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Mead Lovers Digest #0902
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Errors-To: mead-errors@talisman.com
Reply-To: mead@talisman.com
To: mead-list@talisman.com
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #902, 13 February 2002
Mead Lover's Digest #902 13 February 2002
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #901, 9 February 2002 (Jplane1@aol.com)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #901, 9 February 2002 (Jplane1@aol.com)
What's working ("Ken Taborek")
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #901, 9 February 2002 (Ups474@aol.com)
drinking horns ("Lane Gray, Czar Castic")
Re: "Meadery" Trademarked? ("Dan McFeeley")
Heathens and Mead (=?Windows-1252?B?ROZn?=)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #901, 9 February 2002
From: Jplane1@aol.com
Date: Sat, 9 Feb 2002 09:26:26 EST
In a message dated 2/9/02 12:13:28 AM Pacific Standard Time,
mead-request@talisman.com writes:
<< > At Beltane, the last day of April, I sprinkle mead in the
> gardens (no, I don't pass it through my kidneys first!) and around
> things I wish to be fertile. I believe it strengthens the plants and
> presents a gift to the plant spirits for gifts received.
I know this is TOTALLY tangental, but as a horticulturist by nature, I can
tell you that you have sound scientific backing to do this, Both the
carbohydrates and the enzymes found in mead will benefit most plant
materials. I would think green mead, if not still fermenting would be best,
it would be a good way to use a batch you KNOW will be bad (I had one I
primaried in a pickle bucket I had not managed to remove all the
residue...needless to say kiwi dill is NOT a recommended mead). >>
Hi,
Oh, this is too funny. I will have to remember not to mix dill and kiwi
with my mead making. But, I do want to point out that bees are attracted to
the sweet smell of mead, for obvious reasons. Without bees, there would be
no fruit. The more bees the better the crop. At least that is the way I
understand it. Seems like a waste of good mead. I think it is a good use
for bad mead, if there is such a thing. At least you have come up with a way
to salvage a bad batch.
Blessings,
Joan
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #901, 9 February 2002
From: Jplane1@aol.com
Date: Sat, 9 Feb 2002 09:33:38 EST
In a message dated 2/9/02 12:13:28 AM Pacific Standard Time,
mead-request@talisman.com writes:
<< Basically we usually sit in a circle, get a
really big cup, station several refilling-bottles around the circle and pass
the cup around. Whenever it gets *near* to being empty, someone fills it up
again. In this way everyone shares >>
Hey,
I wanna be at this party. I am a druid too. I have a case of mead just
ready to share with the right people. Which way is the grove? ;)))))))
Love,
Joan
------------------------------
Subject: What's working
From: "Ken Taborek" <Ken.Taborek@Verizon.net>
Date: Sat, 9 Feb 2002 12:17:37 -0500
In an attempt to move the forum away from paganism/witchcraft/Satanism and
back onto mead... a dull but relevant post about my current meads.
Last Saturday I racked all of my meads. This is not typical, as I usually
attend to each of them as they require, but my SO had a friend in town, and
the two of them went off to shop for an afternoon and do other girly things
together like getting manicures, and I found myself with several idle hours,
and looked for a project to keep me busy. Below are my notes on my current
working meads and some details on their progress.
5 gal batch
First racking. The apple-pear cyser has clarified to a golden yellow color
reminiscent of apple juice, perhaps slightly darker, and is very clear.
Given that it's origins are in organic apple and pear cider, and tulip
poplar honey which has the color of a dark molasses, I am surprised and
pleased that it settled on this golden color. It's got a fruity nose and
taste, with the apple apparent, but sadly I detected only a faint pear
flavor (next time I'll use only the pear cider). It's young still, and
needs more aging before it's ready, as it tastes a bit thin and bodiless.
It is semi-sweet.
Yeast: Wyeast sweet mead
OG: 1.080
FG: 1.012
5 gal batch
First racking. The fig melomel had it's fruit bag filled with 13lbs of figs
removed and pressed to extract all juice, and it was racked to a carboy.
The fig aroma was quite strong in the plastic fermenter, but not so strong
in the glass. This too is quite young, and needs significant time to
clarify, due to the cloud of yeast released from the fruit bag as I squeezed
and wrung it out to get all of the fruit juice into the fermenter. The
taste is again a bit thin, but fig flavor is present. It is quite dry.
Yeast: Wyeast dry mead
OG: 1.082
FG: 0.996
3 gal batch
The blueberry melomel was racked for a second time, and is done except for a
period of bulk aging and bottling. It dropped only sparse lees after it's
first racking, and is quite clear. It's flavor is fruity, but I might not
detect that it was blueberry if I were blindfolded. The color is a blue
claret, dark but translucent. It is dryer than I had hoped for, and again a
bit thin bodied.
Yeast: Montrachet
OG: 1.090
FG: 0.996
5 gal batch
The cherry melomel is done. This was it's second racking, and I would have
racked it straight to the bottling bucket if I'd have tasted it prior to
racking. It merely awaits my pleasure to bottle it, and having just racked
it off it's sparse lees of the past 4 months, I'll probably give it another
month or two to drop any final sediment prior to bottling it. It's
developed a lot since the last racking, having lost the thin bodied mouth
feel and harsh alcohol flavor notes that were present at it's last racking.
It has a very full wine like body now, a fruity nose with cherry evident,
and it is quite tasty. The color is a dark rose'. It is semi-sweet, despite
it's relatively high FG.
Yeast: Montrachet
OG: 1.117
FG: 1.024
Cheers,
Ken
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #901, 9 February 2002
From: Ups474@aol.com
Date: Sat, 9 Feb 2002 22:24:09 EST
On the subject of mead-drinking contaibers, I've been researching Viking
civilization recently- they were known to be mead makers/drinkers. One of
the well preserved serving glasses was made in Germany and either traded for
or stolen (just after the death of Charlemange- his 3 sons bickered between
themselves so much that the tight defenses their father build fell apart,
allowing the Viking raiders a way in). IT was of clear glass (with a slight
blu/green tint- light a small clear/green 8oz Coke bottle) it was a cone in
shape- having no base so it couldn't be set down (lest someone slip you some
arsenic) About modern wine glass height/width, but, again, being a perfect
conical shape for it's entire length. With a propane torch, some empty Coke
bottles and some practice, you can make one yourself. Just stretch out the
bottle a bit, cut off the bottom (now the top), and seal up the top of the
bottle (now the base of the glass/cone)-simple.
------------------------------
Subject: drinking horns
From: "Lane Gray, Czar Castic" <cgray2@kc.rr.com>
Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2002 20:34:40 -0600
Several Dagorhirim have told me that if you don't wish to line the horn,
and don't want the taste of horn, what you need to do is fill the horn with
beer, and bring it to a boil. Cheap beer is fine. Pour it out, and repeat
a few times.
I have to admit I haven't done this, but I've drank meads from horns
prepared this way, and didn't taste the horn, just the mead.
- --
Lane Gray, dobroist(http://members.aol.com/e9c6zum/shesgone.wav), mead
maker, steel picker, Dagorhirim, husband, soon-to-be-ex-procrastinator.
I want my jetpack! see www.solotrek.com
"Bother", said the Borg. "We've assimilated Pooh."
------------------------------
Subject: Re: "Meadery" Trademarked?
From: "Dan McFeeley" <mcfeeley@keynet.net>
Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 11:17:39 -0600
Mike Sharp recently posted some helpful info on rec.crafts.winemaking on the
"meadery" trademark issue between Redstone Meadery and Rocky Mountain
Meadery. He suggested that everyone who wish to support Redstone Meadery
can email the current Colorado Secretary of State, Donetta Davidson, or the
Deputy S.O.S William A. Hobbs with their opinion at:
sos.feedback@state.co.us or sos.admin1@state.co.us
as well as contacting their Business Center at:
sos.business@state.co.us
Colorado's online registry can be searched at:
http://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/business/main.htm (left nav bar, top
selection).
Mike also provided a link that shows the list of filings for Rocky Mountain
Meadery at :
http://www.sos.state.co.us/cgi-forte/fortecgi?sos_www=www.sos.state.co.us&serviceName=corporationProdAccess&templateName=corporation/publicinquiries/history_inquiry_resultset_outer_form.forte&source=corporation&cgv_queryName=History_Query&cgv_queryTitle=Entity+History&cgv_corpYear=1993&cgv_corpType=1&cgv_corpSeqNo=127234&cgv_queryDetailFormName=corporation/common/image_outer_form.forte&sbc=4&srtorr=asc&r1n=1&rowsPerPg=10
The trademark application itself can be viewed at:
http://www.sos.state.co.us/cgi-forte/fortecgi/frte_corporationProdAccess1621161D251F0617262C1B261F75221B?serviceName=corporationProdAccess&templateName=corporation/common/image_outer_form.forte&trans_type=APP&doc_yr=1995&doc_type=1&doc_seq=097571&hist_seq=1&h_doc_nbr=19951097571&source=corporation&sos_www=www.sos.state.co.us&frte_corporationProdAccess=1621161D251F0617262C1B261F75221B&ImageType=2
If these URL's didn't come across well in this posting, take a look over at
Mike's post at rec.craft.winemaking for January 28th where you may be able
to click on it more easily.
Mike, if you're on this digest, thanks for providing the info!
<><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><>
Dan McFeeley
mcfeeley@keynet.net
------------------------------
Subject: Heathens and Mead
From: =?Windows-1252?B?ROZn?= <DavidJBrooks@msn.com>
Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 19:19:23 -0600
Yikes! lots of discussion about this in the last couple of digests. As a
practicing heathen perhaps I can add to the stir. Someone said 'heathen' was
a christian name for other religions, and while that has come to be the case
in modern english, in fact, the word heathen is of germanic origin, meaning
'heath dweller' and was first used by pagan Romans to describe the Germanic
'barbarians'. As such, 'heathen' properly refers to followers of the
pre-christian germanic religion, which centers on the two pantheons of the
Aesir and the Vanir (Odin, Thor, Freyja, etc.)
Mead has always played an important role in heathery. Our myths describe
mead as having been created from the blood of Kvasir, the wisest of all
beings, when he was sacrificed to make truce in a war between the two
pantheons.The mead was later stolen by giants, and the norse mythology tells
how Odin won back the mead by seduccing the giant's daughter. Those who die
in battle are served mead by night in Valhalla by valkyries (literally
'choosers of the slain') and spend their days honing their battle skills
against the day of Ragnarok. (For those who want to persue futher reading,
look for the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda in the mythology section of any
well stocked bookstore.)
Additionally, mead is cenral to the two most important heathen rites, sumble
and blot. Sumble is esssentially ritualized mead drinking and toasting. An
excellent example can be found in Beowulf. In sumble, the horn of mead
represents the Well of Wyrd ('Fate' more or less) and words spoken over the
horn before drinking are beleived to be heard and noted in all the nine
world of germanic myth. Binding oaths are often sworn over the horn of mead.
In blot (literally 'blood') the mead serves in the places of the blood
sacrifices that were practiced in earliest times. As such it serves a
similar role to sacrimental wine in christian services, acting as a vehicle
of communication between the folk and their god(s).
Many heathens pride themselves on their mead-making skills, and at least
here in Texas, most of the mead used in heathen rites is home-brewed. My
mead is brewed with ritual use in mind, and the entire process is
accompanied by simple blessings and dedications to consecrate it for that
purpose.
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #902
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