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Mead Lovers Digest #0870
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #870, 21 September 2001
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #870 21 September 2001
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
RE: Mead Lover's Digest #869, 17 September 2001 (David Chubb)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #869, 17 September 2001 (Christopher C Carpenter)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #869, 17 September 2001 (Sherfey)
Re: Eucalyptus Honey (Dan McFeeley)
How much vodka... ("Alan Meeker")
mead making questions from Steve ("Alan Meeker")
Cider ("David Herren")
wierd aftertaste ("Charles wettergreen")
Eucalypt honey (Gasco58@aol.com)
Eucalyptus honey ("William A. Millett")
RE: Mesquite at Trader Joe's ("Ken Taborek")
Re: Price of honey; fermentation ("Ken Taborek")
Quick mead, bread yeast, and earwigs (Tim Bray)
Steve Jones' questions (Yacko)
rhodomel - which rose? (Dick Dunn)
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: Mead Lover's Digest #869, 17 September 2001
From: David Chubb <dchubb@virpack.com>
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 10:38:18 -0400
Questions about fermenting mead:
During the primary fermentation, is there as much foam generated as when
fermenting beer? In other words, how much head space will I need during
primary?
Generally Meade's and wine's don't produce as much foam during fermentation.
However, this having been said, I have had a few batches that have gushed
foam all over my kitchen. I think the rule of thumb for meade's & foam is
that if a honey has more wax and other byproducts it will produce more foam.
The batches that foamed all over the place I didn't skim the scum off the
top of the must when cooking it. (and it was an unfiltered batch of honey)
Some say the wax & other bits do impart a more complex taste, but speaking
from experience, Fermented honey water all over my kitchen floor isn't worth
it....though my carbouy does sit next to the nice warm refrigerator exhaust
while in primary (then down to the basement for secondary). So could reduce
some of the foam by keeping your batches a bit cooler while in primary
(ferment times will be increased as well). Also adding a pinch of gelatin to
the batch helped me trap some of that foam and sediment.
Is it better to make a starter?
Sometimes....really depends on the yeasts being used. If your using
champagne, don't bother. Using some of the more "delicate" wine yeasts you
will probably want to use a starter. I use 2 table spoons of
"Suger-in-the-raw" (Turbinado sugar) to 2 cups of warm tap water. Then add
the yeast and let sit (covered with cheeze cloth)for a few hours before
pitching. (use similar instructions to the ones on the side of a packet of
bread yeast)
Are fast fermentations desirable, as with beer?
Usually no, your primary should last at least a month (at least most of mine
do), and your secondary anywhere from another month to 5 months.
Is it better to have very little headspace and use a blow-off tube, or to
allow head space and use an airlock?
I allow for headspace and use an airlock, in my 6 gallon carbouy I allow for
approx 3/4 gallon of space.
Most of what I've read about mead is very liberal in the range of
temperatures for fermentation. I've found it desirable (to me) to ferment my
ales a little cooler, say the low 60s. Does this apply to mead as well? Do
you get more esters or fusels at higher temps, as you will with beer?
Fermentation is fermentation.....what is true of beer is generally true of
meade's & wines. Slower fermentation should give a more complex taste. My
rule of thumb is room temp or a little above (I stick mine next to the
Fridge exhaust).
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #869, 17 September 2001
From: Christopher C Carpenter <Chris_Carpenter@ndsu.nodak.edu>
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 11:21:22 -0500
Greetings unto the Meadhall,
Perhaps my challenge was not expressed clearly enough. I agree this could
be expensve and possibly not reasonable for everybody to do all spices
possible. I ment for us to do this as a group challenge, for we all have
our preffered spices to play with. Why not each pick ONE spice Try it, and
report to all of us, so we can all benefit from each persons results. I
have Dibs on Anise..;O)
End result, everybody is better informed, and each person has a tincture of
their favorite spice for future use. Win WIn in my opinion.
Chris Carpenter
- --On Monday, September 17, 2001 8:09 AM -0600 mead-request@talisman.com
wrote:
> Regardless, to test every single herb that might be used in mead could
> become extremely tedious and expensive.
PS..a friend of mine who just recieved his PHD in chemistry recommended to
use a coffee maker and filter to do this, He seemed inclined to believe the
heated Vodka would do the job better. I thought heating alcohol would
change its basic structure, or just burn off the alcohol... perhaps people
would like to experiment and comment on this also..;O)
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #869, 17 September 2001
From: Sherfey <sherf@warwick.net>
Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2001 12:42:45 -0400
>Steve has questions;
>During the primary fermentation, is there as much foam generated as when
>fermenting beer? In other words, how much head space will I need during
>primary?
Most of my meads are above 10% alcohol, so there is lots of stuff in there
to ferment. I get comparably very little foaming and leave only the head
space above the first radius where the side turns toward the neck.
>Is it better to make a starter?
I make starters only when I am using liquid ale yeast. I use dried yeast
most of the time and just sprinkle it on the surface.
>Are fast fermentations desirable, as with beer?
You will get lots of opinions on this. Mine is: I have had good results
both with fast and slow fermentations, but I keep the fermentation temp
relatively low and use lots of nutrients to get what I consider to be GOOD
fermentations.
>Is it better to have very little headspace and use a blow-off tube, or to
>allow head space and use an airlock?
I cover the top with a folded paper towel rubber-banded on. It's all CO2
in there while fermentation is going on. An airlock goes on after the main
fermentation subsides.
>Most of what I've read about mead is very liberal in the range of
>temperatures for fermentation. I've found it desirable (to me) to ferment my
>ales a little cooler, say the low 60s. Does this apply to mead as well?
I have found that cooler is better. Find the operating temperature of your
yeast and keep the *must* temperature in the lower third of the range. If
you cannot actively manage the temperature of your ferment, select a yeast
that has a high temperature range and hope for the best.
>Do
>you get more esters or fusels at higher temps, as you will with beer?
I have had fermentations run away at high temperatures. While they were
loads of fun to watch, the resulting flavor was jet fuel.
My $0.02, hope it helps!
David Sherfey
Warwick, NY
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Eucalyptus Honey
From: Dan McFeeley <mcfeeley@keynet.net>
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 10:49:19 -0500
On Mon, 17 Sep 2001, in MLD 869, Stuart Smith wrote:
>Coming from "Down Under" I noted with horror in the 9th Sept Digest
>comment by Jay Swartzfeger Scottsdale, AZ that "Virtually any variety of
>honey is good for mead (except for Eucalyptus honey, which is virtually
>considered to be a horrible honey for mead)."
You can blame Acton & Duncan's _Making Mead_, for that one. This is an
English publication put out in the mid 1960's but still popular. They
state "There are many excellent Australian honeys, both single blossom
and blended, but one needs to guard against the admittedly rare chance
of purchasing eucalyptus blossom honey, which has a peculiar but typical
bitter flavor."
>Give me a while and I'll be able to give you a fine definition of which
>Eucalypt honeys are good and which aren't. They all have a highly
>distinctive flavour; I can't believe that Yellow Gum honey could give
>anything other than a sweet delicious mead, Yellow Gum is Eucalyptus
>Melliodora and lives up to its name.
And that's where Acton & Duncan made their mistake. They gave a misleading
impression that there is only one kind of Eucalyptus honey when there's
really a variety of Eucalyptus honeys, each with their own distinct flavor
as you point out. Unfortunately a lot of people have read that book and
assumed that Eucalyptus honey, any kind, is a poor honey for mead. I
believed it too, until I read some stuff in _The ABC & XYZ of Beeking_
on Eucalyptus honeys. There's also been reports here and there on the
'net of folk trying Eucalyptus honeys and saying they make good meads.
>Anyway, I have now flown the Aussie flag in brute ignorance and defended
>my honour. I will get back to you when I've tried enough different
>honeys to justify it. :-).......
That might take a *long* time! Not so long ago on hist-brewing we had a
discussion on Tasmanian Leatherwood honey, and I hear there is a stingless
variety of Aussie bee that makes a good honey. Seems like you guys have a
lot of different exotic honeys down there that should make for some very
intriquing meads.
We're all looking forward to hearing your report!
<><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><>
Dan McFeeley
mcfeeley@keynet.net
------------------------------
Subject: How much vodka...
From: "Alan Meeker" <ameeker@mail.jhmi.edu>
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 12:53:21 -0400
Joel Tracy asks about adding vodka to a fermenting mead to halt the
fermentation. Unfortunately, this won't be that easy to do. An ethanol
concentration of approximately 15% - 17% should be sufficient to inhibit
the yeast activity. (True, some yeasts have been coaxed to produce higher
concentrations of alcohol during high-gravity fermentations, these typically
involve taking special actions such as fortification with a good nitrogen
source, multiple pitchings, etc.) Your mead yeast will already be a bit
crippled at three weeks out, when you propose to add the vodka, and will be
more sensitive to ethanol inhibition than at the beginning of the ferment,
so I'd guess that shooting for 15% ethanol should do the trick. I believe
vodkas clock in at about 30-40% ethanol, therefore, to make your 1 gallon of
fermenting mead up to a final level of 15% you'd have to add an equal volume
of vodka to your mead (1 gallon of vodka + 1 gallon of mead). Of course,
this is ignoring the amount of alcohol produced by the yeast during the 2-3
weeks of primary fermentation, so you could actually get by with less vodka
if you've had a particularly strong fermentation going.
Since vodka is a very neutral spirit you might just as well switch over to
using pure ethanol (95-100%), then you'd only have to add about 15% of a
gallon to the mead to stop the fermentation.
The other thing to consider is the impact this will have on the mead's
flavor. Many meads only come into their own after prolonged aging, something
you will lose the benefit of if you halt the fermentation so early. You
should also be concerned with the problem of off flavors. Many volatile
compounds with unpleasant flavors are actually driven off during the
fermentation - "scrubbed out" by the CO2 generated. Other compounds with
undesirable flavors are metabolized by the yeast during the fermentation and
these may be left intact if the fermentation is prematurely stopped. On top
of this, the rapid increase in ethanol may actually end up killing the
yeast, which could, in turn, lead to yeast autolysis and the release of some
nasty tasting compounds. Lastly, the resulting mead might be undrinkably
sweet, depending upon how far the yeast was able to reduce the original
gravity before you add the ethanol. In short, you'd end up with nearly the
same beverage by just mixing together some vodka, honey, and dead yeast.
All in all, I foresee several reasons why this might not work. However, I've
never actually tried this myself so who knows??
If you do give it a try please let us know how it comes out!!
Good Luck
- -Alan Meeker
------------------------------
Subject: mead making questions from Steve
From: "Alan Meeker" <ameeker@mail.jhmi.edu>
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 13:22:06 -0400
Steve Jones asked:
>During the primary fermentation, is there as much foam generated as when
>fermenting beer? In other words, how much head space will I need during
>primary?
Steve, it's been my experience that meads do not generate nearly as much
foam as do beers. This is primarily due to the fact that honeys, by and
large, do not contain very much in the way of foam-promoting proteins. As
I'm sure you're aware, beers can throw a lot of foam, depending mostly upon
the grain bill. (If you've ever made a wheat beer you know what I mean!) On
the other hand, I've used several different yeasts to make meads and there
is variability in foam production depending upon yeast strain. If you are
using Lavlin yeasts you can check this out, it is one of the characteristics
they list for the strains they market (see the Lallemand web site for more
details). I've also noticed significant foaming in some meads containing
fruit, so it's worth making allowances for this.
>Is it better to make a starter?
Absolutely!! This is even more important in making meads than making beer.
Large healthy starters are highly recommended for high-gravity
fermentations, especially nutrient-poor ones like meads.
>Are fast fermentations desirable, as with beer?
I think so. Some people say that meads need to ferment a year or more to
properly mature, but I disagree. The main reason that people's fermentations
take so long is, again, because the simplest meads (honey + water) are very
nutrient poor and, on top of this, many people don't pitch enough yeast. If
you pitch a large healthy starter and are willing to supplement your must
with a nitrogen source, nitrogen source + vitamins ("yeast energizer"), or
with fruit, then your fermentation can be quite rapid. I've had high gravity
raspberry mead primaries finish in as little as 3 weeks, and ready to drink
within a month or two.
>Is it better to have very little headspace and use a blow-off tube, or to
>allow head space and use an airlock?
Either way should be fine. One word of warning, if you are using fruit with
sizeable pieces, I'd leave plenty of headspace as the particles tend to
float to the surface from all the CO2 generated, and can clog the openings
of airlocks and blow-off tubes leading to pressure build-ups and some
interesting mead Rorschach tests on the ceiling once the stopper lets loose!
>Most of what I've read about mead is very liberal in the range of
>temperatures for fermentation. I've found it desirable (to me) to ferment
my
>ales a little cooler, say the low 60s. Does this apply to mead as well? Do
>you get more esters or fusels at higher temps, as you will with beer?
Most of the responses to temperature will be similar to those encountered in
beer making- more esters and fusels the higher the fermentation temp. Also,
since meads are usually high-gravity fermentations, higher temperatures are
more stressful to the yeast cells than would normally be the case, so I'd
advise staying on the lower end of the yeasts' growth range.
Hope this helps
- -Alan Meeker
------------------------------
Subject: Cider
From: "David Herren" <bobbys_wrld@hotmail.com>
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 13:13:53 -0500
Ok, so my question is really about cider but no one else seems to have an
answer for me. My hard cider turns out watery. I have heard this is common
but no one knows why. I have not had this problem with my Meads before. I
hope someone knows as it is fall and time for more hard cider!
Thanks
------------------------------
Subject: wierd aftertaste
From: "Charles wettergreen" <chuckwm@hotmail.com>
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 15:48:57 -0500
Steven Sanders <geigertube@yahoo.com> in MLD 869 asked:
>I decided to start utilizing the non-boil method of
>meadmaking, after reading of the successes of other
>meadmakers who use this method. My first batch with
Congrats. You won't be disappointed. :?>)
>plaster\paint mixer with a electric drill now). It
>tastes okay at first blush, but the after-aftertaste
>tastes like.. tortilla chips. Its really weird. I have
I think it is more likely that the problem lies with
something else you said:
>this method was an cyser using a cherry-apple cider. I
>used nottingham ale yeast, (two packages) used only
I would suspect the yeast before I'd suspect a bacterial
infection, especially an ale yeast, and especially if you
fermented at elevated temperatures. I've made beer that
smelled distinctively like concord grapes during fermentation,
so tortilla chips doesn't surprise me.
>My guess is that I have some sort of bacterial
>infection. I wanted to see what everyone else thought.
If you used two viable packs of yeast and didn't use
excessively filthy sanitation proceedures, I think it's
unlikely you have a bacterial problem. On the other hand,
what temperature did you ferment at?
Cheers,
Chuck
------------------------------
Subject: Eucalypt honey
From: Gasco58@aol.com
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 20:50:46 EDT
>Anyway, I have now flown the Aussie flag in brute >ignorance and defended
>my honour. I will get back to you when I've tried enough >different
>honeys to justify it. :-).......
>In about 12 months or so I guess.......
>Oh, I'd better check I suppose, is Lucerne Honey a >reasonable reference
>for comparison?
>Best wishes
>Stuart Smith
>Melbourne Australia
Hello Stuart from a fellow Aussie "Meadie" in Adelaide, South Australia!
I have made several meads from Bluegum honey - none of those is yet really
drinkable, though more time is needed. The oldest is about 12 -15 months.
Until now, I had not considered that the eucalyptus itself could be a reason
that they are not great tasting? I just thought it was that meads require
around 2 or more years to mellow?
However, I have made a more recent mead with Lucerne honey, and added
Lavender flowers to it. It is really, really good! Quite drinkable now - 4
months, so who knows how it will improve with age? It has a nice aroma,
distinctly lavender, and a flavour somewhat like mild ginger?
Lucerne mead has proven really effective, especially as a base, to add
flavours to.
I have a question for the "rest". As I speak, I have a vanilla mead in the
making. I started it last night.
I do not use the boiling method, but usually choose to heat to about 75C
(166F) instead, to pasteurise it without driving off flavour. This batch used
2 vanilla beans in 10 litres (2.5 US gallons), I decided to use a higher
temp to extract the vanilla flavour - 85C (185F).
My question/problem is that I cannot really notice much vanilla flavour in
the must? There was a slight hint during heating, but not much that I can
tell now, a day after. Have I used enough vanilla? Some recipes that I have
read seemed to think 2-3 beans was enough?
Regards
Steve Gaskin - Adelaide
PS - condolences to all in the U.S. at this very dark, sad time.
------------------------------
Subject: Eucalyptus honey
From: "William A. Millett" <wmillett@fractal.com.br>
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 22:25:26 -0300
Hi there!
"Stuart Smith" <stuartsmith@froggy.com.au> mentions use of eucalytus honeys
for mead making.
Some time ago I found that some of my meads had a distinct if not strong
bitter taste. I checked out every ingredient used and found out that the
meads made with eucalytus honey (or mixtures thereof) gave a bitter taste to
the meads, although no bitter taste could be noticed in the must or in the
honey itself. The bitterness spoiled otherwise perfect meads!
The final test, where I used pure eucalyptus honey, concluded that
definitely this type of honey does give a bitter taste that increases as the
mead ages. Simultaneously, I fermented batches of meads using other types of
honey, using exactly the same technique and ingredients. No other honey
tested at the time gave bitter tastes.
Here we find Eucalyptus saligna and E. alba etc used for pulp manufacturing
and also E. citriodora, planted for extraction of essential oil. There are
many other species brought from Australia about 150 years ago. I don't know
which type gives more or less bitterness, but I hope this information is
useful to you. Stuart, can you tell us the results of your testing when you
finish it?
Best regards
William.
------------------------------
Subject: RE: Mesquite at Trader Joe's
From: "Ken Taborek" <ken.taborek@verizon.net>
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 21:45:22 -0400
> Subject: Mesquite at Trader Joe's
> From: Tess Snider <malkin@Radix.Net>
> Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2001 12:16:23 -0400 (EDT)
>
> Those of you who like Mesquite Honey, I have found good prices on 3lb
> cans at Trader Joe's in my area (Annapolis, MD). I bought a can to do a
> small (just over 1 gallon) batch, and found it tasty, but pretty chunky
> - -- bee legs and all. Not for folks who like filtered honey! I
> was making
> a chunky, messy, oily mel, anyway, so I wasn't too worried about the
> "extras," for this batch. I can filter them out later.
>
> Tess
Tess,
I live in the DC metro area, and I'd love to hear more about Trader Joe's.
Can you add a bit more information, such as just what 'good prices' are, and
if possible, a contact number for this shop?
Further on the general thread of good honey prices:
As I've said, I live in the Washington, DC metro area.
I've found that prices on the web are generally in the range of
$1.50-2.50USD/pound for honey in 5 gallon lots, less shipping, which can be
considerable. I like to split these batches with a fellow meadmaker, to get
the bulk price and share the shipping cost.
I can buy honey from local apiarists for right around $1.50USD/pound, and
they don't change the price per pound no matter if I'm buying 1 gallon or 5,
but the selection is dependant upon the season and their inventory. There
is the added benefit of dealing with a knowledgeable beekeeper, with a lot
of great stories to tell. And, these guys and gals are some of the nicest
people I've had the pleasure to meet.
The local CostCo sells 5lb bottles for just under $1USD/pound, but it's a
very processed and bland honey. This is fine, but I always have to wonder
if (for example) an unprocessed orange blossom honey wouldn't make a better
mead... I purchased my CostCo membership after discovering this honey price
was available there, but I've since made back the cost of my membership in
other household foods and goods.
These are my current choices for honey purchasing, but I'm always on the
lookout for other options, especially for honey's that I've yet to try out.
I'd be very interested to hear where others have found good quality honey,
good prices, or hopefully both at the same time. :)
Cheers,
Ken
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Price of honey; fermentation
From: "Ken Taborek" <ken.taborek@verizon.net>
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 22:09:53 -0400
> Subject: Price of honey; fermentation
> From: "Jones, Steve (I/T)" <stjones@eastman.com>
> Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 08:01:24 -0400
[snipped]
> Questions about fermenting mead:
> During the primary fermentation, is there as much foam generated as when
> fermenting beer? In other words, how much head space will I need during
> primary?
I make both beer and mead, and my experience is that ale beer makes more
foam than a mead. YMMV, of course. I use both yeast nutrients and more
natural adjuncts such as raisins, and I typically have very quick fermenting
mead, usually a 5 gallon batch will not take longer than 3 weeks to finish
primary fermentation.
> Is it better to make a starter?
Yes, definitely. You will see much quicker fermentation sign when you pitch
a larger colony. This lessens your risks of both a stuck fermentation and
of bacterial colonies taking hold before your yeast can shoulder them aside
and claim the sugars as their own.
> Are fast fermentations desirable, as with beer?
I'm not sure how to answer this. I wouldn't say that a fast fermentation is
necessarily desirable for either a beer or a mead. A quick start to
fermentation is desirable, yes. A fast fermentation will lessen your risk
of bacterial infection, but this should be balanced by other considerations
such as yeast temperature ranges and off flavors produced by some yeast at
high temperatures.
> Is it better to have very little headspace and use a blow-off tube, or to
> allow head space and use an airlock?
That is a religious question. Do what seems best for you, or what applies
to the situation. If you learn what proportion of water to honey will foam
at a certain level, you can adapt to the recipe you chose to make. I prefer
to use an airlock unless I'm making a recipe that I'm sure will require a
blow-off tube. But then, I mainly primary in a 7 gallon plastic bucket, and
so I have plenty of headspace for foam, and plenty of room for pounds of
fruit.
> Most of what I've read about mead is very liberal in the range of
> temperatures for fermentation. I've found it desirable (to me) to
> ferment my
> ales a little cooler, say the low 60s. Does this apply to mead as well? Do
> you get more esters or fusels at higher temps, as you will with beer?
This depends on the yeast strain, just as it does with beer. If you learn
your mead yeasts, you'll know the answer to your question. The answer to
both beers and meads is to ferment them at a temperature that the yeast will
perform well at.
I hope this helps, and good luck with your meads!
Cheers,
Ken
------------------------------
Subject: Quick mead, bread yeast, and earwigs
From: Tim Bray <tbray@mcn.org>
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 20:52:05 -0700
Some of the questions & comments recently reminded me of meads we used to
make for SCA feasts and the like. We used honey & water, lemons, ginger,
nutmeg, and other spices; boiled, cooled, and pitched
Fleischmann's. Fermented (in milk jugs, with balloons over the mouths)
like mad for about two weeks; when it tailed off, we would rack &
bottle. Drink up in a month or so - or else! Famous for exploding bottles
as the secondary fermentation took off... This stuff probably wouldn't win
any awards; yeasty, rather harsh sometimes, but plenty of honey character
and a very distinctive drink. Once, the balloons broke, and earwigs
crawled into the jugs and, of course, drowned in the foam. We didn't
realize that until bottling time; but it didn't look too bad, and we didn't
know any better, so we strained and bottled anyway. Best batch we ever made.
Just goes to show... you never know!
Tim Bray
Albion, CA
Albion Works
Furniture, Clothing, and Accesories
For the Medievalist!
www.albionworks.net
------------------------------
Subject: Steve Jones' questions
From: Yacko <yacko@keimel.com>
Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2001 15:35:29 -0400
On Mon, Sep 17, 2001 at 08:09:50AM -0600, mead-request@talisman.com wrote:
> Subject: Price of honey; fermentation
> From: "Jones, Steve (I/T)" <stjones@eastman.com>
> Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 08:01:24 -0400
> The supplier I spoke of is the only one that I'm aware of in our area, and
> the honeys are not actually varietal at all. They call them light, amber,
> and dark amber. I went ahead and bought 5 gallons of dark amber, and split
Wow... sounds more like maple syrup grades than honey types....
> Questions about fermenting mead:
> During the primary fermentation, is there as much foam generated as when
> fermenting beer?
Generally no, the 'krauzen' level is generally much less.
> In other words, how much head space will I need during
> primary?
Less than beer? Honestly, when I do a still mead with no adjuncts, I
fill nearly to the neck of my carboy. I get a little bit of mess from
the initial fermentation, but I'll just replace the ferment lock after a
few days and wipe down the carboy. I prefer to have a full 6 gallons in
my carboys. After all the racking, I almost always end up having 2 cases
of 750mL bottles and one or two to taste. This makes buying supplies
easier for me. Plus, I can rely on having '2 cases' even if I have to
rack it a few times. It's handy to know that.
> Is it better to make a starter?
IMHO, naw. But I've started using the WyEast liquid yeasts and let the
pack bulge til it's hard before I pitch.
> Are fast fermentations desirable, as with beer?
I believe that it's good to have a quick fermentation until some alcohol
get's built up, thus making infection harder. Of course, I'm generally
at the mercy of the house temperature. Nowadays, all my carboys are in
the basement, which is generally cooler. I'm not sure what I'm going to
do this weekend, as I'm brewing in this new house for only the second
time. I think I might leave the carboys upstairs where it's warm, then
move them downstairs until I can make a better place for them.
> Is it better to have very little headspace and use a blow-off tube, or to
> allow head space and use an airlock?
See above.... either way, be sure not to jam your plug into the carboy
opening too hard. If it pops, you want it to pop, not crack the carboy,
in case the blow off tube get's crudded up and clogged.
> Most of what I've read about mead is very liberal in the range of
> temperatures for fermentation. I've found it desirable (to me) to ferment my
> ales a little cooler, say the low 60s. Does this apply to mead as well? Do
> you get more esters or fusels at higher temps, as you will with beer?
YMMV. You'll get multiple answers here. See my comments above as to my
logic on quick initial ferment. After it's got some alcohol, I just let
it run til it settles (SG measure's level out) or til it tastes good
enough to bottle. Heck, if it tastes good enough, stop the ferment
somehow and bottle it!
On all my answers, YMMV. This is all IMHO. Bottom line, "relax, dont
worry, have a homebrew".
Good luck!
john
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Subject: rhodomel - which rose?
From: rcd@talisman.com (Dick Dunn)
Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2001 19:47:39 -0600 (MDT)
On a pleasant summer late afternoon a few weeks ago, we were sitting on the
porch enjoying the scent of roses on the breeze. I told the friend who was
visiting to come around and sniff the various roses..."see how this one is
almost like peach?"..."this one has almost no scent"..."this one is spicy"...
"this one is just like raspberries".
It took a while to think about that in the context of mead. (I've often
wanted to make a rhodomel but I've never done it.) But finally I got around
to thinking: What sort of rose(s) would you use to flavor a mead? I can
imagine that if you just grabbed all the petals you could get, the result
could be a not-so-pleasing hodge-podge.
It seems like few people in the group here have made a rhodomel; even fewer
have liked the result. So this is a long shot, but has anyone worked on
what sort of roses to use?
Dick
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End of Mead Lover's Digest #870
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