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Mead Lovers Digest #0863
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #863, 6 August 2001
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #863 6 August 2001
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
re: Moving Blues (Dick Dunn)
Re: A few questions from a newbie... (Jay Swartzfeger)
unsubscribe (Wildlife5053@aol.com)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #862, 1 August 2001 (Kevin)
Mead/beer making and global warming (nutwood@tas.quik.com.au)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #862, 1 August 2001 ("Robert Goulding")
#862 Lemon Mead ("Jas or Shay")
A few questions from a newbie... ("Linda Bowman")
Re: Novel way to make the "must"? (Russ Riley)
Re: BlackBerry Melomel (Joshua Laff)
Re: 1 Question and 2 Haikus (Joshua Laff)
Aieee, bitter! (Tess Snider)
Chocolate mead ("Dan Baker")
mead haiku (eli+@gs211.sp.cs.cmu.edu)
Corny Kegs ("Matt_Maples")
Racking and the Lees ("Kemp, Alson")
Wyeast sweet mead (NLSteve@aol.com)
Mead temperature (nutwood@tas.quik.com.au)
Wyeast mead yeast (LJ Vitt)
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: re: Moving Blues
From: rcd@talisman.com (Dick Dunn)
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 23:03:07 -0600 (MDT)
"Taliesin2" <shane.saylor@verizon.net> wrote:
> > Your best bet would be to transfer the two batches
> > into corney kegs. They're stainless steel and can
> > take the beating that a move may incur. With a
> > kegging system, you can even purge all the air out of
> > the kegs so splashing around won't oxidize it.
>
> I have issues with is. Every time I hear somebody suggest kegging in a
> metallic carboy, I think of the taste of beer in a aluminum can. It [the
> beer] takes on a small metallic/aluminum taste, which is why I prefer
> bottled beer as opposed to tap or can. Does the mead or beer
> take on the taste of stainless steel as it does with aluminum cans?
I think this is one of those cases where our knowledge plays us false...it
is _so_ easy to fool your taste buds by thinking that you will or won't
taste something, based on what you know (or think you know!).
Aluminum beer cans are lined. The beer doesn't come in contact with the
aluminum. Now, note that's not to say that canned and bottled beer don't
taste different...only that the cause isn't contact with metal. It could
be that they're handled differently, or that the thermal mass of a bottle
protects the beer better, or that the transparency of the bottle allows
light to change the character of the beer (in some way short of skunking
it, that is).
But even at that, beer cans are lined aluminum but in the keg situation
we're talking about un-lined stainless. We don't have much to go on with
commercial meads, of course. But virtually every commercial beer will have
had significant contact with stainless...it's just used everywhere in the
processing equipment, and precisely because the beer _doesn't_ attack it or
pick up flavors from it. (The meaderies I've seen are using a lot of
stainless also, including fermenting and aging tanks, but I've not seen
a statistically significant sample.)
I can't find any reason to believe that there's any tradeoff in transfer of
flavor or reaction with the material between glass and stainless. I would
expect that the effects of the plastic hoses and gadgets we use would have
more of an effect on the taste.
- ---
Dick Dunn rcd@talisman.com Hygiene, Colorado USA
...Simpler is better.
------------------------------
Subject: Re: A few questions from a newbie...
From: Jay Swartzfeger <jswartzfeger@home.com>
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 22:34:20 -0700
On Wednesday, August 1, 2001, at 09:11 PM, mead-request@talisman.com
wrote:
> So anyway, on to my question...
> Where can I get some Wyeast sweet mead yeast??? My
> local shops are all wineries so they, therefore, only
> sell wine yeasts. Also because they are wineries they
> do not sell ale yeast. I was hoping to try my hand at
> an Edme yeast mead sometime soon so I need a supplier
> of that as well. Any help would be greatly
> appreciated.
You may want to try an online homebrew shop like Beer, Beer and More
Beer (http://www.morebeer.com/) or Northern Brewer
(http://www.northernbrewer.com/
- --
Jay Swartzfeger
Scottsdale, AZ
------------------------------
Subject: unsubscribe
From: Wildlife5053@aol.com
Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2001 04:43:22 EDT
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #862, 1 August 2001
From: Kevin <eevilmouse@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2001 03:38:24 -0700 (PDT)
In response to the below, you can take a standard
Gallon bottle and brew the mead in it, the Ingredients
are the same, the method is a bit different. I use a
"standard" honey mead, I make the Must for 1 gallon,
let cool to room temp, and put it in the bottle with
one package of 1116 yeast. I then let it sit for 24
hours.
1.Rerack in a new gallon jug. Keep this up for a week,
reracking every day. After that week,
2. let it sit for a week, ( I put mine in the fridge,
but not sure if it helps or hinders, but that's the
way I was taught this recipe),
3.rerack after that week, and let sit.
4.On the final Re rack I add about 1/4 cup of
everclear, or vodka to kill the fermentation, then let
sit for another week. After which it is drinkable,
Mead in a month.
As for supplies, I get mine from www.beerathome.com
Its local in Colorado, but you can order everything
from their website.
Subject: A few questions from a newbie...
From: Joe Nelson <some1_ate_my_capn_crunch@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 12:15:53 -0700 (PDT)
Ok, I had a great batch come out of Cher Feinstein's
small mead recipe so I decided to try my hand at a
"better" (read as "slower") recipe. It's bubbling
away happily.
So anyway, on to my question...
Where can I get some Wyeast sweet mead yeast??? My
local shops are all wineries so they, therefore, only
sell wine yeasts. Also because they are wineries they
do not sell ale yeast. I was hoping to try my hand at
an Edme yeast mead sometime soon so I need a supplier
of that as well. Any help would be greatly
appreciated.
And one last question...
I'm a rather impatient brewer that enjoys sweeter
meads. I was wondering if anyone out there had some
good recipes that used Edme yeast that were ready to
bottle within say, a month or so, and were ready to
drink inside of 6 months. I know I'm picky but that's
what being a college student and having thirsty
roommates does to you. :-)
Much Thanks and Happy Meading,
Joe Nelson
- ------------------------------
=====
A fine is a tax for doing wrong.
A tax is a fine for doing well. -Emm
------------------------------
Subject: Mead/beer making and global warming
From: nutwood@tas.quik.com.au
Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2001 07:48:35 +1000
Brewing seems to not increase CO2 levels but I've always
understood that growing plants act as carbon sinks. The question
remains as to whether our brewing activities, via the
encouragement of plants, actually results in a net reduction in CO2
??!!
Cheers Steve
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #862, 1 August 2001
From: "Robert Goulding" <sanctuary@rushmore.com>
Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2001 06:38:55 -0600
Subject: Lemon Mead
From: "Mike Torregrossa" <mtorregr@tampabay.rr.com>
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2001 23:13:02 -0400
this is my first time making mead, and I thought I would
do a lemon flavor. Does anyone know of a good recipe for
a lemon mead?
Thanks
MT
Dr. Kings Mead, circa 1600
This has been simplified from the original recipe somewhat.
3-5 lemons (depending upon size)
3-5 nutmegs (also " " ")
15 pounds (5 quarts) of honey
Yeast nutrient/energizer according to label directions - I prefer the
brown/gold color yeast energizer rather than the white yeast nutrient which
has diammonium phosphate or something like that that supposedly produces
carcinogens.
Yeast, 2 packages of your preferred yeast, I have used several different
kinds over the years in experimentation and I like Nottinghams ale yeast for
a sweeter result or any dry wine yeast for a dryer result. If you use a dry
wine yeast it may ferment out all the honey and be too dry. You can always
add more honey if that happens.
Cut in half, squeeze and drop the lemons into the hot water, grind or finely
chop the nutmegs and add them to the hot water also. The finer the nutmegs
are ground/chopped the fewer of them you need. If they are big and you
grind them (I use an old coffee grinder for spices) you only need three, if
they are smaller and or you chop them you need a couple more. It also
depends on how well you like nutmeg.
Boil until the lemons are soft and you can squeeze them out well. Turn the
fire off and add the honey. You can do this with less than all the water
you finally need and add the remaining water to make 5 gallons in your
primary fermenter. I usually go for about 6 gallons of must because there
is about a half gallon or 3/4 gallon of sludge at the end of the
fermentation process. This way I get 5 to 51/2 gallons of finished product.
Add the yeast energizer. Add the yeast separately from the energizer.
I make a variation on this that I use 1 oz. of cinnamon sticks (cracked and
dumped in the boil), 1 small bottle of Roses Lime Juice and 1 teaspoon of
grated dried orange peel. This variation is quite good also but takes
longer to age, 1 year instead of approximately 6 months for the original.
Good luck and happy Meading!
Robert Goulding
Head Rooster
Robert's Roost
sanctuary@rushmore.com
www.rushmorehostel.com
625 South Street
Rapid City, South Dakota
57701-3633
605-341-3434
605-348-7799
------------------------------
Subject: #862 Lemon Mead
From: "Jas or Shay" <weavermonster@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 02 Aug 2001 14:09:35 +0000
>>From: "Mike Torregrossa"
>>this is my first time making mead, and I thought I would
>>do a lemon flavor. Does anyone know of a good recipe for
>>a lemon mead?
Mike, I would try a traditional mead with lemon zest and juice as the acid.
Be careful not to get any of the white pith under the zest, as it tastes
kinda funny and could ruin your first batch. I would start with a one gallon
batch of mead (3-4.5 lbs of honey with the remainder of the gallon being
water, use about 3-5 lemons, juice and zest). The yeast love the acid
atmosphere and will readily gobble up the lemon juice and honey sugar. Once
your initial fermentation is over make a 'tea' from lemon juice (not the
bottled stuff) and some more lemon zest, bring to a boil with some water and
cool (this should be anywhere from 5-7 lemons, with zest). Strain and
introduce into the secondary fermentor and rack the mead over into it. You
may need to do this an additional time in a tertiary fermentor. Wait until
it clears and bottle. Enjoy and let us know how it comes out!....Jason
Williamson
------------------------------
Subject: A few questions from a newbie...
From: "Linda Bowman" <lbowman@jaguar.net>
Date: Thu, 02 Aug 2001 08:14:45 -0700
Subject: A few questions from a newbie...
From: Joe Nelson <some1_ate_my_capn_crunch@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 12:15:53 -0700 (PDT)
>So anyway, on to my question...
>Where can I get some Wyeast sweet mead yeast??? My
>local shops are all wineries so they, therefore, only
>sell wine yeasts. Also because they are wineries they
>do not sell ale yeast. I was hoping to try my hand at
>an Edme yeast mead sometime soon so I need a supplier
>of that as well. Any help would be greatly
>appreciated.
The Home Brewery in Riverside, CA carries WYeast. They also have White
Labs Sweet Mead yeast in a pitchable vial form. (I only use the White
Labs, so I'm not sure if you can get the WYeast in already-started vials.
Also, I'm not sure if you'd *want* the already-started concoction if it
has to be shipped any distance at all from the shop) In fact, they've
always had everything I've gone looking for. They do have an online
presence at www.homebrewery.net and do process orders over the Internet.
Hope this helps
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Novel way to make the "must"?
From: Russ Riley <russriley61999@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2001 08:52:11 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Novel way to make the "must"?
From: "Kemp, Alson" <alson@corp.cirrus.com>
Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2001 16:07:59 -0700
I decided to try something different this time:
BLENDING!
Remember to thoroughly clean and sanitize your
blender!!!
- Alson
___________________________________________
I'm intrigued. How did you sanitize your blender?
Simply let bleach solution sit in it? Or soak then
blend the solution for a while, to reach all moving
parts? Or perhaps take it a part and soak each part
individually? Also, have you noticed any off-flavors
from possible contamination in your finished meads?
Thanks
Russ
------------------------------
Subject: Re: BlackBerry Melomel
From: Joshua Laff <elfboy0@netzero.net>
Date: Thu, 02 Aug 2001 09:27:00 -0700
"Jimmy Overcast" <malibu76@mindspring.com> wrote:
>I brewed an BlackBerry Melomel and it has recently turned 1 year old. I
>basically just left if in a cool closet with the airlock on tight and forgot
>about it. Well it is time to bottle it up. I purchased 2 cases of 7 oz
>Barley Wine Bottles to package it in. My question to all of you is
>1. Should I leave it a Still Mead or Carbonate it to have a Sparkling Mead.
My opinion is that this depends on how sweet the mead is and how much berry
you used. If it's fairly sweet, and fairly strong blackberry flavor, I'd
suggest leaving it be. Effectively, you'd have something akin to alcoholic
fruit juice. I have a batch like this - of all my batches, it's everyone's
favorite, and I would never dream of carbonating it (maybe it's just me,
carbonated fruit juice doesn't even sound appealing). If it's on the drier
side and/or there's less berry flavor, then it's probably just a matter of
taste. After a recent batch on the drier side that I opened and discovered
to be heavily carbonated, I felt it suited it well (aside from the
stressing about potential grenades).
- - Joshua
------------------------------
Subject: Re: 1 Question and 2 Haikus
From: Joshua Laff <elfboy0@netzero.net>
Date: Thu, 02 Aug 2001 09:38:20 -0700
"Kemp, Alson" <alson@corp.cirrus.com> wrote:
>Haikus from my brewing partner regarding our recent Orange Blossom Mead:
>- ---
>Here, I wrote this haiku:
>
>Orange Blossum Mead
>A Heinous liquid sorrow
>Were did we go wrong?
>
>Or, I think my favorite haiku:
>
>Orange born Mead child
>We gave all but got no love.
>Why so long to wait?
The above mentioned haikus and batch aside, that sounds like a great idea
for making bottle labels!
- - Joshua
------------------------------
Subject: Aieee, bitter!
From: Tess Snider <malkin@Radix.Net>
Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2001 13:28:08 -0400 (EDT)
I have two batches of mead going, right now (as I've mentioned before).
After one week, when I racked them off of their chunky bits, my
orange-ginger improvised mead was absolutely nummy, and tasted a little
like gingery orangina. My blueberry, on the other hand, tasted ascerbic
and awful. After a month-and-a-half, I cracked them open to take specific
gravity measurements. They were both beautiful and crystal clear, only
now the tables had turned: The blueberry was sophisticated and delicious
(it tastes like it will age into a wonderful sherry-like flavour), but the
orange-ginger had lost it's pleasant orangey-gingery flavour, and turned
bitter, instead. The orange-ginger is mostly a dirt simple recipe, with
honey, yeast nutrient, two or three mashed up oranges, and the tea of a
whole grated ginger root and three English Breakfast tea teabags thrown
in. I used a sweet mead yeast in the fermenter.
Do you think that it is it the ginger that went bitter, or the orange?
Does this sound like something that will mellow out with age? The
immediate effect of the bitterness is that it makes the mead taste drier
than it really is (and I think it's a little drier than I intended,
anyway), so I'm thinking of sterilizing a little extra honey and adding
it. Does this sound like a good idea?
Tess
------------------------------
Subject: Chocolate mead
From: "Dan Baker" <capten_rhys@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 02 Aug 2001 13:47:21 -0400
Greetings one and all,
I was invited to join your list and am pleased to be here. I am a brewer of
Chocolate Mead and originator of the recipie that some of you found
recently. I wanted to say hello and I am looking forward to looking thru
the archives at comments. I will say as the originator of the recipie, I no
longer serve it at one year old, 2 years is much better. Although my wife
has recently absconded with all my supply.
- -Rhys ab Idwal ab Idris ap William....
<br><br><br>
- --
YIS,
Capten Rhys gen y Arian Lloer
Angeline la Petita
Arafu at dawnsio mewn adlaw
...Take time to dance in the rain...
------------------------------
Subject: mead haiku
From: eli+@gs211.sp.cs.cmu.edu
Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2001 13:49:52 -0400 (EDT)
Alson Kemp wrote:
> Orange Blossum Mead
> A Heinous liquid sorrow
> Were did we go wrong?
This reminds me of my first melomel:
frozen orange juice
doesn't taste like oranges --
orange-PEZ mead, ew.
- --
Eli Brandt | eli+@cs.cmu.edu | http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~eli/
------------------------------
Subject: Corny Kegs
From: "Matt_Maples" <Matt_Maples@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2001 10:39:41 -0700
>I have issues with is. Every time I hear somebody suggest kegging in a
>metallic carboy, I think of the taste of beer in a aluminum can. It [the
>beer] takes on a small metallic/aluminum taste, which is why I prefer
>bottled beer as opposed to tap or can. Does the mead or beer
>take on the taste of stainless steel as it does with aluminum cans?
>Thoughts?
Cornies are made to be stable even at low pH (if they weren't the premix
coke would eat right through). I would say almost all wine and beer made
here in the US is fermented in stainless. I wouldn't worry about picking
up any flavor from the stainless. What I would be concerned about is the
fact that these kegs were not designed to seal without a pressure being
applied. For the short term moving I think it is the safest idea. I
could not imagine the headache of a broken carboy in a moving van (or
car for that matter)
Matt Maples
Liquid Solutions
12162 SW Scholls Ferry Rd
Tigard, OR 97223
503-524-9722
www.liquidsolutions.ws (web site)
http://list.liquidsolutions.ws/scripts/lyris.pl (mailing list)
May mead regain its rightful place as the beverage of gods and kings.
------------------------------
Subject: Racking and the Lees
From: "Kemp, Alson" <alson@corp.cirrus.com>
Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2001 10:01:00 -0700
Just got a couple of good books on winemaking (parents have a
vineyard with Syrah and Zinfandel and crush is coming!!). "Techniques in
Home Winemaking" by Pambianchi (excellent book) has some interesting
information about racking. This paragraph was taken without permission from
the author.
- ---
Paraphrasing page 119:
Wine should be racked when S.G drops below 1.030. The main reason
for doing so is to reduce the volume of lees, which, if left too long in
contact, could spoil the wine - a reaction known as autolysis resulting from
the decatying of dead yeast cells. These lees are referred to as the gross
lees and consist mainly of dead yeast cells and grape solids. Wine should
be separated from the gross lees as soon as possible.
Sediment formed after the removal of the gross lees are referred to
as fine lees and, unlike gross lees, fine lees are beneficial to wines,
adding flavor and complexity when left in contact for up to 6 months. This
short fine lees contact period will cause autolysis to a very small extent -
a desirable reaction in this case. During this period of fine lees contact,
the lees should be stirred on a weekly basis for the first couple of months
and then monthly. This process is called "batonage" and is essential in
creating wines with added flavor and complexity.
- ---
Although I knew about racking and lees, I never knew that a
distinction was made between "gross lees" and "fine lees". Interesting
information considering all of the hand wringing I have done over when to
rack, how much is too much sediment, etc.
Since I feel kinda guilty about copying those two paragraphs, I
offer a compensatory plug (RCD willing): the book is very good and covers
just about any topic in winemaking that you can imagine, including blending,
everything about wine barrels, 14 common wine problems and how to solve
them, etc (aside from all the obvious topics). See Jack Keller's review on
Amazon.
-Alson
------------------------------
Subject: Wyeast sweet mead
From: NLSteve@aol.com
Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2001 16:10:35 EDT
Joe Nelson says:
<< Where can I get some Wyeast sweet mead yeast??? My
local shops are all wineries so they, therefore, only
sell wine yeasts. Also because they are wineries they
do not sell ale yeast. I was hoping to try my hand at
an Edme yeast mead sometime soon so I need a supplier
of that as well. Any help would be greatly
appreciated. >>
I know this seems obvious and you may have already tried this, but if your
wine yeast vendors deal with Wyeast, then they can certainly order you some
sweet mead yeast. Another option is any Internet/mail order home brew shop.
For example, St. Patrick's of Texas or Beer, Beer & More Beer of California.
If you need some websites, email me.
The second thing is a warning: Wyeast sweet mead yeast produces a terrific
flavor & aroma, but is fickle. It is prone to stopping, and then starting
again after racking or simply reconsidering the matter. So allow for this
when bottling.
------------------------------
Subject: Mead temperature
From: nutwood@tas.quik.com.au
Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2001 07:58:30 +1000
I am curious to discover at what temperature MLD people consider
ideal to consume mead at. I personally have always consumed my
mead at room temperature. I considered that refrigeration killed
some flavours and brought others, less desirable, to the forefront.
Generally I have bottled my mead in batches and consumed after
some bottle aging. Recently however, due to consumption
exceeding bottling, I have been filling a decanter straight from one
of my 200 litre (aprox 50 US gallons) ageing barrels. These are
stored in a outside shed at an average of around 7 celsius ( mid
forties in fahrenheit). I have discovered that this mead has an extra
something which it loses as it warms up.
I'm interested to know if others have discovered an ideal
temperature; which with my mead falls somewhere between fridge
and room temperature.
My meads are lightly spiced with the usuals, lemon juice added
for acidity and honey briefly boiled and added at about one part
honey to three parts water etc, by volume. I usually use a
champagne yeast. As I make 50 US gallons at a time they are well
aged by the time I get to them, usually several years.
Cheers Steve
------------------------------
Subject: Wyeast mead yeast
From: LJ Vitt <lvitt4@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2001 14:56:31 -0700 (PDT)
Joe Nelson asks about Wyeast mead yeast.
>Subject: A few questions from a newbie...
>From: Joe Nelson <some1_ate_my_capn_crunch@yahoo.com>
>Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 12:15:53 -0700 (PDT)
>So anyway, on to my question...
>Where can I get some Wyeast sweet mead yeast??? My
>local shops are all wineries so they, therefore, only
>sell wine yeasts. Also because they are wineries they
>do not sell ale yeast. I was hoping to try my hand at
>an Edme yeast mead sometime soon so I need a supplier
>of that as well. Any help would be greatly
>appreciated.
Do your local shops carry Vintner's Choice liquid wine yeast?
It is the brand sold to wine makers made by Wyeast.
I have been told that Wyeast sweet mead yeast is the same yeast as
Epernay II (sp?)
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #863
*******************************
