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Mead Lovers Digest #1204
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1204, 3 August 2005
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #1204 3 August 2005
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
RE: lees in bottle (Russ.Hobaugh@erm.com)
Valhalla - Mead Only Competition ("David Houseman")
re: chocolate (Jim Johnston)
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Subject: RE: lees in bottle
From: Russ.Hobaugh@erm.com
Date: Fri, 29 Jul 2005 14:43:28 -0400
RE: I have just finished my first batch of beer (and in Month 3 my
mead, and maple wine are looking very good), but the final
product has about 1tsp-1tbs of lees per standard bottle.
Since I would like to make sparkling mead using the same
finishing method (1 tsp corn sugar per bottle) I am wondering if
this is normal, or if I should have done something (or not done
something) to avoid this.
Trevor, in bottle-conditioned beer, there is supposed to be a small
compact yeast bed on the bottom of each bottle. By lees I am guessing you
are talking about something other than yeast. Did you have the beer in a
secondary fermentation? If you went right from primary to bottling you
will get sediment as the beer matures. You do not need to filter if you
use a secondary, and if the beer is done fermenting, the gravity will not
make this happen.
Next question is why are you adding corn suger to each bottle? Why not
just add it to the bottling bucket, gently stir, and then bottle? This is
much easier, neater, and will save you a lot of extra effort. If you do
this with a mead, depending upon the length of time you have aged the
mead, you may want to add yeast to the corn sugar mixture to ensure you
get carbonation.
Russ Hobaugh
Goob' Dog Brewery
Birdsboro PA
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Subject: Valhalla - Mead Only Competition
From: "David Houseman" <david.houseman@verizon.net>
Date: Fri, 29 Jul 2005 20:10:40 -0400
If you've got mead, prepare to enter the Valhalla - The Meading of Life
Mead-Only Competition to be held Saturday, October 15 at the American
Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia. This competition will judge
meads in BJCP categories 24--traditional meads, 25--melomel and
26--other mead. One entry per subcategory per entrant with an entry
fee of $5 per entry. The equivalent of at least 3 12-ounce bottles are
required for judging, although bottle size and shape are not restricted.
Corked or capped.
No identifying markings however can appear on the bottles. Any standard
competition entry from may be used. It's the responsibility of the
entrant to properly identify the category and sub-category based on the
2004 BJCP Style Guidelines.
Meads may be mailed or dropped off at Home Sweet Homebrew, Sansom
Street, Philadelphia, PA by Tuesday, October 11th. Additional drop off
locations include Keystone Homebrew locations and Iron Hill Brewery and
Restaurant in West Chester, PA.
The competition would like to encourage knowledgeable mead judges to
commit to judging this event. Judges will receive breakfast and lunch.
Following the judging, which will take place from 9am to 2pm, there will
be a public mead tasting and buffet from 4pm until 6pm with numerous
commercial meads as well as the remainder of the meads from the
competition. All income from this competition will go to the
educational programs and our community literacy program in reading and
local history that the Museum sponsors for public and private K-12
schools in the Delaware Valley.
Susan McMurphy, Competition Organizer
smcmurphy@americanswedish.org
David Houseman, Judge Coordinator
david.houseman@verizon.net
------------------------------
Subject: re: chocolate
From: Jim Johnston <jim@tervolk.com>
Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2005 23:21:56 -0500
The only problem I have had with chocolate is that it contains fat,
which makes it's way to the final product as a film on the surface. I
just found a product at our local Spice House (Penzey's is the same
company) called "Roasted Cacao Nibs", which are the roasted beans,
dehusked. I want to try these next time as they contain even less fat
than baker's chocolate. I think less than an ounce would be plenty, as
it is pretty concentrated.
This Saturday we are hosting our homebrew club meeting on National Mead
Day. We will be making "Morning Wood", the official AHA recipe and
another I am calling "Fruit Salad Melomel". We are starting with
Orange Blossom honey, about 1 gallon (2 if enough people show up).
Then everyone will be bringing 1 pound of fruit. The whole thing will
steep for awhile, and I will act as custodian. I will bottle in a year
or so (depending on the progress) and distribute it evenly among the
participants at a future meeting. If it remains light in gravity, we
will use a light wine yeast like Lalvin K1, if it is very heavy, we
will use a champagne or Eau de Vie to dry it out some.
Jim
Celebrate Mead this Saturday, teach a friend to make it while you drink
it!
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End of Mead Lover's Digest #1204
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