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Mead Lovers Digest #0986
From: mead-request@talisman.com
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Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #986, 17 January 2003
Mead Lover's Digest #986 17 January 2003
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Re: sulphite use in making mead ("Asher Reed")
Meadllennium Reminder ("Howard & Patty Curran")
Sulphite solution - caustic? (Mark Kornell)
Re: Sulfites ("Asher Reed")
Floating Fruit ("Kelly Levely")
ANN: Reggale and Dredhop Homebrew Competition ("John J. Allison")
Re: Long Island Mead Maker (Thomas Towey)
Canadian Honey Sources and Retsina ("Charles Gee")
Tartaric Acid (Thad Starr)
Clearing a non-boiled/non-heated mead... ("Kemp, Alson")
Famous mead drinkers ("Brendon Cloete")
NOTE: Digest appears when there is enough material to send one.
Send ONLY articles for the digest to mead@talisman.com.
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Digest archives and FAQ are available at www.talisman.com/mead. There is
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Re: sulphite use in making mead
From: "Asher Reed" <clvwpn5@hotmail.com>
Date: Sun, 12 Jan 2003 03:20:27 +0000
Sodium or potassium metabisulphite are not needed for mead making -- don't
be concerned about oxidation as long as you... Use a closed fermenter, ie:
a carboy or lidded bucket with an airlock, and when racking do so gently and
quietly (don't splish and splash your mead.) When it comes time for
bottling, again keep the splishing and splashing to a minimum. If you are
going to use wine bottles, don't use corks -- they breath and are prone to
failure -- use those synthetic corks, they make a better seal. Or do what I
and a lot of other mead makers do, use beer bottles with oxygen absorbing
caps or grolsch-style swing top bottles. And most importantly, don't worry.
A little oxidation can "actually lend useful complexity to the mead."
(http://www.bjcp.org/styleguide25.html)
------------------------------
Subject: Meadllennium Reminder
From: "Howard & Patty Curran" <OCurrans@cfl.rr.com>
Date: Sun, 12 Jan 2003 08:43:39 -0500
Meadllennium VI is just around the corner. Deadline for entries is
January 21st. This will be the first mead-only competition of 2003 and
is one of the Premier Mead Only Competitions in the United States.
Entry procedures have been streamlined to make entering the
competition as easy as possible. You can now enter Meadllennium VI
online. From the online entry form you can print the required forms, and
electronically submit them to the tabulation team. Now you can pay your
entry fees online and get a $1 per-entry discount! You can even use your
credit card. At a minimum, awards will be made for suitable 1st, 2nd and
3rd places in each category. Additionally, an award will be given for
Best of Show and to the Club with the most points. Beautiful etched
glasses will be awarded again this year.
This competition is registered and sanctioned through the BJCP.
Judging will be Saturday, January 25, 2003, and all entries are due no
later than Tuesday, January 21, 2003. Entry fee is $6.00 and will
consist of 3 bottles, 6 oz. or greater. You can pay your entry fees
online and get a $1 per-entry discount!
Mail your entries to:
Meadllennium VI
c/o Rockey Markham
2247 King John Court
Winter Park, FL 32792
The following styles will be judged and follow the BJCP Style
Guidelines, Category 25, Mead Subcategories A-H. See:
http://www.bjcp.org/styleguide25.html
A. Traditional Mead
B. Varietal Honey Traditional Mead
C. Cyser (Apple Melomel)
D. Pyment (Grape Melomel)
E. Other Fruit Melomel
F. Metheglin (spices and/or herbs)
G. Braggot
H. Mixed Category or Experimental Mead (combines ingredients from
two or more of the other mead sub-categories or a mead that does not fit
into the above categories.)
More information and the downloadable forms can be found at the Central
Florida Home Brewers site. Go to: http://www.cfhb.org/mead6.html or
E-Mail the Meadllennium competition team at: mead@cfhb.org.
------------------------------
Subject: Sulphite solution - caustic?
From: Mark Kornell <mkornell@shaw.ca>
Date: Sun, 12 Jan 2003 13:36:09 -0800
I made a potassium metabisulphite solution about 2 months ago, and stored it
in a jar, intending to use small amounts from time to time for airlocks,
without having to mix a new batch each time. This seemed to work
efficiently, as I've changed several airlocks in the last 2 months, using
the solution from this jar.
The jar was nothing special - I recycled a jar that originally contained a
pasta sauce. (After washing jar and lid thoroughly, of course!) The solution
was at about the same concentration as you would use for a sanitizing
solution.
Last week, I went to use some of the solution, and noticed that the lid had
corroded through in about half a dozen small spots. Of course, I had to
throw the solution and the lid out.
How corrosive is a sulphite solution? Or, actually, the fumes from the
solution - the jar was only half full, so there was no contact between the
lid and the solution.
Would this happen with any type of metal lid, or would it just be something
to do with the type of metal used in this particular lid? Any suggestions
for a better type of non-reactive container for storage?
Thanks,
Mark Kornell m k o r n e l l at shaw dot ca
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Sulfites
From: "Asher Reed" <clvwpn5@hotmail.com>
Date: Sun, 12 Jan 2003 23:17:10 +0000
Concerning sulfites, something to take into consideration for those who use
this stuff, because I often hear of people misusing it, this is an excerpt
from Charlie Papazian's "The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing" page 124:
"Sodium or potassium metabisulfite is a bacterial inhibitor. It does not
have the ability to disinfect. It works by releasing sulfur dioxide (SO2)
gas when combined with acids. Metabisulfites added to water alone are not
at all effective for sanitizing homebrew equipment."
So, when used as an alternative to boiling your mead must it works fine
(assuming the pH is low enough) -- but used to sanitize equipment, including
bottles, it is worthless.
------------------------------
Subject: Floating Fruit
From: "Kelly Levely" <tybowkites@hotmail.com>
Date: Tue, 14 Jan 2003 11:09:59 -0500
Hello All
I started a batch of my mulberry cyser (Moonlight Mush) this weekend and =
I put the berries in one of those handy mesh bags to make it less messy =
for the clean up. Well I'm having the same problem I do with the =
berries alone. They float. How do you get your fruit to set down in =
the must? As it is now only about the bottom third of the bag is in the =
must.
Thanks
Kelly
------------------------------
Subject: ANN: Reggale and Dredhop Homebrew Competition
From: "John J. Allison" <john@joss.ucar.edu>
Date: Tue, 14 Jan 2003 12:39:24 -0700 (MST)
14th Annual Reggale and Dredhop Homebrew Competition
Hop Barley and the Alers, the homebrew club of Boulder County, Colorado,
invites you to enter the 14th Annual Reggale and Dredhop Homebrew
Competition to be held at The Falling Rock Tap House in Denver, Colorado.
The competition will take place on Sat March 1, 2003, with judging from
9:00am to 5:00pm and an awards ceremony to follow at approximately 6:00pm.
Entries are to arrive between Tuesday February 11 and Saturday
February 22, 2003.
We will accept all homebrewed beer and mead (no cider). This competition
is sanctioned by the AHA and the BJCP and is an MCAB Qualifying Event.
Best of Show Beer and Mead winners will receive unique hand blown
glassware.
Potential judges, stewards, and other volunteers are encouraged to
contact the competition organizers immediately at dredhop@hopbarley.org.
All experience levels are welcome.
Further information, including complete and detailed rules,
mail/drop-off locations, etc. is available at the competition website:
http://hopbarley.org/dredhop/
You may also contact the competition director via email:
Bob Kauffman, dredhop@hopbarley.org.
- --
John Allison
webmaster@hopbarley.org
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Long Island Mead Maker
From: Thomas Towey <TTowey@bn.com>
Date: Tue, 14 Jan 2003 16:15:46 -0500
Kevin and Ben asked about Long Island Mead makers ...
>I'm a relatively new Mead maker here on Long Island, Huntington to be
exact.
>4 - Are there any people on Long Island who make mead?
>The local brew club only had one person in it who did.
Just incase there are any more mead making LIers ...
Check out Brewer's East End Revival http://hbd.org/beer/.
The club has a very strong mead making presence.
Anyone else interested in getting BJCP feedback on your mead keep in mind our
7th Annual Brew-off Homebrew Competition set for May 10th, 2003. Just wrap
a couple of bottles in bubble pack and put into a small carton marked fragile,
download and fill out the forms, write a small check for the entry fee
(we have to feed the judges), and ship them to NY.
------------------------------
Subject: Canadian Honey Sources and Retsina
From: "Charles Gee" <cgee@mhtv.ca>
Date: Tue, 14 Jan 2003 20:33:12 -0800
I live on The Queen Charlotte Islands where there are "0" bee keepers, but
having got tired of making wine kits spent this fall making mead using #1
Canadian White and Dark Buckwheat. The final products about six melomels, a
braggot and some meads are just great - far better than kit wines and almost
as easy to do. Obviously I want to make more but am having trouble finding a
source of honey for interesting varities such as Sunflower, Canola and so
on. Can anybody help with a supplier, preferably Canadian, who will ship to
me here in 15Kg pails?
Made my last batch of #1 Canadian White and it is good but bland thought of
turning it into Retsina. Any suggestuions as to how? Spruce Pitch is easy to
come by but how much? Or am I going to be the experimenter on this one?
Charles Gee cgee@mhtv.ca
------------------------------
Subject: Tartaric Acid
From: Thad Starr <starr@epud.net>
Date: Wed, 15 Jan 2003 10:21:21 -0800
Meaders.
O.K. now I'm really confused and need some advice. I've recently
purchased a TA acid testing kit and started testing the batches of mead
I've been making. I'm the kind of guy who likes to experiment with
different honeys and yeast's. Being a commercial beekeeper who
specializes in varietal specific honey, I've got plenty of neat flavors
to experiment with.
I know the importance of PH and it's proper balance, but what effect
does TA play? I've seen a spread in TA from my honey (musts) from .03%
tartaric - .70% tartaric. I have no idea what significance this has
towards fermenting or flavor profile. Is there a "range" meads should
be in? How could you adjust it to get to this optimum range?
Interestingly, the PH of the meads are fairly consistent. The .03% TA
had a PH of 5, and the .70% TA had a PH of 4.2. Is this even possible,
or have I not read something correctly? All measurements were taken
just before the yeast was pitched with similar SG readings.
Thanks for any help or advice
------------------------------
Subject: Clearing a non-boiled/non-heated mead...
From: "Kemp, Alson" <alson.kemp@cirrus.com>
Date: Thu, 16 Jan 2003 13:47:54 -0800
All,
Time to bring up an age-old and much repeated discussion:
how do you clear a unheated mead? This question has been asked
before, but I thought that I'd bring it up again to elicit new
information/thoughts.
I've got two test batches of mead: one boiled-must
Sanddune mead and one unheated-must Sanddune mead. After 2
months, the difference in clarity is startling: the boiled-must
mead is sparkling clear and the unheated-must is completely
cloudy. This mirrors my experience with other meads, too.
In the past I've used Isinglass followed by a bit of
Bentonite to fine cloudy meads. Had reasonable success, too.
(Though I would recommend letting the mead sit for a few months
(after the post-fining rack) to make sure that everything
precipitates.)
I realize that some unheated-must will fall clear, BUT if
you have had to fine your mead, what have you done and what
results have you had?
-Alson
------------------------------
Subject: Famous mead drinkers
From: "Brendon Cloete" <kluta@telkomsa.net>
Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2003 23:45:01 +0200
G'day estutes
Just out of curiousity, who in history was known for drinking mead? I =
know that it was the "grape" wine back in the day, so alot of people =
drank it, but who was recorded in history for drinking it? So far, I =
have read that Shakespeare's favourite drink was mead and Atilla the Hun =
preffered his mead dry. Anybody else?
Brendon.
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #986
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