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Mead Lovers Digest #1086
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1086, 25 March 2004
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #1086 25 March 2004
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Re: Chocolate mead ("Dan McFeeley")
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1085, 21 March 2004 (DocMac9582@aol.com)
Chocolate mead ("Spencer Graham")
Black Tea AT BOTTLING TIME ("john mallon")
hard to find herbs / spices ("Chuck Mongiovi")
Re: MLD #1085, 21/3/04;using other bee products in mead ("Arthur Torrey (n...)
Candian Honey Sources ("Dan McFeeley")
Canadian Meadery Regulations ("Dan McFeeley")
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Re: Chocolate mead
From: "Dan McFeeley" <mcfeeley@keynet.net>
Date: Sun, 21 Mar 2004 12:15:30 -0600
On Fri, 19 Mar 2004, in MLD 1085, Roberta wrote:
>I am thinking about trying a Chocolate Mead recipe and have collected a
>few. However, the most notable one commonly available states the mead
>must be allowed to ferment for an entire year (not unreasonable) and
>not be clarified in asny way as it will result in the loss of chocolate
>enzyme. So...does this mean that it is not to be racked for an entire
>year...left for an entire year on its lees? I do know that folks here and
>there do practice this but I personally do not.
>
>Has anyone made this? Need it sit on the lees for a year, or how does one
>handle racking it without "losing the chocolate enzymes?"
Are you thinking of the "Chocolate Mead aka Liquid Sex Mead" by
Lord Rhys ab Idwal ab Idris ap William ap Llewellyn ab Idris ap Daffyd
of Rimsholt, Barony of Andelcrag, Midrealm? (recipe can be found at
this URL: http://www.ladybridget.com/m/chocmead.html )
Yup -- that's what the recipe says. Strain once, then let it age for one
full year. Just a thought -- whatever enzymes there may be in chocolate,
alcohol will denature them, especially with extended aging. The benefits
of chocolate (and this is controversial) for women are not based on
enzymes.
This is only one approach to making chocolate mead. Try browsing
through the MLD archives for more discussion on this. There is a
search engine at: http://www.aboutmead.com/resources/mld.html
<><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><>
Dan McFeeley
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Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1085, 21 March 2004
From: DocMac9582@aol.com
Date: Sun, 21 Mar 2004 14:04:52 -0500
Buckwheat Mead
> I found buckwheat honey for 5 dollars a quart in Wilmot,
> (Whilmot?) Ohio... What does buckwheat honey mead taste like?
I tried some buckwheat honey (also from central Ohio), along with some
wild flower honey. After fermentation of multiple batches (I started out
with about 50 pounds of each), I took mead samples with the same residual
sugar content to everyone in our household plus went door to door in my
neighborhood as a way to get to know the neighbors better. About 80%
preferred the buckwheat mead.
Both had fairly high acids added at the beginning. In retrospect, the
wild flower honey was probably too acidic for the mild and light flavor,
but just right for the stronger buckwheat mead. I am now starting most
batches with less acid and adding acids at the end if they need it -
or blending too low with too high batches to get optimal taste.
I have since gone back and bought another 200 pounds of the buckwheat honey
for more mead, and a little of the terrific tasting wild flower honey for
use in coffee and cooking.
Carl McMillin, PhD
Brecksville, OH
PS. The buckwheat mead is also terrific with blackberry infusion after
stopping fermentation, holding up the mead taste of the blend rather than
being overwhelmed.
------------------------------
Subject: Chocolate mead
From: "Spencer Graham" <Spencer.Graham@mail.wvu.edu>
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2004 08:47:03 -0500
A friend gave me a taste of chocolate mead and it was wonderful. So, I
decided I needed to add a batch of it to my inventory. I used a very
basic mead recipe and added 1.5 pounds of Hershey's powdered baking
chocolate as I heated the honey and water to about 170 degrees F. I
held it there for about 20 minutes and then cooled it. The first day
not much happened as far as the fermentation. On day 3 all heck broke
loose and my carboy became a volcano. What a mess. I guess yeasties
love chocolate as much as I do because they sure went to town by way of
fermentation and I practically needed a jackhammer to get the mess off
the carboy, table and wall. I racked it eventually after about 4 weeks
and topped up and it is a very nice brownish color and I notice after
about 2 months it is still sedimenting a little. I plan to bulk age it
like this for a year and see what it is like. I tasted it at the first
racking and you could tell there was a hint of chocolate, but the
hotness of the alcohol was pervasive still. We shall see...
Spencer W. Graham, II MBA
Media Specialist
West Virginia University Extended Learning
One Waterfront Place
1st Floor
Room 1500-D
P.O. Box 6877
Morgantown, West Virginia 26506
(304) 293-1305 Extension 3#
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving all
pretty and preserved, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used
up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming---"WOW! What a ride!" --
Anonymous
------------------------------
Subject: Black Tea AT BOTTLING TIME
From: "john mallon" <vidapretas@hotmail.com>
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2004 12:23:36 -0500
I have just finished my first 2 batches of mead both traditional medium
sweet.I bottled one batch and am almost ready to bottle the other.I have
read that some people add black tea at bottling time,is this a good idea and
are there certain types of mead that benefit more from this than others.Both
my meads already have acid blend in them I don't know if this makes a
difference.
THANK YOU.
------------------------------
Subject: hard to find herbs / spices
From: "Chuck Mongiovi" <mongiovi@rcn.com>
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2004 15:37:58 -0500
Hi all,
I'm in search of a specific herb to do a historical mead recipie and all of
my herb / spice sources are striking out .. Does anyone have any good spice
sources they'd be willing to share .. Specifically, I'm looking for
something called Sea Wormwood (Artemesia Maritima, not Artemesia Absinthium)
.. http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/w/wormwo37.html#worsea ..
Any ideas?
- -Chuck
------------------------------
Subject: Re: MLD #1085, 21/3/04;using other bee products in mead
From: "Arthur Torrey (no spam please!)" <atorrey@cybercom.net>
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2004 17:45:20 -0500
> Subject: apple pie mead recipe
> From: Steven_Butcher@fpl.com
> Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2004 12:27:56 -0500
>
> <<<<snip>>>>
> The recipe is approx as follows:
> 12lbs local wildflower honey (from my hive)
> 1 TBS pollen
> 1/2 TBS propolis
> 1 tsp royal jelly (freeze dried)
> 2 3" cinamon sticks
> 20-30 whole cloves
> ~ 1 oz fresh ginger, chopped
> 2 whole nutmegs, crushed slightly (I use a garlic squisher)
> Yeast nutrient
> acid blend
> 2 gallons pasturiezed cider (local store brand) NOT apple juice!
> pectic enzyme
> water to make 5 Gallons
> Lalvin EC 1118 yeast
> very interesting. royal jelly and pollen in mead. never heard of it. and
> what is propolis? i know propolis is a bee product but not sure exactly
> what it is or does. you have really sparked my interest. what do those
> ingredients do and how do they impact the flavor of mead?
Well, one of my primary reference books is "Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers;
The Secrets of Ancient Fermentation" by Steven Harrod Buhner, Brewers
Publications, ISBN 0-937381-66-7, which is a compendium of a great many herbal
brew recipes supposedly used in healing and ritual applications by our
ancestors.
The book purports that prior to the invention of the modern Langstroth
moveable frame hive, particularly when making mead with thixotropic (gelatin
like) heather honey, the "...entire contents of the hive would be boiled
together; angry bees, propolis, pollen, royal jelly, honey and wax." This
increased the protein content of the mead, and may have been part of the
reason for some of the many additional health and food source claims made for
meads.
The added pollen, royal jelly, and propolis is what Buhner reccomends as a
modern way of reconstructing this mixture that preserves the benefits of the
critical ingredients without being so destructive to the hive.
Pollen can easily be trapped from the bees that gather it, with variable
effect on the health of the hive, depending on how much pollen there is in the
local area. Here in New England, there is a great deal of pollen, and hives
tend towards getting 'pollen bound' so trapping might even be beneficial.
(Those who claim health benefits for pollen also say that local pollen is best
BTW)
Royal Jelly can be harvested from the bees, but it's somewhat difficult and
managing for RJ production will hurt production otherwise. I get mine from
Glory Bee in CA, just because it's so much less hassle. (FWIW, Glory Bee sells
all of these products, as well as being a good if expensive supplier of
varietal honeys)
Propolis is the stuff that every beekeeper sort of hates - it is a resinous
material made from tree sap and other material that the bees use as a glue /
paint / sealant in maintaining the inside of the hive. Typically they will
glue all the hive woodenware together with it, and use it to fill small gaps
anywhere in the hive (larger gaps get filled with burr comb) They will also
use it to smooth any rough spots on the hive interior. Lastly if there are
any undesireable objects in the hive that the bees can't remove (usually only
a problem in poorly maintained hives) such as a dead mouse, the bees will coat
them with propolis. Propolis is a sticky, gummy, mess when warm (beehive
temps) with a texture something like used chewing gum or roofing tar. When
cold it gets stiffer and becomes more brittle. If you keep bees, you will
spend a significant amount of time scraping it off your woodenware. It makes
nasty stains that resist most solvents, and will transfer from one clothing
item to another in the dryer. OTOH, it is one of the most potent of natural
antibiotics, even showing some anti-viral properties. (It doesn't seem to
bother yeast however.) Propolis is probably one of the biggest reasons why
the inside of a hive is essentially sterile.
I'm not really sure what the flavor effect of these is on a brew, as I have
never made a mead without them. The RJ and pollen have relatively little
flavor so I wouldn't expect them to have a big impact. Propolis has a mildly
bitter 'pine sap' flavor, but since it mostly doesn't dissolve, just has a
small amount extracted by the alcohol, I would expect that it also has fairly
limited impact.
Otherwise, they presumably add to any of the other health benefits of the mead
if you believe in such, and I certainly would expect that they could serve as
additional yeast nutrients.
ART
------------------------------
Subject: Candian Honey Sources
From: "Dan McFeeley" <mcfeeley@keynet.net>
Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2004 02:06:23 -0600
Just came across this site -- it lists Canadian
honey producers by province. Hope this is
helpful for Canadian meadmakers on this digest.
http://www.honeycouncil.ca/users/folder.asp?FolderID=2239
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<><><><><><><><>
Dan McFeeley
------------------------------
Subject: Canadian Meadery Regulations
From: "Dan McFeeley" <mcfeeley@keynet.net>
Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2004 02:11:23 -0600
I shouldn't have fired that last post off so quickly.
After looking around on the Canadian Honey
Council site, I found a section on meadery
regulations. Here's the URL:
http://www.honeycouncil.ca/users/folder.asp?FolderID=1725
<><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><>
Dan McFeeley
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End of Mead Lover's Digest #1086
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