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Mead Lovers Digest #0801
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #801, 19 April 2000
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #801 19 April 2000
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Does the A.M.A. still exist? ("Scott Stihler (AVO Analyst)")
Lion's Tooth, Scottish or Celtic Recipes (NeophyteSG@aol.com)
re: moving carboys (Yacko Warner Yacko)
Re: full carboy transport (Charlie Moody)
oxygen "re-starting" fermentation ("Alan Meeker")
RE: Carbouy agitation (Warren Place)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #800, 12 April 2000 ("WilliAM")
RE: Mead Lover's Digest #800, 12 April 2000 ("Kevin Mc Lean")
RE: Suggestions for full carboy transport (LaBorde, Ronald)
dread thread (re: Boyfriend Spit Solution) (Dick Dunn)
NOTE: Digest only appears when there is enough material to send one.
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Does the A.M.A. still exist?
From: "Scott Stihler (AVO Analyst)" <scott@giseis.alaska.edu>
Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2000 13:05:14 -0800 (AKDT)
I recently came across a notice of a homebrew competition in which it was
stated that the competition sanctioned by both American Homebrewers
Association (AHA) and the American Meadmakers Association (AMA).
How could that be? I had thought the AMA was no more. In fact, I basically
assumed that this digest was its latest incarnation. Am I wrong about this?
Does the AMA still exist? If so, does it still produce a newsletter, sanction
competitions etc.?
Just curious.
Cheers,
Scott
------------------------------
Subject: Lion's Tooth, Scottish or Celtic Recipes
From: NeophyteSG@aol.com
Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2000 20:48:11 EDT
Does anyone know of any recipes for or references to meads (historical or
otherwise) with dandelions? Likewise with period Scottish or Celtic recipes,
especially
containing heather but not necessarily? If you happen to have any wine or
beer/ale recipes along the same line(s) I'd take them most happily!
Warm Regards,
Shawn
------------------------------
Subject: re: moving carboys
From: Yacko Warner Yacko <yacko@mint.net>
Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2000 09:16:10 -0400
I'd say you've got a good idea going. Just be sure to put em on the seat
of the vehicle you've got em in, not on the floor. I've transported full
carboys on a car which was not on a trailer (I was driving it) with just
leaving the carboys on the back seat. I had them wrapped in big fluffy
towels, which I wrapped and then taped (duct tape - now 1002 uses) to
keep it on to keep them from banging together. IF your carboys stand a
chance to bounce against anything (very likely) then just wrap em in
towels or blankets or some such.
Keeping them on the front seat would, I think, be a very bad idea. Since
it sounds like you're doing a U-haul/rental vehicle, you're more likely
to get pulled over anyway. You're also driving across state lines it
sounds (I dont know a state other than Alaska that would take more than
30 hours to cross - although crossing Kansas seems damn close
sometimes). That whole thing of 'Son, what have you got in there? Would
you step out of the vehicle' is jsut plain scary. Better to leave em on
the trailer in the back seat with clothes pile on em, that way they're
less likely to raise ANYONE's suspicion. SEveral large bottle with
ferment locks on em might look more like something explosive to the
non-brewing public than something drinkable.
Best of luck on your trip.
On Mon, May 19, 2036 at 08:44:12PM -0600, mead-request@talisman.com wrote:
> Subject: Suggestions for full carboy transport.
> From: Elfboy0@aol.com
> Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2000 10:02:42 EDT
>
> I'm going to be moving across the country in a week, and I have a 6.8 gallon
> and two 3 gallon carboys that are relatively full. I'm looking for
> suggestions from anyone that has had to do something similar, to make sure
> I'm not overlooking anything. Right now, the plan is to put the carboys in my
> car, which will be on an auto-trailer (all four wheels off the ground, so the
> car won't be tilted). I figure between the trailer and the car, most bumps
> will be absorbed a great deal to minimize splashing. I may be able to put the
> carboys in boxes with bubble wrap or packing peanuts in them to also take up
> some impact jostling. It's a 31 hour drive, so I figure blankets aren't going
> to do a whole lot of good, but I'm not too worried about temperature shifts
> over only a couple of days (or should I be?). I'm certainly not going to
> leave the carboys in the back of the moving truck, but perhaps I'm looking at
> enough of a situation that I should try and get the carboys in the front of
> the truck with me? Anyone with experience on this?
>
------------------------------
Subject: Re: full carboy transport
From: Charlie Moody <chmood@mindspring.com>
Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2000 09:23:18 -0400
>Subject: Suggestions for full carboy transport.
>From: Elfboy0@aol.com
>
>I'm going to be moving across the country in a week, and I have a 6.8 gallon
>and two 3 gallon carboys that are relatively full. I'm looking for
>suggestions from anyone that has had to do something similar, to make sure
>I'm not overlooking anything.
Hi, Joshua -
I've done this twice in the last 2 years (same batch of mead both
ways, as a matter of fact).
As long as the carboys are secure (i.e., can't move around and bang
into things) and protected (i.e., things can't bang into them -
including the floor!), all should be ok. My experience was with a
single 25L carboy that was pretty full. It rode from Atlanta to
Denver strapped into the driver's seat of my Nissan...and rode back
to Atlanta 16 months later in the back of the truck (inside a heavy
box designed for shipping carboys, lashed to the side). No ill
effects to mead, car, or truck.
You didn't mention the path you're taking on your quest, but I'll
offer this warning anyway: BEWARE MISSOURI!!!. Not that it's a bad
place...but the condition of I-70 is/was appalling. I was terrified
almost the whole way through that the banging around would ruin the
mead - if not actually break the glass & destroy the batch. The mead
& I both came through, but it was definitely nerve-gnawing!
Good luck on your trip, and in your new home.
- --
------------------------------
Subject: oxygen "re-starting" fermentation
From: "Alan Meeker" <ameeker@welchlink.welch.jhu.edu>
Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2000 09:54:36 -0400
Just a short note on the recent discussion of why a ferment that apparently
has stopped could show signs of activity once again following racking. The
idea of yeast agitation or some sort of oxygen-induced "activation" of the
yeasts are certainly possibilities, as is contamination. Another possibility
to keep in mind is the fact that yeast can actually metabolize alcohol. This
absolutely requires the presence of oxygen. Here, the yeast are able to eat
some of the alcohol that they produced during the prior anaerobic
fermentation. How much activity you'd get would of course depend upon how
much oxygen you introduced during the transfer. Most yeast will probably
take the ethanol down to acetic acid so if enough of this occurred
sour/acetic notes might end up in the final mead. FWIW.
- -Alan Meeker
Lazy Eight Brewery
Baltimore, MD
------------------------------
Subject: RE: Carbouy agitation
From: Warren Place <wrplace@ucdavis.edu>
Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2000 12:57:24 -0700 (PDT)
> From: rcd@raven.talisman.com (Dick Dunn)
> After watching a lot of meads ferment (no, I'm not really *that* bored...
> sounds like "watching grass grow" doesn't it?:-), I have decided that the
> problem, occasionally mentioned, of "stratification", is one we need to
> study. What I see happening is that fermentation slows so much that there
> is no effective transport of fermented/fermentable material vertically
> through the fermenter, so it stagnates into rich and depleted layers. THIS
> IS A HYPOTHESIS! Help me test it.
> - ---
> Dick Dunn rcd@talisman.com Hygiene, Colorado USA
> ...Simpler is better.
Brownian motion (the natural stirring action of all liquids due to
random movement of the molecules therein) should provide enough agitation
to prevent any stratification. Otherwise, your first sip of a glass of
mead would be pure ethanol (or at least something lighter than water).
That would really put the "rage" into beverage. Also, any fermentation
activity by the yeast would evolve CO2 that also stirs the solution. I do
agree with idea that a dead layer of yeast at the top of the lees may
inhibit fermentation by active yeast underneath. Keep rocking those
carbouys!
Warren Place
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #800, 12 April 2000
From: "WilliAM" <wmillett@fractal.com.br>
Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2000 01:08:10 -0400
> Subject: Lurgashall Winery
> From: Nathan Kanous <nlkanous@pharmacy.wisc.edu>
> Date: Thu, 06 Apr 2000 19:23:34 -0400
The winery has a site, and the specific page for meads is
http://www.lurgashall.co.uk/meads.htm
They are located in West Sussex, UK and it is said that they supply mead to
the Royal Family. They also make fruit wines, liquers and regular wines.
I haven't tried their products, but they have been around for some time. The
first time I read about them was in an article of a business newspaper some
8 or so years ago.
Hope this helps
William.
>
> Hi All,
> Stopped into the beer store tonight and bumped into something I haven't
> seen in the past. They sell both a perry and a mead made by the Lurgashall
> winery in England. Anybody ever heard of them? Any reviews? At $10.99
> for a 350mL bottle, I thought I'd check here first. TIA.
> nathan in madison, wi
> Nathan L. Kanous II, Pharm.D., BCPS
> Clinical Assistant Professor
> School of Pharmacy
> University of Wisconsin - Madison
> 425 North Charter Street
> Madison, WI 53706-1515
> Phone (608) 263-1779
> Pager (608) 265-7000 #2246 (digital)
>
------------------------------
Subject: RE: Mead Lover's Digest #800, 12 April 2000
From: "Kevin Mc Lean" <mcleank@brampton.cqu.edu.au>
Date: Sun, 16 Apr 2000 14:20:04 +1000
Dear Brewers,
this post is not exactly about mead, but a drink that is of a similar
'country' nature. Does anyone have a recipe for hoarhound that they'd be
willing to share?
Regards,
Kevin.
------------------------------
Subject: RE: Suggestions for full carboy transport
From: rlabor@lsumc.edu (LaBorde, Ronald)
Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2000 15:29:45 -0500
Subject: Suggestions for full carboy transport.
>...I may be able to put the
>carboys in boxes with bubble wrap or packing peanuts in them to also take up
>some impact jostling. It's a 31 hour drive...
Whew, that sounds like a disaster in the making. It is so easy to forget
about the load and start driving as though it was not there.
I think I would do this:
I would get some really strong cardboard boxes, into which I would place a
large plastic bag (maybe double bag), then siphon the liquid into the bags,
then seal and transport like that. If you twist the bags down, there should
be little or any room for sloshing. Try to get food grade, or white bags.
Ron
Ronald La Borde - Metairie, Louisiana - rlabor@lsumc.edu
http://hbd.org/rlaborde
------------------------------
Subject: dread thread (re: Boyfriend Spit Solution)
From: rcd@raven.talisman.com (Dick Dunn)
Date: 18 Apr 00 11:10:07 MDT (Tue)
Oh no! It's the dreaded "siphon sucking" thread...:-)
"Roger Flanders" <flanders@probe.net> wrote:
> ...An experienced mentor instructed me during my very first
> attempt at homebrewing to always pre-chill a bottle of vodka in the
> freezer before brewing. Then, just before sucking on the siphon, take
> a swig of the cold vodka, swish it around in my mouth "to kill all the
> germs," swallow, then suck on the siphon. I often double or even
> triple the process -- just for added insurance, of course.
Not to discourage you from having a swig or two of vodka when the occasion
suits, but that doesn't really clean out the bacteria. If it works for
siphoning, it's because the bacteria from your mouth don't get a hold in
the mead.
Here's an easy way to start a siphon without sucking: Put the racking cane
(the rigid tube) in the carboy/fermenter. Hold the racking hose ends-up in
a U. Pour clean water into the hose. Keeping the two ends even, attach
one to the racking cane. Pinch the other one, lower it to the target
vessel, and let go. There's enough water in the hose to pull mead up and
over the bend in the racking cane and start the siphon. It's simpler to do
this than to describe it. Oh, if you're really fussy, drain the water that
comes out first into a separate container, and maybe also let the first bit
of mead (which may be cloudy where the racking cane stirred up sediment
when you put it in) drain off separately as well.
I've thought about why it bothers me so much to suck on a siphon to start
it. I've decided it's a combination of hygiene and culture--the latter
being, for example, that I won't double-dip a potato chip. Or, when I'm
cooking for anyone but myself, if I use a spoon to take a taste I don't put
the spoon back in the pot without washing it off first. It's a sense of
"once it's been in my mouth it's not fit to go in other people's mouths"
(regardless of what other folks do and/or what's safe).
- ---
Dick Dunn rcd@talisman.com Hygiene, Colorado USA
...Simpler is better.
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #801
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