitioners use clean equipment and a serious, vigorous yeast starter. So
far, nothing but great mead. I took a little poll here about the experience
of others with this approach, and while the results weren't conclusive, I
certainly found no information that changed my methods. So maybe a fairer
statement is "Sterilization is important to some people, and that's fine."
P.S.: No, don't try this with beer.
Steve
Steve, thanks for the compliment, I am glad you liked my post. I am a firm
believer in whatever works. If you don't lose batches to contamination by
just diluting and pitching yeast then that is great. How do you get the
honey mixed? Cold or room temperature honey and water would seem to me to
take a long time to get mixed. Do you mix it with some hot water to get it
started? I do agree that it is less important for a straight Mead than a
melomel also. It is the vigorous boiling I feel most strongly about. It is
not necessary to boil to deal with the potential pathogen problem. It may
not be necessary to heat if you start with clean equipment, etc. Clean
containers, tools, etc and a vigorous yeast sounds like a good deal to me.
Not much can grow in honey and if you use clean water you will probably
never have a problem. I mostly wanted people to know that there is at least
one alternative to boiling good and flavorful Honey to death. Your method
makes it two. I may do my next straight unflavored batch that way. The
local honey I get is so good that it might be even better if I do not cook
it at all. And no, I wouldn't try it with beer! Ya gotta boil them hops!
I have, after making quite a few beers, learned to add the honey in after I
am done with everything else to avoid boiling it. Almost every beer I make
has some honey in it. My nickname at my local homebrew club (Ale-Riders) is
"HoneyBear" because I can't seem to make anything without at least a little
honey in it (plus, I am about as big around as I am tall). I have gotten
several of the other members started making Meads and pyments etc, also.
Spreading the good word (and the good Mead)!
Robert Goulding
Head Rooster
Robert's Roost
sanctuary@rapidnet.com
http://w1.dtgnet.com/robertsroost/
625 South Street
Rapid City, South Dakota
57701-3633
605-341-3434
605-348-7799
------------------------------
Subject: Heather, comments on
From: Jerry Harder <mastergoodwine@alltel.net>
Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2000 19:48:45 -0600
Subject: Heather Metheglin ???
From: Joe Callahan <fjc2947@networksplus.net>
Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2000 11:39:02 -0600
While at the GABF (Great American Beer Festival) last fall I tried
several beers that had Heather as a substitute for hops. Heather could
be one of several herbs in combination which would be called a gruit. I
am considering making a metheglin using heather as the herb. The book
=93Making Wild Wines & Meads=94 by Pattie Vargas & Rich Gulling, Storey
Books copyright 1999 suggests using dried herbs at the rate of 2-3
ounces per gallon of metheglin, however the heather packages suggest a
rate of 2 ounces per 5 gallons of beer. Quite a difference.
Is the use of heather totally inappropriate in mead making?
No, I have read (I don't know where) that some beverages contained
honey, heather, and possibly other stuff.
Is the flavor component all bitterness or is there a floral flavor
contribution as well?
How many ounces of heather per gallon would be appropriate? (It would be
added in the secondary).
Consult the beer recipes. I suspect the general recommendations of
"Wild Meads" was for stuff like sage, mint etc.. Stuff like hops
are
comparatively intense flavors. I suspect that the heather is
equally intense.
Should the honey be clover honey or orange blossom?
Go with a good quality cheap honey (like clover) I think the heather
would compete with the delicate flavors of orange blossom honey
Jerry J Harder
------------------------------
Subject: Edme yeast
From: Jerry Harder <mastergoodwine@alltel.net>
Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2000 19:49:47 -0600
I totally agree here! I pretty much stick with Edme ale yeast in all my
meads. They all seem to stop at .3%-.8% below 11% alcohol, using about
3lbs honey/gallon. I find that using a tsp of irish moss (if you boil
your honey) helps it clear nicely. Even better, use a tad of isinglass,
and the stuff clears in a week! Best of all, the Edme yeast doesn't
leave as many off flavors, so I find it's not 'hot' and quite easy to
drink almost right after bottling.
Gregg Stearns
What exactly do you mean when you say ".3%-.8% below 11% alcohol,"
Do you mean 10.2%-10.7%?
It sounds like it makes a very sweet mead with about a 6 brix or
6% residual sugar. or a final gravity around 1.030. Is that right?
Jerry Harder
------------------------------
Subject: 1600 recipe
From: Jerry Harder <mastergoodwine@alltel.net>
Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2000 19:51:09 -0600
>>My favorite recipe: Dr Kings Mead (Circa 1600)
3-5 lemons (depending on size)
cut in half, squeezed over and then dropped into the must. 3-6 nutmegs
(also depending on size and how finely you chop or grind them)
5 quarts (15 pounds) honey
Can you document this recipe for me?
------------------------------
Subject: Survey response
From: Jerry Harder <mastergoodwine@alltel.net>
Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2000 19:47:46 -0600
Subject: a short survey:
From: Gregg Stearns <gregg@ispi.net>
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2000 01:37:53 -0600
I'd like to get a general sense of mead brewing differences.
Answer the following questions:
1. Do you use any clarifying agents (irish moss, isinglass, etc)?
Yes- Sparkolid powder
2. Do you add tannins (tea) to your must?
No, never, unless they are in the spices or fruit, but I never add
grape tannin powder.
3. Do you add acid blend (or lemon juice, etc) to the must?
Very seldom. If you use sulfites, it may be necessary.
(sulfite requires correct pH to work properly) But I always
pasteurize or boil.
4. Do you simmer your honey and skim the scum?
Yes
5. What is your favorite yeast? (and why?)
Pasteur champagne yeast. It dependably stops at 14.5% alcohol
no matter what the sugar. (If there is sufficient nutrients to
avoid stuck ferments)
Jerry J Harder
------------------------------
Subject: leftover must
From: joel tracy <demaigne@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 31 Jan 2000 01:07:25 -0800 (PST)
I was mixing up a batch the other day, and as I
was pouring must into the primary (having pitched the
yeast starter halfway through the pour) discovered
that I had too much must to leave a comfortable amount
of space for the initial ferment (normally really
rambunctious). I thought I could keep the must for
topping off when racking. Is this a bad idea? Should
I/can I refrigerate the leftovers? Can I just reheat
prior to racking and still have a safe topping off
liquid? What's the best thing to do here? I
experiment a lot, and the honey is getting too dear to
have to toss any of it.
Many thanks,
De Maigne
------------------------------
Subject: Thiabendazole again
From: Cam Lay <clay@CLEMSON.EDU>
Date: Mon, 31 Jan 2000 10:24:34 -0500
Once again, into the breach. I'll summarize this time, with the usual
caveats that this is not necessarily the opinion of my employer.
Thiobendazole is used as a fungicide and antihelminthic. I have been
treated with thiobendazole. The therapeutic dose is of course much higher
than the residue amounts one would find in orange peels. The half-life of
the compound in humans is 1.2 hours.
I found the following information in various English-language sites. The
information below is a reasonable summary, and is from Extoxnet (the
Extension Toxicology Network, compiled from information provided by various
Universities in the U.S.)
Reproductive effects: A three-generation study in rats showed no adverse
effects on reproduction at 20 to 80 mg/kg/day. <snip>Reproductive effects
in humans are not likely at anticipated levels of exposure.
Teratogenic effects: Pregnant rabbits fed doses of 75, 150, and 600
mg/kg/day produced pups with lower fetal weights at the highest dose
tested. No birth defects were observed with thiabendazole at any dose
tested [3,8]. Teratogenic effects are not likely from thiabendazole exposure.
Mutagenic effects: Several studies with bacteria have failed to produce any
chromosome changes or mutations due to thiabendazole [8]. It appears that
the compound is not mutagenic.
Carcinogenic effects: A 2-year feeding study with rats at levels of 10 to
160 mg/kg/day produced no cancer-related effects attributable to
thiabendazole [3,8]. Another study conducted over 18 months at the maximum
tolerated dose in mice produced no evidence of cancer related effects
[3,8]. It does not appear that thiabendazole is carcinogenic.
I mean no disrespect to anyone's beliefs or opinions. We all assign
different significance to the risks we daily face. Good luck in your
decision-making.
Regards,
C
------------------------------
Subject: questions and comments
From: "Alan Meeker" <ameeker@welchlink.welch.jhu.edu>
Date: Mon, 31 Jan 2000 11:02:24 -0500
Some questions and comments for the group
1) SORBATE - Does anybody have a good reference (or even a decent scientific
explanation) as to why sorbate prevents re-fermentation??
2) KV1116 YEAST - I just bottled two meads made w/ KV1116 and am very
pleased with the results. They both finished with a small amount of residual
sweetness (1.002 for a sack mead, 1.004 for the melomel) which is just what
I was looking for as I was sick of all the bone dry meads I'd been getting
w/ EC1118. Others have said KV1116 will ferment dry but, at least in this
one case, I got very nice slightly sweet meads. FWIW.
3) PHENOLS, TANNINS, and IRISH MOSS - I'm puzzled by the use of Irish moss
in meads. In brewing beer anyway, Irish moss is used to pull out proteins
and protein-phenol/polyphenol (tannin) complexes during the kettle boil.
For simple meads it doesn't seem like there should be much concern about
getting rid of proteins. Honey has some protein but have people viewed this
as a problem? If you boil your honey much of this protein will become
denatured and can then be easily removed by skimming. I stopped even
pasteurizing my mead musts a while back and haven't seen the presence of
proteins as a problem, not even for clarity as my meads seem perfectly happy
to drop crystal clear after a few months...
- -Alan Meeker
Baltimore, MD
------------------------------
Subject: racking mead
From: Jeff Norman <norman271@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 31 Jan 2000 12:00:07 -0800 (PST)
I am a novice winemaker and have a batch of mead
underway. I emptied the mead into two big stainless
steel pans in order to get rid of the sediment in the
carboy. (Sanitation was excerised, or so I thought.)
When I siphoned the mead back in to the carboy, it was
a beautiful golden color and kind of clear. Now it
has darkened but still fermenting slow. It doesn't
smell of vinegar (it's been about a week). Any idea
of what occurred?
Jeff L. Norman
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #786, 29 January 2000
From: "Wout Klingens" <wcm.klingens@quicknet.nl>
Date: Mon, 31 Jan 2000 21:02:40 +0100
Jerry Harder <mastergoodwine@alltel.net> writes:
> I am not familiar with how that particular yeast behaves, but
> I have never heard of using zest to kill off yeast. If you have
And therefore it isn't true? :-)
Ok, folks. Zest. For the very last time. My source(s).
I discussed orange wine with the honorable Mr. Clayton Cone (from "Ask
Clayton", Lallemand, no affeliation, endorsement, etc) and the trouble I've
gone through to get my first one restarted after been stuck. He told me that
he owned a large orange wine factory a long time ago. He knew what was
involved. The substance involved is d-lemonine, one of the ethereal oils
present in orange peel. It *kills* micro-organisms. Including yeast.
Pamela Spence writes in her book Mad about Mead (no aff, end, etc)on page
84: "While traditional winemaking texts indicate that high levels of oil
from the fruit peel may retard fermentation, at the low levels we ....".
I've found other sources on the Internet, but I can't find them quickly.
We are talking about an OJ-mel with an average of 1 zest (harvested with a
zester, so maximum yield) per liter which is a lot.
It will kill off yeast. I have been there and I made 3 batches to back that up.
I'll repeat what I've recommended before: add zest towards the end of
fermentation. That means: the week in which you start to hesitate, is it
still working or is it not. The period, when bottle bombs are created.
That's when you add it. I tried a week sooner and it worked too. In 2 days
you'll have a complete stop, maybe sooner, if you stir the oil through the
mead.
Macerate for 14 days max and then rack off the yeast.
Good luck.
Wout.
------------------------------
Subject: PS
From: "Wout Klingens" <wcm.klingens@quicknet.nl>
Date: Mon, 31 Jan 2000 22:12:34 +0100
Sorry, my really final word :-)
Correct spelling is d-limonine.
Useful to know if flees or ticks bother you........ :-)
Wout.
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #787
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