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Mead Lovers Digest #0864
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #864, 15 August 2001
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #864 15 August 2001
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Re: Corny Kegs and SS Steel (JazzboBob@aol.com)
Peach melomel (Jay Swartzfeger)
unsubscribe (Wildlife5053@aol.com)
Wedding Story and Yeast Question ("butcher")
Chipotle Mead (Dan McFeeley)
C02 Cheat (Christopher C Carpenter)
Commercial Meadery ("Mark Kingsley")
honeylocator.com (Yacko)
The Perfect Mead, and other things (Silent Running / Admin)
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: Corny Kegs and SS Steel
From: JazzboBob@aol.com
Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2001 01:03:55 EDT
Stainless Steel is a pretty inert metal and doesn't react with too many
things. I've stored many beers and meads for long periods of time in SS kegs
with no metallic tastes becoming detectable to me. Kegs are great way to
store meads for aging since they eliminate the oxidation/air problem. They
are also very practical for serving carbonated or sparkling meads. SS is
used by many wineries to ferment and age wine. They wouldn't make their
tanks from the stuff if off tastes were a problem.
Bob Grossman
> Subject: Re: Moving Blues
> From: "Taliesin2" <shane.saylor@verizon.net>
> Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2001 00:39:48 -0400
>
> > 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?
> Thoughts?
>
------------------------------
Subject: Peach melomel
From: Jay Swartzfeger <jswartzfeger@home.com>
Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2001 22:48:30 -0700
Hi all,
Once I clear up a carboy (I have way too many batches brewing right
now), I plan to do a peach mel. A local store recently had peaches on
sale, so I bought 8#, skinned/pitted them and then froze them.
Anyone have a favorite peach melomel recipe they'd like to share, or any
general peach advice? I've looked on the usual mead recipe sites and
have found a few peach recipes, but nothing significant.
I guess what I'm looking for is info on how to match the peaches with
the mead. Do peaches make the mel overly sweet? Does a particular
variety of honey or yeast match well with peaches? FWIW, I plan on using
those 8# in a 5gal batch, and I'd like to make a dry/crisp sparkling
peach mel, reminiscent of a champagne. Thanks!
------------------------------
Subject: unsubscribe
From: Wildlife5053@aol.com
Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2001 03:24:18 EDT
------------------------------
Subject: Wedding Story and Yeast Question
From: "butcher" <butcher@drizzle.com>
Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2001 12:14:25 -0700
Howdy Meaders,
My friend was getting married a few weeks back and since he was gracious
enough to share a few gallons of ginger mead with our wedding, I thought I
would return the favor. So I threw a batch and the yeast failed. So I
tried it again with another strain. Poop, it failed again. Short on time I
grabbed a package of Fleischmans bread yeast. Boom! Whooped it up quick.
Still cruising on the wedding day, I racked it a couple of times and brought
the 5 gallons up in a clean fermentor and gave it to the bartender, told him
it was ginger mead and left.
It was a smaller wedding, less than 60 people I think. The mead only lasted
about 2 hours. The two mini kegs were both almost full, and the cases of
wine were still stacked high. I felt very good, and so did the mead
drinkers! The gingers effect was as pronounced as the alcohol!
Well, enough bragging. I just wanted to know people experience using common
bread yeast. Going over my mead log book, it seems the best meads I have
made have all been bread yeast born. This includes still, sparkling, sweet
and dry.
What have you all learned about making mead with Bread Yeast?
Thanks!
Steve
------------------------------
Subject: Chipotle Mead
From: Dan McFeeley <mcfeeley@keynet.net>
Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2001 08:26:37 -0500
Hello all --
I wanted to give a report on one of my latest efforts, a smoked chile pepper
mead which I've given the simple moniker "Chipotle Mead." It turned out
quite well, very nice heat level, smooth with a good balance of honey and
chile pepper. Most people who tried it thought it was good although there
were a few exceptions. My wife Melissa took a sip, gasped and muttered
something about my trying to poison her. *sigh* Some bee nymph.
I'd like to give details of the recipe but that's going to be difficult
since I don't really have one. This was actually a blend of several
different meads since each effort just didn't have the flavor I was
looking for.
It started when I got fired up after tasting one of Chuck Wettergreen's
Smoke 'N Chile meads and set out on what amounted to a Holy Grail quest
to make one for myself. Chuck gave helpful back channel advice, along
with some exasperation over my constant tinkering and fiddling with
the batch/s ("Dan, just *bottle* the d*** thing already!" :-) I began
the first batch with about 20 jalapeno chile peppers, sliced and with
the seeds, then made up a must of about 1.100 using Lapsong Souchong
Chinese smoked tea for smoke flavor, added a packet of Lalvin K1V-1116
yeast and let it rip in a plastic fermenter. This first batch was very
dry, too dry and the chile pepper flavor was lacking. I made a second
batch going for overkill on the chile peppers, more Lapsong Souchong,
and then blended that with version one hoping the one would offset the
other. Results were better but since honey character was still lacking
I added a few more pounds of honey bringing the gravity up to about
1.030, then a dab or two of liquid smoke. As high as the gravity was,
it was just right for balancing off the heavy smoke and chile pepper
flavors. After that, I adjusted the heat level with a habenero pepper
extract I'd made with vodka, fined with sparkloid, and version four
<whew!> was done.
This was also an all natural mead, no additives and no heat other than
just enough to dissolve the honey. The results were quite good, each
version was drinkable upon clearing with no noticiable off flavors.
Fermentation time was also good, about a few weeks or so.
Now if I can just figure out how to do it all in one shot, I'll be able
to make up another batch! :-)
Happy Meadmaking!
<><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><>
Dan McFeeley
mcfeeley@keynet.net
"You learn something old every day." Mr. McFeeley, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood
------------------------------
Subject: C02 Cheat
From: Christopher C Carpenter <Chris_Carpenter@ndsu.nodak.edu>
Date: Wed, 08 Aug 2001 13:10:14 -0500
Greetings unto the Mead hall...;O)
I have a question on carbonating meads. In beer brewing,often people will
use a Pop syrup container, and a Co2 tank for carbonating their beer, why
has this not been mentioned to date for mead carbonation (It is obvious you
are all intelligent enough where this has probably been considered), does
this leave an off flavoring, or is concensus to have individually bottled
meads?? Personally, I share 1 gallon batches with friends, and bottle the
remaining mead for prosperity. I am starting to try some short (quick)
meads, and have always hated carbonating my beer the "natural" way. Would
I be remiss in attempting to use the Co2 tank methhod to carbonate??
Chris
------------------------------
Subject: Commercial Meadery
From: "Mark Kingsley" <kingsley@vif.com>
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 21:29:01 -0500
I'm considering starting a small commercial meadery, does anyone have =
any links or information on the set-up, ant type of help would be
appreciated.
kingsley@vif.com
------------------------------
Subject: honeylocator.com
From: Yacko <yacko@keimel.com>
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 02:52:33 -0400
Hi All,
I was just over at Vicki's great www.gotmead.com site and found she has
a new link. www.honeylocator.com is a link to the NHB's supplier
listing, seachable be type of honey, variety, state, etc. It's
incredibly convenient. After wondering who has honey nearby for some
months, I've found out in a matter of seconds. Wow.... this is just so
cool to have this. Now I can find suppliers easily. I've place my order
for 60# of blueberry blossom and will be brewing again soon. WOOHOO!
Hope this helps some people find what they're looking for.
j
- --
------------------------------
Subject: The Perfect Mead, and other things
From: Silent Running / Admin <moonlight@silent-running.com>
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 22:19:36 -0700
Greetings,
My son and his lovely wife are about to bless me with a grandchild. Like
many who pay homage at the Altar of Mead, I wish to brew a batch in honor
of this monumental occasion, to be partaken of on each birthday until she
reaches maturity and to be served at her wedding. Obviously, a brew of
such importance must be of the finest quality; only the most extraordinary
beverage can be imbued with the all the hopes, dreams and love one has for
a grandchild.
My daughter in law and I are both partial to vanilla and ginger. My
question is this; will the delicate flavor of vanilla hold up to 18+ years
of aging, and yet be drinkable as early as the first birthday? If not,
what other recipes would you suggest for this undertaking?
Also, I have a Christmas mead brewed from reconstituted cranberry juice
concentrate and spiced with cinnamon, ginger, allspice and
cloves. Technically speaking, do I have a spiced mel, or a fruit
metheglin? I'll be gifting all of my friends with this brew, many of whom
have never tasted mead, and want my labels to be accurate.
Thanks much in advance
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End of Mead Lover's Digest #864
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