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Mead Lovers Digest #1080
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1080, 5 March 2004
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #1080 5 March 2004
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Re: History of Fortified Mead? (Marc Shapiro) (Scott Alberts)
even more on water (Dave Polaschek)
off flavour? ("Micah Millspaw")
RE: Off-flavors ("Vince Galet")
re: MLD 1079 - Lisa ("Doug ")
dandilion mead (Zertwiz@aol.com)
(no subject) (HerbMyst@aol.com)
NOTE: Digest appears when there is enough material to send one.
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Re: History of Fortified Mead? (Marc Shapiro)
From: Scott Alberts <scottcorps@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2004 05:07:16 -0800 (PST)
One thing to watch out for is the use of the word
"distilled." Renaissance and earlier writers didn't
usually make a distinction between brewing and
distilling. I've seen a number of recipes that give
instructions for ale-making or wine-making that begin,
"to distill ale" and then describe a process familiar
to any modern brewer, but not to a modern distiller.
They also used the term a lot for food preparation.
I've even seen 19th century soft-drink recipes titled,
"To Distill Birch Beer." So, again, be careful with
the ever-changing context of language, especially when
translated.
- --Scott
------------------------------
Subject: even more on water
From: Dave Polaschek <davep@davespicks.com>
Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2004 08:47:43 -0600
A while back, Vince Galet wrote extensively about tap water, bottled water,
and spring water, and generally suggests using spring water if your tap
water doesn't please you.
I have a somewhat different take on the picture.
Here in Minneapolis, our tap water comes out of the Mississippi River. You
can see, taste and smell seasonal variations in it, especially spring
runoff, in the late summer when water levels are low, and in the fall when
all the leaves hit the ground.
My solution to that is to brew seasonal beers.
The spring runoff can also be high in organics if it happens suddenly, and
there wasn't much rain in the fall to wash away the decaying leaves. Then
again, some years it's better tasting than water from any other time of
the year, as there's more volume, and the organics and pollutants are
diluted. If we get a heavy amount of snowfall this month, I expect very
"clean-tasting" water when that snow melts, as we've already had one melt to
flush the system, as it were. I don't have a special beer or mead from this,
but if the water is tasting especially good, I'll use it as an excuse to make
the lightest and most delicate brews. They're generally good to drink when
the weather turns hotter and I'm looking for something light and refreshing.
Late in the summer, when water levels are low, and the temperatures are
high, there's a fishy flavor in the water. That's the one time of the year
when I will avoid brewing altogether. Then again, it also means some of the
hottest days of the year, so I have no urge to stand over a stove making
a beer, and meads don't ferment well in the high temperatures, so there
are plenty of other reasons to avoid mixing up a batch at that time of year.
The fall water is full of organics and has an "earthy" taste which, while
not exactly unpleasant, is something many people avoid when brewing. Me,
I embrace it and use that as the excuse to brew my dark, heavily hopped and
spiced Christmas Ale. The mead made at this time of year will be one that
has loads of herbs infused in it (even more dead leaves in the water),
which ties in with the "tea in mead" thread. Again, the water-quality
at this time of year reminds me to make a batch of brew that's the right
"seasonal style" about the time it's becoming ready to drink.
I'm not claiming this will work for everyone, but I get pretty good results
by adjusting my recipes to match the season of the year and the quality
of the water, rather than worrying.
- -DaveP
- --
Dave Polaschek - http://betternerds.com/ http://davespicks.com/
"Armies under the control of ... a sovereign State cannot bring
freedom to anyone." - Simone Weil, "Ecrits historiques..."
------------------------------
Subject: off flavour?
From: "Micah Millspaw" <MMillspaw@Silgancontainers.com>
Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2004 10:42:20 -0600
>I am fairly new to mead brewing. As of yet I've only had one successful batch
>of mead. And the fermenting time is taking at least 9 months. Every batch I
>make has an off flavor to it. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Could it be
>the honey I'm using? My basic recipe is as follows; Honey, water, champagne
>yeast, lemon juice, grape tannin or hops. Can the sediment be causing
it? Any idea what I can >do?
>~Lisa
could you be more descriptive of the off flavour? Any interesting or
unusual smells?
What variety of honey are you using? How and when are you using the
lemon, grape tannin, hops?
Are you using any yeast nutrients? Nutrient might reduce the long
ferment times.
With more info perhaps we (collectively) can help.
Micah Millspaw - brewer at large
------------------------------
Subject: RE: Off-flavors
From: "Vince Galet" <vince@scubadiving.com>
Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2004 12:26:42 -0500 (EST)
In reply to Lisa:
Your off-taste can come from contamination (if you did not sanitize
properly) and also from the lack of nutrients. You don't seem to use the
latter so this is the most likely cause of your problem. This makes your
yeast suffer and ferment much slower, also potentially producing sulfury
flavors and aromas. You can obtain this easily from your homebrew store.
Hope this helps
Vince
------------------------------
Subject: re: MLD 1079 - Lisa
From: "Doug " <hnybz@icqmail.com>
Date: Tue, 02 Mar 2004 18:02:54 -0800 (PST)
>Every batch I make has an off flavor to it. I don't know what I'm
> doing wrong. Could it be the honey I'm using? My basic recipe is as follows;
> Honey, water, champagne yeast, lemon juice, grape tannin or hops. Can the
> sediment be causing it?
Hi Lisa
Many basic meads like you described require allot of aging before they start
to taste good. I make a plain mead with honey, water, lemon juice and zest,
and a little tea for tannin. This is one of my favorite meads but it needs
to age about a year to be good, so put your mead away to age and make a
melomel wile you wait. Your long ferment times are probable because of a
lack of yeast nutrient. you can get yeast nutrient at the home brew shop
or add some chopped raisins. As for sediment causing off flavors, unless
you leave the mead sit on the gross lees for a long time (2 months or more)
there shouldn't be a problem
Doug
Making mead in north west Ohio
www.udata.com/users/dnoon/mead
------------------------------
Subject: dandilion mead
From: Zertwiz@aol.com
Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2004 21:35:16 EST
any one have a good recipe for dandilion mead ?
------------------------------
Subject: (no subject)
From: HerbMyst@aol.com
Date: Wed, 3 Mar 2004 09:18:01 EST
Hi All,
I resently bottled my first mead, a raspberry melomel. I think when it
is finished it will taste great but I just found out I can't have any berries
(docs orders) so I want to make a mead I can drink. I found a recipe on the
internet that sounds good. My problem is this, the recipe calls for 1/4 tsp.
peptic enzyme. I need to know: why do I need it, is there a substitute
ingredient, what is it and where can I buy it cheaply? If this helps here
is the
recipe: 2 gallons apple cider, 21 pounds honey, 1 pkge lager yeast, 1 c brown
sugar, 2.5 gal water, and the peptic enzyme. Any help with the recipe will be
appreciated also. I'm still very new to this.
Thank-you!!
Venus
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End of Mead Lover's Digest #1080
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