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Mead Lovers Digest #1313
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1313, 10 April 2007
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #1313 10 April 2007
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Re: Need a sweeter yeast than 71B-2112 ("Jeff Tollefson")
autolysis off-flavor (Michael Hetzel)
Re: Stopping fermentation (canwebowlnow@aol.com)
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Subject: Re: Need a sweeter yeast than 71B-2112
From: "Jeff Tollefson" <jtollefson245@hotmail.com>
Date: Mon, 02 Apr 2007 18:51:37 -0700
>Subject: Re: Need a sweeter yeast than 71B-2112
>From: rdadams@smart.net (Dick Adams)
>Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2007 18:13:53 -0500 (EST)
>
>Eric Chumley <eric.chumley@wku.edu> asked:
>
> > From Ken Schramm?s Mambo in Your Mouth recipe in
> > The Compleat Meadmaker (minus blueberries)
> > /*_June 25, 2006 ? 21:00_*
> > 15 lbs canola honey
> > 4 gallons spring water
> > Blackberries, Cherries, Raspberries, Blueberries, Strawberries
> >
> > 2 tsp. nutrient
> > 2 tsp. energizer
> > 71B-2112 yeast
> > O.G. 1.14
> > F.G. 1.00
> >
> > This is an awesome drink, yet most of my family would like it
> > sweeter. I would like to accomodate, but I don't want it alot
> > sweeter. What would be a reasonable next step up in yeast?
> > Just a little sweeter, please. Would D47 fit the bill? Or,
> > is it drier because I used 4 gallons water instead of 3 or 3.5?
>
>First, I congratulate you on fermenting a high gravity Mead
>dry and getting the taste right!
>
>The problem is neither 71B-2112 nor you're following the
>instructions and using 4 gallons of spring water! The
>problem is that you fermented it dry <period>
>
>Put a quarter teaspoon of honey into 4 oz of Mead. If it
>still not sweet, add a little (as in very little) at a time.
>If it's too sweet, add more Mead.
>
>Dick
71B goes to 18%. If your mead is not currently at 18%, then adding sugar
and/or water will start up the fermentation again and will just result in a
higher alcohol level, but won't sweeten it. You will need to sorbate and
sulfite it to stabilize it first. To do this, rack on to 1 tbs potassium
sorbate and 1 crushed campden tablet per gallon, then let it sit for a few
days before back sweetening with honey, juice or whatever you want.
71B is a yeast I've had trouble with. For the longest time it was posted on
Lalvin's site that the tolerance of it was 14%. This was not true and
resulted in some funky batches. Long story short, I've had to deal with your
situation alot. I've also had this problem with K1V-1116. The moral of the
story is, when it comes to yeast, take anything you read with a grain of
salt.
To make a sweet mead, I use D-47 (14%) and target a final gravity of 1.015.
------------------------------
Subject: autolysis off-flavor
From: Michael Hetzel <hetzelnc@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 3 Apr 2007 13:35:14 -0700 (PDT)
Recently I made a batch of mead (3 lbs wildflower honey/gal, Lavlin D47
yeast) and essentially forgot about it. When I finally got around to
racking it off the primary (after 10 weeks!), I was not at all
surprised that it had autolysis off flavors. Its not too bad, just
mildly 'bready'. Also tastes somewhat cidery and pretty alcoholic.. the
Got Mead Calculator tells me its about 17% abv.
Anyway I'm guessing that this has happened to others, and I'm wondering
what these folks may have tried to feature or mask the bready/yeast
flavor - right now I'm thinking of dumping a bunch of raisins into the
secondary. Also will the (autolysis) flavor diminish over time?
Thanks,
Mike Hetzel
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Stopping fermentation
From: canwebowlnow@aol.com
Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2007 01:50:29 EDT
Here's my issue on this though. Is there a way to get the same result
without the sulfites. I'm allergic!!
Janelle Leek
Brigit Find
Wolves Den/Clan Risio
In a message dated 4/2/2007 9:17:41 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
mead-request@talisman.com writes:
Yes, you can stop a fermentation by sulfiting. Possible difficulty is that
the effectiveness of sulfiting is strongly dependent on pH. Dana mentioned
working in the wine world; my experience on this is actually with cider.
A pH of 3.8 is essentially the upper limit for sulfiting being effective--
beyond that pH you can't get enough sulfite in to make it work. As pH
drops (i.e., as acidity increases), the requirement decreases. Do you have
at least some subjective feeling for how acidic your mead is?
- - --
Dick Dunn rcd@talisman.com Hygiene, Colorado USA
Janelle Leek
Brigit Find
Wolves Den/Clan Risio
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End of Mead Lover's Digest #1313
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