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Mead Lovers Digest #0913
From: mead-request@talisman.com
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Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #913, 14 March 2002
Mead Lover's Digest #913 14 March 2002
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
RE: Mead Lover's Digest #912, 12 March 2002 (David Chubb)
buffalo berries? (Dick Dunn)
Lallemand's Clayton Cone speaking in SF Bay Area ("Kemp, Alson")
Clearing up my cyser ("Chris Carson")
Use of Extracts? ("Jeffrey Sanda")
Re: What's in the cellar? (Jack Stafford)
Citrus Mel help ("Craig Wolfangel")
Re: question for the pros ("Ken Taborek")
What's in my cellar (Mark Ottenberg)
Sage (Christopher C Carpenter)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #912, 12 March 2002 (Sid Washer)
What's in the cellar? ("tcromer")
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: RE: Mead Lover's Digest #912, 12 March 2002
From: David Chubb <dchubb@virpack.com>
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2002 12:01:12 -0500
>Subject: Re: Fig Mead
>From: JazzboBob@aol.com
>Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2002 00:31:57 EST
>
> Fig Mead:
>
>I'd think the figs gave the bitterness especially if the skins of the figs
>were pureed. The do have a tangy bitterness to them. Also, as a kid and
>eating fig cookies I can say after you eat a few there is a bitterness if
>the back of my mouth. The sugar content of figs makes them a nice thing to
>try, but I'd think there's tanen or acids which would cause his problem. It
>might disipate over time.
>
>as told by my friend Steve...JazzboBob
I have made a couple Fig meads and there are some very distinct aftertastes.
Especially if the mead finishes out as a dry mead. Fig meads are generally
better as sweet meads as the sugar helps counteract the aftertaste.
Remember, do NOT use preseved or sulfer smoked figs (most figs from the
middleast are cured in this way).
We own several large fig trees at our summer house on the Eastern Shore of
VA and I would pick the Figs, split them in half and lay them out on window
screens in the attic (which averages about 105'F in the summer) and when
mostly dry I would scrape the insides from the fig and use that in the mead.
I agree, discard the skins (we added them to the compost pile) since that is
where much of the bitterness/offtaste is.
We also made a very good Fig Mead Brandy by freezin a 2 liter bottle in the
deep freezer & filtering out the ice crystals. (Note: this is illegal in the
state of VA....but then again we never sold it and I think we only made
about a gallon all total.) It aged VERY well. (Amber-Gold in color).
Happy experimentation to all,
WyrdOne
------------------------------
Subject: buffalo berries?
From: rcd@talisman.com (Dick Dunn)
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2002 10:23:18 -0700 (MST)
Anybody out there ever make a melomel with buffalo berries? I picked a few
pounds last fall and tossed them in the freezer. I started a mead with
them about ten days ago, so I don't know much yet.
Buffalo berry is "native" to our area, which I presume means that they
were here before Europeans arrived. They're a large bush, some distant kin
to Russian olive. (The sage-colored foliage and the ^%$#@!!! thorns are
similar, but the fruit is very differen.) The main use of the plant seems
to be as windbreak, with the added benefit of attracting birds by providing
winter food. The berries look about the same as red currants. They are
said to be "good for jellies"--which I've found to be a euphemism for "them
suckers gonna need MAJOR sugar added".
After a week and a half in primary, the berries were still mostly whole and
had lost almost none of their color. This is unusual in my experience...
usually berries break open and get fairly mushy; they also "bleach out" and
the color shows up in the mead. However, in spite of appearances, the mead
has picked up some fruity character and a little bit of (pleasant)
astringency.
Dick
------------------------------
Subject: Lallemand's Clayton Cone speaking in SF Bay Area
From: "Kemp, Alson" <alson@corp.cirrus.com>
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2002 09:16:25 -0800
All,
Sorry 'bout the late notice. Phil Montalbano (proprietor of
Fermentation Frenzy in Los Altos, CA) has convinced Clayton Cone of
Lallemand/Lalvin to speak to the Bay Area Winemakers Association. The
presentation will be held at noon on 3/16 (Saturday) at the Silver Mountain
Winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
E-mail me (alson.kemp@cirrus.com) directly for details.
-Alson Kemp
------------------------------
Subject: Clearing up my cyser
From: "Chris Carson" <chris@webesota.com>
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2002 11:22:20 -0600
Hello everyone -- I have a question about a cyser that I've got going.
It's been in the primary for about two months. 4.5 gallons of fresh
cider, and about 7 lbs of clover honey.
The cider itself was cloudy when it went in, and so now the cyser is
cloudy -- will it clear on its own? Because it's in a 5-gal carboy, how
can I tell if it's clearing enough?
Finally -- how can I tell if it's ready for the bottle? I think this is
going to be a still cyser, so should I be worried about exploding
bottles since I won't be using priming sugar??
chris carson
Eden Prairie, MN
chris@webesota.com
------------------------------
Subject: Use of Extracts?
From: "Jeffrey Sanda" <jeffsanda@hotmail.com>
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2002 12:48:49 -0500
Greetings all,
I am an inexperienced but enthusiastic mead maker.
My in-laws were visiting last week and were talking about baking.
Specifically, using rum extract instead of rum as they tee-totallars.
My question is -
Have any of you used extracts instead of the actual fruit/herb/etc. in your
mead? I recently did an orange melomel and had a terrible time with it.
For the primary, I peeled about a dozen oranges, crushed them and added
everything to the primary using a cheese cloth bag. I added just the juice
of six more to the secondary. I definitely courted infection with this
batch! Based on this experience, I would prefer the easier method of using
extracts.
Of course, knowing how much extract to use is a completely different issue!
(I use 3-gallon carboys.)
p.s.: After following the earlier discussions on when to add fruit, I think
I will be doing mine in the secondary from now on. I am more interested in
the aroma and flavor signature than achieving significant fermentation of
fruit,etc.
Jeff Sanda
Macedonia, OH
------------------------------
Subject: Re: What's in the cellar?
From: Jack Stafford <sunbus@earthlink.net>
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2002 16:21:51 -0800
Nancy McAndrew <mcandrew_n@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Currently; 6 gallons of Juniper mead clearing up
> nicely with many handfuls of American Oak chips.
>
> A gallon tester of Raspberry which tastes just like
> the fruit and not much like mead at all...
3 gallons of perry, recently kegged.
3 gallons of black plum melomel, kegged last year.
5 gallons of plain old mead. 13lb honey, yeast & H20.
5 gallons of pale ale with 2lb crystalized honey added.
5 gallons of red ale.
5 gallons of schwarzbier (German dark lager, all-grain).
- --
Jack
Costa Mesa, California
http://home.earthlink.net/~sunbus/index.html
------------------------------
Subject: Citrus Mel help
From: "Craig Wolfangel" <cwolfangel@hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2002 01:17:18 +0000
I have a citrus mel that I would like some advice on what to do with. I
know what the problem is, too much acid, but I don't want to just bottle it
and drink it as is and wanted to know what everyone thought. Here are the
recipe specifics:
Brewed Friday March 30, 2001; 5 gallons
Added the juice of 4 grapefruits, 5 lemons, 6 limes, and 10 oranges and
the zest of 5 oranges, 6 limes, and 5 lemons.
Added 9 lbs michigan wilflower honey, 11 quarts filtered water, and 2
packets rehydrated Lavlin D47 yeast.
Two days later I still didn't see any activity, so I checked the pH = 3.3.
So i added "food grade" NaOH to a pH of 4.1. Batch was active within a few
hours and feremented vigogously for 4 or 5 days.
Transferred to secondary on 5/7/01, SG = 0.998.
Batch cleared, decided to add 3 more lbs honey on 9/1/01.
On 1/26/02 took a sample SG = 0.994 and the taste was, well, acidic, very
citrusy, a bit like an orange liqueur.
Should I add tannin? Should I sorbate and sweeten? The batch is now clear
for the second time and it would be nice to bottle it soon.
Thanks for any and all suggestions.
Craig
Ann Arbor, MI
------------------------------
Subject: Re: question for the pros
From: "Ken Taborek" <Ken.Taborek@Verizon.net>
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2002 23:00:26 -0500
> Subject: question for the pros
> From: "William Boutwell" <wboutwell@emeraldhomeloan.com>
> Date: Wed, 6 Mar 2002 15:15:48 -0800
>
> I recently did my first mead batch. 10# clover and 3# desert mesquite,
> nutrient, ginger, lemongrass tea, a little hops and topped at 5gal. I used
> Lalvin 71B-1122 started up. Since I made the huge mistake of not taking a
> gravity reading, should I give it a week in the primary before racking onto
> some fruit and citrus peels? Anyone with some experience with this yeast and
> its behavior that you care to share with me? Thanks
> William
William,
I'm not a pro, but since we've already had an email exchange on a similar
subject, I thought I'd reply anyway. :)
I'm curious, why do you want to add fruit? It looks to me as thought you've
got a great metheglyn recipe in mid progress.
You can find more info on your yeast choice at www.lallemand.com
Cheers,
Ken
------------------------------
Subject: What's in my cellar
From: Mark Ottenberg <mark@riverrock.org>
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2002 22:20:13 -0600
What's in my Mead Cellar?
Why only the remaining bottles of batches that still taste like someone
dumped their paint water into my mead. ;-) (So went my early batches.)
Everything else is LONG gone.
But now that I'm brewing again ... ;-)
(I wonder if that 5 gallons will even make it to the cellar ...)
Peace,
- -- Mark
------------------------------
Subject: Sage
From: Christopher C Carpenter <chris.carpenter@ndsu.nodak.edu>
Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2002 17:26:27 -0600
Greetings yunto the meadhall
I have been watching the Absynthe string with interest, and would like to
branch off onto a tangent from that. Has anybody done any brewing with the
intention of using it as herbal or homeopathic uses? I am have made a VERY
good Lavender mead which I hope will provide the relaxation effect of
Lavender along with the benefits of... (I clipped from a website)
Anti-inflammatory
Antimicrobial against:
Diphtheria
Pneumococcus
Streptococcus
Typhoid bacilli
CNS depressive activity in animal studies
Spasmolytic
Stimulates the diencephalon, causing relaxation of autonomic function
The Thujone string has made me consider making a Sage mead (of course it
would be a cooking wine, possibly with Thyme also) that would provide the
"Benificial effects" of thujone along with .......(also clipped from same
website)
Antibacterial, especially against Staph aureus
Anti-hidrotic
Antiseptic
Antispasmodic
Astringent
Carminative - soothes mucous membranes
Stimulates muscles of the uterus
Dunno what that all means, but it IS impressive, is it not??.
I have also seen ANOTHER salvia, Salvia divinorum, that is a legal herb (at
least not on the controlled substance list) with hallucinogenic properties.
It also says it is only marginally effective when gastricly consumed, but
am only just thinkin about it now anyway.
Perhaps people could relate their experiences of medicinal uses of meads
other than just to get drunk, and what products they had that were
effective.
Thanks all
Chris Carpenter
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #912, 12 March 2002
From: Sid Washer <sw10@nyu.edu>
Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2002 18:56:35 -0500
<< See the datasheets at www.lalvin.com (very
instructive). >> Sorry, but that is not the correct address. Using
that one will take you to some information site that wants to sell you
crap and leaves hidden active windows all over the place.
The correct address for Lalvin is:
http://www.lallemand.com/danstar-lalvin/lalvin.html
bye, sid.
------------------------------
Subject: What's in the cellar?
From: "tcromer" <tcromer@frontiernet.com>
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 07:37:52 -0600
well, nuttin honey lol
actually this week end im starting my very first batch of mead! whooo =
hoooo finally.
i'm planning on making a cinna-peach melomel. i would have started =
sooner, but i had been planning on brewing in 2 1/2 gallon platic water =
bottles, but then i read where air can seep in thru the plastic, so i =
ordered an equipment kit ( lol if i COULD have used the jugs, dont tell =
me lol ) i've been tracking the order, and it is to be delivered today, =
so this week end i will get to start. i sorta put the recipe =
togetherso, if ya see something that dont seem right let me know fast!
18 lbs indiana wildflower honey ( unprocessed )
zest of 4 large lemons ( and juice from 1)
5 tablespoon strong tea
4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 sticks cinnamin
5 campdon tabs
1 package red star champagne yeast
after putting in primary fermentor
add 12 lbs peach puree ( made from frozen peaches, blended)
sound about right? i want a sweet,strong mead
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #913
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