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Mead Lovers Digest #1258
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1258, 6 April 2006
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #1258 6 April 2006
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
RE: Food Buying Habits of People Who Buy Beer or Wine ("J. Russ")
Legs ("Spencer W. Thomas")
Re: MLD #1257, 5/4/06 Braggots (Arthur Torrey)
Re: [article] Food Buying Habits of People Who Buy Beer or Wine (Dick Adams)
Re: Shipping mead (Dick Adams)
braggot ("eric")
Judges & Entries Needed, 13th Annual BUZZ Off June 3rd ("Christopher Clair")
wine v. beer food/fruit flavorings/nutrient aging (Aaron Martin Linder)
Re: Shipping mead (Michael Faul)
Braggot versus Honey Beer ("Paul Shouse")
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: RE: Food Buying Habits of People Who Buy Beer or Wine
From: "J. Russ" <jruss@jaysbrewing.com>
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 17:44:32 -0400
Dan,
As usual, you bring up something unexpected and make us all ponder a bit!
Thanks for the articles and the thoughts. Interesting stuff.
I have found that mead drinkers often eat much like wine drinkers,
particularly if the mead is dry or fairly dry. As the mead gets sweeter, it
will more often be drunk as an after dinner type of beverage.
Personally, I love almost any mead with cheese (and almost any cheese, at
that). It's a perfect pairing. My ginger mead goes well with Thai food and
the like - not surprising. I like sweet meads with dessert - again, not
surprising.
A strong flavored mead, like a Buckwheat blend, goes great with chorizo
sausage! Garlicky dishes go well with lighter traditional meads.
Cheers,
Jay
www.jaysbrewing.com
------------------------------
Subject: Legs
From: "Spencer W. Thomas" <hbd@spencerwthomas.com>
Date: Wed, 05 Apr 2006 17:54:55 -0400
Mead folklore has it that mead goes to your legs. I remember reading
this early in my meadmaking career. Might have been in the
Gayre/Papazian book.
=S
------------------------------
Subject: Re: MLD #1257, 5/4/06 Braggots
From: Arthur Torrey <Arthur_Torrey@comcast.net>
Date: Wed, 05 Apr 2006 18:30:03 -0400
On Wed, 2006-04-05 at 15:29 -0600, mead-request@talisman.com wrote:
IMHO there is such a thing as worrying about the "rules" over much. Do
something that our fearless moderator would censor to the rule book and
brew what YOU like! <GRIN>
FWIW, I have made something that I liked in the past. It was a 'Kit
Beer' "Chocolate Cherry Porter", and I've done the same thing with a Kit
Stout to make a "Honey Stout" (I don't drink beer you can see through,
you can't tell how many horses drank it first...)
In each case the kit came with a bunch of grains to simmer, then remove,
and two cans of malt syrup (I think one Kilo each) for a 5 gallon batch.
I didn't have any specific data, but based on comparative viscosity, I
made the gross assumption that volume for volume, honey added about the
same amount of fermentables as the the malt syrup, and simply
substituted one can full of honey for one of the cans of malt.
I used the same processing, hopping and yeast as the kit instructions
called for except I added the honey to the wort at the end of the
required boil time. Aside from the honey substitution, everything else
was done as the instructions called for. I liked the result, and other
folks that have tried it also said good things. I'm now living a low
carb lifestyle, so I'm no longer doing anything with malt beverages, and
am not experimenting further. (I still drink mead in moderation
occasionally)
ART
>
> Subject: Braggot versus Honey Beer
> From: rdadams@smart.net (Dick Adams)
> Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2006 22:21:14 -0400 (EDT)
>
> I have always been under the impression that a Braggot was to
> have more than half of its fermentables from honey. Then I read
> on the IMA website <http://www.meadfest.com>: "Bracket or Braggot
> - - Honeywine made with malt, must be at least 20% honey" That's
> not much honey percentage wise usless they are referring to the
> batch size rather than the fermentables.
>
> Then the National Honey Board at <http://www.honey.com/recipes/beer>
> refers to "Specialty Beers (2.5 lbs. Honey for 5 gallons)..." and
> later on the same page refer to beers with 3-10% honey and 11-30%
> honey. So it's clear we are talking batch size.
>
> If I understand this: a 5 gallon batch Honey Beer would contain
> 2.5 lbs <= honey < 12 lbs AND at 12 lbs it becomes a Braggot.
>
> Last question: Since I'll need to boil the wort and there is no way
> I'm going to boil the honey, at what point do I combine them?
>
> What I have done with the two Braggots I've made is to boil the DME
> for 30 minutes, chill the wort to 68F, and then add the wort to honey
> water that was heated to 120F and chilled. After that the power drill
> stirring rod does the rest.
>
> Dick
------------------------------
Subject: Re: [article] Food Buying Habits of People Who Buy Beer or Wine
From: rdadams@smart.net (Dick Adams)
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 22:06:07 -0400 (EDT)
Why am I not surprised?
An 8 course dinner is a six-pack, a half pound of sliced salami,
and a large bag of pork rines.
Wine guys go for healthy, trendy food.
But Mead, at least for me, is an after-dinner, relaxation. time
to savor drink.
Dick
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Shipping mead
From: rdadams@smart.net (Dick Adams)
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 22:41:00 -0400 (EDT)
"Angie Smith" <angie.red@gmail.com> writes:
> I live in one of those backwards states that prohibits shipping
> wine (Indiana).
I live in Maryland so you ain't seen backwards yet.
> I noticed on www.libations.com that they are able to ship to Indiana.
I'm impressed because everything at that site seems to be under
construction.
> Is it because they are a distributor for Indiana?
I can't figure out what they are. Their winery might be in Indiana.
To be a distributor, you need an in-state office. But the general
rule is distibutors sell to retailers who sell to consumers.
Unless Indiana has changed it's laws, it is one of 19 states that
have non-felony laws prohibiting shipments from out of state
wineries to consumers. See news.com.com/2009-1023-5442921.html
Also the Supreme Court heard a case last year on this. Some states
may have changed their laws since then.
Dick
------------------------------
Subject: braggot
From: "eric" <zeee1@nebonet.com>
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 21:02:00 -0600
Hello
In response to Dick Adams question about when to blend the honey and boiled
wort, I just boiled about 3 gallons (6 lbs syrup and water total) of wort
for the usual hour or so, cooled it to around 180 and stirred the honey (6
lbs) right into the hot wort. I gently stirred for around 10 minutes to
disolve and pasteurize the honey, then cooled with immersion coil and
siphoned into carboy. Temps might be higher than needed, but that is what I
did. I would also think that blending in the carboy would be fine, after
both are cooled to pitching temp, dont see why not.
Standard disclaimer: I have been wrong before, and will be again!
Eric
Deweyville, UT
------------------------------
Subject: Judges & Entries Needed, 13th Annual BUZZ Off June 3rd
From: "Christopher Clair" <buzzclub@verizon.net>
Date: Wed, 05 Apr 2006 23:07:38 -0400
Brewers Unlimited Zany Zymurgists (BUZZ) is proud to announce that the 13th
annual BUZZ Off home brew competition will be held on Saturday, June 3rd at
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant in West Chester, PA. For another year we
will be a qualifying event for the prestigious Masters Championship of
Amateur Brewing (MCAB) as well as the Delaware Valley Homebrewer of the
Year. All BJCP recognized styles (2004 guidelines) including meads and
ciders are eligible for entry. Our hope is to get enough mead entries so
that we can have a separate prize category for them, just like last year.
For complete details and forms, please visit the BUZZ web site at
http://hbd.org/buzz.
Entries will be accepted between May 13th and May 26th. For drop off and
mail in locations please refer to the BUZZ web site. Please, do not mail
entries to Iron Hill.
BJCP Judges and stewards will be needed. If you are interested please
contact me or another committee member (contact information can be found on
the web site). All judges must be BJCP certified (any ranking).
Good luck and cheers!
Christopher Clair
buzzclub <at> verizon.net
http://hbd.org/buzz
------------------------------
Subject: wine v. beer food/fruit flavorings/nutrient aging
From: Aaron Martin Linder <lindera@umich.edu>
Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2006 09:20:17 -0400 (EDT)
I have a comment and a few questions. The article below, posted by dan
mcfeeley, cries out for a socioeconomic and cultural explanation.
wine drinkers probably on average have higher incomes than beer drinkers.
combine this with the possible (?) fact that most beer is cheap beer and
most drinkers drink cheap beer and one might conclude that the healthier
wine food items are simply purchased more by wine drinkers because they
are more expensive.
i think it is true that in general wealthier people buy more healthy food.
i don't think they serve olives at a NASCAR event (sorry for the overused
stereotype of NASCAR culture).
the other issue is that it seems to me that people who drink a lot of wine
are more likely to be curious about higher cuisine in general, so of
course they aren't going to be eating a lot of frozen pizza and sausage
sticks. it makes perfect sense.
now that i'm done with my unsupported commentary on our society's choices
for inebriation...
i have an off-dry mead in secondary in my basement. it has been there for
around 5 months. i was hoping to get some fruit flavor into it. has
anyone tried adding fruit flavorings (the ones with no sugars, to be added
at bottling), such as the ones from www.morebeer.com? i don't mind if it
is not as complex as real fruit, just enjoyable.
second, i have a second dry mead that is in bottles and is around 5-6
months old. it is an orange-blossom, off-dry mead. i think i added too
much yeast nutrient and energizer to get the primary fermentation going
when i smelled some serious H2S gas! Anyway, it has a bit of a harsh
aftertaste. Will this bite resolve itself if I let it age for a year or
more a) if it is due to the nutrient and/or b) if it is due to something
else?
Thanks,
Aaron Linder
Ann Arbor, MI
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Shipping mead
From: Michael Faul <mfaul@rabbitsfootmeadery.com>
Date: Thu, 06 Apr 2006 20:14:20 -0700
They simply don't care. There are several places you can buy mead online
for delivery to any state. It would take quite a bit for a state to
prosecute a small liquor store or winery. They are looking for the BIG
players.
Mike
> Subject: Shipping mead
> From: "Angie Smith" <angie.red@gmail.com>
> Date: Mon, 3 Apr 2006 13:19:34 -0400
>
> I live in one of those backwards states that prohibits shipping wine
> (Indiana). I noticed on www.libations.com that they are able to ship to
> Indiana. Is it because they are a distributor for Indiana? Any Commercial
> Meaderies out there know how they are able to do this? I want to try other
> types of commercial mead and unless I make trips to each meadery this is out
> of the question for me.
>
> Thanks all!
> Angie Smith
------------------------------
Subject: Braggot versus Honey Beer
From: "Paul Shouse" <paul_shouse@kmug.org>
Date: Fri, 07 Apr 2006 13:10:29 +0900
rdadams@smart.net (Dick Adams) on Thursday, April 6, 2006 at 5:29 AM +0000
wrote:
>If I understand this: a 5 gallon batch Honey Beer would contain
>2.5 lbs <= honey < 12 lbs AND at 12 lbs it becomes a Braggot.
>
>Last question: Since I'll need to boil the wort and there is no way
>I'm going to boil the honey, at what point do I combine them?
The only time I've done this, I added half of the honey during the
saccharification portion of the mash cycle to simplify the sugars present, then
added the other half after the boil. I used a very large amount of saaz hop
pellets, and the results were phenomenal. Good luck!
- -Paul
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #1258
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