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Mead Lovers Digest #1103
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1103, 29 May 2004
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #1103 29 May 2004
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
mead identity and BUZZ Off results (Dick Dunn)
RE:New to Mead Making-Few Questions (Talon McCormick)
meadowfoam honey supplier (Steve Ruch)
Re: MLD#1102, 24/5/04 - Newbie questions... ("Arthur Torrey (no spam pleas...)
RE: Hydromel ("Vince Galet")
What have I made? ("Ariel")
Re: mead characteristics; going deeper ("Dan McFeeley")
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
a searchable MLD archive at hubris.engin.umich.edu/Beer/Threads/Mead
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: mead identity and BUZZ Off results
From: Dick Dunn <rcd@talisman.com>
Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 11:56:36 -0600
Sometimes you just have to cringe at the timing. From the end of the BUZZ
Off competition results in the last MLD:
> TABLE 19: MEADS AND CIDERS
>
> 1st Vince Galet Traditional Mead Collegeville, PA
> 2nd Al Hazan Cyser (Apple) Stroudsburg, PA
> 3rd Vince Galet Blueberry Fruit Melomel Collegeville, PA
For the folks arguing that mead doesn't belong in BJCP competitions, that
should provide some handy ammunition! Doesn't make me feel very good about
cider, either...*one* category for mead *and* cider?!? Hey, why not lump
them all in with table 16 (Lambic/Sour/Fruit)?
One can worry (if one is a worrier, which I sometimes am) at "Cyser
(apple)"--why was the parenthetical addition needed? And why the
redundant "Fruit Melomel"? But those might be nothing more than editing
trivia.
If mead and cider were collapsed into a single category, presumably it's
because there weren't enough entries to keep them separate. This *seems*
at odds with the argument that BJCP covers these categories because people
want to enter them.
- --
Dick Dunn rcd@talisman.com Hygiene, Colorado USA
------------------------------
Subject: RE:New to Mead Making-Few Questions
From: Talon McCormick <nmccormick@earthlink.net>
Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 14:29:49 -0400 (GMT-04:00)
Ethel,
As for your swing top bottles or grolsch style bottles, I've got several
that I'm intending to use for my sparkling meads as well as the champagne
bottles with the wire closure that keeps the plastic corks on. I even
used the champagne bottles for a champagne mead for my wedding on the
first of May, this year. So, basically, use whatever bottles suit your
needs/preferences, but make sure that your mead has been aged enough that
all fermentation has completed and no longer going on.
Weight of honey, rule of thumb, a gallon is 12 pounds, half gallon;
6 pounds, etc.
I normally rack after the first initial 30 to 45 days after pitching
the yeast. Then follow that step at the same intervals so that no dead
yeasties start to decay on the bottom of the carboy.
I personally recommend the floor corker as they are less strain on your
muscles and less chance of the bottle slipping on you and breaking.
The foam on top that should be your yeast doing it's main fermentation
and such. I wouldn't skim that off as you'd slow down the fermentation.
As for your lack of foam, maybe your must doesn't have enough nutrient
or something.
I don't use a PH meter, but your online brewing shops will sell them, etc.
Happy brewing,
Talon.
------------------------------
Subject: meadowfoam honey supplier
From: sdruch2@webtv.net (Steve Ruch)
Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 11:15:35 -0700
Does anyone know where I can get meadowfoam honey?
I used to get it at the Gresham, OR farmers market, but when I went last
saturday the honey seller wasn"t there
Any help would be much appreciated,
Steve.
"I'm a man, but I can change, if I have to. I guess," The mans prayer.
Red Green
------------------------------
Subject: Re: MLD#1102, 24/5/04 - Newbie questions...
From: "Arthur Torrey (no spam please!)" <atorrey@cybercom.net>
Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 21:06:06 -0400
> ------------------------------
>
> Subject: New to Mead Making-Few Questions
> From: "Ethel R. Silva" <dosekkies@mindspring.com>
> Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 12:48:54 -0400
>
> I am new to mead making. I discovered mead several years ago in the form of
> a sparkling apple cyser, didn't know ANYTHING about how it was made and the
> guy that made the mead would not tell anyone how he did it! This was
> pre-internet. Then I rediscovered mead at a New Years Eve party this past
> winter. I was told that it was not very hard to make, given the basics and
> off to find information on mead making I went. I purchased 'Mad about Mead,
> Nectar of the Gods' - Pamela Spence and 'the compleat Meadmaker' - Ken
> Schramm. After reading both of these books 'several' times, I acquired all
> of the equipment I needed from my brother-in-law (he was brewing his own
> beer and had to stop due to some medical problems). I started my first
> batch of mead on Mother's Day. I am using wildflower honey from north
> Georgia. By the way, I paid $4 a pint! I have since done some research on
> local honey, south Atlanta, and thanks to the county extension service, I
> found that the price ranges between $22 per gallon to $35 per gallon. Some
> bee keepers have never sold anything larger than a quart and said that they
> could not give a break on larger quantities. This is also a bad year for
> bees in the Southeast. Honey production is low here.
Somewhat OT, but just as a note, bad years for bees in the Southeast (and
this year is not as bad as last year) have a greater than expected effect on
the rest of the country. Many beekeepers (including myself) get their package
bees from southeastern apiaries (mine come from Willibanks in GA, which is one
of the major bee suppliers) So if the southeast has a bad year, the cost of
bee packages goes up, and the package deliveries are delayed. Last year,
Willibanks had a tornado go through their beeyard, and packages were delayed
for over a month. This year all the rains slowed the bees population increase
and kept them from being able to get their trucks into the beeyard, resulting
in package delays of about two-three weeks. (I should have gotten my bees in
mid-April, instead I only got them about a week and a half ago)
When the packages are delayed, the population buildup needed for a honey flow
is delayed and a lot of nectar doesn't get picked up. This reduces honey
production. In my yard, I missed the first round of dandelions and many other
early flowering plants - my new bees are starting to forage, but are still
spending most of their energies on brood rearing.
In years where both the southeast gets bad weather and other areas have bad
winters that cause higher than usual colony losses (the last two years in New
England) honey production can be seriously hurt with consequent price
increases.
> Anyway to the questions I should have asked before I started my mead, but
> had not found this site.
>
> 1.In both books, the recipes call for honey in pounds. I know that honey
> can weigh different weights according to the moisture content. Should I
> have weighed the honey? I went by the 1 pint = 1.5 pounds.
I usually go by the container myself, and adjust the gravity later if
needed. The weight variation isn't (IMHO) that big of an issue if your honey
is reasonably close to the 'bee-spec' of 18%, which it should be since much
higher will self ferment and spoil, and lower will have major crystalization
problems.
> 2.My mead has been 'perking' for 12 days. How do I tell when it is time to
> rack it into the secondary carboy? It is bubbling about 2 times per minute.
> I am using a closed plastic primary fermenter.
I would let it set in primary for ~30 days or until the bubbling is almost
stopped (say once every 10 minutes or less)
> 3.I would like to use 'swing top' bottles when I bottle. The proprietor of
> my local brewing supply store does not recommend these wire closure bottles
> even though she stocks them. Does anyone use them? I am making a medium
> 'still' show mead.
No opinion, I tend to use plastic corks for convenience, and recycled wine
bottles cause I'm cheap, but I don't have a strong feeling about the subject.
The swing tops do have the advantage of being easily re-sealed if you only
drink part of a bottle. OTOH they can be much more expensive, and I don't
know if the value is worth it. One other factor if you are going to be doing
contests is that there are usually rules about what kind of bottle and sealing
method are used, that might be worth checking before committing to a
particular bottle.
> 4.Bottle caps vs. corks for regular wine bottles? I got a hand capper with
> all my stuff, but I am thinking about getting a hand held lever corker.
AFAIK, regular wine bottles REQUIRE corks, caps won't work. Champagne type
bottles will accept crown caps, but I think they require champagne corks
instead of regular wine bottle corks (and different corking equipment)
I would advise against getting a hand corker, I've had two and been very
unhappy with both. Instead get a floor corker, it is only slightly more
expensive and I think far better. A hand corker requires a great deal of
effort, and is fussy about what type of bottles you use - it doesn't like
'flange top' bottles and will only put the corks in them part way. It also
has a tendency to let the bottle slip, and again the cork only goes in part
way. A floor corker is less fussy about the bottle type, and gets the corks
in much more uniformly. Mine is an italian unit, and has a spring loaded
bottle platform that pushes the neck of the bottle up against the cork
compressor. Working the lever locks the bottle in place and drives the cork
home with far less effort than required by a hand corker. It works with every
size bottle I've tried it on, which is important to me since I use scavenged
bottles. (I still have one hand corker, I never use it, anyone want to buy it?)
> 5.Ms. Spence talks about skimming off the 'foam' daily. I have not seen any
> foam in my fermenter, I have peeked in a couple of times. Have I done
> anything wrong? My must is 'bubbling away', so I think it is doing what it
> is supposed to do. Is it the fact that I am using a closed primary
> fermenter that there is no 'foam'?
Foaming is variable, it seems to depend on the exact honey used, the recipe
used, and how the must was prepared. I have had some meads that foamed alot,
others that didn't seem to foam at all. I've never bothered to skim, and
can't say that it's done any harm. As long as you are getting a good
fermentation, I wouldn't worry about it.
> 6.I do not have a PH meter. Where can I get a good one? I think that I
> will be making mead for a long time and I have read that this is an
> important piece of equipment.
I suspect that few mead makers use them, and from what I've read they can be
a real PITA to use unless you are working with them daily (lots of
maintainance and calibration needed) A wine acid test kit will do as well,
and likely be as easy to deal with when used occasionally. (note that many
meadmakers don't even bother checking acid content)
> Thanks ahead of time for your help! I am looking forward to sampling my
> first bottle of my mead around Christmas!
>
> Ethel
Good luck, may it come out well for you.
------------------------------
Subject: RE: Hydromel
From: "Vince Galet" <vince@scubadiving.com>
Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 11:53:23 -0400 (EDT)
Thanks Dick for the clarification. I couldn't agree more.
In some languages (i.e., French) there is only one word: hydromel and it
means mead. And yes, it comes from the "water" + "honey" roots indicating
how it's made, not that it is watered down. There is no single word for
weak or strong, you'd have to call it "light/strong hydromel" if you
wanted to be specific. Also, the commercial hydromel sold there
(traditional mead) is usually about 16% alc. - not really light.
Best,
Vince
------------------------------
Subject: What have I made?
From: "Ariel" <niffleheim@earthlink.net>
Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 19:28:00 -0700
Okay, I've just started a batch of "mead" from 15 lbs. of honey and 6 lbs.
of maple syrup. some tea, some lemon juice, some Irish moss, some yeast of
course...and that's it. My question is what am I making? Is maple a fruit?
A spice? Something else? I don't know if this is a melomel, a methaglyn, or
something that I've never heard of. Can anybody shed light upon my darkness?
- --- Ariel
- --- niffleheim@earthlink.net
- --- http://www.home.earthlink.net/~niffleheim/
------------------------------
Subject: Re: mead characteristics; going deeper
From: "Dan McFeeley" <mcfeeley@keynet.net>
Date: Sat, 29 May 2004 11:09:03 -0500
On Thu, 20 May 2004, in MLD 1102, Cameron Adams wrote:
> . . . however, I can't help but think there is a general lack of
> information about the characteristics of meads made solely from
> different honey varieties. Wine has a huge range of flavors,
> mouthfeels, aromatics, and whatnot that derive from simply
> using different grapes (ok, not entirely, but to a great extent).
> There are distinct characteristics in meads from clover, orange
> blossom, and blackberry honeys. Yet, I see no general attempt
> to codify these into a mead system that could open the craft to
> greater public appeal. Someone can drink a cabernet and dislike it,
> but can't shrug off wine so easily, but with mead, we get an "oh,
> that's what mead tastes like" kind of a response. Finally, to come
> back to the beginning, a thorough education into the varieties of
> simple meads, we can much improve our metheglyns and cysers.
Hmmm . . . one can picture a mead connoisseur with a glass of mead,
thoughtfully swirling it, testing the boutique, then taking a carefully
measured sip. "Ah," he says, "an assertive mead with a hint of daring
as noted by the California wildflower honey. Floral and citrus notes
throughout the mead come from a Florida orange blossom honey and,
judging from the amount of HMF present, I'd say that particular honey
was harvested late summer 2001." :-)
Removing tongue from cheek, this image isn't that far away. Ken
Schramm has done a lot of exploration into the effects of different
varietal honeys, and was even bringing samples from his honey
collection to the Chicago meadfest. Efforts have been made in the
past to have Mazer Cup judges become familiar with different varietal
honeys in order to better judge meads. Ken's recent book, _The
Compleat Meadmaker_, has much to say about different varietal
honeys.
Ken also co-authored several articles on meadmaking in Zymurgy
magazine with Dan McConnell, looking at the flavor profiles in
mead resulting from various varietal honeys, among other things.
A web page they wrote titled "An Analysis of Mead, Mead Making
and the Role of its Primary Constituents" is available at:
http://www.solorb.com/mead/danspaper.html
More -- Chuck Wettergreen, has done a lot of work in this area too.
Long time readers of MLD might recall how Chuck and Wout Klingens
made a trip to Brittany France to talk with the meadmakers there.
The Breton meadmakers talked about the use of various blends of
varietal honeys and how they achieved the flavor profile of the final
product. Chuck has continued to experiment with different varietal
honeys and his meads show it. I tried his "Odin's Own" at the Chicago
meadfest and it was one of his best. It was a masterpiece of complexity,
with all kinds of varietal honey notes and who knows what else he put
into it. Chuck has also posted some brief guidelines to blending honey
varietals over at the GotMead.com forums. It's well worth a read.
Still, a comprehensive database of sorts, organizing varietal honeys
into listings of flavor profiles in mead, would be a huge task. Honey
varies immensely, according to the floral source. John White jr.'s
1962 landmark analysis of U.SA. honeys looked at over 400 different
varietal honeys. And, there are even more variations within any given
varietal honey due to region the floral source is found in, seasonal
changes, and the fact that it is nearly impossible to obtain a "pure"
varietal honey. Bees will forage on what is available to them, and
placing them close to a particular floral source is not a guarantee
that they will use that source alone, to the exclusion of all others.
Varietal honeys will have bits of other floral sources mixed in, not
much, but they will be there.
A table of the composition of honey, according to John W. White jr's
research, is an excellent example of the variability found within
its components. Here's the table:
Constituent Samples CV (%)
- -----------------------------------------------
Fructose 490 5.4
Glucose 490 9.2
Total Acidity 490 35.0
Higher Sugars 490 69.0
Sucrose 490 66.0
"Maltose" 490 29.0
Fructose/Glucose 490 10.0
Proline 740 40.0
Disaccharides 439 24.0
True Protein 740 42.0
Isomaltose/Maltose 80 68.0
Ash 490 89.0
Nitrogen 490 63.0
CV is the coefficient of variation, which is the standard deviation
unit for each component, divided by its average value and multiplied
by 100. All of them, with the exception of fructose and glucose,
are in double digits. Ash content shows the highest variability with
a CV of 89.0. Nitrogen, which would reflect fermentation characteristics,
was 63.0.
Although USA winemaking moved forward when wine was marketed
according to the varietal grape used in making the wine, rather than a
particular style or region, the change can't be viewed in isolation from
USA food & wine culture in general. It was the changes in USA food
& wine culture that made it possible for the marketing change to be a
success, not the other way around. After Prohibition ended, wine was
looked at poorly, often viewed as little more than a cheap form of alcohol.
American cuisine was very limited, and TV dinners came into vogue. I
remember the A&P jug wines from the early 1960's, a nice big gallon of
red plonk.
Change was slow in coming, but it came. Julia Child introduced the
American public to the finer points of French cuisine, and there was
also Graham Kerr, the Galloping Gourmet, whipping up all kinds of
gourmet meals while slugging down a glass or two of wine. Labeling
wine according to varietal type was a smart move, but also a good
move at the right time.
It might seem that, with the increasing sophistication of the average
USA consumer on wine and varietal wines, mead making can simply
follow after and fill the niche. It's not that simple. Mead and honey
are closely aligned, and in more ways than supply and demand. How
is honey marketed here in the USA? What is more likely to spring to
mind in the average consumer's mind -- generic type honeys for
pancakes and waffles, or selecting different varietal honeys for taste?
The fortunes of marketing varietal meads follow closely the fortunes
of marketing varietal honeys.
The equivalent of viticulture in winemaking is beekeeping in meadmaking.
Just as winemaking made significant advances when it began to work
more closely with the development of viticulture, the same thing will
happen in commercial meadmaking if closer alliances can be drawn with
beekeeping, and the production and marketing of varietal honeys.
<><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><>
Dan McFeeley
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #1103
*******************************
