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Mead Lovers Digest #0828
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #828, 5 November 2000
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #828 5 November 2000
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Campden Tablets ("Kemp, Alson")
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #827, 24 October 2000 (OudBruin@aol.com)
Subject: dissolving bentonite (NeophyteSG@aol.com)
Clarification and such (Dave Burley)
RE: Suggestions/Advice Anyone? ("Jeff")
Purple loose strife honey? (Lazurus106@aol.com)
first set-backs ("Eric Brown")
RE: Mead Lover's Digest #827, 24 October 2000 ("Christopher Hadden")
Thor's Hammer Mead (Marc Shapiro)
Freezing temps of mead? (Elfboy0@aol.com)
Milk and Honey ("Gordon and Sue Ludlow")
Long term yeast culture storage? (Elfboy0@aol.com)
barley malt syrup (joel tracy)
NOTE: Digest appears when there is enough material to send one.
Send ONLY articles for the digest to mead@talisman.com.
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Campden Tablets
From: "Kemp, Alson" <alson@corp.cirrus.com>
Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2000 17:55:36 -0700
Y'all,
I second Dan's question on Campden tablets and would like to expand
the question:
How/when does SO2 degrade in solution? Does it degrade, turn to gas
and then blow off? Does it uh... separate into its ... uh ... component
protons, neutrons and electrons and go .. uh ... poof? Does it chemically
combine with stuff in solution thereby rendering it flavorless? (?!)
So when I add it during aging-in-the-carboy, does it stay in
solution or blow off? If it blows off, then if we "prime" the solution
directly before bottling, the SO2 won't have anywhere to blow-off to?
So just a general chemical tutorial on Campden tabs would be lovely.
-Alson
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #827, 24 October 2000
From: OudBruin@aol.com
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 00:41:59 EDT
Re: Tulip Poplar honey
In a message, Angela said:...<< Also, I have a gallon of Tulip Poplar honey
from Castlemark. Anyone used this kind of honey before? Have any recipe
suggestions? >>
Tulip Poplar honer is a very popular honey with east coast mead makers,
unfortunatly it's getting hard to find with more and more development going
on.
A cool ferment with 17 pounds of the honey in 5 gallons will be just fine by
itself, or... also try this...in secondary, add around 8 or 9 pounds of
strawberrys or raspberrys to the product add some pectin emzyme and yeast
neutriant- your product will dry out and be a lovely pale pinkish colour.
after things settle down... prime and bottle for a nice bubbly mead or just
bottle for a still mead. It's a product i can't seem to keep in the house.
Regards,
Bruce Hammell
------------------------------
Subject: Subject: dissolving bentonite
From: NeophyteSG@aol.com
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 14:46:16 EDT
Dissolving bentonite used to be one of the banes of my mead- and wine-making
existance until six months ago when, in a moment of extreme frustration, I
stumbled across my current solution. Toss boiling water and the bentonite in
a blender, let it rip, then walk away for 5-10 minutes. Works great!
Warm Regards,
Shawn
------------------------------
Subject: Clarification and such
From: Dave Burley <Dave_Burley@compuserve.com>
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 16:38:15 -0400
I always suggest that a cloudy mead or cider be treated with a pectic
enzyme to clarify it before other treatments are attempted. This will do
the least harm, and is most likely the cause of persistent cloudiness,
especially in beverages which have cooked components. Because this enzyme
is often impeded by alcohol content it is best to add it before the
fermentation as a normal part of your procedure. With fruits you will also
improve the extraction.
Forget gelatin by itself as a clarifying agent, as it only works in the
presence of tannins with which it forms a complex and removes offending
substances. For example, adding gelatin by itself to a mead which has no
tannin content will, in fact, make the mead cloudier by giving it a
protein haze. Also forget the "titration" recommended in some early books
in which both tannin and gelatin are added. The mead is either too tannic
or cloudy, as it is nearly impossible to make a perfect match. Also the
grape tannins are often derived from seeds which have a rough taste.
Bentonite will not dissolve in water at all. Bentonite is a mineral clay
and it is "dispersed" in a "slurry". The limit to its dispersion is the
thickness of the slurry you can handle. I always add bentonite to boiling
water and stir, allow to stand for an hour or even overnight covered and
use it. Boiling is important as clay is dirt and potentially has lots of
bacteria in it. Avoid powdered bentonite as it is difficult to disperse.
Use the granulated variety. For larger quantities, you can also use cold
water and a blender to get a dispersion and then boil and allow to stand.
Dave Burley
------------------------------
Subject: RE: Suggestions/Advice Anyone?
From: "Jeff" <gothsqwd@exis.net>
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 17:42:36 -0400
I have used Tulip Poplar exclusively for the last couple of years (it's what
my favorite beekeeper has) and have gotten very good results. it is a
fairly strong honey and can require aging, but I have never had a problem
with it. I generally use a fairly ordinary recipe, using about a U.S.
gallon (as opposed to an imperial gallon which is slightly more) which
weighs about 13 lbs for a five gallon batch. I generally ferment out to a
fairly dry mead, but a friend of mine does sweets and he has also gotten
good results. It does tend to need aging to at least a year, but since we
both do that as a rule, this hasn't been a problem. Hope I included some
useful information in this note!
Jeff Spurlin
Magick Meade Makers
Newport News VA
... The things love can drive a man to -- the ecstasies, the
the miseries, the broken rules, the desperate chances, the glorious
failures and the glorious victories.
-- McCoy, "Requiem for Methuselah", stardate 5843.7
>From: Angela Byrnes <byrnesa@leland.Stanford.EDU>
>Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 10:06:25 -0700
>
>I'm planning on making a spice mead at the end of this month. I'll be
>using some alfalfa honey, vanilla beans, mace, probably cloves & cinnamon.
>I will be splitting the batch because I want to try an ale yeast and wine
>yeast to see which finished product I like the best. Anyone have
>suggestions on yeast for a slightly sweet finish (not cloying or desserty)
>and how long should I leave the spices in? (still quite the newbie as this
>will be my third batch)
>Also, I have a gallon of Tulip Poplar honey from Castlemark. Anyone used
>this kind of honey before? Have any recipe suggestions?
>
>TIA Angela
------------------------------
Subject: Purple loose strife honey?
From: Lazurus106@aol.com
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 18:34:01 EDT
Hi All,
Green and nasty? The stuff I have is a lite gold color (and yes this apiary
knows whats up) and has just a little bite. i don't know of any american
honey like you describe. i will ask the bbekeepers i know and see what they
know.
Cheers,
Dutch
------------------------------
Subject: first set-backs
From: "Eric Brown" <apicoltore@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2000 15:18:39 GMT
Hello fellow mead-makers! I'm about a four month old mead-maker now, and my
honeymoon has just given way to reality. So I'm coming to you all to see if
you can shower a little veteran wisdom on me. Here's the cause of my woe:
early July I pitched two 5-gal batches of raspberry (raspberry honey, no
fruit) mead. About a month ago I bottled them, still murky/cloudy, but I
figured they were far enough along that I could take them with me on my
cross-country move. Last night I was holding one of the bottles up to a
light, and it had dark, cloudy, sticky-looking, stringy things in it. Ugly.
I think that entire 5-gal batch looks more or less the same. I opened
that first bottle last night after chilling it for a few hours, and poured
it through a very fine, plastic tea filter. Nothing noticeable was left in
the filter, and the contiminant was no longer noticable in the mead. The
taste had changed, I reckon for the worse, and it seemed to have gotten
thicker. Any ideas what's going on?
I suspect I may be dealing with sterilization problems. I used some
sulfites on my equipment at bottling, but I didn't add any to the mead
itself. Is there anyone out there who doesn't use sulfites? If so, how do
you adequately sterilize things? I'm afraid I may make some of you laugh
with this question, but can I bake my wine bottles in the oven in order to
sterilize them?
One thing more: are there any mead-makers on this last near Raleigh, NC? If
so, I'd love to help out with preparing musts or bottling, so that I can
learn some basic skills.
Thanks all, Eric
------------------------------
Subject: RE: Mead Lover's Digest #827, 24 October 2000
From: "Christopher Hadden" <chadden@contecrayon.com>
Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2000 22:02:50 -0500
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Shane Hultquist [mailto:Shane.Hultquist@pwgsc.gc.ca]
> Subject: RE: Mead Lover's Digest #827, 24 October 2000
<snip>
> Christopher, I recently submitted an application for a
> USENET newsgroup for mead making and basically had it
> laughed out of the water. They stated that there were
> many homebrew type newsgroups that only had 4-5 messages
> a month regarding mead. I don't think they understand
> the difference though.
They probably just did a search for "mead" in rec.crafts.brewing. Perhaps
they didn't know better to include rec.crafts.winemaking or to search for
other types of honey wine like "melomel", "rhodomel" (which recently had a
large thread in rec.crafts.winemaking), "pyment" and "cyser". I did a quick
search for "mead" in rec.crafts.winemaking and there were over 60 posts in
the last month.
Anyway, it's not about traffic or what they think. It's about making mead.
There would be enough traffic for ISPs to pick it up.
> I will fully support you and will offer services to
> maintain a site with the FAQ and whatever else I can
> offer to you for this purpose.
It'll be more of a group effort than anything else. It seems that people in
Usenet will support a rec.crafts.meadmaking newsgroup; I'd like to see what
this group has to say. If the interest is there, as I think it is, a few of
us should push it through. If anyone is interested in helping, drop me an
e-mail.
Christopher Hadden
chadden@contecrayon.com
------------------------------
Subject: Thor's Hammer Mead
From: Marc Shapiro <m_shapiro@bigfoot.com>
Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2000 17:15:45 -0400
I just received an e-mail request from someone looking for Thor's Hammer
Mead. Her boyfriend brought a bottle back from Denmark and they really
enjoyed it. For sentimental reasons she wants to find this particular
label. Her e-mail implies that she is in the USA, but does not say
exactly where. Does anyone know of a supplier of this mead? Any leads
appreciated.
- --
Marc Shapiro "If you drink melomel every day,
m_shapiro@bigfoot.com you will live to be 150 years old,
http://www.bigfoot.com/~m_shapiro/ unless your wife shoots you."
-- Dr. Ferenc Androczi, winemaker,
Little Hungary Farm Winery
------------------------------
Subject: Freezing temps of mead?
From: Elfboy0@aol.com
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2000 18:31:58 EST
I might need to leave several bottles of mead in my car in long term parking
in Chicago around Thanksgiving. I'm concerned about the mead freezing and the
bottles blowing up. Does anyone have any experiences related to this? I
realize the freezing point of mead is going to vary greatly with alcohol
content and probably residual sugars. All of my meads will be higher alcohol
content (made with dry mead yeast or champagne yeast), and varying in
residual sugars from the low side of semi-sweet to "I Can't Believe It's Not
Syrup".
- Joshua
------------------------------
Subject: Milk and Honey
From: "Gordon and Sue Ludlow" <ludlow@aa.net>
Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 23:20:03 -0800
It would seem like Milk and Honey are a natural combination. Has anyone
sweetened a mead with lactose? How much lactose is appropriate?
Thanks,
Gordon
------------------------------
Subject: Long term yeast culture storage?
From: Elfboy0@aol.com
Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2000 12:09:57 EST
I'm looking into the possibility of creating something along the lines of a
starter culture (from either Wyeast's smack pack, or from powdered), and then
storing that culture long term. I guess sort of like creating a homemade
variant like the White Labs liquid cultures. Theoretically, it would seem
that I could reserve a small quantity of a liquid culture to create a new
culture, store that culture for a couple of months in the refridgerator, then
pitch that culture but reserve a small quantity to create a new one, and so
forth, indefinitely.
I'm sure someone has had to try this at some point... any suggestions or
problems that you came across (other than the obvious of even *higher*
precautions for sterility are likely needed than when making mead).
- Joshua
------------------------------
Subject: barley malt syrup
From: joel tracy <demaigne@yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 4 Nov 2000 10:26:26 -0800 (PST)
Greetings.
The last time I was in my natural food store was
the first time I had noticed barley malt syrup. I
bought a little jar (about 20 oz) and am wondering
about its use in meads. Does anyone have any
info/advice on this stuff? How much to use? What
effect does it have on flavor, etc. Thanks,
joel
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #828
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