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Mead Lovers Digest #1017
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 #1017, 1 June 2003
Mead Lover's Digest #1017 1 June 2003
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Pounds per gallon (Leo Vitt)
Pasteurization of honey (Myron Sothcott)
Re: Pasteurization of honey ("Dan McFeeley")
CharlesSifers: doh! ("Kemp, Alson")
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1016, 25 May 2003 (NetLinked@aol.com)
honey ("Dale and Ellen Montondo")
Science marches on... (Dennis Henry)
Royal Society of Chemists and mead ("Dan McFeeley")
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: Pounds per gallon
From: Leo Vitt <leo_vitt@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 26 May 2003 07:09:29 -0700 (PDT)
I think of pound of honey per gallon as meaning the pound per gallons
of must. If I make 3# per gallon and plan 5 gallons, I use 15# honey
and enough water to reach 5 gallons.
Actually, that would be a little less than 4 gallons of water.
A gallon of honey weighs about 12 lbs.
=====
Leo Vitt
Sidney, NE
------------------------------
Subject: Pasteurization of honey
From: Myron Sothcott <myron7@cox.net>
Date: Mon, 26 May 2003 13:38:46 -0400
>Dick Dunn rcd@talisman.com Hygiene, Colorado USA wrote:
>
>Matt Gerbrandt <matthewgerbrandt@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>
>>There seems to be a pretty wide range of
>>pasteurization techniques used for honey in mead
>>making...
>>
>>
>
>NSS! And some of them date back a few hundred years...carrying forth the
>needs and misunderstandings of bygone days.
>
>
>
>>...the approach proposed by the National Honey Board
>>which calls on people to essentially bake the honey at
>>176 F for 2.5 hours
>>(http://www.nhb.org/download/factsht/home_brew.pdf).
>>
>>
>
>I've poked at this and asked some folks who might be able to find us an
>answer; nothing just yet but I'll report if I hear. Seems pretty clear
>that the advice is Just Plain Wrong; the question is *how* it came out
>so wrong. I can't find any background to this recommendation and it doesn't
>make sense. The most stringent (sterilization-oriented) procedure I've
>found to date suggests some small number of minutes at around 160 F. I'm
>not saying that is necessary or anything like it; I'm just saying that I've
>never seen anything beyond that. 176F for 2.5 hours is not only
>guaranteed to cook off any interesting aromatics in the honey; it will do
>no small amount of caramelization.
>
>The NHB is about honey, not mead. And they also have to tread a thin line
>as far as talking about alcoholic beverages in the relatively-ignorant and
>neo-prohibitionist state of the US today. But that doesn't excuse giving
>really bad advice--in particular (for the NHB) advice that will result
>in damaging the qualities of honey.
>- ---
>Dick Dunn rcd@talisman.com Hygiene, Colorado USA
>
>------------------------------
>
>
I checked the reference and as a brewer of both mead and beer I understand
what they are proposing. Their method of sterilization is for the use
of honey as an adjunct to beer, not as a procedure for mead making.
The purpose of the extended time at high temperature, as I read it,
is to break down the diastatic enzymes that will convert dextrins, or
unfermentable carbohydrates, remaing in the wort into fermentable sugars
thereby reducing the body, flavor, and "mouth feel" of the brew.
I do not add honey to my beers, so this is not a factor in my beer brewing.
Most of my mead brewing is of melomels so it is not a factor there either.
I may attempt a braggot some day, and if I do, I might want to try the
two different methods of pasturization in different batches to see what
effect it has on the final flavor.
Myron Sothcott myron7@cox.net Yorktown,
Virginia
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Pasteurization of honey
From: "Dan McFeeley" <mcfeeley@keynet.net>
Date: Mon, 26 May 2003 14:08:01 -0500
On Fri, 23 May 2003, in MLD 1016 (only 984 to go to MLD Y2K!),
Dick Dunn wrote, in part:
>>Matt Gerbrandt <matthewgerbrandt@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> ...the approach proposed by the National Honey Board
>> which calls on people to essentially bake the honey at
>> 176 F for 2.5 hours
>> (http://www.nhb.org/download/factsht/home_brew.pdf).
>
>I've poked at this and asked some folks who might be able to find us
>an answer; nothing just yet but I'll report if I hear.
Surprisingly, there does seem to be a good reason for the prolonged
exposure to heat, however, it is a method intended for brewing honey
beers, not mead. A quick word of explanation -- there are three
primary enzymes secreted by the honeybee during the process of
changing flower nectar to honey, invertase, glucose oxidase, and
diastase. The first two work together on the sucrose sugar in
flower nectar, "inverting" it to glucose and fructose. Glucose oxidase
then converts the glucose to gluconolactone and hydrogen peroxide,
after which the gluconolactone spontaneously hydrolyzes to gluconic
acid, thus creating acid and pH levels that help to preserve the honey.
Diastase, however, does not seem to play an active role in the process
of making honey, at least, not a role that anyone has been able to
decipher yet. It works on starches, breaking them down into simple
sugars, yet, there are no starches in flower nectar. No one really knows
why the bee secretes diastase, unless it is a byproduct produced
during the process of making glucose oxidase and invertase. At least,
that's my guess.
Diastase in honey does cause problems in the food industry when
honey is used in products containing starch. Diastic activity in
honey goes to work on the starches in the food, most notably
causing viscosity loss as well as changing the flavor profile. Beer
wort, of course, contains starches, and using honey as an adjunct
will alter the intended profile of the beer, including mouthfeel.
Apparently, it takes a great deal of heat to deactivate diastic
activity atogether, even when the enzyme is damaged, hence the
long baking period at 176 F. I found a report that the University
of Rhode Island has done some work on why diastic activity
survives heat treatment but no publications other than a brief
research report by a University of Rhode Island team noting
that diastase enzyme activity peaks between pH 5.3 & 5.6, and
recommending that enzyme activity could be controlled at pH 3.6.
To put it more briefly -- this heating method is intended only as
a means of dealing with a problem found in brewing honey beers.
It was not meant for meadmaking.
Back to pasteurization -- boiling will kill the microorganisms in
the honey must and has the added benefit of helping to clear
the mead after it is finished out (the boiling process helps
precipitate the colloidal material in the honey that causes haze).
On the other hand, there is the risk of damaging the fine flavor
nuances and volatile flavor and aroma components in the honey.
A lot of meadmakers have commented that boiling the must
ruins the nose.
A compromise has been to heat the honey must at pasteurizing
temperatures. Heating to 150 degrees F for approx. 15 minutes
will effectively pasteurize the honey must, reducing microorganisms
to a minimum. It takes even less heat to eliminate the wild yeasts
in the must. An 1939 article by G. F. Townsend in J. Econ.
Entomology, titled "Time and temperature in relation to the
destruction of sugar tolerant yeasts in honey" (also cited in John
W. White's chapter on honey in _The Hive and the Honey Bee_,
1978, p. 513) gives approx. time and temperatures needed to
destroy wild yeasts in honey. Here is the chart below:
Time at indicated temperature Temperature
470 min 125 F
170 130
60 135
22 140
7.5 ** 145
2.8 ** 150
1.0 ** 155
** Extrapolated from logarithmic curve constructed from Townsend's
data, according to John White's notes.
There is also a good web paper on honey and meadmaking by
Ken Schramm and Dan McConnel, which covers different methods
of sanitation near the end of section I. Click on this URL:
http://www.hbd.org/brewery/library/Meadx.html
There is also the method of no heat at all, just dissolving
the honey in the water. The average microorganism level
in honey is about 400 CFU (colony forming units) but
even these are generally non-vegetative organisms and
spores. Few bacteria can survive in honey because of
the high osmotic pressure. The yeasts in honey are
specifically adapted to survive at these high densities
and become active when the water content goes above
18%. Interestingly, they can *only* survive at the high
osmotic pressures they are adapted to, and die off when
the honey is diluted to honey must. Roger Morse, during
his research on meadmaking at Cornell University during
the 1950's avoided using heat for exactly that reason,
seeing no need to kill off wild yeasts that wouldn't survive
in honey must. He tested his meads under laboratory
conditions and found that they were all microbiologically
stable. Interestingly, many commercially produced meads
at that time had high levels of volatile acidity, indicating
bacterial contamination. This suggests problems with
meadery sanitation procedures, not necessarily problems
with sanitizing the must.
<><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><>
Dan McFeeley
mcfeeley@keynet.net
------------------------------
Subject: CharlesSifers: doh!
From: "Kemp, Alson" <alson.kemp@cirrus.com>
Date: Tue, 27 May 2003 13:27:21 -0700
Charles,
>For the record, you have miss quoted me, the
>above is not my post, it is an earlier post I
>replied to from: Roberta
You are correct. My apologies.
-Alson
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1016, 25 May 2003
From: NetLinked@aol.com
Date: Wed, 28 May 2003 11:39:12 EDT
Follow Mead Makers
Does anyone have a recipe for making the Blue Agave Mead,
I know its made with the nectar from the Blue Agrave plant and Wildflower honey.
I tried some of this from a commercial company and it is really
Good. I would appreciate if you check around and help
me locate how to make this.
thanks
bob
------------------------------
Subject: honey
From: "Dale and Ellen Montondo" <dmontond@rochester.rr.com>
Date: Fri, 30 May 2003 12:47:06 -0400
Does anyone know what makes good honey for mead making?=20
Is there some kind of chemical test I can do?
Has anyone tried buckwheat honey?
------------------------------
Subject: Science marches on...
From: Dennis Henry <dennis.henry@comdev.ca>
Date: Fri, 30 May 2003 13:27:49 -0400
Hello all,
A friend passed me this link to an interesting story. Some scientists plan to
test the mead for a month honeymoon theory...
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/05/30/britain.mead/index.html
Dennis
------------------------------
Subject: Royal Society of Chemists and mead
From: "Dan McFeeley" <mcfeeley@keynet.net>
Date: Sat, 31 May 2003 14:37:54 -0500
Interesting article at CNN.com./world -- some folk from the Royal Society
of Chemistry are interested in testing mead's reputed virtues as an
aphrodisiac. Not surprisingly, they've had no trouble finding volunteers
for the experiment, in fact, they've been swamped with applicants. :-)
>From the article:
Twelve bottles of mead have been specially brewed for
the RSC's test by a winery in Sussex, southern England.
"The concoction includes a secret ingredient," said Emsley.
"We've followed the ancient recipe closely. "I had some the
other day and had to rush home," he joked.
Honey is blended with wine, fruits and spices to create the mead
drink. The drink -- a blend of honey, wine, fruits and spices -- is
believed to reduce sexual anxieties including fears of inadequate
performance.
A blend of honey, wine, spices . . . Yikes! These Brits are testing their
own version of Bunratty Meade thinking it's an aphrodisiac! (Quick word
of explanation, Bunratty castle in Ireland exports a blend of white wine,
honey and spices which they call meade. It's not. Check the archives
for past discussions on Bunratty meade.) Boy oh boy, I'll bet the Irish
are having a good laugh over this one. :-)
For anyone interested, the full article is at:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/05/30/britain.mead/index.html
<><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><>
Dan McFeeley
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #1017
*******************************
