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Mead Lovers Digest #1083
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1083, 16 March 2004
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #1083 16 March 2004
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Honey Weight vs. Volume (Mike)
Pronounciation? ("W. Andrews")
Re: Pectic enzyme - Apple Cider Meads (Dick Dunn)
Brewing in China? ("Scott Hucker")
nubie sour mead (Zertwiz@aol.com)
Notable Mead Folk ("Dan McFeeley")
Bee Culture Column on Mead ("Dan McFeeley")
First mead suggestions (Melanie Moore)
NOTE: Digest appears when there is enough material to send one.
Send ONLY articles for the digest to mead@talisman.com.
Use mead-request@talisman.com for [un]subscribe/admin requests.
Digest archives and FAQ are available at www.talisman.com/mead. There is
a searchable MLD archive at hubris.engin.umich.edu/Beer/Threads/Mead
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Honey Weight vs. Volume
From: Mike <Mike@nalbone.org>
Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2004 15:18:12 -0500
Hi Folks,
I just wrote a quick & simple Visual Basic program that converts back &
forth between honey weight (ounces) & volume (ounces).
I did it because, let's face it, sometimes it hurts to think.
My sister just called from Lancaster, Pa to ask if I wanted her to pick
up some fresh, local honey. (God, I LOVE her).
Well, the market sells it in 20 fl oz jars. My feeble brain had a hard
time converting it to weight (as is referenced in most recipes I've
seen) at first.
So, the result is:
http://www.nalbone.org/downloads/HoneyWeight.exe
<http://www.nalbone.org/HoneyWeight.exe>
It's a mere 24K (serendipitous, no?) in size & does a reasonable (I
think) job. It should run under Windows 95 or later with no problems.
I welcome comments, criticisms, invitations to get a real life,
whatever...
FROM:
Mike Nalbone, Owner
eMail: Mike@WebGiftWorld.com
http://www.WebGiftWorld.com <http://www.webgiftworld.com/>
------------------------------
Subject: Pronounciation?
From: "W. Andrews" <wiandrew@cs.indiana.edu>
Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2004 15:20:19 -0500
Though I've seen the major types of mead in print repeatedly, it occurred
to me that I have absolutely no idea how to pronounce them! What are
the pronunciations for:
Melomel
Metheglin (meh-THEHG-lihn?)
Pyment (PIE-ment? PIEE-ment? PEH-ment?)
Hippocras
Cyser (sounds like "cider"?)
Braggot (sounds like "bracket"?)
Thanks!
WB
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Pectic enzyme - Apple Cider Meads
From: rcd@talisman.com (Dick Dunn)
Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2004 19:09:20 -0700 (MST)
My notes on John Doerter's comments on Mark Ottenberg's comments on
"HerbMyst"'s recipe etc...
The recipe was:
> > >2 gallons apple cider, 21 pounds honey, 1 pkge lager yeast,
> > >1 c brown sugar, 2.5 gal water, and the peptic enzyme...
Mark noted:
> > 21 lbs of honey and 2 gallons of apple cider in a 5 gallon batch? Are you
> > sure your recipe is right? [comment on high starting gravity]
John corrected:
> A few notes,
> 2 gallons Apple juice
> + 2.5 gallons water
> + 21 pounds of hone
> - -------------------------
> 6.25 gallons of must ... not 5 gallons
>
> this means that honey is 3.5 #/gallon
> While this is slightly higher than average,...
I'd say more than "slightly".
A rule-of-thumb for a middle-of-the-road serious mead is about 1 gal honey
for a 5 gal batch. That is 2.4- lb honey per gallon; it gives a starting
gravity of around 1.100 and a potential alcohol (% v/v) of about 13%.
Wine-type yeasts can handle this with no problem.
(I think we're all using US units here, and I think John was using the
same rough numbers I'll use--which is that honey is 1.500 SG and water
is 8 lb / gallon. These are close enough and easy to work with.)
But now...3.5 lb honey per gallon of must (ignoring the juice and brown
sugar) will give 1.140-1.150, which is quite a substantial increase in
starting gravity. That's 19% potential alcohol, and a lot of yeasts can't
handle that--meaning two things: (1) the yeast may have trouble getting
going, and (2) it may quit long before all the sugar is fermented out.
>...it is
> not extreme even when the contribution of the
> Apple juice is considered
...
> Before the contribution of the Apple juice this must
> will have a S.G. in the range of 1.116 - 1.136
> depending on the honey used. Both the Brown sugar
> and the Apple juice will raise the O.G. But probably
> not too much... I'd guess O.G, in the 1.3 - 1.5 range
(You can't have meant 1.3-1.5! I think you slipped a digit there; must
have meant 1.130-1.150. 1.5 is pure honey.)
John - I think we both need to check our own figures and each other's.
I'll give you that it might be an OG in the (corrected) 1.130 - 1.150
range...but that's up around 17-20% abv, which is a lot.
Let's see if I can get the whole calculation together. I'll use 1.500 for
honey and 1.050 for the juice. The brown sugar is a tangle of questions
because of variable moisture content and whether/how it's packed into the
cup. (Brewing/meadmaking recipes should _never_ specify sugar measured
by volume!) I'll just go on experience that roughly that much sugar will
add roughly 3 points (0.003) to a batch of about that size.
Working out OG on a recipe is a useful exercise for meadmakers just getting
the hang of it anyway (especially if they can catch us out in a big
blunder!). The idea is to add up the weights, add up the volumes, and
divide (again, assuming the near-truth that water is one ounce per ounce:-)
We've got:
2 gal apple juice = 256 fl oz, 269 oz avoir
2.5 gal water = 320 fl oz, 320 oz avoir
21 lb honey = 336 oz avoir, 224 fl oz
Total weight 925 oz avoir
Total volume 800 fl oz
Predicted OG 1.156, + a few points for the brown sugar, so call it 1.160.
That's 21% abv potential; almost *all* yeasts will have trouble with that.
(Even if you're not assuming that you ferment it all out, there's the issue
of getting the yeast started in the first place, plus whether you can
ferment enough of the sugar that the mead isn't too sweet.)
> ...The question is the Alchohol tollerance of the Lager yeast.
Lager yeasts generally don't have especially high alcohol tolerance. I
wouldn't be surprised to see some of them give up before they get to 10%
abv.
> >From personal experience O.G. 1.17 must will ferment
> using lalvin k1-v1116 yeast. I pitched 1 packet dry
> and it did the rest (i was in a hurry).
K1V-1116 is a strong yeast with a high alcohol tolerance. And even though
it will ferment from that OG, presumably it will _not_ ferment completely
(dry)...not that you'd want to knock down all the sugar and leave 23%
alcohol!
> > I also don't understand the reason for the brown sugar.
>
> Brown sugar is a frequent flavor component in ciders.
Actually not all that frequent...it's really only found in one regional
style (New England cider) that's not especially common. The perception
that it's a frequent addition comes from the bias of a couple US cider
books. Plus, up against that 21 lb of honey, a few ounces of brown sugar
will likely be a barely-noticeable accent in the flavor.
- ---
Dick Dunn rcd@talisman.com Hygiene, Colorado USA
------------------------------
Subject: Brewing in China?
From: "Scott Hucker" <shucker@tln.lib.mi.us>
Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2004 06:57:29 -0600
I will be moving to China this summer for four years. Does anybody
know if home brewing is legal in China? How about getting supplies
(other than Honey)?
Scott
------------------------------
Subject: nubie sour mead
From: Zertwiz@aol.com
Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2004 06:56:10 EST
as im shure you will here many tims on this list alwas keep a mead around to
see what it does what did you lose other then the corks if its no good in a
cupples years oh well call it experance iv here i cnat tell you how many
stories on here about meads that where hidious at first then aged to ambrosha so
for my 2 cents i say bottle it and forgetabout it for a good while maby take a
taste every 6 monthes or so
chris anderson
------------------------------
Subject: Notable Mead Folk
From: "Dan McFeeley" <mcfeeley@keynet.net>
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 05:35:45 -0600
Over on the GotMead forums, James P. asked if someone could
give a summary of people who have made important contributions
to mead and meadmaking over the last 100 years, although he noted
the spurt of interest over the last 50 to 20 years or so. Below is
my response, crossposted from the GotMead forum.
I put together a brief post, and I'm sure I left a lot of important people
out.
And of course, this is USA centric. Very little here aside from UK home
winemaking. Anybody else have ideas here?
<><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><>
Dan McFeeley
- -----------------------------------------[snip!]----------------------------
- --------------
I'd agree -- a good amount has happened within the last 20 to 50 years.
Research into honey fermentation and mead production has been centered at
the University of Cornell. Roger Morse got interested in commercial
meadmaking during his graduate years and conducted a series of experiments
during the early 1950's designed to recognize and overcome problems in
making good mead. He continued his research during the 1960's with Keith
Steinkraus, looking at nutrient supplementation, pH control, starter volume,
temperature and yeast strains. Robert Kime, also of the University of
Cornell, applied ultrafiltration to meadmaking with the intent of
eliminating problems with off flavors associated with heating the honey
must.
There were a number of mead publications in British beekeeping journals, but
Brother Adam's 1953 _Bee World_ article was the most comprehensive guide
at the time it was written. Interestingly, it was published in the same
year that Roger Morse completed his graduate work on honey fermentation.
Charlie Papazian was an important figure during the 1980's in stirring
interest in meadmaking among homebrewers. He had an early interest in
meadmaking, although the famed Barkshack Ginger mead in its original form
was a very austere and dry mead that would have needed years to age out.
The recipe that appears in TNCJHB is a much improved version.
Ken Schramm and Dan McConnell were known as "the mead guys" in homebrewing
circles during the early 1990's. They co-authored several articles on
meadmaking in _Zymurgy_ magazine, founded the first national level all mead
competition, the Mazer Cup competition, and gave seminars and presentations
on meadmaking to homebrewers. It was Ken and Dan who researched Roger
Morse's publications and then presented them to the homebrewing community,
bringing Morse's ideas from the relative isolation of beekeeping journals to
the meadmaking community.
Ken has recently published _The Compleat Meadmaker_, the most updated text
on meadmaking now available. Ken has also been active in promoting mead,
notably at the annual International Mead Fest, and at other places.
Of course, there is Dick Dunn, digest janitor of the Mead Lovers Digest,
who has helped maintain MLD as a prime Internet information source on
meadmaking.
Pamela Spence founded the American Mead Association in the late 1980's, and
until its unfortunate demise, was a small but important part of mead history
in the U.S. Suzanne Price took over the helm of the AMA but the association
fell apart after her tragic death.
Let's not forget the Society for Creative Anachronism for its scholarship on
medieval meadmaking styles. Marc Shapiro and Cindy Renfrow are standouts.
There are others.
Greg Lindahl has been keeping the hist-brewing list going for a few years
now. There have been some very good discussions on mead.
C.J.J. Berry was active during the peak of interest in the British home
winemaking movement. His books cover meadmaking. There is also Clara
Furness, whose articles on meadmeaking were collected into a single
publication.
The Internet has been very important in spreading meadmaking information.
Vickie Rowe has one of the best, if not the best, web sites on mead. Julia
Herz and Chris Hadden also have good sites.
Going back to the 1950's and earlier -- there was interest in improving
meadmaking techniques, even during Prohibition time. This was loosely
disguised under the topic of mead vinegar. After all, in order to make a
good mead vinegar, you first have to make a good mead. Roger Morse noted
the research done here, mostly in the area of nutrients.
Morse also noted that a lot of commercial meads made in the New York area
during that time were for Jewish sacramental purposes. This is something
I'd like to know more about -- mead traditions in Judaism. I'm assuming
that this is a part of Ashkenaz Judaism, the Judaism of Germany and Eastern
Europe.
<><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><>
Dan McFeeley
------------------------------
Subject: Bee Culture Column on Mead
From: "Dan McFeeley" <mcfeeley@keynet.net>
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 07:44:03 -0600
The February 2004 issue of Bee Culture featured an essay
on mead by regular columnist Mark Winston titled "Two
Bottles of Mead." It made for interesting reading as Mark
rambled over two experiences he'd had with some truly
excellent meads.
Unfortunately, Mark listed these experiences as the
exception rather than the rule. According to the column:
One thing I know about is bad mead, as in most
other mead I've consumed. One of the occupational
hazards of being a bee expert is that people are
always asking me to sample their honey and
homemade mead. I have had a lot of pretty good
honey, but haven't been so fortunate in the mead
department.
Mead can be pretty tough to quaff, whether
store-bought or homemade. It simply is
not that easy to produce a superior honey
wine. Those of us who are invariably
polite tremble when the bottle of homemade
is brought up from the basement by our hosts,
concerned by past experiences that we are
about to enter the undrinkable zone.
I wouldn't disagree with Mark's experiences, only with
the conclusions he draws. I've had a few bad meads
myself but have met more than enough good meadmakers
to know that this is the exception rather than the rule.
Poor guy. If there are any beekeepers on this list who
might run across Mark Winston at any beekeeping
meetings or gatherings, would you be please be so kind
as to show him what good meadmaking is all about?
He's had too many bad meads shoved on him -- give
him a sample of your wares and introduce him to mead
heaven. Myself, I sent a response off to Bee Culture on
where meadmaking has been and where it has been going.
Hopefully they'll print it.
Did you know that commercial meadmaking is a $15 million
to $20 million industry? That's a far cry from 1989, when
there was only one meadery in New York state.
Anyway, keep an eye out for Mark, give him lots of
excellent meads, and support your local meadery! :-)
<><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><>
Dan McFeeley
------------------------------
Subject: First mead suggestions
From: Melanie Moore <mellymel_hsv@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 12:06:34 -0800 (PST)
I'm brand spankin' new to this, and after much research, I ran into the
digest and decided to join. I've been lurking for a few weeks with a tube
of Wyeast Dry Mead Yeast (#3632) burning a hole in my fridge, I'm now rather
anxious to get started. I wondered if anyone had a tried and true simple
recipe that would be good for a beginner. I considered a wonderful sounding
raspberry melomel recipe I ran across, but was concerned about it tasting
like cough syrup (since I wouldn't know how to tweak and balance just yet).
I'm thinking something more like a metheglyn for the first try. Seems there
is less that can go wrong. I have all my equipment (although this morning
woke to a broken hydrometer, thank you kitties, a new one is on the way),
and am ready to get started. Any advise would be much appreciated!!
Love and Light!!
Mel
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #1083
*******************************
