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Mead Lovers Digest #0989
From: mead-request@talisman.com
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Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #989, 27 January 2003
Mead Lover's Digest #989 27 January 2003
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Maple Mead (Christopher Coonce-Ewing)
Muntons ("Thad Starr")
Re: Clearing a non-boiled/non-heated mead... ("Ken Taborek")
maple mead ("Chris Eidson")
re: Maple Mead - Finally! (Jeffrey Gordon)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #988, 22 January 2003 (Lazurus106@aol.com)
Viking/Celtic Tipplers ("Dan McFeeley")
making a culture (Zertwiz@aol.com)
Re:Floating Fruit (Zertwiz@aol.com)
Maple Mead Report (Marc Shapiro)
What should i do now? ("M&DBrahms")
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: Maple Mead
From: Christopher Coonce-Ewing <chris@coonce-ewing.com>
Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2003 11:11:38 -0600
> Subject: Maple Mead - Finally!
> From: Marc Shapiro <m_shapiro@bigfoot.com>
> Date: Tue, 21 Jan 2003 12:09:59 -0500
I just started my own maple mead yesterday. I used 1 gallon of Grade B
syrup ($32) along with a little over 5lb of Connecticut Wildflower Honey
(locally produced).
This gave me a 1.113 OG. I added to Tbs of Yeast Nutrient and pitched a
package of proofed Red Star Champagne yeast.
As for high gravity yeast, I bought a package of Eue de Vie (sp?) from
my LHBS and they had plenty more. I'm going to use it on my overproof
Concord grape wine to really boost it.
------------------------------
Subject: Muntons
From: "Thad Starr" <Starr@epud.net>
Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2003 09:29:39 -0800
I sent this question in a few Digests ago and didn't get any responses,
thought I'd try it again
Hi Meaders. A question for the group. I placed an order a while back for
yeast from an online source. Among other types, I ordered a few (12!
making mead is fun!) Edme Ale. When the order arrived, there was a note
that explained that Edme won't be available until next spring. They had
substituted "Muntons Active Brewing Yeast" instead. My question, what is
it? I'm assuming an Ale yeast, since it seams a logical substitution. Has
anyone tried it? Any clues on attenuation, potential achieved alcohol,
etc.? I did my own experiment with it today, splitting a 5 gal batch into
5 1 gallon carboys, and pitching 4 different yeast's, 2 of which was the
"Muntons". I will say that I'm impressed with it so far. One of the
carboys received the "Muntons" in a starter that I prepared last night The
other "Muntons" was pitched into the prepared must right out of the foil
pack. Both took off like a rocket, way faster than the other yeast's. Even
the unprepared, pitch it dry, "muntons" took off faster than the other pre
prepared starters. We'll see how it finishes...
Any other Meaders in the greater Eugene Or. area out there? This town is an
oddity, almost every other person I talk to is a beekeeper, or knows one,
but I haven't been able to find anyone that makes mead. I guess the
beekeepers here aren't fully aware of the (alcohol) potential of the honey
they make. Believe me, I talk to a bunch of people that know beekeepers, I
am one, so I notice it. I guess it's that competitive thing [:-)] . Thanks
for any help
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Clearing a non-boiled/non-heated mead...
From: "Ken Taborek" <Ken.Taborek@verizon.net>
Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2003 13:17:43 -0500
> From: "Kemp, Alson" <alson.kemp@cirrus.com>
> Date: Tue, 21 Jan 2003 09:00:28 -0800
[snipped]
> Why do you use pectic enzyme? I use pectic enzyme in red
> winemaking in order to break down the pectin in the grapes, but
> is there pectin in honey?
I should have said that I make primarily melomels (to include cysers,
pyments, perries, the 'named' fruit melomels). I've made the occasional
metheglyn, and only a single straight mead. I far prefer melomels, and so
naturally that's what I make.
My single straight mead dropped clear without any pectic enzyme or fining,
and at the point when I made it I was using the pasteurize method of
sanitation, heating the honey to 160-180f for 15 minutes or more. I now use
sulfites and only warm the honey enough to encourage it to flow, I've not
measured the temperature but I'd guess that it's less than 100f since I just
fill a sink with hot tap water and place gallon water jugs full of honey in
the sink to warm it while I do other prep work. My tap water is about
110-115f.
> Okay, the real problem I have is that I added 75g of rose
> petals to a clear mead for two days and the rose petals clouded
> everything up. The Rhodomel is wonderfully fragrant, though
> (almost undrinkably so).
>
> -Alson
I would try the pectic enzyme. I've not made a rhodomel, so I can not say
for certain, but it might work and it can't hurt to try.
- --
Cheers,
Ken
------------------------------
Subject: maple mead
From: "Chris Eidson" <eidsonc@hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2003 18:42:58 +0000
Marc--
While you have probably already done this, I would suggest checking the
White Labs web site for specific information relating to their high gravity
yeast. It is my understanding that in order to achieve their claimed
alcohol tolerance levels, very detailed steps need to be followed with
regard to starter development, aeration, etc. Hope this helps.
Chris Eidson
Birmingham, AL
------------------------------
Subject: re: Maple Mead - Finally!
From: Jeffrey Gordon <jgordon@library.ucsb.edu>
Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2003 11:10:59 -0800
Marc Shapiro writes:
"The maple mead made on the Vorkosigan lands is legendary for its alcoholic
strength, so, last year, when it was available, I purchased some White Labs
High Gravity Ale Yeast."
You might want to reconsider your yeast selection. I've heard mixed
reviews of the WL High Gravity Ale Yeast - most say that it produces
excessive Belgian-style phenolics. You might want to consider champagne
yeast instead.
Jeffrey Gordon
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #988, 22 January 2003
From: Lazurus106@aol.com
Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2003 14:41:15 EST
Greeting Kinsman,
I also love the Vorkosigan stories of Lois McMaster-Bujold myself. The next
time I see her at a SCIFI Convention I plan on presenting her a bottle or
two. I did several Acer mead's (after the Latin name for maple trees) it is
legend that maple syrup adds a sherry like flavor to a mead. That does seem
to be the case when they are younger. or perhaps with more than my reciptes
quart per three gallon batch.
My first recipe was
12/31/00
6 lb. purple loose strife honey (I used wildflower for the next two batchs)
1 quart maple syrup Grade a organic
1 teaspoon yeast nutrient
3 campden tablets crushed and added to
Mixed to 3 gallons warm water initial gravity 1,120
24 hr. later add Lalvin K1V-1116
end gravity . 998
very nice light gold color dropped clear in about 5 weeks
bottled about 3/1/00
Had a glass last night with some friends and it has mellowed to a fine light
straw color, a nice mouth feel and only the slightest maple flavor that no
one else could identify till they were told. You really cannot tell the
high alcohol. Almost like smelling a new cut maple board. light, balanced
pleasant. I have quart of that same maple syrup left need to start a new
batch soon.
I hope that helps
The difference this time is I plan on trying Lalvin D47 yeast and hope to
keep some sweetness at the end. and use basswood honey (as thats most of what
my bee's made me this year).
As a beekeeper I can also add that the price of honey has made an adjustment
in the right direction. You may not appreciate it but the whole sale price of
honey for 2001 was 75 cents pound for light amber in the upper Midwest when
it was on average 85 cents a pound in the 60's the price of gas,trucks
woodware and drugs for the bee's has increased about 380% in that time. The
price of honey needs to go up. As unpopular as I'm sure that will be for most
of us. So maybe you guys, who can, need to befriend a beekeeper and learn to
keep a few hives of your own. There are very few joys quite as nice as saying
this fine wine I'm serving you, started out from honey from my bee's.
The average price wholesale here was about 1.50 a pound this fall. And I
sold none to wholesalers. Mine sold for 3.00 a pound by giving free tastes to
folks and asked for the quart jars back. I sold all I wished to sell on the
taste and quality. And kept 300 lbs for my own use.
Cheers,
Dave in Madison, WI USA
------------------------------
Subject: Viking/Celtic Tipplers
From: "Dan McFeeley" <mcfeeley@keynet.net>
Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2003 14:04:52 -0600
On Sat, 18 Jan 2003, in MLD 987, Jay Ankeney wrote:
>One point I've never understood, however, was what kind of mead they were
>drinking. My meads often have alcohol levels over 12%. I can't envision the
>Vikings as pinkie-raising tipplers, but if they quaffed mighty masers of a
>high alcohol beverage like a premium octane mead to fire up for a campaign
I
>doubt if they could get up the next morning and attack England.
>
>Some say they had a higher tolerance for alcohol than we do today, but I'm
>skeptical about human livers having evolved that much since then. Did they
>water it down? Or mix it with other beverages? Or were they really aiming
at
>France and just got too plowed to find it?
The meads that were drunk in Norse & Celtic cultures were likely low in
alcohol compared to our contemporary more winelike meads. There
would be several reasons for this. Today we use cultured wine yeasts
with a high alcohol tolerance that often can perform well in low
nitrogen musts. Meadmakers in the past, however, didn't have access
to high powered yeasts like these. They also had no knowledge at
all about the microbiological basis of fermentation. If they used
yeasts, it is likely there were the same yeasts used in their ales, or
perhaps fermenting their meads in the same vessels they had used
for fermenting ales.
Also -- these were warband cultures where carelessness with alcohol
could mean a fast death. In spite of the image in today's society of
Vikings and Celts as alcohol crazed berserkers, their societies
cautioned against the excess use of alcohol. In Anglo-Saxon times,
the gathering in the mead hall was often a time of solemn significance
with the making of vows over mead cups. Warriors who made hasty
vows under the influence of too much mead were poorly respected.
There were also warnings against drunken warriors inflaming others
to anger with hasty words but not having the ability to defend himself.
<><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><>
Dan McFeeley
mcfeeley@keynet.net
------------------------------
Subject: making a culture
From: Zertwiz@aol.com
Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2003 19:48:40 EST
exatly how does one make a yeast culture
chris anderson
------------------------------
Subject: Re:Floating Fruit
From: Zertwiz@aol.com
Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2003 19:57:55 EST
i supose one could use a chunk of stainless steel
------------------------------
Subject: Maple Mead Report
From: Marc Shapiro <m_shapiro@bigfoot.com>
Date: Thu, 23 Jan 2003 19:03:53 -0500
01/21/2003
The starter fermented overnight from 1.040 down to 1.000. In the
afternoon I made up the must and added some to the main starter,
bringing it back up to about 1.084 and allowed it to sit overnight,
again.
01/22/2003
The SG of the starter was down to 1.060 by afternoon and I pitched it
into the 3 gallon carboy. There is still some airspace in the carboy
and I am holding some must in reserve, since I have no idea how much
foam to expect. It is bubbling happily through the airlock.
01/23/2003
The bubbling slowed down some overnight, since the furnace does not keep
up when the temperature gets as cold as it has been here. I added the
reserve must and it is now just up to the base of the neck of the
carboy. (24 oz of must was added today, in two 12 oz batches. The
added must was warmed to about 170 F before adding it to the carboy.)
Fermentation has picked up and is going quite well, about 70
bubbles/minute through the airlock. The temperature odf the must is
probably in the mid 70's and will probably drop to the low 70's in the
next day, or two.
Not much more to say, I'll report back again when I rack the batch.
Wassail!
- --
Marc Shapiro "If you drink melomel every day,
m_shapiro@bigfoot.com you will live to be 150 years old,
Please visit "The Meadery" at: unless your wife shoots you."
http://www.bigfoot.com/~m_shapiro/ -- Dr. Ferenc Androczi, winemaker,
Little Hungary Farm Winery
------------------------------
Subject: What should i do now?
From: "M&DBrahms" <mbrahms@netins.net>
Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 13:18:55 -0600
We started our first batch of mead on Oct. 27. We used 15 lbs. of
honey, a total of 5 gallons of water, 6 tsps of yeast energizers,6
tblsps of acid blend, 1 tsp of natural grape tannin, 5 campden tablets,
and stirred it together and let it sit 24 hrs. Specific gravity was
1.102. Nov. 5 we put on an air lock, the mead had very little foam, and
sg.was 1.062. We checked on it again Nov. 14 and it was 1.050, on the
26 of Nov. it was 1.042, on Dec. 9 it was 1.042, Dec. 26 it was the
same, Jan. 4 racked to carboy, and it was still 1.042. On Jan. 19 it
was the same again. The water in the air lock is pushed to one side, so
it is still fermenting. My question is should I wait or add more yeast
nutrients?
Thanks for your help,
Mike Brahms( Rookie Mead Maker :)
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #989
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