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Mead Lovers Digest #1151
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1151, 11 January 2005
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #1151 11 January 2005
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Re: Ume Mead (Jeff Renner)
Vintage dates ("J. Russ")
RE: Mead Lover's Digest #1150, 6 January 2005 ("Robert Keith Moore")
Are pH and taste related? ("eric")
white colored melomel ("robscott@freeshell.org")
BEST OF SHOW MEAD WINS THE MASH-OUT CHALICE! ("aboyce@mn.rr.com")
Orange meads (myniyer)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Re: Ume Mead
From: Jeff Renner <jeffrenner@comcast.net>
Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2005 10:22:47 -0500
"Paul Shouse" <paul_shouse@kmug.org> wrote:
>Japanese ume are used to make plum wine, among other things,
>but are actually a type of apricot and are usually picked green.
Paul
Where did you get this fruit? Was it imported from Japan or domestic?
You didn't say where you are from. I've never seen them here in
Michigan . I imagine they are more common in, say, California.
The mead sounds delicious.
Jeff
- --
Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan USA, JeffRenner@comcast.net
"One never knows, do one?" Fats Waller, American Musician, 1904-1943
------------------------------
Subject: Vintage dates
From: "J. Russ" <jruss@jaysbrewing.com>
Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2005 11:04:39 -0500
I have yet to see any commercial mead with any date on the label like
wine bottles have. Is there some sort of bizarre legality issue with
doing this for mead? Or do the producers simply not wish to do it for
some reason?
I would think it could be rather useful.
Cheers!
Jay
www.jaysbrewing.com
703-298-4705
------------------------------
Subject: RE: Mead Lover's Digest #1150, 6 January 2005
From: "Robert Keith Moore" <Rob@ineedachef.com>
Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2005 16:18:27 -0800
Subject: RE: Description and Tasting
Three months is a long time for some yeasts, they can develop a bad taste.
My friend says "if you leave the mead on the yeast to long it sh*ts on
itself." That sounds bad to me. I find that 6 to 8 weeks is usually good.
Subject: Ume Mead
Lalvin EC-1118 is an excellent yeast for mead. I have only used it on
straight meads never with a fruit. The K1V-1116 is also very good.
I always freeze fruit (except apples) before making a mead. I find that
fermenting the thawed fruit with a little honey and the yeast along with
some pectic enzyme is the best way to start. Stir twice a day for about a
week then pour into a colander and get rid of most of the solids. There is
usually not a lot left at this point. Dump the good part into a carboy with
the rest of the honey and water then let go for 6 to 8 weeks. Rack and let
sit for another 8 to 12 weeks, depending on how much sediment is on the
bottom. Rack a third time and wait another 2 months (or so) and hope all the
sediment is out. If not I sometimes rack and let it sit a few more weeks
then bottle. Although sometimes I just rack it off of the tiny little bit of
sediment (very carefully) and bottle it. That works fine when I am going to
prime it to carbonate because that so often leaves a sediment anyway
I would NEVER add fruit or anything else that might leave sediment
after the first racking.
Four kilos of honey in three gallons or with three gallons? Four
kilos of honey is almost a gallon itself. The 1118 should have got that up
to about 14 or 15 percent alcohol. With a little nursing 1118 can get to
18%. I used 9 lbs. In a 3 gallon batch of lavender mead and the alcohol
content is so high that smelling it gives you a buzz. (18.5% with premier
cuvee)Now that I am thinking about it, I used Wyeast Eau de vie to make a
hard sparkling ginger ale mead, 26% but I digress.......
Also, It is never to late to add pectic enzyme if you think that is
the cause of the haze. Take a half cup and add 1/4 teaspoon of enzyme and
see if it clears by the next day. That trick has saved me from bottling a
few cloudy meads.
FYI: I am the president of the Seattle Mead Makers Association.
------------------------------
Subject: Are pH and taste related?
From: "eric" <zeee1@nebonet.com>
Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2005 00:45:15 -0700
Hello all
If acid is added to finished mead to get the pH to a certain level, will
this be approximate to adding acid to taste? I guess what I am asking is,
how do you know how much acid to add so most people will find it to their
taste? I didnt add anything at all to my first 2 meads and thought they
were, well, drinkable, but I want to learn more on the hows and whys, such
as acids, tannins, etc, which types of fruit need acids and why or why not,
etc.
Any good books or websites you all can suggest?
Eric
------------------------------
Subject: white colored melomel
From: "robscott@freeshell.org" <robscott@freeshell.org>
Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2005 08:32:23 +0000 (UTC)
In August 2004 I made a mead:
15 lbs. wildflower honey
water to make 5 gallons
WYEAST 3184 - Sweet Mead
I boiled the must first.
In November 2004 I made a melomel:
12 lbs. wildflower honey
14 lbs. American Persimmons (frozen and de-seeded)
WYEAST 3632 - Dry Mead
I didn't boil it, and I added the fruit at SG 1.014
I added bentonite to get the fruit solids to drop out
Both have a final gravity of 0.995
But the mead is a rich dark honey color, and the melomel is almost white,
with hardly any pigment. Does bentonite remove all pigment, or is this a
feature of melomels?
The honeys were from the same source.
Rob Scott
------------------------------
Subject: BEST OF SHOW MEAD WINS THE MASH-OUT CHALICE!
From: "aboyce@mn.rr.com" <aboyce@mn.rr.com>
Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2005 15:22:20 -0500
2005 UPPER MISSISSIPPI MASH-OUT REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!
Registration for entries and for judge and steward volunteering is now open
for the 2005 Upper Mississippi Mash-Out in Mpls, St. Paul MN - Jan 27-29,
2005. Deadline is Jan 21, 2005.
http://www.mnbrewers.com/mashout
SEPARATE BEST-OF-SHOWS for BEERS and MEADS/CIDERS!
Winner of the Best-Of-Show in both categories will win the MASH-OUT
CHALICE! (See website for photo!) Prizes will be awarded for First, Second
and Third place.
BEER DINNER ONLY $25!
Our Beer Dinner on Saturday, Jan 29, before the awards ceremony at Summit
Brewery will feature a 6-course dinner created by Master Chefs Manfred Krug
and Jerry Pelton. Menu includes:
* Beer Cheese soup with Wisconsin White Cheddar Cheese garnished with
Popcorn and Chives.
* Shrimp Ettouffee
* Beer Braised Lamb Shanks
* Beer Glazed Braised Vegetable (Fall Root Blend)
* Oatmeal Beer Bread
* Beer Cake with a Cranberry Ale Vanilla Sauce
SPECIAL PERKS FOR JUDGES, STEWARDS AND VOLUNTEERS!
We will have special drawings for Judges, Stewards and Volunteers, and a
special Volunteer-only party on Friday night!
SIGN UP NOW! This is a party you WON'T want to miss!
THE 2005 UPPER MISSISSIPPI MASH-OUT
http://www.mnbrewers.com/mashout
** Please pass this along to your fellow club members and brewers! **
------------------------------
Subject: Orange meads
From: myniyer <myn@iyerfamily.net>
Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2005 21:48:28 -0700
I am fortunate enough to have three orange trees (well, a tangelo, a
tangerine and a navel orange) and am interested in starting an orange
mead within the next couple of weeks. Now I need a recipe! I have
scoured the archives, and read some past discussion... but there
seems to be a huge variety in recipes and most authors of the recipes
do not give much indication of how the mead turns out flavor-wise.
I'm interested in what you all have to say.
So - what makes the best orange mead? Should I use orange blossom
honey or would that sort of fine flavor be wasted, better with plain
wildflower? How much honey? How much orange juice? Nutrient or not?
Zest or not? Vanilla extract? I would prefer final product that
tastes like an orange Creamsicle.
Thanks in advance -
Melinda
- --
Melinda Merkel Iyer
http://www.iyerfamily.net/
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #1151
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