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Mead Lovers Digest #1092
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1092, 12 April 2004
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #1092 12 April 2004
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
RE: Maple meads ("Kurt Schilling")
Birch sap? (was: maple mead?) (Adam Funk)
Re: Synthetic corks (Jeff Renner)
1st batch of Mead : WARNING, sad story ahead! ("charles w jarvis III")
Re: maple mead? (demort@rcn.com)
coffe mead recipies anyone? (demort@rcn.com)
Chocolate Mead ("David Craft")
Re: Maple mead ("Lane Gray, Czar Castic")
Maple Mead Recipe? ("Eric A. Bonney")
Tupelo mead doesn't want to clear (chris herrington)
Re: maple mead? ("Kenneth R. Irwin")
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: RE: Maple meads
From: "Kurt Schilling" <newfie@insightbb.com>
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2004 07:10:19 -0500
In MLD #1091, Chris Ivey asked:
>Have any of you experience or suggestions with respect to
>making a maple mead? I've recently come across a bit of
>maple syrup and thought it might go nicely in a mead. Any
>thoughts about honey:syrup proportions or recipes would be
>welcome. Does maple syrup require any special treatment when
>used in a mead?
Hi Chris,
I think that you'll find that a 50/50 mix of maple syrup/honey will
work nicely. You may want to use a honey that is not exactly neutral in
flavor because the maple syrup will dominate the flavor profile. Wyeast
Sweet mead yeast works well for an AcerMead/ MapleMead. Also plan on
allowing the mead to age at least a year before sampling. It takes that
long for the flavor profile to mature. When sampled too young, I find
that I frequently get a 'hot' flavor profile from the alcohol content
and little of the maple or the honey.
You can make something that technically is not a mead by combining a
gallon of maple syrup with 4 plus gallons of apple squeezings and some
cinnamon. Use a high alcohol tolerant strain of yeast and enjoy in a
year or so.
HTH
Kurt
------------------------------
Subject: Birch sap? (was: maple mead?)
From: Adam Funk <adam@ducksburg.com>
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2004 15:41:50 +0100
> Have any of you experience or suggestions with respect to
> making a maple mead? I've recently come across a bit of
> maple syrup and thought it might go nicely in a mead. Any
> thoughts about honey:syrup proportions or recipes would be
> welcome. Does maple syrup require any special treatment when
> used in a mead?
This reminded me (in the "tree sap" category) that I had read a while bck
about collecting birch sap in the spring to ferment. Has anyone tried
this? I think it sounds interesting and would appreciate any advice.
Thanks,
Adam
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Synthetic corks
From: Jeff Renner <jeffrenner@comcast.net>
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2004 11:45:43 -0400
"Arthur Torrey (no spam please!)" <atorrey@cybercom.net> writes:
>The only problems I have found with the synthetic corks ... in many
>cases the corks will slide part way back out of the bottle,
>apparently due to the pressure of air trapped in the bottle when
>the cork is inserted (I only make still meads) It is possible to
>push the cork back in by hand, and after a few cycles of this the
>cork will stay put.
Many years ago when I made wine and corked it with natural corks, I
avoided this problem by inserting a coarse thread in the neck of the
bottle, then pulling it out after corking. This created a temporary
channel for the air to escape if I left the bottle upright for a
little while. The resiliency of the cork closed this channel in a
short time and there was no leaking of wine. This has the additional
advantage of leaving less O2 in the head space under pressure, where
it can cause oxidation.
I don't know if this would work for synthetic corks, but it might be
worth a try.
Jeff
- --
Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan USA, JeffRenner@comcast.net
"One never knows, do one?" Fats Waller, American Musician, 1904-1943
------------------------------
Subject: 1st batch of Mead : WARNING, sad story ahead!
From: "charles w jarvis III" <charleswjarvis3@airdial.net>
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2004 12:11:58 -0500
Hello to all. I've been receiving the digest for a while here now,
"lurking in the shadows" as they say, and wanted to report on "my first
try". It ends in a very sad way, but let's start at the beginning.
I decided to try a "Cyser" first. I found two gallons of clover honey on
Ebay, (relatively cheap) and two gallons of fresh apple cider here in
town. I've been collecting the necessary ingredients and supplies for a
few months (along with reading up on mead here and the net) and decided
it was time to put my money where my mouth was.... Or put my mead where
my mouth is!
I started with one gallon of boiling water (which I let cool first) then
added one gallon of that clover honey to it. Stirring all the time I
brought it up to about 160 degrees for almost 15 minutes. Then I added
the two gallons of apple cider to bring the temp of the must down. (They
were in the fridge) And started the yeast as directed on the packet
(Lavin EC-1118). When the must cooled, I added (or pitched) the yeast
and stirred it all up in the 5 gallon carboy. I tasted a bit that was
left in the pot (20quart stainless) and it was awesome! I could drink it
straight with out the alcoholic content. I got a bit of a sweet tooth,
hence the want to try mead :-)
To make a long sad story short, I was carrying it by the handle (red
coated metal loop) and taking it down stair to "hide" it in the basement
in a cool dark corner to be forgotten about for a few weeks/months.. I
made it all the way to the second to last step and. Well, I now what
sound a full 5-gallon carboy makes when it hits cement floor and breaks
open! (The breaking glass is slightly muffled by the five gallons of
"hard work" splashing out and all over the place)
Oh, the pain.. The horror.the humanity. the MESS!
ANYWAY... what is the "consensus" on my first try? Would it have turned
out OK? I plan on getting another carboy and more apple cider soon....
Wanna try this again. Only, this time, I'm gonna have a death grip bear
hug on that thing coming down stairs with it!
Thanks for any advice on the next batch.
Charles W. Jarvis III
------------------------------
Subject: Re: maple mead?
From: demort@rcn.com
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2004 17:49:39 -0400
I found a bargain last summer that was irresistable for a
gallon of dark maple syrup and now I've got a straight maple
wine going that I am quite happy with.
So far:
1 gallon maple syrup plus 2 gallons water (had to buy a 3
gallon carboy for this!) Initial Gravity about 1.120 (i think)
Gave it a pasturization treatment on the stove, cooled and
pitched flor sherry yeast.
It's not mead, as there's no honey, but it is smokey, mapley,
and still rather sweet - but not overpowering.
I hope to get several more gallons this year and do a full
batch. (Plus my son was shocked that I used the entire gallon
for wine!)
I use a gallon of honey plus 4 gallons water for a mead -
though I usually add some additional honey during the
fermentation cycle - after first racking.
So maybe replace each part of honey with 2 parts maple to get
your mix.
Doug Mort
------------------------------
Subject: coffe mead recipies anyone?
From: demort@rcn.com
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2004 21:09:33 -0400
Has anyone got a successful coffee mead recipe they'd care to
share?
I suppose it would more properly me a metheglyn?
One could add ground beans to a primary/secondary or add a
strong pot to a batch at some point in the process.
Any comments - pros/cons?
Please reply to the list or to my address directly.
I appreciate any ideas.
Doug Mort
------------------------------
Subject: Chocolate Mead
From: "David Craft" <chsyhkr@bellsouth.net>
Date: Sun, 11 Apr 2004 10:01:30 -0400
Greetings,
I tasted a Chocolate Mead made with a large amount of Hershey's Syrup. If
you look at the ingredients it is sugar and some cocoa...........no or very
little fat.
It was not an overwhelming flavor, but very good. You would need to take
into account the sugar content of the syrup and probably take the honey
down............
I don't know how the other two methods would work, cocoa powder and flavor
at the end..........
Have fun with that one.
David B. Craft
Battleground Brewers Guild
Crow Hill Brewery and Meadery
Greensboro, NC
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Maple mead
From: "Lane Gray, Czar Castic" <CGray2@kc.rr.com>
Date: Sun, 11 Apr 2004 09:26:42 -0500
Chris Ivey wrote:
> Have any of you experience or suggestions with respect to
> making a maple mead? I've recently come across a bit of
> maple syrup and thought it might go nicely in a mead. Any
> thoughts about honey:syrup proportions or recipes would be
> welcome. Does maple syrup require any special treatment when
> used in a mead?
>
Maple mead is my wife's favorite variety, and I make it as often as I can
get my hands on the syrup (more of a budget issue than availability). I
use a quart of maple syrup and five pounds of honey to make a 2 gallon
batch, and I add the syrup when I rack. And I don't treat the syrup any
different than any other normal ingedient, which is to say I keep my stuff
clean, and be careful. I'd joined the Pitch and Pray club a few years
ago, and have had no infected batches, just keep everything clean (I don't
use sulfites, either, they give me a nasty round of tinnitus that lasts a
couple of days)
- --
Lane Gray
Yes, I'm a minion of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial
------------------------------
Subject: Maple Mead Recipe?
From: "Eric A. Bonney" <eric.bonney@vanhlebarsoftware.com>
Date: Sun, 11 Apr 2004 14:10:36 -0400
Ok, I just received about 1 1/2 gallons of New York Maple Syrup from my
Mom last week. I plan on keeping about 1/2 gallon for personal use and
then I am going to use the other gallon for brewing. I already have a
Maple Porter in the works for beer, but I thinking about the following
recipe for a Maple type mead. I found a source on-line for some Maple
Honey so here is what I thought. My goal is a sweet mead that will
either be bottled or maybe kegged and then force carbed.
3-4lbs of Maple Mead
2 qrts Maple Syrup
1 teaspon yeast nutrient
White labs Sweet Mead Yeast
I am unsure if I should add the syrup into the primary or into the
secondary. I do not boild my meads, I boil the water first then let it
cool down some and then add the honey and let sit for 15-20 minutes.
Should I increase either the honey or the syrup amounts?
Thanks,
- -Eric
------------------------------
Subject: Tupelo mead doesn't want to clear
From: chris herrington <asby0@yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 11 Apr 2004 11:52:50 -0700 (PDT)
Has anyone had problems with natural clarification of
tupelo? I've used several single-floral source honeys
and all will drop clear at the end of primary with one
exception.... tupelo honey. I've done two batches and
they wont clear. I did a blend of 12 Lbs tupelo and 6
Lbs orange blossom and after primary a small layer of
leese fell to the bottom (obviously the orange
blossom)but the colloids from the tupelo are still in
suspension. On my first batch I used sparkeloid and it
worked great but it seemed to strip out a great deal
of flavor or changed it.
Chris
------------------------------
Subject: Re: maple mead?
From: "Kenneth R. Irwin" <kirwin@wittenberg.edu>
Date: Sun, 11 Apr 2004 18:52:32 -0400
I made one batch of wine made solely from maple syrup and water (no honey).
I used proportions usual for mead (3.5 lbs sweet stuff per gallon) and
found it to be not enough. While 3.5#/gal makes a very sweet honey mead, it
made a very dry maple mead. I expect to double the amount of syrup per
gallon if I try again.
What did I get? A wine that tasted a lot like burgundy. People who like dry
reds tended to like the mead; other folks found it universally unappealing.
One variable I didn't consider when making the brew was the difference
between Grade A and Grade B syrup -- B tends to be darker and richer than A
(I don't know why this makes it an inferior grade). I used Grade A before,
but I'd probably use B if I do it again, for the same reason I buy B for my
oatmeal -- it tastes better.
Good luck (and if you haven't checked out the works of Lois McMaster
Bujold, maybe you should. Lots of maple mead there, plus the book are good.
_Memory_ is good for maple mead content.)
joy
ken
Quoth Chris Ivey
>Have any of you experience or suggestions with respect to
>making a maple mead? I've recently come across a bit of
>maple syrup and thought it might go nicely in a mead.
Ken Irwin kirwin@wittenberg.edu
Reference/Electronic Resources Librarian (937) 327-7594
Thomas Library, Wittenberg University
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #1092
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