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Mead Lovers Digest #0964
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Errors-To: mead-errors@talisman.com
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To: mead-list@talisman.com
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #964, 28 October 2002
Mead Lover's Digest #964 28 October 2002
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Vicky's post re: commercial mead reviews & GotMead.com ("Christopher Hadden")
Re: Cellaring Mead (Joyce Hersh)
Call for Yeast Data (Joyce Hersh)
priming questions (Ben Snyder)
Did I ruin my mead? ("Lindi Edens")
Bracket vs. Braggot ("Christopher Hadden")
Pomegranate molasses; leatherwood honey. (Adam Funk)
Rabbit's Foot Meadery ("Kemp, Alson")
NOTE: Digest appears when there is enough material to send one.
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Vicky's post re: commercial mead reviews & GotMead.com
From: "Christopher Hadden" <chadden@contecrayon.com>
Date: Sun, 20 Oct 2002 23:00:41 -0500
Wow - congratulations Vicky on your site redesign! You've got a ton of new
information at GotMead.com. Very nice. You must have spent a lot of time on
it.
> I need your help. I'm collecting reviews on commercial mead for
> placement on GotMead.com. You can see the ones I've put up
> so far at http://www.gotmead.com/commercial-mead/mead-reviews.shtml .
I'd like to help. I'll send you an e-mail about this. For the tastings I've
done, I use the BJCP Mead Score Sheet as found at
http://www.bjcp.org/meadscore.pdf .
> Matt, I know you carry several, and Chris has a goodly
> stash as well (have you tried the Moniak yet?).
Yes, I have and it was amazing - thank you. So amazing that I placed a
*large* order with the Scottish Mead Co. a while ago. I'm saving the
Lindisfarne for just the right occasion. Maybe a romantic evening with my
wife. I can just see it now...we'll fill out our score sheets by candle
light...
> On another note, the rose mead is coming along nicely. It has the
> greatest color, sort of a deep pink, and the *smell* is to die for! It
> has a wonderful subtle rose flavor, but is a bit dry. I'm going to
> sweeten it a bit before I bottle....
The only regret that I have about making my batch of rhodomel is that is was
only a gallon. :-( Man, is that stuff ever good!
Regards,
Christopher Hadden
http://www.aboutmead.com/
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Cellaring Mead
From: Joyce Hersh <msmead@doctorbeer.com>
Date: Tue, 22 Oct 2002 21:06:09 -0400
Christopher Hadden asked for people's input on cellaring mead.
I have not had trouble with mead that *needs* to be aged. It's always been
either good to drink right away, or if it wasn't, aging wasn't going to
save it. Some things do get better with age, but if they're bad to begin
with, they generally stay that way.
If I do put something in the cellar, I have found that its longevity
depends entirely on the amount of alcohol in it. If it's made with a beer
yeast (up to 1.070-1.080 SG), then it *must* be drunk within a year, as it
goes off quickly after that. If made with wine yeast, it's good for a few
years, and if made with champagne yeast, then it's good indefinitely
(assuming it isn't a low gravity mead that was just fermented with
champagne yeast).
I have made braggot, which has lowish alcohol, but added hops. But I don't
know how these affect the preservation, as the braggot is generally
consumed quickly in my house.
- -- Joyce
------------------------------
Subject: Call for Yeast Data
From: Joyce Hersh <msmead@doctorbeer.com>
Date: Tue, 22 Oct 2002 21:12:39 -0400
I'd like to compile some information on different yeasts and their starting
and finishing gravities, and other pertinent info (like distinctive flavors
produced, etc.)
My aim is to end up with a list of commonly-used yeasts, and the "amount of
gravity" that they will chew up before pooping out, so that anyone with a
little prior experience can prepare a mead must of the proper starting
gravity in order to end at a particular gravity.
I anticipate people using this info to answer questions like, "I want to
make a fast-turnaround table-strength cyser, and end it slightly sweet for
some undiscriminating frends, what starting gravity should I use?" Or, "if
I want to make a maple mead, and I'd like to use Epernay, and I'd like it
to end semi-sweet to balance the woody flavor of the maple, what starting
gravity should I aim for?"
I have gone through my brewing notes and will start by supplying the
following info:
Yeast: Start: End: Other:
WYeast 2124 1.075 1.008 very slightly bitter, honey aroma
(Bohemian Lager)
WYeast 1084 1.075 1.000 slightly bitter, a bit phenolic
(Irish Ale)
Koelsch 1.075 1.006 sweetish, no bitterness, very slight phenolics
(Ku"ppers Kolsch)
Vierka Mead 1.088 1.027 Average attenuation: 1.06725 points
1.087 1.023
1.077 0.999
1.065 0.999
Red Star Ale 1.072 1.020 Average attenuation: 1.0545 points
1.067 1.030
1.086 1.033
1.075 0.999
Lalvin K1-V1116 1.114 0.094
As you can see, I need more notes on wine yeasts! Can anyone go through
their brewing notes and supply info for wine yeasts, including:
Pasteur Champagne
Pris de Mousse
Epernay
Other commonly-used wine yeasts
I'll post whatever info I get on the list.
- -- Joyce
------------------------------
Subject: priming questions
From: Ben Snyder <devlyn76@users.buoy.com>
Date: Wed, 23 Oct 2002 11:20:35 -0400
Hi all
I've just started a papaya mel which I think I'll be carbonating. My
question is, when fermentation stops how long can I wait before
bottling,
being sure to still have enough yeast life to cause carbonation?
Or, do I need to add a bit of yeast at bottle time to ensure
carbonation?
Here's the recipe, I *thought* it was a good idea but won't know for
some time yet:
32 oz papaya nectar (Lakewood Farms organic, preserative-free juice,
actually has a bit of apple juice mixed with it)
3 lbs orange blossom honey
1 tsp yeast nutrient (the white crystal stuff, not "energizer")
Lalvin D-47 yeast
Water to make up 1 gallon
I boiled the water, added honey and juice, brought back to boil. Added
nutrient and boiled until it stopped throwing day-glo orange foam.
Cooled, started yeast in 2 oz boiled water (cooled to 100F) with about 2
tbsp must. Pitched yeast, topped off with a little boiled water
(water and must were around 100F)
Maybe I didn't need the nutrient, but I figured I'd rather be on the
safe side. Now, 2 days later it's bubbling at maybe 1/second or so.
I'll let you know how it turns out.
- -ben
------------------------------
Subject: Did I ruin my mead?
From: "Lindi Edens" <lindiedens@hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 23 Oct 2002 11:53:37 -0500
Okay, so I'm working on my first mead right now. It's a concord pyment ( I
think the recipe was Barat's Concord Pyment, but I'm unsure). Anyway, I had
a mead kit from the Homebrewery and used 10 lbs of honey from it and 3
pounds of honey that a neighbor gave me from his apiary. To that I added 8
cans of welch's 100% concord grape juice concentrate and 4 gallons of water.
I used 1 gal of that water to dissolve the honey, then pastuerized it,
added the juice concentrate, the acid blend packet in the mead kit and the
yeast nutrient in the mead kit (as per the kit instructions). Cooled it
down a bit, and poured it in the primary with 2 gallons of the above water
that had been chilled. Put my yeast (it was a dry wine yeast, probably not
so good for this sweet of a mead!) in and let it go (This was 8-28-02). I
fed it with some more honey/water a week or so later, once fermentation had
slowed a bit. On 9-21-02, fermentation had really slowed, so I racked it to
my secondary. It tasted good, but was really strong. Saturday 10-18-02, we
tasted it again. It was still good, still strong, but somewhat cloudy. It
also tasted almost fizzy. Anyway, it hadn't been bubbling any, so I decided
to clarify it so I can bottle it. The kit came with this stuff called Agar
Agar to use as a clarifier. It looked kind of like the Sure-Gel stuff you
use to make jelly with. I mixed it according to the instructions, and mixed
it in my mead, but it didn't settle out. Instead, I now have what looks
like mead jelly floating on top of my carboy. Help! Should I just go ahead
and bottle it, or should I try to rack it again and then bottle it, or is
all lost and I've destroyed what could possibly have been a good mead!
Thanks!
Lindi
"Have you completely lost your mind?"
"Well, yes. Where have you been all night?" --BtVS
------------------------------
Subject: Bracket vs. Braggot
From: "Christopher Hadden" <chadden@contecrayon.com>
Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2002 00:19:38 -0600
Can anyone help me understand if there is a difference between bracket (also
brackett) vs. braggot? I'm doing some research for a future version of
AboutMead.com which will be launched shortly.
Provided below are a few references I've found:
>From http://www.bjcp.org/styleguide25.html (25G. Braggot):
"Meads made with both honey and malt providing flavor and fermentable
extract. Originally, and alternatively, a mixture of mead and ale."
>From honeywine.com:
Bracket - Honeywine and ale combined
Braggot - Honeywine made with Malt
>From _A Sip Through Time_ by Cindy Renfrow(p. 6):
"A Welsh drink that is a combination of ale and metheglin."
>From _Brewing Mead_ by Robert Gayre (p. 157):
"Bracket is, like cyser, pyment, mulsum and melomel, a hybrid liquor, in
that, in this case, it is a compound of mead and ale."
>From _Making Mead_ by Bryan Acton and Peter Duncan (p. 54):
Braggot is defined as malt extract + honey fermented together.
>From _Dictionary of Beer and Brewing_ by Carl Forget (p. 30):
"bragget. Honey-sweetened spiced ale or a mix of mead and ale."
"bragot. An ancient Welsh drink consisting of beer, honey, cinnamon and
'galingale.' It also was known as heroe drink."
Thanks,
Christopher Hadden
http://www.aboutmead.com/
------------------------------
Subject: Pomegranate molasses; leatherwood honey.
From: Adam Funk <adam.funk@blueyonder.co.uk>
Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2002 09:16:13 +0000
I was considering some alternative ingredients (for beer and/or mead) in the
supermarket yesterday and would be interested in anyone's opinions of them.
"Pure pomegranate molasses" seemed about as viscous as fairly thin honey.
The nutrition information indicated 8.0g carbohydrate, of which 7.0g sugar,
per 100g of product -- this seems rather low for something syrup-like. (I'm
under the impression that honey is usually around 85% fermentable sugar.)
Tasmanian leatherwood honey -- is this likely to be offensive? I've read
that Australian honey is completely unsuitable for fermentation because the
eucalyptus flavour comes through strongly.
Thanks,
Adam
------------------------------
Subject: Rabbit's Foot Meadery
From: "Kemp, Alson" <alson.kemp@cirrus.com>
Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2002 14:33:44 -0800
Michael Faul, proprietor of Rabbit's Foot Meadery in
Sunnyvale, CA, was nice enough to spend two hours last night
discussing mead making, marketing and selling with me.
The Meadery is geared to function over form: three 400
gallon temperature-controlled fermentors, a 500 gallon (or so)
cauldron and approximately twenty 60 gallon American oak barrels
fill the inside of a unit in an industrial warehouse park.
Michael also has another unit in which he stores and ages meads.
Although he does make and sell dry meads, his primary
market appears to be a port-like "Mead of Poetry" and a
grappa-like "eau de vie" (sp?). Both of these consume a large
portion of his dry mead stock.
As soon as I arrived, Michael and I got straight to work:
sampling mead from barrels. We first sampled the dry pear and
slightly-sweet pear meads. As with many fruit meads, I found
that a small amount of sugar helped develop a true pear flavor.
The dry pear mead lacked some of the body and mouthfeel that was
present in the sweeter version. The "Mead of Poetry" was a
delicious and sweet pear after-dinner drink. The 80-proof "eau
de vie", which is used to fortify the "Mead of Poetry", was
tasty, though I think it peeled the first layer of skin off of my
mouth!
Michael's been mead making for about 12 years. Started
the way most of us did: he tasted a commercial mead, liked it,
couldn't find any more of it, so he decided to make it himself.
Along the way, he also became a Master Brewer in the SCA and
decided that he ought to be selling the mead instead of giving
200 gallons away per year. He generally stays away from brewing
adjuncts (nutrients, acid blend, etc) and sulfites, so his meads
tend towards the "real mead" camp rather than the "mead like
wine" camp.
I think that Michael mentioned a November 30 open house,
but you'll probably want to swing by his website at
www.rabbitsfootmeadery.com and contact him directly to confirm
the date.
-Alson
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #964
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