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Mead Lovers Digest #0882
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #882, 14 November 2001
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #882 14 November 2001
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Re: Chocolate Mint (Susan.Ruud@ndsu.nodak.edu)
Maple mead, Lime mead (Russ_Hobaugh@erm.com)
Complex Meads (greg)
Re: Maple Mead (JazzboBob@aol.com)
Re: Chaucer's, etc. ("Geoffrey T. Falk")
Small Mead - Tropical mead question ("Joshua Johnson")
RE: Mead Lover's Digest #881, 12 November 2001 (David Chubb)
RE: Mead Lover's Digest #881, 12 November 2001 ("Betts, Jason")
Oak in Mead (Nathan Kanous)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #881, 12 November 2001 (Gardengate32@aol.com)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #881, 12 November 2001 (Gardengate32@aol.com)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #881, 12 November 2001 (Gardengate32@aol.com)
maple mead (Dick Dunn)
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Subject: Re: Chocolate Mint
From: Susan.Ruud@ndsu.nodak.edu
Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2001 21:25:44 -0600
> Subject: re: chocolate mint
> From: Aaron <gumbyk@ureach.com>
> Date: Fri, 09 Nov 2001 08:59:53 +1300
>
> O.K. so, where can I get some of this Chocolate Mint,
and what are it's
> other names?
>
I don't know if it goes by any other names and I
ordered mine a few years ago but I got it out of a
mailorder catelog - perhaps Park Seed or Gurneys. I
also think I saw some at a local green house about a
year ago. I bought it as a plant rather than root or
seed. In ND it definitely has taken over my flower bed
so I would put it in a contained area if possible as I
believe in warmer climates it would probably even be
worse.
Susan
------------------------------
Subject: Maple mead, Lime mead
From: Russ_Hobaugh@erm.com
Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2001 22:29:17 -0500
Aaron asks about a Maple Mead. I have had numerous very good
Maple wines. Use just maple syrup, water and yeast. Just DON'T
do what I did with the one I have fermenting right now. I added all
of the maple syrup at once(1.150 range), and it is stuck around 1.048!
I used 1.5 gallons of syrup to 1.5 gallons of water, I probably should
have used 1.5 gallon of syrup in a 5 gallon batch. They taste much
better when they finish up lower.
Any advice on getting a good lime flavor in mead? Someone in our
homebrew club brewed an excellent lime mead with a nice lime taste
and aroma. I have one going now that I just racked. I juiced 5 limes, and
grated a lot of their zest and added to the primary. The mead tastes
very balanced(18 lbs of honey so far), but I taste lime very faintly.
Should I put more zest in the secondary? I would think more juice
might make it too acidic
Russ Hobaugh
Goob' Dob Brewery
------------------------------
Subject: Complex Meads
From: greg <bevart@ameritech.net>
Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2001 23:06:18 -0600
Mead Makers
Does any one have any ideas on how to increase the complexity (depth of
flavor) in dry to semi dry traditional meads. I start my meads at
1.095 and ferment to 1.000 to 1.010.
Another question is I read in an old issue of zymurgy that a commercial
New Zealand mead maker had problems with meads fermenting in stainless
steel tanks. He mentioned that he had to dump all his meads and had to
convert to plastic water tanks.
Should I buy plastic tanks or would stainless steel be better for
commercial production.
I am interested in taking my mead making to a commercial level. Where
can I get information on setting up an efficient production system.
bee happy
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Maple Mead
From: JazzboBob@aol.com
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2001 00:02:17 EST
I currently have a Maple Mead fermenting in my basement since 10/26/01. It
fermented quite vigorously for two weeks and is now settling down. I can get
back to you when I rack it out of the primary.
I used the following ingredients in 3 1/2 gallons boiled water to get a bit
over 5 gallons total volume with OG 1.120
1 gallon Maple Syrup
5# Star Thistle Honey
5# Local Wildflower Honey from a beekeeper friend
Epernay II Yeast
Cheers, Bob Grossman
P.S. has anyone made a maple-honey mead? I've got a batch (small) going at
the moment as a bit of an experiment, and would like to know if anyone else
has tried such a thing, and what the results were.
Aaron Marshall
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Chaucer's, etc.
From: "Geoffrey T. Falk" <gtf@cirp.org>
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2001 00:57:06 -0700 (MST)
Chaucer's was the first mead I'd tasted, and one of only two kinds
that I've found available commercially here. Served as a regular wine, I
found it sickeningly sweet. After a few tries I realized that it would
serve well, chilled, in a port/sherry glass.
The only other commercial mead I've tried is Kastelanskii (sp?) from
Poland; sweet-spiced, weighing in at a hefty 14% alcohol. (Try to
imagine sipping it from a silver goblet, in the reliquary of an ancient
church, candles flickering, surrounded by Faberge eggs and hundreds of
mirrors...)
According to a friend from Ukraine, traditional Eastern mead recipes
call for the dousing of a red-hot poker in the must. Apparently this
creates a unique flavour---perhaps the tang of precious metals I
detected in the Kastelanskii?
Geoffrey
------------------------------
Subject: Small Mead - Tropical mead question
From: "Joshua Johnson" <jjohnson@cctlabs.com>
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2001 08:28:47 -0500
>Anybody out there have a recipe for a "small mead" (maybe 1 to 1.5pounds of
>honey per gallon) that finishes out sweet? -Jack
Sure - I made a great Ginger Ale mead last year. I used about 6 lbs of
clover honey and steeped it with about 6 oz of ginger. After fermentation
was complete I sorbated it, and more honey and about half a bottle of the
ginger beer flavoring (the stuff that the homebrew stores sell to make
soda). I through it in a keg for a month or so and force carbonated it. In
the end it tasted like the fancy ginger ales and beers. It was the perfect
summer drink and could (shudder) be served over ice. It was also great with
Chinese food.
The best part was it was good in 3 months and let the normal strength meads
sit in the basement untouched. I am going to start another of these soon so
it will be ready for spring/summer.
Question on another topic: The food service store by me has bags of frozen
"tropical fruit" which is a mix of pinapple, mango, and papaya chunks for
just a bit over a buck a pound. I was thinking about using about 15 lbs in
a 5 gallon batch. Has anyone used similar fruits? Was it worth it or
should I make a batch of blueberry?
Joshua
------------------------------
Subject: RE: Mead Lover's Digest #881, 12 November 2001
From: David Chubb <dchubb@virpack.com>
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2001 09:38:12 -0500
>P.S. has anyone made a maple-honey mead? I've got a batch (small) going at
>the moment as a bit of an experiment, and would like to know if anyone else
>has tried such a thing, and what the results were.
I have often used Maple Sugar (available at our local health food store) in
meades to add body and complexity. It add some very nutty aftertastes but
all in all it is a VERY pleasant addition to meade. However, this being said
when the meade comes our of secondary or even tertiary fementation is will
have a decidedly maple rum aroma and usualy benefits from a good year in the
bottle at least.
<snip>
>Umm..... If Chaucer's is the best you can find, perhaps you might want
>to 'get out more'. There are several fine commercial meaderies in the
>US of A, many of which sell on the 'Net. OR, you can find a nest of
>those questionable characters who make the stuff in their basements, and
>get yourself to an amateur competition. There you will find an
>astounding variety of meads, mels, pys, cys, brags, 'rats, and other
>incredibly complex and tasty libations. (And maybe a few losers, too,
>but hey- it's for the good of mankind, and thank the gods we all have
>different tastes.) I suspect that you will find that commercial,
>mass-produced mead is as representative of mead as Old Fizzwell is of
>beer.
If you want a commercial Meade that does justice to the name, try looking
for a bottle of Lurgashall Meade. It's a product of the UK and all they make
far as I know is meade & fruit based wines & melomels (Pear mainly). It is
what I strive for in taste & complexity. It is rather expensive though.
(averages about $22 a bottle)
The next time Vintage Cellar (Local fine wines & homebrew store) has a sale
on carbouys I think I'm going to make my wife mad at me and buy another 3 or
4 so I can start a few more batches.
- --Wyrdone
------------------------------
Subject: RE: Mead Lover's Digest #881, 12 November 2001
From: "Betts, Jason" <Jason.Betts@WindRiver.com>
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2001 08:35:06 -0600
I've make a pair of batches of maple-honey mead. I use 2 lbs honey and 2
pts. of maple syrup per gallon. It comes out sweet, and strong with
Montrach (sp?) yeast. One word of warning, I've had problems clearing it
without months of time, and it still is hazy.
Jason
- ------------------------------
Subject: re: chocolate mint
From: Aaron <gumbyk@ureach.com>
P.S. has anyone made a maple-honey mead? I've got a batch (small) going at
the moment as a bit of an experiment, and would like to know if anyone else
has tried such a thing, and what the results were.
Aaron Marshall
------------------------------
Subject: Oak in Mead
From: Nathan Kanous <nlkanous@pharmacy.wisc.edu>
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2001 09:19:49 -0600
Howdy,
I've got a few meads under my belt so far. I tend to like my wine (and
mead) on the dry side (although I've got a promising cherry mel in the
works that is a bit sweet). My dry meads seem to be lacking a little
something and not being a wine expert / aficionado / etc. I'm not exactly
sure what it is. However, I'm willing to guess that some of the missing
element may be tannin.
Now, I could just go buy some grape tannin and add that and be happy (in a
relative sense). But for some stupid reason, that's not the route I want
to go. If I need acid in a mead, I would prefer to add some sort of fruit
/ juice rather than acid produced in a lab. By the same token, if I need a
bit of tannin, I'd prefer "au naturale".
Tannins? Oak? Yeah, now there's a potential source. I look at the
toasted french oak that I bought and I say "Hmm....that doesn't look like a
barrel, it looks like a bunch of wood chips." (pretty smart, aren't I?)
That being said, chips will have a tremendously increased surface area when
compared to the inside of a barrel. All math aside (submerge chips in
water to determine volume and #'s of chips required and calculate a
relative surface area and compare to the surface area of the inside of a
barrel for "X" gallons of mead, yada yada yada) I'd like to turn to the
collective.
What stories do we have out there regarding the use of oak in mead? What
kind have you tried? How much have you used? Was it worthwhile? Am I all
wet?
Private e-mail is fine, but the MLD is a bit lean these days, so let's
start an open discussion. TIA.
nathan in madison, wi
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #881, 12 November 2001
From: Gardengate32@aol.com
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 08:44:13 EST
In a message dated 11/12/2001 9:33:49 PM EST, mead-request@talisman.com
writes:
<< From: Aaron <gumbyk@ureach.com>
Date: Fri, 09 Nov 2001 08:59:53 +1300
O.K. so, where can I get some of this Chocolate Mint, and what are it's
other names?
All this talk about it has got me kind of curious.
P.S. has anyone made a maple-honey mead? I've got a batch (small) going at
the moment as a bit of an experiment, and would like to know if anyone else
has tried such a thing, and what the results were.
Aaron Marshall
>>
aaron, i've made two batches of honey/maple mead and they both turned out
VERY strong. the fermentation was very wild and effervescent, hissing madly.
there was no kreusen formed. it was good, but almost like a liqueur. i
used red star premier curvee yeast, which is high alcohol tolerant, but i've
never had any other batches turn out as strong. happy brewing, brent
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #881, 12 November 2001
From: Gardengate32@aol.com
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 08:59:48 EST
In a message dated 11/12/2001 9:33:49 PM EST, mead-request@talisman.com
writes:
<< Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #880, 8 November 2001
From: Ups474@aol.com
Date: Thu, 8 Nov 2001 16:28:34 EST
Anybody out there have a recipe for a "small mead" (maybe 1 to 1.5pounds of
honey per gallon) that finishes out sweet? -Jack
>>
pasteur champagne yeast has a high perceived sweetness. yeast is probably
going to be key if you want to just brew it out. good luck. brent
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #881, 12 November 2001
From: Gardengate32@aol.com
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 09:08:44 EST
In a message dated 11/12/2001 9:33:49 PM EST, mead-request@talisman.com
writes:
<<
> Subject: Question
> From: "Gene Essman, Jr." <boogieboy11@hotmail.com>
> Date: Mon, 05 Nov 2001 15:50:47 -0700
>
> Help. I've got a buddy of mine that keeps on telling me that the original
> mead was made with sugar as opposed to honey, but I can't seem to find any
> reference to this on the internet. I haven't been to the library yet, so
I
> thought I'd hit you guys up before I went down there.
>
> Thanks for whatever help you can find time to give me.
>
> Gene
> >>
none of us were there, but, honey will naturally begin to ferment when water
collects around the root system of hollow trees like old birch where bees
build hives. the honey runs down the inside of the hollow tree and collects
in the puddles and begins to ferment with the wild yeast. i've seen this.
little foamy puddles around the bee tree when i was a kid. i never drank it,
because we kind of avoided the tree, but our ancestors, i am sure did. you
have to process cane more. your buddy's freakin' out. smiles, brent
------------------------------
Subject: maple mead
From: rcd@talisman.com (Dick Dunn)
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 20:26:34 -0700 (MST)
Aaron Marshall <gumbyk@ureach.com> wrote:
> P.S. has anyone made a maple-honey mead? I've got a batch (small) going at
> the moment as a bit of an experiment, and would like to know if anyone else
> has tried such a thing, and what the results were.
I've had maple mead (honey + maple syrup) several times. Very good. Took
a while for those meads to mellow (meads made by friends tasted at several
events over years), but not forever. It's not quite like you would expect
(unless you would expect it to be like it is:-) -- the usual conundrum of
"What will this taste like without the sweetness?" applies to maple as well
as it does to honey. It's got a little bit of a tang and a little bit of a
nutty taste. There's a rich aroma. I recommend it.
You'll probably want the stronger syrup. In US terms, this would be "Grade
B", because "Grade A" is lighter. (No, I don't know why the premium grade
is accorded to the syrup with _less_ flavor.)
as for my own meads...
Well, I'd had that maple mead and I'd also had a sassafras mead made by
another friend, so in a mood marked more by exuberance than judgment, I
made a batch with not only maple syrup but a bit of sarsaparilla, birch
bark, and sassafras. (I named it "Tree Hugger".)
It took a little bit of aging, perhaps half a year. It has held up well.
I made it seven and a half years ago, and it seems similar to what it was
like after the first year or less.
However, I made it as dry/sparkling, and I would not recommend that. It
would be much better if it were still and had just a touch of sweetness.
With all the flavors--honey, maple, sarsaparilla, birch, sassafras--there
is a wealth of character. But it's like the "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor",
"Layla", and "Take the A Train" all at once...all classics, but lacking in
harmony.
Also, I have to point out that you should not use sassafras root or bark.
These are considered carcinogens (I believe the offending ingredient is
safrole, which is easily extracted.) If you want to play around with root
and bark flavors, there are plenty to be found without sassafras. You can
use sassafras leaf as far as I know--it's the flavor in file' (as in
gumbo).
- ---
Dick Dunn rcd@talisman.com Hygiene, Colorado USA
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #882
*******************************
