Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Mead Lovers Digest #1133
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1133, 4 October 2004
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #1133 4 October 2004
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Digests will be slow for a bit (Mead Lovers Digest Admin)
RE: Apple melomel/cyser ("Greg Osenbach")
Re: wee problem (Charles Sifers)
elderberry mead (Sharon Labchuk)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1132, 28 September 2004 (Michael Faul)
Re: fool proof cold meads (MLD #1132, 2004-09-28) (Ross McKay)
Some_archives ()
"Atkins Friendly" Diet Mead - Is it possible??? ("Arthur Torrey (no spam p...)
BONES Bash 2004 Competition (Bruce Millington)
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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Digests will be slow for a bit
From: mead-request@talisman.com (Mead Lovers Digest Admin)
Date: Mon, 4 Oct 2004 19:25:56 -0600 (MDT)
I'm going to be "away from my keyboard" for a while starting next week,
so digests will be slow/erratic...if you've got anything urgent, say it
soon or please be patient.
thanks,
the janitor
------------------------------
Subject: RE: Apple melomel/cyser
From: "Greg Osenbach" <Greg@carecontrols.com>
Date: Tue, 28 Sep 2004 08:35:54 -0700
I wanted to mix together a new batch this weekend. Think I would be
better off with 4 gallons of juice and 2 gal water? What if I went for
the gusto with a full 6 gal of juice and keep consistent with the 15# of
honey?
By the way, in the original post, it was 6 gal of water/juice total.
The 6 gal of water mentioned was a typo, was meant to be 2 gal juice and
4 gal water.
- -Spike
------------------------------
Subject: Re: wee problem
From: Charles Sifers <chazzone@sbcglobal.net>
Date: Tue, 28 Sep 2004 13:25:31 -0500
On Sep 28, 2004, at 10:20 AM, mead-request@talisman.com wrote:
> Subject: fool proof cold meads
> From: "John P. Looney" <valen@tuatha.org>
> Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2004 17:28:54 +0100
>
> I've a wee problem; I've huge amounts of really good wildflower honey
> (75kg of Donegal Irish mountain honey, about a third of it heather, with
> some whitethorn). And, I want to make loads of mead, without screwing it
> up.
>
> <snip>
> John
>
I suddenly realize why my viking ancestors sacked Ireland...it was for
the honey!
I think you should do the primary fermentation in another vessel(s),
then transfer to the casks for aging. With a good yeast cake, the
primary fermentation can be done in as little as a few days to a few
weeks, then a long cool rest in the cask should give a great result.
What would it take for you to let loose of a wee bit of that honey...
- -zz
------------------------------
Subject: elderberry mead
From: Sharon Labchuk <slabchuk@isn.net>
Date: Tue, 28 Sep 2004 15:57:50 -0300
Goes anyone have a recipe for elderberry mead using fresh berries?
Sharon
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1132, 28 September 2004
From: Michael Faul <mfaul@rabbitsfootmeadery.com>
Date: Tue, 28 Sep 2004 15:50:23 -0700
mead-request@talisman.com wrote:
> Subject: fool proof cold meads
> From: "John P. Looney" <valen@tuatha.org>
> Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2004 17:28:54 +0100
>
> I've a wee problem; I've huge amounts of really good wildflower honey
> (75kg of Donegal Irish mountain honey, about a third of it heather, with
> some whitethorn). And, I want to make loads of mead, without screwing it
> up.
>
> I've two huge oak casks, ex a brandy distillery. Is it possible to brew
> it in those casks, without a high ambient temprature ? As in, once full, I
> can't lift them. Even empty, it's a big job to lift. So, if I could make a
> mead without a high temprature - AKA in my garden shed, it would be
> perfect.
>
> At this time of year (Irish autumn), do I have any chance of getting a
> slow fermentation going ? An alternate idea is to run a mains cable from
> the house, out to the garden, with some sort of heating element, into the
> cask. I'm not a big fan of that idea, as the cork-holes in the casks are
> only about 3" wide.
>
> If someone reckons I can ferment a mead with an ambient temprature of
> about 10-12 centigrade, I'd love to here a receipe you used.
>
> John
John,
if you can get access to it, get yourself some Lavlin/Lallemand EC-1118
or K1V (1116) yeast and you will be able to ferment in your casks easily
in the temperature range you are thinking. It may take longer if the
temp drops too much, but given a warm enough starting temperature it
will maintain it's temperature on it's own for the majority of the
fermentation. Keep some wall insulation wrapped around the casks if the
temps starts to drop. The advantage with these yeasts is they are very
cold tolerant.
Remember for every drop in brix (decrements of 1) there is an increase
of 1 deg F in temperature.
Here is what I would suggest.
re-hydrate the yeast for 30 minutes in 104degF water.
Add your yeast nutrient and let it sit for another 30 mins.
You can add this to the mead must as soon as it is ready.
With the proper yeast and nutrient additions you can ferment out a
26brix must in under a week given the right volume of yeast/nutrient/must.
Mike
PS - if you have any extra honey send it to me I'll ferment it for you :-)
- --
Rabbit's Foot Meadery - Gold Medal winner
Award Winning Mead that is historically accurate AND delicious!
http://www.rabbitsfootmeadery.com
------------------------------
Subject: Re: fool proof cold meads (MLD #1132, 2004-09-28)
From: Ross McKay <rosko@zeta.org.au>
Date: Fri, 01 Oct 2004 00:02:40 +1000
John P. Looney wrote:
> If someone reckons I can ferment a mead with an ambient temprature of
>about 10-12 centigrade, I'd love to here a receipe you used.
I don't know about fool-proof, but some of the champagne strains chug
along at low temps like that, e.g. Lalvin EC-1118. So does D-47, and
although the chart below says a low of 15?C, I've had K1V-1116
fermenting at about 12?C (maybe lower).
http://consumer.lallemand.com/danstar-lalvin/refchart.html
See also their other site:
http://www.lallemandwine.us/products/yeast_chart.php
I'd make really sure that you had a good yeast population at start
(pitch big, oxygenate the must well).
I put a couple of jumpers over my carboys in winter to help keep in the
heat. Your casks would probably be better insulated than my carboys (and
I'd guess also, greater thermal mass), but you could give them a better
shot at it by wrapping blankets around them or other forms of
insulation.
cheers,
Ross.
- --
"There is more to life than simply increasing its speed." - Mahatma Gandhi
------------------------------
Subject: Some_archives
From: <hbd@spencerwthomas.com>
Date: Sun, 3 Oct 2004 01:16:02 +0200
Archived messages from Mead Lover's Digest, JudgeNet Digest and the
defunct Lambic Digest are now available at
http://homeroastnbrew.info
I've submitted the site to Google, so they should soon be searchable
by using a site-restricted search on google.
I may copy my HBD archive there, as well, although I still plan to
get the "thread" searching working on the HBD server some day.
=Spencer
hbd@spencerwthomas.com
------------------------------
Subject: "Atkins Friendly" Diet Mead - Is it possible???
From: "Arthur Torrey (no spam please!)" <atorrey@cybercom.net>
Date: Sat, 2 Oct 2004 23:47:22 -0400
I have a rather odd question... My girlfriend and I just started doing the
Atkins (low carb) diet. Alcohol is prohibited during the first two weeks, but
'low carb' drinks are permitted in moderation after that.
My personal preference is dry to semi-sweet meads, so my stuff does have some
residual carbs in it. I was wondering if it would be possible to make a
reasonably tasty 'low carb' mead by adding artificial sweetener, probably
Sucralose (aka 'Splenda'), to a very dry mead, so as to get a semi-sweet taste
without residual sugars? According to the 'experts' sucralose is the best
tasting of the sugar replacements, and I'm finding it acceptable in other
foods. Aspartame (Nutrasweet (sp?), Equal, etc) is not reccomended on Atkins,
and I find it gives me bad headaches. Sacharin IMHO has a nasty aftertaste,
so I don't think that would work, but could be convinced otherwise.
I assume that sucralose won't ferment since if people can't digest it, yeast
probably can't either. Is this correct?
What happens if one adds sucralose to a mead? Does it taste OK?
If sucralose doesn't work, do any other artificial (non-nutritional)
sweeteners?
Thanks,
ART
------------------------------
Subject: BONES Bash 2004 Competition
From: Bruce Millington <bmillington@verizon.net>
Date: Sat, 02 Oct 2004 15:45:54 -0400
The Brewers of the Northeast Section proudly announce the return of the
BONES Bash, to be held Saturday, November 6, 2004 at the Nodding Head
Brewery & Restaurant in downtown Philadelphia, PA. Entries will be
accepted from October 10th thru November 1st, 2004. For full details,
please go to:
www.hbd.org/bones/
We will be using the 1999 BJCP guidelines. All interested judges and
stewards please contact Bruce Millington at bmillington@verizon.net.
See you at the Bash!
Bruce Millington
Judge Coordinator
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #1133
*******************************
