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Mead Lovers Digest #1293
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1293, 14 December 2006
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #1293 14 December 2006
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1292, 7 December 2006 ("Paul Shouse")
boiling grains (Dick Dunn)
Very simple mead ("Randall Reese")
Re: Meaderies in New Zealand (MLCrary@aol.com)
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Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1292, 7 December 2006
From: "Paul Shouse" <paul_shouse@kmug.org>
Date: Fri, 08 Dec 2006 09:30:25 +0900
Thanks for all the replies to my post! While it's true that malt enzymes,
mainly beta amylase, break starch into complex sugars, there is also a complex
of enzymes that break complex sugars into simpler ones. The yeast may be able
to handle most of these, but they will handle them slowly. If you're making a
more beery kind of braggot with a beer yeast, the faster your fermentation will
go, the better. On the other hand, if you're pumping filtered air into a
high-tolerance yeast, then it becomes more of a matter of nuance.
- -Paul
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Subject: boiling grains
From: Dick Dunn <rcd@talisman.com>
Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 23:57:06 -0700
This is getting tiring. Look, this was resolved long ago--the question,
the answer, the cause. Re making braggot (or beer):
Don't Boil the Grains!
Boiling grains ("specialty" grains--that is, still in their husks) causes
an unpleasant, harsh astringency. It comes from the husks.
Commercial brewers have known it all along. It took a while for homebrewers
to stumble around and figure it out...but it was still long ago. Just for
example, I started brewing (extract) in 1978. I find in my notes that I'd
learned to steep the grains rather than boil them by 1985...and I'm a slow
learner! That's 20+ years. This really is OLD news.
Arthur Torrey wrote:
> ...But I've never been seriously
> tempted by all grain brewing by the very nature of the extra equipment needed
> and the complex time and temp. procedures involved...
It's not an issue of all-grain vs extract. That's an entirely separate
matter, different process and technique.
Steeping grains doesn't require any complex time/temp considerations, and
certainly no extra equipment. It only requires not boiling the grains.
You're not trying to do any sort of enzyme-based conversion. You're just
trying to avoid extracting unpleasant compounds. It's less challenging
than making a cup of tea.
> Because of going to a low-carb diet, I no longer drink beer, so I don't make
> it any more, but I liked the results, and I got lots of nice comments every
> time I shared some. Far as I'm concerned, that's good enough, and anyone
> telling me that I'm "doing it wrong" because I don't follow some particular
> process is getting into "religious argument" territory.
Sounds like, "My mind is made up; don't confuse me with the facts." You
think that just because you made an acceptable beer, it couldn't be
improved? Sheesh!
I don't know if I'm being too strident here, but I'm offended by the idea
that someone dismisses straightforward science as a "religious argument"
simply because he doesn't agree with the result. I also feel that home
meadmaking has spent too long at 15-20 years behind homebrewing, so it
bothers me a lot to see suggestions that we need to stay stuck in the past.
> I don't have the reference handy, but I once saw an article in a brewing
> magazine that talked about the ongoing 'religious debate' between the "all
> grain" and "extract" brewers. They compiled the contest results of the major
> beer judging events of the previous year, and found that there wasn't a
> significant difference in the number of prizes won by the two groups...
Again, this is a red herring. The matter at hand has nothing to do with
all-grain vs extract brewing.
- --
Dick Dunn rcd@talisman.com Hygiene, Colorado USA
------------------------------
Subject: Very simple mead
From: "Randall Reese" <randall.reese@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 10 Dec 2006 12:18:19 +0300
Hi:
I am in the middle east or better known as " The valley of no alcohol"! Ha
ha ha
I want to make a very simple mead as its hard to buy much of anything to
make mead with or anything to do with making beer.
I can get honey,water, Cinnamon, fresh lemons but no citric acid, cream of
tartar,etc.Really just normal stuff one would use for cooking. I have been
able to obtain some pilsner beer yeast-is this suitable?
What is the simplest recipe that makes a reasonable mead.No fancy additives
please.
- --
Regards
Randall Reese
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Meaderies in New Zealand
From: MLCrary@aol.com
Date: Sun, 10 Dec 2006 10:35:16 EST
Greetings to the Meaders,
I have the good fortune to be heading for New Zealand in late February
of 2007. My friend (and my first brew teacher) and I will be on the South
Island. We will be driving around the island with a friend who lives there
part time, and we'd like to include a couple of meaderies in the trip. I
recall a post long ago on this topic, but do not recall if it was specific
to NZ. So, mead friends, if you have recommendations for the best meaderies
to visit in NZ, please let me know. You can reply to the list, or to me
personally, MLCrary@aol.com. To give you an idea of what I like, I have
tried the mead which is imported here from Havill's and found it too sweet --
much to the amazement of my brewing mentor, who prefers things drier that I
do. Does Havill's make other styles as well? Are the meaderies concentrated
in one area, or all over the place? Any information is much appreciated,
and we will raise a glass to your health when we visit. Thank you in advance.
Marcia Crary
MLCrary@aol.com
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End of Mead Lover's Digest #1293
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