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Mead Lovers Digest #1049
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Errors-To: mead-errors@talisman.com
Reply-To: mead@talisman.com
To: mead-list@talisman.com
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1049, 8 October 2003
Mead Lover's Digest #1049 8 October 2003
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Jen's Stalled Mead (Russ.Hobaugh@erm.com)
RE: Fruit press advice needed (Joyce Hersh) (Joe Kaufman)
subjects, early racking, meaderies in Europe (Chuck)
The reuse of yeast (HerbMyst@aol.com)
Re: Lambic mead (Warren Place)
International Mead Festival - Tickets now available for purchase at www ("...)
Stalled Mead? ("Jen Breese") ("Alson Kemp")
Mead in Wales and England. ("Chuck Mongiovi")
Re: Mead in Wales and England (Vicky Rowe)
Re: Mead in Wales and England. (Itamar Brill)
Re: Stalled Mead? ("Ken Taborek")
Re: bland mead and cyser question ("Ken Taborek")
Re: Apples for cyser (MLD #1048, 2003-10-06) (Ross McKay)
Re: Fruit press advice needed (Dick Dunn)
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: Jen's Stalled Mead
From: Russ.Hobaugh@erm.com
Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2003 08:49:11 -0400
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Jen, before you get concerned, what was the starting gravity, and
what is your current gravity? The mead could be nearing completion,
but the only sure way to know is with a gravity reading.
> I have a 5 gal of mead that has been going for about 4 months. It has been
> really bubbling well until I racked it this past weekend. There are very few
> bubbles and I can see the cap in the vapor lock being pushed up. I was
> wondering if I should be concerned and what I can do it get it going again.
> Also, I live on the beach and the weather has gotten very cold since the
> racking. I was wondering if that had something to do with it.
> Thanks
> Jen
Russ Hobaugh
Goob' Dog Brewery
Birdsboro, PA
------------------------------
Subject: RE: Fruit press advice needed (Joyce Hersh)
From: Joe Kaufman <sutekh137@sbcglobal.net>
Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2003 05:58:45 -0700 (PDT)
<Joyce Hersh <msmead@doctorbeer.com> wrote:>
>Jay & I bought a fruit press last year, and it works great for grapes and
>other fruit that is left largely whole. For things like apples and pears,
>however, which are pulped before pressing, we have been draping cloth mesh
>around the inside of the press, which work with only limited success. The
>problem is that the mesh inevitably breaks, sending out a high-pressure
>stream of fruit pulp at a surprising velocity and distance, frequently
>hitting me, Jay, our friends, the side of the garage, etc.
>What do other people use to line their fruit presses? Is there anything
>more durable that I won't have to keep replacing constantly?
Joyce, have you tried using nylon mesh? Like the stuff the nylon mesh
bags are made of (I use those for holding fruit in the primary, etc.)
I am not sure you can buy just sheets of the stuff, but I would think
so, probably even in various mesh sizes. Here are a couple of sites
I found off-hand:
Plastic/nylon mesh as used in mosquito netting:
http://www.internetmesh.net/
Selling it by the bolt (mind the link...the line wrapped):
http://www.americanhomeandhabitat.com/fabric_catagories/
mesh_and_netting.htm
Another plastic site, might have some mesh products (watch the wrap):
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/category.asp?catalog%5Fname=
USPlastic&category%5Fname=Nylon&Page=1
I am not sure this kind of stuff would give you the
filtering/straining you desire, but the stuff is durable.
My two nylon bags have been through quite a bit over about 4-5
years of use so far, and that includes rigorous sanitation in bleach
before every batch. Neither has any holes yet... Then again, you
will be applying a lot more force than I ever have (I only
press/wring with my bare hands).
Good luck! Let us know if you find something workable!
JoeK
------------------------------
Subject: subjects, early racking, meaderies in Europe
From: Chuck <wintermead@sbcglobal.net>
Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2003 07:52:23 -0700 (PDT)
In MLD #1047 there were 11 articles,6 whose subjects
were: Mead Lover's Digest #1047, 3 October...
C'mon people, take the time to make your subject
reflect your reply.
"Jen Breese" <jbreese@collabrys.com> wrote:
> I have a 5 gal of mead that has been going for about
> 4 months. It has been really bubbling well until I
> racked it this past weekend.
<snip>
If it was working well, why did you rack it? Racking
removes most of your active yeast population and takes
a lot of the saturated CO2 out of solution. The latter
is probably why you aren't seeing any more bubblles as
your must is re-saturating with CO2. Once your must
reaches 1 atmosphere of saturation it'll begin to
expel bubbles again, that is, if it has enough yeast
to continue an active fermentation. :)
Our noble Digest janitor answered Itamar Brill's
question about mead in England and Wales...
> I hunted around quite a bit for mead in England and
> Wales the first time we were there, but to my
> surprise it was to no avail.
> (Thereby hangs a tale...
<snip>
> Now, most of where I looked around was the "West
> Country" (i.e., southwest) of England, and southern
> Wales. The only thing I found was some concoction
> obviously made up for tourists, a syrupy combination
> of a bad grape wine with plenty of honey
And therein lies the problem. If you'd just gone
South, across the channel and a little West you would
have been in the heart of the world's best mead, in
Brittany (France). Every bar and restaurant, every
supermarket, every tourist-trap souvenir stand has
mead, otherwise known as chouchen (Breton) or hydromel
(French).
Cheers,
Chuck
Beekeeper
meadmaker
Geneva, IL
------------------------------
Subject: The reuse of yeast
From: HerbMyst@aol.com
Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2003 12:44:32 EDT
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Hi,
I have just made my first mead, its not ready for racking for two more
weeks.=A0 My questions are: I heard you can take some of the yeast off of the
bottom
and use it to ferment your next batch. I need to know the how's and why's.
Any help is appreciated so Thank you in advance.
Venus
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Lambic mead
From: Warren Place <wrplace@ucdavis.edu>
Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2003 09:47:28 -0700 (PDT)
On Mon, 6 Oct 2003 Travis Dahl KE4VYZ <dahlt@umich.edu> wrote:
> For those of you who like Lambic beers and mead - Last year I had asked
> if anyone had tried any Lambic/pLambic meads and got no replies. So I
> gave it a shot, actually several.
> Cheers,
> Eric D.
I had a nice lambic mead blend this weekend at www.nchfinfo.org.
The brewer said that he mad the lambic and mead separately, then blended
before bringing them to the fest.
Warren Place
------------------------------
Subject: International Mead Festival - Tickets now available for purchase at www
From: "Julia Herz" <info@honeywine.com>
Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2003 11:01:45 -0600
Hello All,
Wanted to update all of you in Mead Lovers Digest land.It's almost mead
festival time. We are proud to announce that over 50 commercial meads
from 7 different countries will be available for taste by the public as
well as judged privately for awards.
The International Mead Festival - Honey Wines of the World (formerly
Planet Buzz) is "the" main commercial mead competition and public
tasting and is in its second year. No where, no time, has a collection
of commercial meads this large ever been assembled.
Date: Friday, October 24, 5 - 10 pm
Saturday, October 25, 1 - 7 pm
The festival will be held at the Broker Inn in Boulder, Colorado. A
special rate of $89 hotel rooms (sold on a first come first serve
basis). Call 303.444.3330 directly to book. Ask for the "meadfest
special rate"
Advance ticket sales can be made at <http://www.meadfest.com>
www.meadfest.com, Boulder Theater, Redstone Meadery or by phone
720-406-1215 ext. 5. $22 advance / $27 at the door.
If you are interested in volunteering email Kris Latham
kristinelatham@teletech.com.
Mead on!
Julia Herz
Redstone Meadery - Vice President Marketing & Promotions
720-406-1215
www.redstonemeadery.com <http://www.redstonemeadery.com/>
www.meadfest.com
&
Owner - www.honeywine.com
ASK for MEAD!
------------------------------
Subject: Stalled Mead? ("Jen Breese")
From: "Alson Kemp" <alson.kemp@sloan.mit.edu>
Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2003 13:06:59 -0400
Jen,
>I have a 5 gal of mead that has been going for about 4 months.
>It has been really bubbling well until I racked it this past weekend.
This question seems to come up somewhat regularly,
so checking through past digests could give insight
(www.gotmead.com)...
... Keep in mind what is doing the fermentation:
yeast. By racking, what have you removed: yeast (+ some
other stuff). Ergo, fermentation should slow down or stop.
Your mead is acting exactly as expected.
(Occasionally, racking will reinvigorate
fermentation, though. Probably through aeration.)
>Also, I live on the beach and the weather has gotten very cold
>since the racking.
Temperature could certainly affect it, but removal
of a majority of the yeast is probably a bigger culprit...
-Alson
------------------------------
Subject: Mead in Wales and England.
From: "Chuck Mongiovi" <mongiovi@rcn.com>
Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2003 14:17:12 -0400
> I went looking for mead but found cider instead and was completely won
> over by it...realized that mead is good but cider is better.
>
> Note that it might be there! I just couldn't find it, and I sure was
> looking.
> - ---
> Dick Dunn rcd@talisman.com Hygiene, Colorado USA
Does anyone else know anything about this .. I'm going to england this
coming March and it would be cool to check out some meaderies ;)
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead in Wales and England
From: Vicky Rowe <rcci@mindspring.com>
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 14:35:18 -0400
At 12:45 AM 10/7/2003, you wrote:
>Subject: Re: Mead in Wales and England.
>From: rcd@talisman.com (Dick Dunn)
>Date: Fri, 3 Oct 2003 15:34:15 -0600 (MDT)
>
>I hunted around quite a bit for mead in England and Wales the first time we
>were there, but to my surprise it was to no avail. (Thereby hangs a tale...
>I went looking for mead but found cider instead and was completely won over
>by it...realized that mead is good but cider is better. Came back to the
>US, found the Cider Digest wanting a new home and picked it up. A year
>later, started looking to get out of the city, found some land, started
>planting cider apples. But I digress...) Now, most of where I looked
>around was the "West Country" (i.e., southwest) of England, and southern
>Wales. The only thing I found was some concoction obviously made up for
>tourists, a syrupy combination of a bad grape wine with plenty of honey
>to cover up the faults, found in Cornwall as I recall (might have been
>Devon). I really found no indication that there was commercial mead to be
>had in England, then or on trips since, to the areas above plus the west
>Midlands and Kent.
>
>Note that it might be there! I just couldn't find it, and I sure was
>looking.
>- ---
>Dick Dunn rcd@talisman.com Hygiene, Colorado USA
I, on the other hand, had *scads* of luck. So much so that I couldn't
carry all the mead I found by the time we hit Bath, only halfway through
our trip!
I found mead in stores, in pubs, in shops and in the meaderies. I also
found Martin Gelling of Vitis Wines ( http://www.re-enact.com/Vitishome.htm )
near Oxford. He was wonderful, and provided me with over a case of
various meads from all over England, Wales and Scotland. I would not
have been able to get many of them, as I didn't see Wales, and missed
several of the meads I had on my list to visit.....
I have a number of meaderies on the list at http://www.gotmead.com under
Buy Mead, International. I have personally visited Moniak, but never got to
the others, we got caught up seeing cathedrals, Roman baths and
Tudor ships......
When I hit the States again, I dragged my 32 bottles of mead through
to Customs. The guy there says, "What's mead?" I said, "Sort of a low-
alcohol wine". He said, "Oh, ok. Go on through!" I did a happy dance,
and hurried off to get a cart before the boxes and bags of mead broke
my straining back.
Vicky - who is still working through some of that mead, nearly 3 years
later......
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead in Wales and England.
From: Itamar Brill <ibrill@netvision.net.il>
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 20:45:21 +0200
Hi all.
Thanks for your replies, unfortunately i'm at the mercy of public
transport and can't afford to go hunting around much.
I've found a few places which carry mead, i'll let you know.
Thanks again,
Itamar.
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Stalled Mead?
From: "Ken Taborek" <Ken.Taborek@verizon.net>
Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2003 16:30:42 -0400
> Hi
> I have a 5 gal of mead that has been going for about 4 months. It has been
> really bubbling well until I racked it this past weekend. There
> are very few
> bubbles and I can see the cap in the vapor lock being pushed up. I was
> wondering if I should be concerned and what I can do it get it
> going again.
> Also, I live on the beach and the weather has gotten very cold since the
> racking. I was wondering if that had something to do with it.
> Thanks
> Jen
Jen,
If your mead has been bubbling well for 4 months, then it's most likely
finished fermenting. My meads typically finish in 2-3 weeks time, and only
bubble strongly for the first week or so of that.
It's true that cold can slow or halt your fermentation, as can racking.
Take a hydrometer reading, that's the only way to be certain.
- --
Cheers,
Ken
------------------------------
Subject: Re: bland mead and cyser question
From: "Ken Taborek" <Ken.Taborek@verizon.net>
Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2003 16:46:52 -0400
Robert Sandefer writes (snipped):
> Dick comments on my earlier comments about apple wine, pectin haze, and
> (anti-)pectic enzyme:
> Anything is possible. The haze could have been caused by
> something besides
> pectin.
> However, what sources say ethanol inhibits pectic enzyme? Is the
> inhibition complete or does it simply slow the enzyme? What's the
> mechanism
> of inhibition? How would pectic enzyme act as a fining agent
> other than by
> breaking down pectin?
>
> Robert Sandefer
I was also interested to read Dick's comments on pectic enzyme. I have used
pectic enzyme quite often in the bulk aging stage (i.e. months along, when
the mead has reached the alcohol content it's going to be bottled at), and
have found it to be quite effective in removing pectin haze at that stage.
Or, so I have thought. I have no real means to determine if the haze I've
treated with pectic enzyme drops was really pectin haze, I simply made the
assumption based upon what I thought was sound thinking. I make primarily
melomels, and I know which fruits contain a lot of pectin. Although I
usually use pectic enzyme at the start, I've found a lingering haze in many
of my meads, typically those with high pectin fruits, that 5-10 drops of
enzyme has cleared up quite nicely, typically within a day or two of the
addition of the drops.
I find it difficult to believe, though not impossible, that 5-10 drops of
liquid pectic enzyme would act as a fining agent, especially when it's been
simply dropped into the mouth of the carboy, with none of the stirring that
other fining agents typically call for. Though I can't call myself anything
of an expert on fining... I own one fining agent (well, more than one I
suppose, I've recently begun experimenting with commercial wine kits, and
they all come with one fining agent or another, that I have yet to use), but
have never had occasion to use it, as all of my meads have finished quite
clear after sufficient aging. I'll be very interested to discover that I've
been fining all along! ;)
- --
Cheers,
Ken
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Apples for cyser (MLD #1048, 2003-10-06)
From: Ross McKay <rosko@zeta.org.au>
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2003 09:18:32 +1000
Dennis Waltman writes:
>Regarding apples for a cyser, I have a powered juicer
>that I've been thinking I might try. It makes a very
>fine dry pulp and juice. If I use a little citrus
>juice to keep the pulp from browning (see Calcium
>Carbonate additions above), is there a reason why this
>process would not work?
I've used my juicer with apples and pears. Mine can take whole apples
and pears (just not the big ones!) so no chopping up required.
Personally, I wouldn't worry about the citrus juice, I didn't and the
resulting cider and perry have come out a nice light colour.
Note that the "fine dry pulp" you get from your juicer might not be as
dry as you think. I asked on the cider digest about comparing my results
to a press, and (the) one respondent told me that the commercial press
he uses gives 30% more juice than I was getting from the juicer. I plan
to organise some method of pressing next time, even if it is just
pressing the "fine dry pulp" :)
Ross
- --
Ross McKay, WebAware Pty Ltd
"Words can only hurt if you try to read them. Don't play their game" - Zoolander
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Fruit press advice needed
From: rcd@talisman.com (Dick Dunn)
Date: Wed, 8 Oct 2003 09:55:51 -0600 (MDT)
Joyce Hersh <msmead@doctorbeer.com> asked about cloth for lining a press
in order to press apples.
This comes up now and then on the Cider Digest. One of the bits of
confusion in the answers is that different presses develop significantly
different pressures...so one person's solution (e.g., I remember used bed-
sheets [bleagh!]) will blow out in another person's press. And as Joyce
commented, the blowout can really make a mess (plus it interrupts the
pressing).
You should be able to get nylon bags at a homebrew shop. These are an
open weave but quite strong. It's close enough to keep the pulp in but
open enough not to clog. Usually there are several sizes available,
the largest of which fits even a large basket-style press. Just fit the
bag inside the basket, wrap the open mouth over the outside, fill with
pulp, and close the top of the bag over the pulp before you put the press
plate in. You do want a big enough bag that you can wrap all the way over
the top of the pulp.
The cloths used for larger presses, where the pulp is built up in layers
enclosed in cloth and separated by racks, are a heavy polypropylene. They
are still a relatively open weave but much heavier. Think of the material
used for a grass-catcher bag for a power mower, or the collection bag of a
small chipper/shredder, where there's a specific need to protect against
tearing.
If you find that you're getting pulp through an open-weave bag, you might
try not grinding the apples quite so fine...that will give better yield
anyway since a very fine pulp tends to bind up so that the juice can't
get out.
After some use, the bag/cloths will pick up brown color. Don't worry about
it, as long as the cloth is otherwise clean. It's better to live with that
color (caused by tannins) than to go nutso trying to bleach it out, because
bleach weakens the fabric.
- ---
Dick Dunn rcd@talisman.com Hygiene, Colorado USA
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #1049
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