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Mead Lovers Digest #1087
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1087, 30 March 2004
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #1087 30 March 2004
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Mead gathering (Phil)
Re: Hard to find herbs/spices (Phil)
Spices for Apple Pie Mead & Chocolate Mead Question ("kalliope10")
Re: Summary of History of Fortified Mead Research ("Dan McFeeley")
Snowberry Honey (chris herrington)
re:royal jelly/pollen ect (Steven_Butcher@fpl.com)
Pyment using Alexanders Concentrates ("Craig Sturdivant")
NOTE: Digest appears when there is enough material to send one.
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Mead gathering
From: Phil <dogglebe@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 13:43:01 -0800 (PST)
On Tuesday, May 18th, the New York City Homebrewers
Guild will be hosting its fourth annual mead meeting.
Last year's meeting resulted in a good number of mead
makers travelling to NYC to meet each other.
Commercial meads from Redstone Meadery and Saba Tej
were available, as was a lot of homebrewed mead, were
shared and enjoyed by all.
This year's meeting will be held at Brewsky's, located
at 41 East 7th Street in Manhattan. The meeting will
start at 7:30pm.
All are invited.
Phil
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Hard to find herbs/spices
From: Phil <dogglebe@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 13:46:06 -0800 (PST)
> 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
Try looking to magic shops (not stage magic, but
wiccan supply stores). They a great source for odds
and ends spices.
Phil
------------------------------
Subject: Spices for Apple Pie Mead & Chocolate Mead Question
From: "kalliope10" <kalliope10@swbell.net>
Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 16:45:01 -0600
Sorry to be so tardy in answering your request - I've been out of town.
I added 1 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon (from Great Britian) 1/2 tsp. nutmeg (from GB also)
1/4 Allspice and 1/4 tsp. ginger - these were all powdered.
The must tasted just like an apple pie, but I'm wondering if I didn't add enough
spices. Of course, when I rack to secondary, I will adjust for taste then.
The spices I ordered from a catalog that ships from GB. They get real cinnamon
there, not the cassia that the US gets. It's not quite as bitter.
Also - another chocolate mead question
On the site of the Liquid sex recipe, at the bottom a note was made that you
could add chocolate syrup instead of powder. I found another baking site
that has chocolate extract. What is your thoughts on adding pure extracts
rather than powdered herbs to recipes? It would seem easier, just to add
the liquid than measure spices, and the alchol in the extracts would be
negligible (I would think). If you added the extracts to the secondary,
the oils would break down with the alchol content of the mead. Wouldn't
this be better all away around?
Has anyone added extracts to their recipes?
Skold,
Karen
Subject: Apple Cider and/or Apple Juice Meads
> From: "Kalliope" <kalliope10@swbell.net>
> Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2004 11:31:35 -0600
>
> I just made 2 batches of an 'Apple Pie Mead' that I got off the internet.
> The recipe called for 1 gallon of honey, 2 gallons of Apple Cider, which
> I substitued with 2 gallons of Pure Organic Apple Juice, apple pie spices,
> (cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.) and I added 1 in batch, 2-Premier Cuvee yeast
> and acid blend & nutrients & in 1 batch, 2-champagne yeast (to get rid
> of it). The Premier Cuvee batch started in 2 hours, and within 7 started
> foaming all over place!
<snip>
I'd like to hear what your spice contribution was a
little more accurately. But that is strictly for recipe refrence.
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Summary of History of Fortified Mead Research
From: "Dan McFeeley" <mcfeeley@keynet.net>
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 2004 02:59:36 -0600
On Mon, 1 Mar 2004, in MLD 1079, Cam Graham of Middle Mountain Mead
in BC Canada wrote, in part:
>A Polish meadmaker reports that the Polish Bible of
>meadmaking ("Meadering(?) the art refashion honey and
>fruits on drinks", by Dr. Teolfil Ciesielski, Lwów,
>1925) states that distilled spirits are routinely
>added to meads, in particular to ensure an early
>finish to fermentation.
This is to Cam, or anyone else who might be able to help . . .
I've tried 'net searches for Dr. Ciesielski's book, but to no avail.
Would anyone know where to find a copy? I'm a self confessed
obsessive bibliophile, especially when it comes to mead sources,
and would love to find a copy of it.
Interestingly, The Whitehouse Cookbook, published sometime
in the late 1860's, also mentions adding spirits to wines in order
to improve the finished wine. These are what would be called
"county wines," not necessarily wines made from the wine grape.
It doesn't say anything about adding spirits to mead, however.
Adding spirits to wine (the Whitehouse Cookbook says brandy
is a good choice) seems to be a fairly well known technique among
winemakers up through the 1800's, I would guess.
<><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><>
Dan McFeeley
------------------------------
Subject: Snowberry Honey
From: chris herrington <asby0@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 2004 06:16:24 -0800 (PST)
I recently aquired snowberry honey from a large, well
known supplier out of Oregon. It seems similar to
raspberry in the flavor but has a more harsh herbal
smell before the flavor. It has a basic amber color.
Overall it was good. I used the first gallon for a
braggot. I had intended to make a Belgian Dubble Ale
but couldn't resist the idea of combining a Belgian
Ale with a mead. I did the all grain mash, bittered
the wort with U.K. and Domestic Hops, cooled, then
mixed 9.5 Lbs. of the honey straight into the
wort....no heat applied, added a little nutrient,
pitched with a prestarted WLP550 Belgian Ale Yeast.
S.G. 1.090. The raw mix of the grains and the honey
had an excellent flavor. Subsequently, the resulting
fermentation was out of control and foaming out of the
regulator. I didn't expect such a violent result. For
an ale I had left plenty of headspace, but this
ferments more vigorous than anything I've experienced.
------------------------------
Subject: re:royal jelly/pollen ect
From: Steven_Butcher@fpl.com
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 2004 17:45:07 -0500
>>>snip<<<<<
> 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?
<<<snip>>>>>
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.
<<<<snip>>>>
thanks! very informative. i appreciate you taking the time to explain in
such detail. i will surely looking into adding these ingredients to future
batches of my own.
nostrovia!!!
steve
------------------------------
Subject: Pyment using Alexanders Concentrates
From: "Craig Sturdivant" <csturdiv@hotmail.com>
Date: Tue, 30 Mar 2004 20:36:05 +0000
How much honey would I use with single can (I think they are 46 ounces) of
concentrate from Alexanders? I am thinking of making a pyment cabernet and
am not sure how much honey to use per gallon with the kit.
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #1087
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