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Mead Lovers Digest #1189
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1189, 7 June 2005
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #1189 7 June 2005
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Re: Do you want to keep getting digests? (Dick Adams)
Re: Carbonating Mead (Dick Adams)
Re: Capsicumels (Dick Adams)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1188, 3 June 2005 (David Collins-Rivera)
Re: Carbonating Mead (Douglass Smith)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Re: Do you want to keep getting digests?
From: rdadams@smart.net (Dick Adams)
Date: Fri, 3 Jun 2005 17:43:18 -0400 (EDT)
> I've been having more problems lately with mail servers rejecting digests
> because of bulk-email blocking, spam filtering, content rejection, etc.
> The rejections are bogus, and generally I get no useful information back
> from the rejecting server, so there's no way I can "fix" the problem other
> than by contacting the postmaster or some other admin address at the
> recipient's site. This is tedious at the least, and more often than not,
> it doesn't work because nobody reads and handles the admin mail. I'm
> getting fed up with dealing with bad mail software and lazy ISPs.
The simplest solution I can offer you is to post the digest to
red.crafts.meadmaking. One post does it all.
I moderate misc.taxes.moderated and run from a unix shell account.
When posting messages to the newsgroup, I generate a script that
posts 13 messages every 19 minutes. Thus I can post 250 submissions
and not be caught by a spam filter. But you need a shell account
to do that.
Dick
[Janitor's note: The MLD is emailed, rather than just posted to a newsgroup
or website, so that people are aware when it comes out. Anyway, I don't
regard USENET as generally viable any more.
There's no problem with the rate of sending mail; the indications from some
ISPs of spam content or apparent bulk mailing are bogus.]
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Carbonating Mead
From: rdadams@smart.net (Dick Adams)
Date: Fri, 3 Jun 2005 17:54:01 -0400 (EDT)
> Would like to carbonate some meads priming preferably with honey, or,
> corn sugar if advisable. First, need to know measure of honey/corn
> sugar to prime five gallon carboys. Second, need to know measure of dry
> champagne yeast to add to honey/corn sugar before adding to mead in
> bottling bucket. Thanks, Loo.
If the corn sugar is granulized, use a funnel and add a tablespoon
per 2 liter nottle.
But for thick liquids: put them in a mason jar, microwave them, use
a funnel and add 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon to the first 2 liter
bottle. After that, add 1 tablespoon. You may need to microwave
it several times.
I would not ferment the additional honey/corn sugar.
Dick
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Capsicumels
From: rdadams@smart.net (Dick Adams)
Date: Fri, 3 Jun 2005 18:26:46 -0400 (EDT)
"Dennis Key" <dione13@msn.com>
> Re: Capsicumels: I tried a green chile mead several years ago using
> roasted, medium to hot Hatch, New Mexico green chiles. I used a quart
> freezer baggie full, peeled, seeded and rinsed for six gallons--two of
> which were honey and a champaign yeast. I put them in the primary then
> racked off at one month. Close to the end of fermentation, I added some
> lemon juice and a dash of citric acid.
> I still have some bottles that are about 12 years old and I'm afraid
> they still aren't very good. There is a heavy roasted green chile taste
> that is pleasant on a tortilla but not very good in a mead.
Use it as a base for cooking chili!
> So, the next thing I tried was an habanero capsicumel. I seeded and
> chopped three raw peppers and put them with the zest of one lime in the
> diluted honey which I pasteurized over a double boiler then strained
> into the three gallon primary. Be sure to double wash your hands or
> wear gloves when handling habeneros. It's very painful to the eyes and
> nose and other sensitive areas if you don't. Again, I used a champaign
> yeast and about a gallon of honey. At the third racking, I added the
> juice of six limes and 500 ml of citrus vodka for additional flavor and
> a bit of a kick. One doesn't drink more than a couple of glasses of
> this ambrosia! The resulting mead didn't get much aging time as it was
> so good, it went fast. All my friends loved it. It had just enough
> heat to warm the back of the throat and leave a slight but pleasant
> tingle on the lips.
First and most important: Wear two pairs of gloves when handling
Habeneros. Wear painter's gloves underneath dishwashing gloves.
Also a painter's mask and protective eyeware. After words
shower, scrubbing your hands repeatedly, and thoroughly wash
your face and hair. I grow Red Savina Habeneros and those
suckers are HOT.
Let's see 3 gal batch including 1-gal of honey. And then a
half liter of vodka. Was your hydrometer able to read that
high? I'd speculate the final ABV was about 20% to 25%.
I may try this after my move home to the Promised Land of
North Carolina. My garden has had no Habeneros for the
last two years because of the bumper crop I had in 2003.
But when I move, I will need to plant some to run off the
deer and the rabbits.
Dick
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1188, 3 June 2005
From: David Collins-Rivera <lostnbronx@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 3 Jun 2005 17:16:01 -0700
After some discussions on Gotmead, and a lot of personal thought on the
subject, I've put together the following list in an attempt to put some
order into the various kinds of meads out there. I'd really love feedback.
Much of what I've written here will be controversial, so be sure to read the
Intro, because it explains my rationale. Thanks!
- -David
=======================================
MEAD STYLES, TAXONOMY, AND IDENTIFICATION
INTRODUCTION
When reading through the following list, it's important to remember that my
goal here is not to place the various mead types according to their
historical or commonly agreed upon associations, and certainly not in any
order reflecting popularity or general preference. Meads from different time
periods and societies are herein associated by type alone. Meads are
categorized and sub-categorized by their composition and ingredient
similarities, in an attempt to organize an ever-growing family of beverages.
This is a work in progress, with my ultimate goal being to create a flow
chart (or series of charts) for identification purposes, such as are used in
zoology and botany. Keep in mind that nothing is carved in stone. Included
are several mead types that will be unfamiliar to even the most
knowledgeable, and they are wholly original to me. The purpose of their
inclusion is not for identification per se, since most are of mead types
that are either experimental or purely speculative, but to illustrate how
new or emerging mead styles may be categorized using this method.
The natural question at this time might be, "Isn't all this too much?" Well,
to be honest, I don't think it's even close to enough. A commonly voiced
concern is that too many mead names in circulation will be off-putting to
newcomers, making the subject seem "elitist" or exclusionary in some manner
unless one does a great deal of research first. It might be remembered,
however, that the bewildering number of wine-specific names and terms that
have been routinely used in the industry has certainly not hurt wine sales
in the United States, nor has it home winemaking -- both which are at
all-time highs. Most people who drink or make wine don't know all the lingo,
nor do they need to in order to have a good wine experience. I propose that
the same could easily be true for mead.
Mead does have other issues, though. As far as most people are concerned,
wine is made from grapes, and that's it. The occasional wine encountered
that is made from some other fermentable is considered to be, by an large,
an oddity. Those who have even heard of mead before usually believe it's
made only from honey. There is strong historical precedence, however -- and
as we all know -- for mead drinks to contain additional prime ingredients.
This alone would distinguish it from grape wine, even if there were there no
other cultural, chemical, or production-related issues involved. Mead's
increasing popularity among hobbyist brewers, to say nothing of its growth
as a commercial product, has led to greater experimentation, generating
nomenclature and whole new categories. It seems clear that this trend will
only continue. Indeed, mead has had many names in many different cultures
throughout the years, which has often complicated an already confusing
issue. The modest effort below is an attempt to organize those differences,
so that, rather than adding to an already chaotic landscape, they will
actually help our understanding of the evolving world of mead.
==============================
MEAD -- Fermented beverage made with honey, water and yeast, and optionally,
with further flavoring ingredients. Honey must be at least 50% of the
fermentable sugars. All of the following, except where noted, are
sub-categories of mead.
BRAGGOT -- Honey and malt, fermented together; usually, but not always
carbonated, and may or may not contain fruit or herbs/spices. ABV may be of
typical beer strength or higher.
FARRIMEAD -- A mead using unmalted grain, either as a fermentable or as a
principal flavor ingredient.
FARRIGLYN -- A farrimead made with herbs/spices.
FARRIMEL -- A farrimead made with fruit juice.
FRUIT & HERB/SPICE FARRIMEAD -- Referred to as either Fruited Farriglyn, or
Herbed/Spiced Farrimel, depending upon the intended flavor (e.g., a
strawberry lemongrass farrimead would be an Herbed Farrimel if the
strawberry was considered dominant, or a Fruited Farriglyn if the lemongrass
was dominant. This distinction could be important in competition placement
and commercial labelling).
T'EJ -- T'ej is an alcoholic honey drink made with gesho, a type of
bittering herb. It is the national drink of Ethiopia, having an ancient
history and unique taste. Some traditional recipes appear to be lambic-style
beers flavored with honey; other recipes -- mostly modern -- are
braggot-style meads; and still others, gesho metheglyns. More research into
this beverage is required.
COOKING MEAD -- A mead of any of the styles listed here, along with
ingredients such as salt, herbs/spices, vinegar, etc, being intended
primarily as a cooking wine or marinade (such as commercially sold cooking
sherries, etc.).
HYDROMEL - A lower alcohol mead, often, but not exclusively, produced by
dilution. Can be made from any non-braggot style. Also, the French and
Ancient Greek names for mead.
BOCHET -- a hydromel made from burnt or boiled honey, to a general
proportion of 1 part honey to 9 parts water, with or without the
introduction of fruit and herbs/spices.
LACTOMEAD -- Mead made with milk as the base liquid, instead of water.
LACTOGLYN -- A lactomead made with herbs/spices.
LACTOMEL -- A lactomead made with fruit juice.
FRUIT & HERB/SPICE LACTOMEAD -- Referred to as either Fruited Lactoglyn, or
Herbed/Spiced Lactomel, depending upon the intended flavor (e.g., a
chocolate raspberry lactomead would be an Spiced Lactomel if the raspberry
is considered dominant, or a Fruited Lactoglyn if the chocolate was
dominant. This distinction could be important in competition placement and
commercial labelling).
LEGUMEAD -- Mead made with beans or other legumes, with or without fruit or
herbs/spices.
LEGUMEGLYN -- (pronounced: leg-YOOM-uh-glin) Mead made with beans or other
legumes, and with herbs/spices.
LEGUMEL -- Mead made with beans or other legumes, and with fruit juice.
FRUIT & HERB/SPICE LEGUMEAD -- Referred to as either Fruited Legumeglyn, or
Herbed/Spiced Legumel, depending upon the intended flavor (e.g., a pineapple
chai legumead would be a Spiced Legumel if the pineapple is considered
dominant, or a Fruited Legumeglyn if the tea was dominant. This distinction
could be important in competition placement and commercial labelling).
MELEGLYN -- Any melomel also utilizing herbs/spices or any metheglyn also
utilizing fruit juice (e.g., holiday cysers, made from honey, cider, and
various spices; summer metheglyns, made from mint and lemon; etc.).
HIPPOCRAS - Specifically, a meleglyn fermented with grape juice and
herbs/spices.
MELOMEL -- Mead made with fruit or fruit juice.
CAPSICUMEL -- (a.k.a., Capsumel) Mead made with chile peppers.
CYSER -- Honey and apples or apple cider (apple juice in Europe) fermented
together. Can also be made with peach, cherry or pear cider.
MORAT -- Mead made with mulberries.
PYMENT -- Mead fermented with both honey and grape juice.
OMPHACOMEL -- Pyment made with verjuice, the juice of unripe grapes.
METHEGLYN -- Mead made with herbs/spices, or their extracts.
FLORAMEAD --Mead made with flower petals/parts or their extracts.
FLORAGLYN -- Floramead made with herbs/spices.
FLORAMEL -- Floramead made with fruit juice.
FRUIT & HERB/SPICE FLORAMEAD -- Referred to as either a Fruited Floraglyn or
Herbed/Spiced Floramel, depending upon the intended flavor (e.g., papaya
cardamom floramead would be a Spiced Floramel if the papaya is dominant, or
a Fruited Floraglyn if the cardamom is dominant. This distinction could be
important in competition placement and commercial labelling).
RHODAMEL -- Specifically, a mead made with attar, a rose petal distillate,
or rose petals.
NUXIMEAD -- A mead made with nuts or seeds, with or without fruit or
herbs/spices.
NUXIGLYN -- A nuximead made with herbs/spices
NUXIMEL -- A nuximead made with fruit juice.
FRUIT & HERB/SPICE NUXIMEAD -- Referred to as either Fruited Nuxiglyn, or
Herbed/Spiced Nuximel, depending upon the intended flavor (e.g., cherry
vanilla nuximead would be a Spiced Nuximel if the cherry is dominant, or a
Fruited Nuxiglyn if the vanilla was dominant. This distinction could be
important in competition placement and commercial labelling).
OXYMEL - Mead mixed with vinegar. Traditionally, wine vinegar was used, but
other kinds are possible too. The mead portion of this drink may be of any
other type.
STRAIGHT MEAD -- A mead made with only water, honey, adjuncts, and yeast.
SHOW MEAD (a.k.a., Traditional Mead, though this appellation is imprecise)
- -- A straight mead made with only water, honey, and yeast. Sometimes
adjuncts are allowed, sometimes not. A term important in competition
placement.
SACK MEAD -- A sweeter straight, show, or varietal mead, with more honey.
Often indicates a high ABV.
VARIETAL MEAD -- A straight or show mead made with a specific variety of
honey (e.g., orange blossom, mesquite, apple blossom, etc.). This is
distinct from straight or show meads using wild flower or mixed blossom
honeys, or honey blends.
VEGEMEAD -- A mead made with vegetables (carrots, beets, potatoes, etc.) as
a primary ingredient, distinct from the addition of herbs/spices.
VEGEGLYN -- A vegemead made with herbs/spices
VEGEMEL -- A vegemead made with fruit juice.
FRUIT & HERB/SPICE VEGEMEAD -- Referred to as either Fruited Vegeglyn, or
Herbed/Spiced Vegemel, depending upon the intended flavor (e.g., orange
cinnamon vegemead would be a Spiced Vegemel if the orange was dominant, or a
Fruited Vegeglyn if the cinnamon was dominant. This distinction could be
important in competition placement and commercial labelling).
MIXED TYPES
BRACKET -- Beverage made from malt and honey, fermented separately, and then
mixed. The mead portion of this drink may be of any other mead type.
"MEADE" -- Generic name for any beverage made from a mix of grape or fruit
wine and non-fermented honey. NOT a true mead.
MEAD MIX -- Beverage made from two or more mead styles, fermented
separately, and then mixed.
MEAD WINE -- Beverage made from grape juice and honey, fermented separately,
and then mixed. The mead portion of this drink may be of any other type.
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Carbonating Mead
From: Douglass Smith <gtg089b@mail.gatech.edu>
Date: Mon, 6 Jun 2005 11:01:03 -0400
I also have some questions about carbonation...
As I understand it, when carbonating with yeast and corn sugar/honey/whatever,
it is a neccessary requirement that the mead finish dry, as the carbonation
yeast will attempt to ferment any sugars left over. Is there a way to play with
yeast alcohol tolerances to create a sparkling mead that finishes sweet, or is
force-carbonation the most reliable way to do this? In the latter case, is it
possible (meaning 'doable without harming the finished product') to keg and
force-carbonate the mead, then move it into champagne and/or beer bottles?
Thanks,
? Doug ?
Quoting Lewis Danforth:
> Subject: Carbonating Mead
> From: "Lewis Danforth" <iyqg@iyqg.com>
> Date: Mon, 30 May 2005 10:04:53 -0500
>
>
> Would like to carbonate some meads priming preferably with honey, or,
> corn sugar if advisable. First, need to know measure of honey/corn
> sugar to prime five gallon carboys. Second, need to know measure of dry
> champagne yeast to add to honey/corn sugar before adding to mead in
> bottling bucket. Thanks, Loo.
>
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #1189
*******************************
