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Mead Lovers Digest #1172
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1172, 1 April 2005
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #1172 1 April 2005
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
fish ("robscott@freeshell.org")
Re: Strawberry Melomel (Randy Goldberg MD)
Re: Neverending fermentation? (Randy Goldberg MD)
mazer cup? Strawberry melomel (MICAH MILLSPAW)
Re: Neverending fermentation? ("Dan McFeeley")
Over-oaking (Steven Sanders)
oak ()
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1171, 28 March 2005 (Dick Adams)
Bottling, yeast starters, Star Thistle honey (Chris Dettner)
Firewater Capsicumel (Bedlamtom)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: fish
From: "robscott@freeshell.org" <robscott@freeshell.org>
Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2005 06:53:53 +0000 (UTC)
Can I grow a fish in my mead aquarium -- do they like honey? They will
convert some oxygen to CO2, but the bubbler should provide enough for fish
and yeast alike. What about fish waste products, maybe helpful nitrogen...
any advice helpful, which species, etc.?
Thankyou,
Rob Scott
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Strawberry Melomel
From: Randy Goldberg MD <randy@randygoldberg.net>
Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 05:14:57 -0500
> Strawberry season is approaching here in upstate NY, I am looking
> for a = strawberry melomel recipe. I am a bit unsure of the
> technique involved = to process the berry? Please advise, Mark
> Kowalski skowals1@nycap.rr.com
Your best bet, IMHO, is to wash the berries well, hull them, puree them
lightly in a food processor and add them to your secondary fermenter. Allow
the mead to stand on the berries until they develop enough flavor and scent
to suit you, then rack. How much fruit? 2 lbs/gallon isn't an unreasonable
rule of thumb.
****************
Randy Goldberg MD
RandomTag: 98% of all statistics disprove the other 98%.
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Neverending fermentation?
From: Randy Goldberg MD <randy@randygoldberg.net>
Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 05:17:54 -0500
> One of my batches of mead just keeps fermenting... And I'm
> starting to get a bit worried something might be wrong, like wild
> yeasts or something else bad.
>
> The mead has been crystal clear for at least two or three weeks
> now, but I can still see CO2 rising from the base of the carboy,
> and the fermentation lock bubbles every few minutes (about every 3
> minutes last I checked). Is this normal? Stats: 2+ months into
> fermentation, about 10 pounds of honey used, 1 packet champagne
> yeast (can't recall the variant, Lalvin something), plenty of yeast
> nutrient etc.
What's was the starting gravity? What's the gravity now? If the ABV is
approaching 18%, then the yeast's essentially done, regardless of what
you're seeing. When did you last rack? Is there a significant amount of
trub in the carboy? If so, rack again and see if you continue to observe
CO2 production. Personally, I consider one bubble every 120 seconds to be
more or less finished fermentation.
****************
Randy Goldberg MD
RandomTag: Be a rapturist -- the backward of a terrorist. Commit random
acts of senseless kindness whenever possible.
------------------------------
Subject: mazer cup? Strawberry melomel
From: MICAH MILLSPAW <mmillspaw@ameritech.net>
Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 05:11:14 -0800 (PST)
I relized yesterday that I have literaly dozens of
kegs of mead of various vintages clogging up my wine
cellar. As I begin bottling (to empty kegs so that
more mead can be made)I was wondering if there is
going to be a mazer cup comp this year?
A strawberry melomel recipe was requested. I think a
similar one is on the Bee's Lees.
for 5 gallons,
15lbs orange blossom honey.
1 flat of fresh strawberries (remove hulls, slice in
half, place in 'zip lock' bags and freeze over night)
2 pkg Whitbread ale yeast.
2 tbsp vanilla extract.
mix honey with 4.5 gallons 'clean' water (heat or not
your choice)after cooling must. Rack into fermentor,
best not to use a carboy (hard to get the fruit back
out), add in vanilla and now thawed strawberries.
Sprinkle on yeast. And away you go. Fermentation will
be vigorous.
After fermentation is complete you may want to adjust
the acidity to suit your tastes, use citric or
tartaric.
I bottled some of this last year with some smoked
mirasol peppers, a really tasty combination and not to
hot.
Micah Millspaw
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Neverending fermentation?
From: "Dan McFeeley" <mcfeeley@keynet.net>
Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 11:13:02 -0600
On Fri, 25 Mar 2005, in MLD 1171, Jeremy Janzen wrote:
>One of my batches of mead just keeps fermenting... And I'm
>starting to get a bit worried something might be wrong, like wild
>yeasts or something else bad.
>
>The mead has been crystal clear for at least two or three weeks now,
>but I can still see CO2 rising from the base of the carboy, and the
>fermentation lock bubbles every few minutes (about every 3 minutes
>last I checked). Is this normal? Stats: 2+ months into fermentation,
>about 10 pounds of honey used, 1 packet champagne yeast (can't
>recall the variant, Lalvin something), plenty of yeast nutrient etc.
Hard to say -- how large a batch is this, (i.e., amount of water for the
ten pounds of honey), and what was the starting gravity? What's the
finishing gravity?
A champagne yeast is alcohol tolerant, and it'll keep going and
going right on to complete dryness. Your finishing gravity
should tell you how close the mead is to finishing out.
<><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><>
Dan McFeeley
------------------------------
Subject: Over-oaking
From: Steven Sanders <geigertube@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 09:14:22 -0800 (PST)
All:
I over-oaked a couple of my meads with toasted french
oak, and they kind of smell like a wood shop. Will
this age out? I'm assuming yes, but confirmation will
make me feel better. :)
steven
------------------------------
Subject: oak
From: <circlemouse@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 18:30:35 -0800 (PST)
I found out I can get year old french oak 50-gallon
wine barrels for $20. The only bee keeper I know said
he would charge me $100 for five gallon buckets of
honey. Who thinks a fifty gallon batch in a lightly
used oak barrel is a good idea?
tel
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1171, 28 March 2005
From: rdadams@smart.net (Dick Adams)
Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2005 02:13:41 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Neverending fermentation?
From: Dick Adams <rdadams@smart.net>
> One of my batches of mead just keeps fermenting... And I'm starting to
> get a bit worried something might be wrong, like wild yeasts or
> something else bad.
>
> The mead has been crystal clear for at least two or three weeks now, but
> I can still see CO2 rising from the base of the carboy, and the
> fermentation lock bubbles every few minutes (about every 3 minutes last
> I checked). Is this normal? Stats: 2+ months into fermentation, about
> 10 pounds of honey used, 1 packet champagne yeast (can't recall the
> variant, Lalvin something), plenty of yeast nutrient etc.
I suspect you used one of Lalvin's Killer Yeasts either EC-1118 or
K1V-1116. Can you put the carboy in a freezer for a few days? If
not and you still have 40°F and below nights, keep it outside in the
evening. I have had 1 crushed Campden tablet per gallon work for me.
Dick
Subject: Pomegranate Mead Cordial
From: Dick Adams <rdadams@smart.net>
> I assembled a pomegranate mead this evening:
>
> 24 lbs Miller's clover honey
> 5/4 gallons pomegranate juice (unsweetened)
> 2 packages Lalvin EC-1118 yeast
> enough water for 5 gallons
For two gallons of honey in a 5 gallon must, I get an hydrometer
reading of 1.160. Then there's the fermentable sugar in 1.25
gallons of pomegranate juice has to put you off the usual 1,17
scale and better than 1.200. May I suggest you add yeast nutrient
and yeast energizer. Lalvin Killer Yeasts (EC-1118 and K1V-1116)
have been known to make 20% ABV and I wish you luck with it.
I also do hydroponics and was considering growing some pomegranate
trees with the expectation of replanting them in North Carolina
when I moved back there. I changed my mind after tasting one!
> I'll add some French oak to the secondary, and make
> up for racking volume loss with more juice.
That is a great idea! I'll steal it.
Dick
------------------------------
Subject: Bottling, yeast starters, Star Thistle honey
From: Chris Dettner <chris_21122002@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2005 10:28:11 -0800 (PST)
My name is Chris and I have been brewing beer for about 2 ½ years but I am
new to making mead. I own and have read Ken Schramm?s book but would like
some opinions on a few items. I have a mixed berry melomel that I will be
bottling in May and I plan on using 22 oz beer bottles and caps. I will
purge the bottles with co2 and before and after they are filled. Is this
over kill or a common practice? Does a corked wine bottle offer more long
term storage protection or is a bottle cap ok? In the brewing world some
people do not recommend making a starter when using dry yeast. I usually
pitch two packets that have been re-hydrated when using dry yeast for
beer or for mead. I will be making a traditional mead using about 12lbs of
honey and yeast nutrient for 5 gallons and I plan on using Lalvin D-47. Do
I need to make a starter or will just two packets do? I am going to use
Star Thistle honey which I really like but can?t quite pin down why. Anyone
else use or like this honey?
Many thanks,
Chris
------------------------------
Subject: Firewater Capsicumel
From: Bedlamtom <bedlamtom@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2005 16:00:43 -0800 (PST)
That little bit of typing caught my eye from this last
posting.
Hey Charles, would you mind posting your recipe for
your spicy mead? I've been experimenting with several
recipes, so far all of them have been quite popular. I
have one I call Loki's Kiss that gets good reviews
when I bring it out. I'll happily trade recipes with
anybody who is interested in mead that bites back!
Subject: Re: Corking or capping
> From: "Charles Gee" <cgee@mhtv.ca>
> Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2005 10:45:53 -0800
...
>The exception to this is my "Firewater Capsicumel"
mead, which is a very spicy hot pepper mead...
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #1172
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