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Mead Lovers Digest #1232
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1232, 1 December 2005
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #1232 1 December 2005
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Meadfest (Ross Cohn)
Re: Film Yeast ("Dan McFeeley")
Re: Film Yeast (Mail Box)
Re: Raspberry Mead (Dick Adams)
Re: Raspberry Mead (Robert Keith Moore)
Re: Questions About Lychee Mead ("Randy Wallis")
NOTE: Digest appears when there is enough material to send one.
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Meadfest
From: Ross Cohn <artnculture@yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 27 Nov 2005 12:29:01 -0800 (PST)
IS or did the MEadfest occur in Colorado this year?
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Film Yeast
From: "Dan McFeeley" <mcfeeley@keynet.net>
Date: Sun, 27 Nov 2005 14:35:42 -0600
On Thu, 24 Nov 2005, in MLD 1231, Chris Dettner wrote:
>Trying not to panic. I went to transfer a mead that had aging for
>awhile in a carboy that perhaps had to much space at the top. I
>noticed a very slight white film at the top that I believe is film
>yeast. I had flushed out the extra space with co2 but I guess
>that was not good enough. Lesson learned and will top off with
>more honey and water next time. My question is what should I
>do? This mead was made with the no heat method with no
>preservatives of any kind. It taste great so I do not believe the
>film has affected it adversely yet. Normally at this point I transfer
>to a keg purged with co2 and let it sit about a month before
>bottling directly from the keg. Not sure if I should leave it alone
>or add some type of preservative or perhaps try to pasteurize
>it in the bottle.
I used to get that, back before I learned that's not a good idea
to suck on the end of the siphon hose when racking. And
that was starting with a pasteurized honey must. I never got it
again once I learned the error of my ways in siphoning.
What seemed to work was making up a little bit of sulfite
solution, then adding that to the top, let it sit and then,
*carefully* rack from under the film, being careful not to
let the film get transferred to the new carboy.
<><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><>
Dan McFeeley
"Meon an phobail a thogail trid an chultur"
(The people's spirit is raised through culture)
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Film Yeast
From: Mail Box <mail-box@adelphia.net>
Date: Sun, 27 Nov 2005 16:23:46 -0500
> Subject: Film Yeast
> From: Chris Dettner <chris_21122002@yahoo.com>
> Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2005 08:34:02 -0800 (PST)
>
> Trying not to panic. I went to transfer a mead that had aging for awhile
> in a carboy that perhaps had to much space at the top. I noticed a very
> slight white film at the top that I believe is film yeast. I had flushed
> out the extra space with co2 but I guess that was not good enough. Lesson
> learned and will top off with more honey and water next time. My question
> is what should I do? This mead was made with the no heat method with no
> preservatives of any kind. It taste great so I do not believe the film
> has affected it adversely yet. Normally at this point I transfer to a keg
> purged with co2 and let it sit about a month before bottling directly
> from the keg. Not sure if I should leave it alone or add some type of
> preservative or perhaps try to pasteurize it in the bottle.
>
> Chris
Chris,
If it tastes great, then you can still save it from further possible
harm by adding 1/4 teaspoon of potassium metabisulfite, available from
any home brewing or wine making supply shop and also via online
purchase. The sulfite will kill off any bacterial or wild yeast
infection, as well as protecting your mead against oxidation. An
additional 1/4 tsp at each racking will continue to protect your mead.
If you rack very frequently (I typically rack a mead 3-4 times over 9-12
or more months before bottling) or don't age very long then I would
reduce the number of times you add the sulfite.
The best method is to test for the amount of free sulfites and add
additional sulfite accordingly at each racking or at bottling, but this
rule of thumb will serve for those without a test kit.
Cheers,
Ken Taborek
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Raspberry Mead
From: rdadams@smart.net (Dick Adams)
Date: Sun, 27 Nov 2005 17:09:35 -0500 (EST)
> It's been a while since I have been able to read some of the articles
> and I take pleasure reading about those making raspberry mead. I truly
> envy those having a supply of raspberry honey as it is something I do
> not.
DutchGoldHoney.com is selling 5-gallon pails of Raspberry Honey for
$121.30 ($24.26/gallon) PLUS UPS. Since I can get Orange Blossom
from them for $73.80 PLUS UPS, I'm too cheap to buy any honey at that
price. If you live near Lancaster, PA, you can pick it up at the
loading dock and save the freight charge. If you live near Ballamer
(the City that Slurs), I'll buy a gallon from you for $30.
Dick
P.S.: If you order from Dutch Gold, request a spout lid!!
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Raspberry Mead
From: Robert Keith Moore <Rob@ineedachef.com>
Date: Tue, 29 Nov 2005 11:03:37 -0800
Hi,
As far as this raspberry mead making goes, I have a great way to do it.
Slightly crush the berries, add a little of the honey and a little water
along with the yeast. Let that sit in a primary fermenter for about a
week, stirring once or twice a day. (I use a strainer bag) When that is
done strain of the liquid and put in a carboy with remaining honey and
water. let that go for about 8 weeks. Rack top up. Let that go for
another 8 weeks.Rack and let go for another 8 weeks and it should be
near ready to bottle.
I have used his method to make all my fruit meads and over the last 3
years I have accumulated 11 awards for my fruit meads. I got First place
with Cascade Brewers Guilds X-treme Brew Competition in October with
Raspberry Melomel.
Actually the nutty quality sounds like it might be good if done right.
How long did you leave the fruit in the fermentor? I have known people
to leave berries in for 6 to 9 weeks and have never heard about the
nutty flavor. May be it was from the yeast.
Robert
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Questions About Lychee Mead
From: "Randy Wallis" <vwbettle72@earthlink.net>
Date: Tue, 29 Nov 2005 19:15:32 -0500
Alan
Thanks for your interest. Yes, they do grow lychees in Southern Florida;
in fact Florida is now the second largest lychee producing state in the
United States (second to Hawaii). Florida State University is involved
with the Florida State Department of Agriculture in helping southern citrus
growers diversify crops and think lychees are the perfect fruit for that.
However, I live in Northern Florida and have been assured (by FSU) that
lychee trees cannot survive a hard frost and it would be fruitless to try
to grow a tree this far north (pun intended). I did look into using fresh
fruit, but even with the fruit grown down south it would have been very
expensive, I looked into the lychee honey and found that to be very
expensive also, so I used fresh raw gallberry honey. I have never used
canned fruit before because I prefer using fresh fruit, and for the most
part grow my own. I grow my own grapes, blueberries and have a plum, key
lime, and tangelo tree. However, this was a labor of love and a way to
bring back my days in Hawaii, which were great times (not that these are
not). As I stated I used Ken?s dry show mead recipe but dropped the water
down a half a gallon so to make up for the four cans of lychees. So I used
10 pounds of honey, 3 ½ gallons of spring water, 2-tsp each of nutrient
and energizer, and a pack of Lalvin D-47 yeast. Let that ferment out in the
primary before racking on to four cans of fruit and syrup in a 5-gallon car
boy and topping off. The fruit I left whole, which worked well as the fruit
favor is really pronounced. The syrup I left in because I am not really a
dry mead person so I wanted that extra sweetness, but most of the sugar
fermented out. This one did turn out crystal clear with a light amber
color but the gallberry honey was very light in color and of course with
lychees being white they did not change the color. As I said this is
excellent mead and my wife just loves it, she is much more a wine person
than a mead person, but this is one she really enjoys. I really see this
as excellent mead to open when enjoying a nice summer day by the pool
because it has that tropical feel. Also, please note I think in the first
post I said the cans of lychees were 28 oz, that was incorrect they were 20
oz. I also made some pretty neat labels with a picture of two lychees, and
my info which you can change to yours, if you would like a copy of that let
me know and I will be happy to e-mail it to you.
Randy Wallis
vwbettle72@earthlink.net
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #1232
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