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Mead Lovers Digest #1073
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1073, 1 February 2004
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #1073 1 February 2004
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Help keep the digest alive (Mead Lovers Digest)
O2 - Oh poo! Don't sweat it! (Myron Sothcott)
Stuck(?) fermentation - maybe not (Myron Sothcott)
Bottled or tap? ("Aaron Culbertson")
bringing in honey from the UK ("Chuck Mongiovi")
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1072, 26 January 2004 (Lofty@aol.com)
racking questions... (Sue Bentley)
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
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Help keep the digest alive
From: mead-request@talisman.com (Mead Lovers Digest)
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2004 23:59:00 -0700 (MST)
You'll see this twice if you get both mead and cider digests. But please
skim through it once. There are a few important bits for everyone. I'm
sorry to take up digest space with material that doesn't relate to our
favorite fermented beverage, but it's important to keep the digest running.
Digests have been delayed due to the current virus problems. They haven't
affected us directly here at Talisman Farm, but I've had to wade through a
bunch of virus-related noise, and perhaps many of you have had to do so
as well. So I delayed digests to let the noise level drop for all of us.
Apropos that, if you happen to get virus mail that appears to be from the
digest, rest assured that it is a forgery. All the recent email viruses
forge their headers, so that they appear to come from some place other than
the real sender. We don't use any "active email" software here, and we
don't run the popular virus-enabled operating system, so it's almost
impossible for us to forward a virus.
If you're submitting material to the digest, or trying to reach me for some
administrative matter, the most important thing you can do is to use an
appropriate subject line in your mail. Subjects like "Hi" or "Hello" or
"test" will cause me to toss your mail straight away. Also take care to
use the right address! Articles go to the main address; administrivia
goes to the -request address. This info is at the top of every digest.
PLEASE when you submit an article to the digest DO NOT include a copy of
the digest to which you are replying. If you want to include lines from
an article to which you're replying, that's great! But trim it down. If
you include a whole digest, I have to clean it up or return your article to
you for editing.
(tune out now if you don't know much about email problems)
Other than that, if you are running virus-scanning software, or if you have
some admin responsibility for such software, one of the best things you can
do is to check that it's up-to-date and that it *DOES*NOT* try to bounce
virus mail. One of the stupidest things a virus-scanner can do is to try
to complain to the "sender" of a virus when it doesn't really know who sent
it. Viruses forge their senders! In the past week I've gotten dozens of
complaints from virus-scanners that have concluded viruses are being sent
out from talisman.com. They're ALL wrong (and too many of them are smug
and condescending). Don't buy such software! If your virus scanner is
bouncing mail that appears to contain a virus, it is actually making the
problem worse for everyone, since it bounces the mail to someone who wasn't
the real sender. Keep your MTAs trimmed and burning.
thenkyew,
Mead-Lover's Digest mead-request@talisman.com
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor Boulder County, Colorado USA
------------------------------
Subject: O2 - Oh poo! Don't sweat it!
From: Myron Sothcott <myron7@cox.net>
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 14:48:33 -0500
>
>
>Subject: RE: Mead Lover's Digest #1070, 20 January 2004
>From: "Maurice St. Aude" <bludrgn_group@rogers.com>
>Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2004 23:31:19 -0500
>
>Hi all:
>This conversation has me thinking now. I am just about to invest in the
>new Better Bottle carboys (PET plastic) because they would provide me
>with a simple way of flushing my carboys with CO2 and the using the
>built in racking arms to do a closed system racking and eliminate the
>top ups. Are we now saying that this system would not eliminate that
>problem?
>Does anyone have any thought on these carboys before I replace all my
>glass? Their website is www.better-bottle.com
>Thanks
>Maurice.
>
If you are nervous to the point of paranoia about a little oxygen
getting access to your mead pick up one 6 gallon and one 5 gallon BB
carboys. Initial fermentation of 5 1/2 gallons in the first carboy,
protected by the CO2 generated. Transfer to the 5 gallon carboy,
leaving no headspace. Voila! No oxygen.
Personal experience over several years.... I only rack once, when
bubbles drop to about once every three minutes (two to three weeks). I
usually wind up with 2 to three inches of headspace of air (not CO2)
which may become gradually saturated with CO2 during the six to nine
months that it takes for the mead to fall clear. I don't use finings,
peptic enzymes, or anything else to help it clear. I don't use sulfites
or campden tablets to preserve. I don't use yeast energizer to promote
fermentation. I do use calcium carbonate to maintain PH in the vicinity
of 4.0. I have never had a mead that I had to discard. I have had
several the were so popular that they were gone within a few months of
bottling (pesky neighbors!) I have many bottles that have aged 7 years
or more, and most have benefited from the aging (I can't say all have
benefited because I can't always remember what a particular batch tasted
like four or five years ago).
Three fourths of my mead's are sweet (around 1.012). After six months
or more in the secondary they have pretty well reached yeast alcohol
tolerance level (I use Lalvin D47) and I see very few bubbles rising in
the carboy. I bottle without sulfites (mostly brown beer bottle with
crown caps) and after six months to a year they are usually sparkling.
I have never (that's right, never) had a bottle bomb even after five or
more years of aging, just beautiful, tiny, champagne-like bubbles that
persist right up until the last sip is taken a half hour after pouring.
My recommendation. Relax. Don't get so engrossed in the minor points
of brewing mead that the pleasure of creating a nice beverage is
subdued by the minute details of perfectionism. If it tastes good, you
done good! If it tastes GREAT, you done GREAT!
I guess I have rambled a little but I am feeling pretty expansive,
having just finished glass of a force carbonated, dry pyment that was
bottled on Mar. 21, 1997.
Happy brewing,
Myron
------------------------------
Subject: Stuck(?) fermentation - maybe not
From: Myron Sothcott <myron7@cox.net>
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 15:33:03 -0500
>Hello to everyone on the List!
>I'm a newcomer here on the list but I have been experimenting
>with meadbrewing for several years now. I saw Randy Tudor's question
>in the Jan. 12 issue, but it seems to me that nobody answered.
>The question was:
>"I have a batch of mead that had been in primary fermentation for about 4
>weeks and the co2 had slowed to about 2 bubbles per minute. I racked and
>checked the sg ( 1.010). After racking all co2 bubbles stopped. Since I am
>new to this, I am not sure if this is normal or not. Do I need to add more
>yeast or should I just wait and let it sit."
>I would be also interested in the answer, since I also experienced
>this phenomenon several times. (Slowly bubbling mead stops
>bubbling after I racked to secondary fermenter.) I even tried adding
>more yeast but it didn't restart the fermentation. Because of this I
>do not dare to rack the mead while in fermentation although quite
>many recepies suggest this. (to get rid of the lees early.)
>What do you suggest??
>Peter (from Hungary)
>
It is pretty hard to make a positive determination with the information
in the post, however I'll give it a shot. If the batch consisted of
about 3 to 3 1/4 pounds of honey to 1 U.S. gallon of water, and the
yeast was similar to Lalvin D47 (alcohol tolerance to the vicinity of
16% by volume) then the mead has probably reached the alcohol tolerance
level of the yeast. Mine usually reaches that level in about three
weeks and at an sg of 1.012 which is the target I shoot for (semi to
moderately sweet).
Before racking your must was saturated with CO2 so any additional
fermentation caused bubbles in the airlock. During the process of
racking the must it gave up a large portion of the CO2 from the
solution due to the turbulance caused by the racking (like when you
shake a can of beer or cola). After the racking the majority of the
yeast has been left behind in the sediment in the bottom of the
primary. The yeast that remains suspended in the mead will continue to
work, but very slowly. After a day or so you will probably notice a few
areas of foam-like bubbles forming on the surface of the mead, and
after a week or so you may see a bubble in the airlock every 5 or 10
minutes. It takes a long time for the small amount of remaining yeast
to re-saturate the must with CO2. That is what I have observed in many,
many batches.
If you used much less than 3 pounds of honey per 1 U.S. gallon of water,
or if you used a champagne yeast with high alcohol tolerance then
fermentation should not have stopped at 1.010 but should be closer to
perhaps 0.995. In that case you do have a stuck fermentation and will
have to take action. This has never happened to me so I am not an
expert in the area. I would expect that the racking has added a little
oxygen so it is probably not necessary to oxygenate the must. You could
build another yeast starter and pitch it to see if that helps. You
might check the PH and if its is down aroun 3.5 add some carbonate to
bring it closer to 4.0, but if it was bubbling before racking (when
saturated with CO2) the PH is probably okay.
I'll defer further suggestions/additions to those with more experience
with stuck fermentation.
Hope thei helps....
Cheers, Myron
------------------------------
Subject: Bottled or tap?
From: "Aaron Culbertson" <culbertson19@hotmail.com>
Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2004 23:02:10 -0500
I'm new to mead making and am always looking for ways to save money. I was
wondering if there is a difference in quality of mead that was made using
bottled water and water straight from the tap. I have city water, so I'm
sure it's loaded with chlorine. Thanks for any advice you guys can give.
------------------------------
Subject: bringing in honey from the UK
From: "Chuck Mongiovi" <mongiovi@rcn.com>
Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2004 12:47:20 -0500
Hi everyone,
I'm going to the UK in about 6 weeks, and I was hoping to pick up some local
honeys .. Does anyone out there know anything about whether there are
restrictions on bringing in honey from overseas?
- -Chuck
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1072, 26 January 2004
From: Lofty@aol.com
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 15:33:23 EST
Hi Dr. Jim here.
I recently made a Clarre 10-03
Honey Alfalfa 8.5 lbs unknown amount, this is the other half of the pyment
Barbera Grade juice 3 gallons
The final product was 16% alcohol, with excellent taste for those who like md
20/20.
So I'm thinking about cutting 25% with water
to bring it back around 11% .
Any suggestions:
------------------------------
Subject: racking questions...
From: Sue Bentley <sue_bentley@shaw.ca>
Date: Sun, 01 Feb 2004 11:41:31 -0800
hello everyone...
I have just racked 2 batches of mead, and they have quite a bit of air space
in the carboys. What do I do now?
thanks in advance
sue
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End of Mead Lover's Digest #1073
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