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Mead Lovers Digest #0822
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #822, 5 September 2000
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #822 5 September 2000
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
More on T'ej (Dan McFeeley)
Low alcohol mead ("Pannicke, Glen A.")
Oops!, a quick clarification! + an actual contribution to the crystal d ("...)
Re: blackberry vinegar ("Matt Maples")
Re: Organic ("Matt Maples")
Questions about Racking ("Brown.Jason")
Re: Blackberry Mead (Shroom)
Hallucinogenic Mead (Arcturus)
new article ("Glen Hendry")
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #820, 27 August 2000 (Phil Clarke)
Elderberries (Spencer W Thomas)
Banana Melomel Questions (Arcturus)
Ginger Braggot and Stainless Steel (Arcturus)
racking, campden and hygrometer chart ("Linda Grant/Matthew Ransom")
Holiday meads ("Linda Grant/Matthew Ransom")
blackberries (Dick Dunn)
Science and Tradition (Dan McFeeley)
Re: MLD #821 and using grape wine base (Tom Hogland)
Well or Bottled Water ("Doug Mort")
Milk Fermentation (NeophyteSG@aol.com)
fermentation and passionfruit (Fe Waters)
Newsgroup Creation (Shane Hultquist)
Rotten Eggs ("David Wagner")
NOTE: Digest 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.
Digest archives and FAQ are available at www.talisman.com/mead. There is
a searchable MLD archive at hubris.engin.umich.edu/Beer/Threads/Mead
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: More on T'ej
From: Dan McFeeley <mcfeeley@keynet.net>
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2000 01:11:21 -0500
I asked about hop subsitutes that may be used in place of Gesho for making
T'ej on a few other lists and received this excellent reply below from Sean
Richens in hist-brewing-digest V1 #678. His description of T'ej sounds much
more authentic than what I had posted, so with his permission, here is his
reply below. Sean can be reached on the hist-brewing list if anyone else
has questions.
In addition to the address Sean Richens gives for finding Gesho, Sean Sweeney
suggested this URL:
Aladdin's Market
http://www.aladdinmaket.com/african_food.htm
<><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><>
Dan McFeeley
mcfeeley@keynet.net
- -------------------------------[snip!]-----------------------------------
From: "Sean Richens"
Subject: Re: hist-brewing: Mead Recipe for T'ej
Date: Sun, 27 Aug 2000 09:51:18 -0500
Dan & friends:
I think the first problem with all attempts to translate Tej recipes is that
"hops" is a translation by analogy. Gesho is a species of buckthorn. DON'T
substitute the ornamental buckthorn or the native Californian species as
they are hazardously potent laxatives.
"Woody hops" versus "leafy hops" refers to both the bark and leaves being
used. The leaves are used alone to make beer (Suwa or Tella) but Tej (or
Mies) uses some combination of bark and leaves.
Obtaining Gesho requires a trip to Washington DC or Toronto. LA probably is
good, too, but I don't know. In Toronto, the address is in Kensington
Market:
Ethiopian Spices
60 Kensington Ave (at Baldwin)
Toronto ON M5T 2K1
416-598-3014
The owner also has another store in the market selling non-food items. I
think it was on Augusta. Another store has some African items, but no
Gesho.
If in Washington, look for stores with names starting with "Merkato". A bit
of searching on the web for "Ethiopian or Eritrean food" should turn up a
list. I tried arranging a mail-order once, but the US-Canadian border
created extra hassle in that it would have taken a lot of exchanged faxes to
sort out the price and delivery. I finally managed to pass through Toronto
on holiday and stocked up.
One member of this group turned up a web link to a store in Denver, but they
didn't reply to emails and I knew that the stores in Washington do a lot of
mail-order.
Gesho is expensive, even in its own habitat.
The flavour of the leaf is quite unlike hops. I used some in place of hops
in a bitter recipe just to characterize the flavour. If I had to
substitute, I would try a small amount of aged hops (like for a lambic) for
the antibacterial action and a handful of yellow birch twigs for a vague
wintergreen-citrus flavour.
For comparison, here's my recipe, obtained in a mixture of sign language,
Tigrinya and Italian (none of which I speak):
(for 16-18 L)
Start:
4 cups powdered Gesho leaves (replace part with bark if available)
1 1/2 cups malt (whole grains)
1 cup sugar
pkg dry bakers' yeast
5-6 L water
Leave 2 days for fermentation to start
Add:
4 lbs pale honey, including whole combs if possible
2 kg dried dates, chopped
2 kg raisins
Water to make 18 L
Ferment 13 days.
Strain out solids. Add some sugar or honey to taste if too sour. Bulk
condition in a pressure-resistant container (like an olive barrel) 15 days.
Decant and serve while yeast still slowly active.
This recipe gives a result very much like champagne & OJ. It's very easy
drinking and very alcoholic. The sourness is from the lactobacillus
introduced on the malt selected by the antibacterial action of the Gesho.
The flora make quite an impressive sight under the microscope but don't let
that frighten you!
So good luck obtaining Gesho in either form, and I think either recipe would
work. Do you know anyone from that part of the world? You would find them
quite willing to taste test for you.
Sean
From: "Sean Richens"
Subject: Mead Recipe for T'ej - now beer recipe, too!
Date: Sun, 27 Aug 2000 10:17:19 -0500
Another follow up to Dan's questions.
If you do manage to get Gesho, you might want to do some seriously
historical brewing which will make you realize that Mesopotamian beer
recipes are pretty modern compared to what humans were drinking for
20,000-odd years.
This recipe is pretty sophisticated in that it has all modern techniques
except for heating the mash and boiling the brew. Actual Suwa or Tella
recipes vary greatly according to the altitude where the brewer lives.
I made mine using barley malt as the enzyme source, and millet as my
unmalted grain. Other options are malted sorghum/unmalted Teff,
barley/sorghum, sorghum/millet, etc. I'll give you the recipe the way I
made it, and you can figure out the substitutions. The unmalted grain is,
of course, cooked.
For about 8 -10 L:
1) Make Mattaka - unleavened flat bread
1 lb millet flour
water to make thin batter - like crepe batter
Fry with the least possible oil - none if your pan permits. Make about
20 thin breads 8" diameter. Cool and tear up. In its countries of
origin you can buy these dried and ready to use.
2) Starter
Crush 1 lb. barley malt
Mix with
1 cup powdered Gesho leaves
8 L water
Allow to ferment 3 days (THAT'S RIGHT - NO YEAST ADDED)
3) Brew
Add
the mattaka
1 lb. dried dates, chopped
Allow to ferment 2-3 more days depending on temperature. Strain out
solids. The beer is drunk while still fermenting. Traditionally, the first
day it's suitable for kids as a vitamin supplement. The second day it's
suitable for respectable women, and by the fourth day you invite the men of
the village to finish it off and enjoy a good drunk. ;-)
An optional addition is 1/2 cup of golden-roasted unmalted barley. I used a
small amount of crystal malt for flavour.
I freeze what I can't finish off fresh. Unfortunately, it turns green when
frozen.
The smell of the starter is vile. However, it does mellow somewhat in the
brewing phase. You really want someone who knows how it's supposed to taste
around when you make this. And DON'T look at it under the microscope. #8-o
It's an interesting project in that it's spontaneous fermentation controlled
by the bioselective action of the Gesho, and the mashing is all conducted at
fermentation temperatures, kind of like sake. It really gets you thinking
about how brewing got started, and what defines "beer" as opposed to all
beverages not "beer" enough for the purists.
Cheers to the brave (and undaunted in their search for Gesho).
Sean
------------------------------
Subject: Low alcohol mead
From: "Pannicke, Glen A." <glen_pannicke@merck.com>
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2000 10:32:00 -0400
Kenneth Irwin asked about low-alcohol mead / Non-alcoholic meadlike drinks:
>Does anyone have much experience making low- or non-alcholic meadlike
>beverages?
To answer your question, I might need to ask one to the collective. Does
anyone know the concentration of glucose in honey?
I think the answer might be "pretty high". But the reason I ask is because
low alcohol beer may be made by using a strain of yeast named Saccharomyces
ludwigii. S. ludwigii loves glucose (and dextrose) and will ferment it
almost the same as any S. cerevisiae strain will however, it cannot
metabolize the higher sugars, like dextrose. This strain of yeast makes low
alcohol beer because glucose only makes up somewhere around 6 or 9% (I don't
remember which) of the available carbohydrates in beer wort. Dextrose
constitutes 70-something % (don't quote me on exact numbers). Therefore,
there is little for this strain to live on, the fermentation is short and
the resulting amount of alcohol produced is low. However, this leaves the
drink sweet due to the unfermented sugars (as well as susceptible to future
contamination).
If S. lugwigii (which is difficult to find anyway) is not an option, then
you may be left with the old "put less in the batch" method where half the
honey is about half the alcohol. It's also half the flavor too, but maybe
you can make that up with some spices or herbs.
===========
Brian ranted (and well he should have) about mead's place in the market:
>Somebody should get out there and
>start promoting it as the drink of the 21st century. Have some yuppie types
>throwing their cell phones in the lake as they sip on a fine pyment. Give it
>silly names like the Bee's Knees, if that will help.
I know the commercial you refer to here. It made me laugh because it was
ridiculous. If those were Nokia phones (as most yuppies and the wannabes
have), they just threw away a couple hundred dollars. Just a few yuppies
getting frisky and carefree. If this were mead how would they have been
portrayed?
Personally, I don't drink mead enough to want to buy some in the store, but
others might. The reason I like mead is that it's not mainstream. It's an
old and almost forgotten beverage. That alone adds some magic and mystique
to it. I love it when people ask "What is mead?" and I get to tell them
"It's a very special wine made from honey and you probably won't find it in
your liquor store." The trap has now been set and they want some because
it's special and unique.
Carpe cerevisiae!
Glen Pannicke
http://www.pannicke.net
------------------------------
Subject: Oops!, a quick clarification! + an actual contribution to the crystal d
From: "Alson Kemp" <akemp@tripath.com>
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2000 09:14:12 -0700
In respone to David's suggestion to put rocks in my mead, I wrote:
> Is that a possibility with certain types of rock? You touched on that
briefly
> in your post, but I'm looking for a better idea.
When I read that, it looked as though I was asking for a better idea
than putting rocks into mead (thereby ridiculing David's idea). What I
actually meant was "I'd like a better idea what kinds of rocks might offer
advantages and whether those rocks could serve as an automagic buffering
agent (ie, place one in the mead and the PH would be held to 4
automagically)."
Golly, the crystal thing has gotten pretty boring. Why doesn't someone
go and brew some mead with a crystal? Get two gallons of mead fermenting
strong for 2 days, separate into two separate one gallon jugs, add
sterilized a crystal (assuming that this won't hurt the crystals?!) to one
of the meads. After fermentation is finished, rack the two brews off
(leaving the crystal behind, too). Let 'em age a bit and report back. I
promise to shut up and listen while you report back. I don't believe in the
power of crystals at all, but I'd be really interested to see your results.
It'd be really neat if the two meads were different, too, because then we'd
have to figure out what the difference was! (Please, let's not have a whole
discussion start about double-blind testing and all the problems caused by
separate fermentations, since we probably all know about the potential
problems with this proposed study.) Hell, maybe I'll do this little
experiment. I'm getting interested! Are any of the crystal appreciators in
the Silicon Valley?
- Alson
------------------------------
Subject: Re: blackberry vinegar
From: "Matt Maples" <matt_lists@hotmail.com>
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2000 10:01:20 -0700
>blackberry flavoured vinegar?
>
>Or is there something I have missed that I should try?
>
>Darren
I too noticed that blackberry does take longer to age. BUT it never had a
vinegar flavor. Mine were more medicinal in character. If you make mead on a
semi regular basis you should know what young mead tastes like. It does not
taste like vinegar. If truly tastes like vinegar I am afraid it will only
get worse from here as you may have an infection of a acetic acid producing
bacteria. If on the other hand it just tastes harsh and acidic there could
be hope. If you are a patient man I would let it sit, if it gets worse dump
it, if it gets better drink it, if it stays the same age it longer.
Matt Maples
Anagram: "Tap Me Malts!"
May mead regain its rightful place as the beverage of gods and kings
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Organic
From: "Matt Maples" <matt_lists@hotmail.com>
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2000 10:21:45 -0700
>. In order for honey to
>be certified organic -- because of the range of bee flights --
>there has to be no agricultural production that is NOT organic
>within several miles of the hives. Apparently, the eucalypt
>forests of Australia fit this bill.
I am sure I don't need to tell anyone here that there are many different
certification programs when it comes to "Organic" labeling. We have some
REALLY strict ones here in Oregon. Although the plants that this Australian
honey came from did not have pesticides on them I call into question about
the hives themselves. Here in Oregon we have large tracts of public forest
that they get fireweed honey from. And even thought there are no pesticides
/ herbicides involved the honey does not meet most Oregon certifications
because of the fungicides or mitacides used in the hives. I too would like
to get hold of some truly organic honey but with the current bee blight that
is not really practical. I did see some of the honey you were referring to
in a shop in Vancouver Washington. I will take a closer look at it and see
who's certification it carries.
Matt Maples
Anagram: "Tap Me Malts!"
May mead regain its rightful place as the beverage of gods and kings
------------------------------
Subject: Questions about Racking
From: "Brown.Jason" <JBrown@acresgaming.com>
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2000 10:33:34 -0700
When racking my mead of the sediment in the carboys there is a noticable
loss in volume. I have
heard that too much head space in the carboy is bad and can cause some
unwanted oxidation
problems so the mead should be topped up. I have two questions.
1) What is the best substance to top the mead up with? I have been using
boiled water but the owner of the local homebrew store mentioned using a
white wine.
2) When pouring the liquid into the carboy it splashes a little bit. Does
this add enough oxygen to the mead to cause concern?
Jason Brown
- ----------------------------------------------------
Firmware Engineering
Acres Gaming
JBrown@acresgaming.com
- ----------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Blackberry Mead
From: Shroom <shroom@theriver.com>
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2000 13:23:40 -0700
Ok this is my second load of blackberry, one thing I
(snip)
This time its age over a year and it tastes like
vinegar. So I was suggested to let it age a little
(snip)
Or is there something I have missed that I should try?
Darren:
What was the recipe you used? (proportions of fruit, water, yeast
(starter/no?), sweetener(how much/type?))
I've only done one blackberry wine, it's still in secondary (tastes good
so far), but I think the key is that the blackberries have to be really
sweet when they go in. These particular berries were addictively good.
Good enough that I ate a couple of pints while making the mead...I just
couldn't stop! FYI, 2.5 gal (US) batch, I used 10 lbs desert generic
honey, White labs liquid sweet mead "wine yeast" (which really does give
a more wine-like flavor than the Wyeast) and almost a whole flat of
blackberries. Water heated to 180, berries soaked for 10 mins, dumped in
fermenter, honey poured in afterward while still hot. Should have used
a blow-off tube for the first 48 hrs fermentation, it blew the airlock
three feet away from the carboy! And, whew, blackberries DO stain!
Tart blackberries will yield a product with a lot of tartness which you
can try to hide with sweet, but which will still poke through to a
greater or lesser degree. I don't know how many years it will take for
the tartness to go away - I suspect 3-5. Your problem might be
contaminants in the ferment, I guess it depends on how close to vinegar
the taste is - are we talking about an actual acid (acetic, in
particular) taste, a bitterness, a tannic flavor, or an unripe
blackberry taste?
On the other hand, blackberry vinegar should be really good, especially
if aged for a couple of years in breathable containers, like a balsamic.
Fred Bourdelier
Tucson AZ
------------------------------
Subject: Hallucinogenic Mead
From: Arcturus <arcturus@cableregina.com>
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2000 16:42:12 -0600
I had also heard of the hallucinogenic properties of Nutmeg.
Sufficient quantities are supposed to be a bring on a similar experience
to LSD. Intrigued, I put some in my first batch of Metheglin back in
1994. There was no discernable effect, but then again, I only put 2
Tbsp in a 5 gallon batch. The resulting Metheglin WAS very tasty for
something I came up with only while I was standing over the pot. I had
a vague idea I wanted to make a Cinnamon Metheglin, but no real plans.
The results were rather toxic (the Cayenne Pepper was discernable), but
no hallucinations were apparent (that I can remember) :)
(Recipe available if anyone wants to email me for it.)
Since then I had sort of forgotten about the quest for something with
a different kick, until not long ago when a friend brought over a bottle
of Banana Wine his brother had created. It was horrid stuff (sorry) but
it had the oddest effect on those present. Instead of feeling drunk, we
felt more like we were stoned. There was much more laughing and
wise-cracking than could be attributed to the glass or two each that we
had (and the accompanying beer) and one of the more laid back members of
the group actually got up and showed us exactly what he'd do if stopped
by the police (complete with elaborate hand gestures). Since then I
discovered that banana peels were a part of that wine, not just the
bananas, and it got me to thinking about the old stories we heard back
in high school about smoking banana peels. I looked up bananas on the
internet to get an idea of what the active ingredient must be that
brought about the effect we experienced, and could only find that
bananas create dopamine when they go brown. This didn't seem to explain
the effect at all, but there also were no indications that brewing with
bananas would create anything harmful.
Not one to get shy about experimentation, I now have a batch of Banana
Melomel on the go (complete with the peels). I racked it a week or so
ago and there was a lot of sludgy stuff on the bottom and I pulled the
racking cane quite early to avoid getting any of it in my next carboy.
Loathe to throw 40 ounces of this labor of love down the drain, I had a
pint of what remained (trying not to get TOO much sludge). What a
rush! It gave me an amazing head stone with none of the drowsiness that
usually accompanies alcohol. I had a great time for about three hours,
then crashed, and ended up with a hangover that same evening. Very
weird.
Any other interesting banana experiences or observations? Am I on to
something here or somehow poisoning myself?
When I was 14 (quite a while ago), my best friend and I read an article
describing how parrots like to eat lots of nutmeg and end up lolling on the
jungle floor. Inspired, we put a some ground nutmeg in a water pipe and
smoked it. Actually, we smoked quite a bit of it. Nothing much happened. We
came to the conclusion that if you want to experience the mind-altering
effects of nutmeg, you have to eat a LOT of it (or be a parrot).
- --
*--Arcturus--*
http://www.innovationsys.com/arcturusdelve
Damn it Jim! I'm a Role-player, not a Satanist!
------------------------------
Subject: new article
From: "Glen Hendry" <ghendry@iprimus.com.au>
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 17:51:14 +1000
Re: flaming of Dick.
Come on now, a few people have flamed Dick for his comments
regarding Joshua's post. Can you not take it in good humor ?
If you post to a group like this, you must be prepared to have
your post scrutinised thoroughly, if the reply'er has to
apologise if s/he decides to excercise his funny bone then
I will be saddened to see the result - a deadpan digest
which is free of jockularity and light heartedness.
Dick may have gone microscopically far, but I thought it was
funny and after all he was putting valid arguments up against
Joshua'a comments. I mean after all, we are talking about
talking to a rock, and only hearing answers if we held it in
a particular hand. Unfortuneatly, when I picked up a rock from
the back yard and talked to it, my finger must have covered up
the rocks ear, because it said nothing. Maybe Australian rocks
are dumb. It was ridiculous and I such way-off topic posts
may be met with sarcasm in good humor, I think anyway.
Dick does an excellent job and should be congratulated.
Now, at the risk of everyone hating me and not answering my
mead related question, I have one. Does anyone elses crown
caps on their mead bottles go rusty ? I use 750ml bottles
(from beer) and cap them, because the mead ages for so much
longer than beer, some go rusty. Any Ideas ? I dont think
I'm hip to corks.
Glen
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #820, 27 August 2000
From: Phil Clarke <dogglebe@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 06:55:34 -0700 (PDT)
The Mead-Lovers FAQ mentions a rhodomel, a mead with
rose petals. Has anyone ever made this? How many
rose petals do you use in making it? And finally: if
I were to make it, could I put a short-stemmed rose in
a bottle of it as a decorative piece, or would it wilt
and slowly dissolve?
Phil
------------------------------
Subject: Elderberries
From: Spencer W Thomas <spencer@engin.umich.edu>
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 14:19:50 -0400
So, I scored 3 "quarts" of elderberries. Now I'm wondering how to turn
them into the most wonderful mead you ever drank. :-)
The woman I bought them from described "juicing" them by boiling and
straining. I could then add the juice to some mostly-fermented
"traditional" mead to get an elderberry mel (with additional
fermentation, presumably).
Another option would be to crush them, and to throw them into the primary
of a new batch.
A third option would be to freeze them, and to throw them into the
secondary (or primary) of a batch sometime later.
Opinions? Other options? Anyone got a successful recipe I can
emulate?
Thanks.
=Spencer Thomas in Ann Arbor, MI (spencer@umich.edu)
------------------------------
Subject: Banana Melomel Questions
From: Arcturus <arcturus@cableregina.com>
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 14:28:01 -0600
I have two questions regarding the batch of Banana Melomel I am
currently working on.
1) I used champagne yeast (EC-1118) instead of my usual Ale Yeast for
this batch of Mel. Is there any different concern I should have when
making this into a sparkling Mel? Will the same amount of sugar work
for priming, or will it make bottle bombs? I suspect that there is no
difference - whatever sugar added in will turn to alcohol and Co2 and
the more hardy strain of yeast will not cause added pressure, but I want
to be sure.
2) The Mel at this point tastes rather horrid. To perk up the flavor, I
want to use honey instead of Corn Sugar (my usual) at bottling time to
prime it. Does anyone know how to work out what volume/weight of honey
is the same as 1.3 cups of Corn Sugar? Is there a formula? Is there
someone out there who does sparkling meads primed with honey who can
suggest an appropriate amount to use for a 5 gallon batch? (I know this
isn't going to do too much for the flavor and you guys will have lots of
great ideas about how I can improve the flavor at bottling time, but my
real concern is that I can often taste the Corn Sugar -at least for the
first while after bottling- and the Banana is bitter enough without
throwing it off. I plan to use this batch of Banana Mel as a sort of
control batch and then continue to make Banana Mels using different
fruits and spices to see what I can do with the flavor. In two years I
hope to be the resident expert for Banana Melomel!)
- --
*--Arcturus--*
http://www.innovationsys.com/arcturusdelve
Damn it Jim! I'm a Role-player, not a Satanist!
------------------------------
Subject: Ginger Braggot and Stainless Steel
From: Arcturus <arcturus@cableregina.com>
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 14:32:39 -0600
I have a question about my most recent batch: A Ginger Braggot.
When I was adding the honey to the Dry Beer wort that had just finished
on the stove, I was using a metal spoon (just your usual stainless steel
kind) and accidentally dropped it into the Primary. I figured I'd just
fetch it out later. Well, damned if I didn't forget the thing until
today when I was doing my first racking! Is the spoon going to have
added anything undesirable in the 12 days that it has sat in there?
- --
*--Arcturus--*
http://www.innovationsys.com/arcturusdelve
Damn it Jim! I'm a Role-player, not a Satanist!
------------------------------
Subject: racking, campden and hygrometer chart
From: "Linda Grant/Matthew Ransom" <spiritflight@kachina.net>
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 20:09:06 -0700
Hi everyone!
I've got a question on racking. I just started a one gallon batch of dry
mead after about 8 year of not making anything alcoholic. In the past, I
just did the first racking after about a week. I followed up with a racking
whenever there was a goodly amount of lees at the bottom. Though I've made a
few wines and meads, I have to question if I'm doing things in the proper
way. When and how often should I rack? Does racking reduce the amount of
yeast needed for fermentation?
Also, a number of winemaking books suggest the use of campden tablets. Is
this advisable for meads?
Oh, I did find a hydrometer chart in a winemaking booklet I have ," Enjoy
Home Winemaking: A guide for the beginner " by Crosby and Baker Books,
Westport, Mass 02790. It shows the conversions for specific gravity, brix
(balling), potential alcohol by volume and pounds/ounces of sugar in one
U.S. gallon of water. Mark from Florida was in need of such a chart. There
may be one on the web, but I haven't run across one yet.
Thanks!
Matthew Ransom
spiritflight@kachina.net
------------------------------
Subject: Holiday meads
From: "Linda Grant/Matthew Ransom" <spiritflight@kachina.net>
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 20:18:11 -0700
After the death of one of my Christmas traditions, Samichlaus Christmas
beer, in 1996 (still looking for a clone recipe :( ) I'd like a very special
medium-dry/dry mead or braggot for Christmas and other holidays. Does anyone
have a cherished recipe?
Matthew Ransom
spiritflight@kachina.net
------------------------------
Subject: blackberries
From: rcd@raven.talisman.com (Dick Dunn)
Date: 30 Aug 00 23:25:35 MDT (Wed)
(Would have done a followup, but there are various Subject:s)
My experience with blackberries is that the main problem is a lot of
tannin. They seem to be more tannic than boysenberries (can anybody verify
that?), and they certainly have more tannin than raspberries. My solution
has been to blend, which was easy because I've always had more raspberries
than anything else (indeed, in the past few years, more raspberries than
we've known what to do with).
If you're involved in the picking, take only the very ripest berries--they
should fall off as you touch them. This will maximize sugar content. I
don't know that it reduces tannin, but the sugar is a good thing anyway.
Consider a still/sweet mead: ferment out, add honey, keep adding honey a
pound or so at a time (assuming you're doing a 5-gal batch) until it all
settles down. Sorbate, and add a bit more honey if you want for final
sweetness. Aim for something that is slightly sweet and drinkable at
bottling (although you might consider it marginal), then give it some time
to age.
My experience with both blackberry and boysenberry is that they can be
rough customers when they're young, but they age well. I'm presuming that
it's the tannin, just as it would be with a dark red [grape] wine.
- ---
Dick Dunn rcd@talisman.com Hygiene, Colorado USA
...Simpler is better.
------------------------------
Subject: Science and Tradition
From: Dan McFeeley <mcfeeley@keynet.net>
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2000 13:39:56 -0500
Interesting topic right now! Science, tradition, crystals and energies --
mind if I jump in? We're toilet training our daughter right now so this is
a great opportunity for me to talk about something other than "Do you have
to go potty?"
Science is a lot of things, debated by philosophers for centuries and
more. As a method of inquiry it has come to characterize much of Western
critical thinking. The sciences are changing rapidly, and so is our
understanding of science itself. Ironically, in spite of the availability
of science education in our school system surveys continue to show a lack
of basic concepts among the general public! Critical thinking skills also
seem to be lacking, at least, that's how it seems to me sometimes from
personal observation at college level.
Albert Einstein once described science as the endeavor "to bring together
by means of systematic thought the perceptible phenomena of this world
into as thorough-going an association as possible. To put it boldly, it
is the attempt at the posgterior reconstruction of existence by the process
of conceptualization (_Ideas and Opinion_ p. 44)." "Science" is a French
word that comes to us from the Latin "scientia" meaning knowledge. Its
original meaning indicated a state of knowing as opposed to intuition or
belief. In its broadest sense possible, it indicates a body of knowledge
formally and systematically organized, with a methodology capable of
verifying that knowledge (Nagel 1979). As Thomas Kuhn outlined in his
_Structures of Scientific Revolutions_, science can also be looked at from
the aspect of a community defined and structured by its reigning paradigm.
It follows that there are different "sciences." Replication of experimental
results is a critical value in the methodology of physics and other natural
sciences, but this is not possible in historical sciences such as geology or
paleontology. The humanistic sciences such as psychology or sociology
are debated due to their inherent subjectivity.
Karl Popper (1965) was able to show a line of demarcation between scientific
and non-scientific knowledge through the principle of falsification. There
had been problems with the brute power of induction and experimentation.
In order for a general conclusion to be accepted as true, it must account
for *all* of its instances, something that could amount to an infinite
string. However, by pointing out that it can take only a single falsifying
instance to disprove a theory, Popper's principle of falsification became
the linchpin of scientific knowledge. In other words, the premises of an
experiment must be operationalized in terms of statements that are testable
via instrumental means, and that can be falsified by the results of the
experiment. Falsification is based on the logical mode, modus tollens.
If P, then Q. But not-P. Therefore not-Q.
Popper has had his critics, but falsification remains a good test for the
soundness of knowledge. A proposition that is empirically true and serves
as an explanation of the natural world must be open to objective examination
by others, else it is something that is probably internally generated and
belonging more to the realm of dogma, intuition, and belief. Not that
there's anything wrong with these; scientists are often driven by intuitions,
hunches, and even a reverence for the causal order that is distinctly
religious. It's when they are conflated with empiricism in popular belief
systems that they earn the tag "pseudo-science."
With apologies to the group, "New Age" beliefs can be problematic, IMHO,
even troublesome. A discussion group on the Ancient Near East my wife
subscribes to goes a little bonkers every time a documentary takes a look
at some of the commonly accepted myths about Egypt and the pyramids. It's
not about non-academic folk "invading our turf," but a lack of appreciation
of the hard work entailed by scholarship and the perspective that specialized
knowledge can bring to these areas of study.
There is a plethora of ancient traditions in meadmaking, much of which seems
to belong to the cultures of the Northern and Celtic peoples. Archaeology
has turned up sone interesting artifacts -- there's the honey intended for
meadmaking found at one site that contained over a hundred different plant
sources. Fascinating stuff! The archaeologists speculate that it must have
had religious significance but there was nothing else at the site to even
suggest what that symbolism might have been.
Maybe a good analogy for appreciating the dynamics in ancient traditions
is to look at the music of the great Irish harpist, Turlough O'Carolin.
O'Carolin was one of the last of the intinerent harpers of Ireland, living
from about 1670 to 1738. His music remains popular; it's unusual to visit
a folk music festival and not hear one of his tunes at some point. Legend
has it that he fell asleep on a fairy rath and woke with the tunes running
through his head which he later set to music. Truthfully, he was a musical
genius who drew from other traditions such as Italian Baroque in creating
his own unique musical pieces. Interwoven in his music are strains of the
traditions of the old Irish harpers, lost to us now but still preserved, in
a way, in O'Carolin's music. I don't have the musical training or experience
to appreciate this; I only know I like O'Carolin's music. There are others
more knowledgable than I, who can listen carefully and perhaps pick out the
forgotten tunes of the ancient Irish harpers, whose ghosts linger on in
O'Carolin's music.
This was a long post with not much mead content! Just to keep it on track
with mead discussion -- Hey Josh, let's share a mazer cup of virtual mead!
._________.
| |
| |
\ /
\_______/
(_____)
(_____)
(_____)
(_____)
/ \
/_______\
<><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><>
Dan McFeeley
mcfeeley@keynet.net
------------------------------
Subject: Re: MLD #821 and using grape wine base
From: Tom Hogland <thogland@gci.net>
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2000 11:13:12 -0800
>Subject: Brix info
>From: "Mark Tumarkin" <mark_t@ix.netcom.com>
>Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2000 07:22:53 -0400
>
>I'm planning on making a pyment. With that in mind I have purchased a gal of
>orange blossom honey and a can of Alexander's Cabernet Sauvignon concentrate.
>On the can is the following info - 48 fl oz, 4 lbs, 68 Brix. Also a recipe for
>wine that calls for the use of two cans and 8 cups of sugar (as well as other
>ingredients) in a 5 gal batch.
>[snip Balling/Brix]
>I'd appreciate any info on Brix and figuring out the SG contribution of this
>concentrate. Also any possible suggestions as to recipe - I'm thinking real
>simple. Mainly concerned with relative amts of water, honey, grape juice
>concentrate.
I also 'discovered' the canned grape and since my g/f loves a good Merlot I
decided to do a mead with it; since she loves blackberries I figured they
couldn't hurt either... Since it was on sale (about 40% off normal rates!)
I bought two cans each of merlot, zinfandel and rose. I have a nice
blackberry recipe - 13# honey, 3 quarts blackberry wine base, water to 6
gallons, Lalvin K1-V1116. I figured it said to use ~8c sugar for wine, so
about 10# honey sounded right. (I also just happened to have 10# sitting
here - fortuitous coincidence...) My mead was one can merlot concentrate,
one can blackberry concentrate (both cans the same 1.5 qt size as yours),
10# local fireweed honey, water to 5 gallons and Lalvin 1116 yeast. Brought
honey and water to ~180F then off heat (in my kettle this holds it over
165F for quite a while - pasteurize, sanitation, etc.), poured grape and
blackberry into carboy, added must, water to 5 gallons and pitch yeast.
This was in March, I believe - I made a batch of both at about the same
time - and in July it was actually fairly drinkable. Tasted like a young
merlot - I think this is a good one to age for a few years, should be quite
smooth. (Heck, it's already smoother than the regular blackberry is!)
Unfortunately all I know if Brix/Balling is from my _Joy of Homebrewing_
and I skipped through most of it - quite boring for those of us that just
like to make and drink fine beverages :-) I'm sure it's quite important to
understanding why it came out delicious, but I just never seem to have time
to dig into the book to figure out what it all means...
Good luck!
------------------------------
Subject: Well or Bottled Water
From: "Doug Mort" <demort@attglobal.net>
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2000 23:43:55 -0400
Hello all,
I am about to give this brewing thing a try and am wondering what the
consensus is on water source.
I have pretty hard water available from my well, which I think may be good
for ph and buffering.
I have also read some horror stories about the potential pandora's box of
live matter that may be present in my well water, so is it better to buy and
use filtered, bottled water?
Any comments would be appreciated.
Thanks
Doug Mort
------------------------------
Subject: Milk Fermentation
From: NeophyteSG@aol.com
Date: Sat, 2 Sep 2000 19:58:39 EDT
Several nomadic races fermented milk into an alcoholic beverage. Does anyone
know the process they used? My thought is to incorporate nonfat milk (as
opposed to just lactose) in a melomel primary/secondary in the hope of
deriving a "fruit and cream" finished product. Any and all thoughts would be
welcome.
Warm Regards,
Shawn
------------------------------
Subject: fermentation and passionfruit
From: Fe Waters <fe@iinet.net.au>
Date: Sun, 3 Sep 2000 19:06:29 +0800
Hi,
I'm a first time mead-maker and I've been feeling rather dispirited because
my mead wasn't fermenting. I thought I would try another batch of yeast
before I threw it away. I've also just got a hydrometer, so I thought I'd
work out the SG before I started like you're supposed to. And it reads
1.000. For both my mead and cyser. Each time I tried it.
This means it's finished fermenting?
I saw one slow bubble in the airlock on the cyser, but nothing at all in
the metheglin. I _thought_ this meant that nothing was happening. Can mead
ferment without any visible signs? Or could it just be that I didn't know
what I was looking for?
This means it's been sitting in the carboy for possibly months more than I
suspect it should. I obviously need to bottle it, but will it have suffered
any ill effects from being in there needlessly for so long? The metheglin
in particular certainly tastes _vile_.
Any thoughts would be really helpful. I want to have another go when I
finish this one, but I'd like to feel as though I've learnt something from
my first attempt. I'm considering a passionfruit mel as if I leave it a
short while I can collect them from my parents plants. Does anyone have any
experience with this? I've found references but no recipes - would you just
put the pulp and seeds in or would you need to do something to them first?
Thanks
Fe
- --
fe@iinet.net.au
Piracy need not be a dishonourable vocation if bound by the rules.
The Book of Rules, vol CLIX, Introduction.
------------------------------
Subject: Newsgroup Creation
From: Shane Hultquist <Shane.Hultquist@pwgsc.gc.ca>
Date: Tue, 5 Sep 2000 11:22:07 -0400
I have proposed the creation of a newsgroup "alt.homebrewing.mead" in the
alt.config group as per the standard.
I would like to see some support from the mead makers of the world to
support another avenue of message exchange (this list is fabulous! But some
don't know of it yet)
Let me know what you think by replying to my post in alt.config
Vidar
------------------------------
Subject: Rotten Eggs
From: "David Wagner" <dwagner@sa.kevric.com>
Date: Tue, 5 Sep 2000 10:20:50 -0500
Has anyone had problems with hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg odor) when
using organic yeast nutrient (yeast extract), yeast hulls, and
potassium metabisulfite?
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #822
*******************************
