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Mead Lovers Digest #1372
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1372, 31 March 2008
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #1372 31 March 2008
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Re: Braggottry (Phil)
Re: Aceromel? ("Dan McFeeley")
Re: braggottry (stencil)
Spice Conversions (docmac9582@aol.com)
rate of production (dan@geer.org)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1369, 9 March 2008 ("Mitchell Omichinski")
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1369, 9 March 2008 ("Mitchell Omichinski")
pH and mead ("Todd Miller")
second-hand bottles (dan@geer.org)
cider miscalculation (Dick Dunn)
NOTE: Digest appears when there is enough material to send one.
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Re: Braggottry
From: Phil <dogglebe@yahoo.com>
Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2008 03:59:18 -0700 (PDT)
> Subject: braggottry
> From: John Hart <jahart23@verizon.net>
> Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:11:36 -0400
>
> I would like to open a (brewery) meadery I will be
> using malt in my brew
> so it is techincally a beer according to the federal
> standards. I would
> like to open it in NH and was wondering if anyone
> had any info as to what
> kind of tax papers I would need to have in order to
> have a brewery in NH.
Contact local breweries and/or wineries and ask for
the names of their lawyers. It'll save you a lot of
time, money and heartache to have someone do the
paperwork for you.
Phil
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Aceromel?
From: "Dan McFeeley" <mcfeeley@keynet.net>
Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2008 07:40:51 -0500
If you do a search on the GotMead forums for
Wrathwilde (one of the regular forum members)
and acerglyn you'll find a lot of good info. Go
to http://www.gotmead.com/smf/index.php and
use the smaller search function, on the brown tool
bar.
Try this link:
http://atdetroit.net/forum/messages/85961/82405.html?1167145429
and scroll down through the postings to Wednesday
October 11, 2006 and you'll find info on acerglyn. The
postings on maple syrup are also helpful reading.
In the recipe section of GotMead you can find a Wrathwilde
recipe for Chocolate acerglyn here:
http://www.gotmead.com/index.php?option=com_rapidrecipe&page=addtofavourites&rec
ipe_id=229&Itemid=6
<><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><>
Dan McFeeley
"Meon an phobail a thogail trid an chultur"
(The people's spirit is raised through culture)
------------------------------
Subject: Re: braggottry
From: stencil <stencil.sends@verizon.net>
Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2008 10:38:54 -0400
On Thu, 27 Mar 2008 23:42:50 -0600 (MDT),
in Mead Lover's Digest #1371, 27 March 2008
John Hart wrote:
> [ ... ]
>
>like to open it in NH and was wondering if anyone had any info as to what
>kind of tax papers I would need to have in order to have a brewery in NH.
Hire a lawyer licensed to plead in New Hampshire. If you
can't afford to hire professional legal advice you can't
afford to go into the alcohol business. The BATFE is bad
mojo and have a penchant for appearing at inconvenient hours
with the means and will to revoke your birthday.
I am not a lawyer. Phone the New Hampshire Bar
Association's Refeerral Service at (603) 229-0002. Do not
accept legal advice from friends and do not accept any
advice from family. Good luck in your new business.
gds, stencil
------------------------------
Subject: Spice Conversions
From: docmac9582@aol.com
Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2008 11:05:24 -0400
Dick asked how many cloves per oz.? I happen to use an analytical balance
and checked some previous batches and can give some approximations from
spices I used. Cloves = 15 to 18 per gram.? At 28.375 g/oz, that is
about 500 cloves per oz.? (I used about 3.5 grams in my 6 gal batches,
along with nutmeg and cinnamon) Nutmegs = 5 to 7 grams/nutmeg, depending on
size.? (I used 2 or 3 in my batches) Cinnamon = around 10 grams/6" stick,
but length and thickness of these varies a lot.? (I used 10 to 13?sticks,
but I like cinnamon.)??
Question:? I have been adding spices after fermentation.? Does anyone
know of a list of characteristics of "fermented spices"?? Different yeast
may respond differently, but in general - how?do the flavors of cinnamon,
clove, nutmeg, allspice, etc. change as a function of the action of the
yeast.? Further, how do?the individual spice flavors?change after aging
for 4 or 5 years??
Carl McMillin
Brecksville, OH
------------------------------
Subject: rate of production
From: dan@geer.org
Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2008 13:29:50 -0400
doodling with numbers... (assumes fixed width font & hard CRLFs)
ETOH in mead brewing
- ----------------------------
5 gal/carboy
15% ETOH @ completion
0.75 ETOH gal/carboy
128 oz/gal
96 ETOH oz/carboy
30 fermentation days
3.2 ETOH oz/carboy/day
comparisons
CORN
0.75 gal ethanol requires 1.875 bushel of corn
bulk corn at $5/bu means $9.40
energy cost of distillation extra
HONEY
0.75 gal ethanol requires 16# of honey
bulk honey at $2/# means $32.00
energy cost of distillation not applicable
- --dan
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1369, 9 March 2008
From: "Mitchell Omichinski" <mitchell2@hugs.com>
Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2008 19:32:58 -0500
> Subject: Aceromel?
> From: stencil <stencil.sends@verizon.net>
> Date: Thu, 06 Mar 2008 17:39:49 -0500
>
> Or maybe dendrochymomel?
>
> Sap's up, and I'm moved to make a simple mead with just
> unboiled maple sap and honey. I would think that the
> cloying character of maple would require a very dry finish,
> and not too much alcohol - say, around 8-10%. I think it
> also would want a fairly tannic palate, gained by sitting on
> chips for a few weeks..
>
> Obviously boiling-down is needed to produce syrup, but is
> there anything in the heating process that is necessary to
> bring out the full flavor of the maple? The sap as it comes
> from the tree is pretty insipid but it seems dippy to burn a
> lot of pricey fuel in the boil and then turn around and thin
> it out.
Reply from Mitchell Omichinski
I have a 25 Liter batch of maple sap mead bulk aging for the last two
months. I have been making maple sap wine for a number of years, and decided
to try it with honey this past year. I boiled the sap (initialy 2.5 Brix) to
a density of 11.5 Brix, and sweetened with conola honey to 22 Brix. No need
to boil the sap all the way downn to syrup (Brix 66.5) then dilute with
water and honey back to Brix 22. Lots of maple flovor and aroma with sap at
Brix 11.5.
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1369, 9 March 2008
From: "Mitchell Omichinski" <mitchell2@hugs.com>
Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2008 19:45:34 -0500
> Subject: Too much tannin?
> From: ashford@whisperpc.com
> Date: Fri, 7 Mar 2008 10:30:19 -0800 (PST)
>
> I started a half-batch of cyser (Fall's Bounty Cyser from The Compleat
> Meadmaker) about two weeks ago, with some minor changes (replace sugar
> with
> honey, use Lavin 71B-1122 instead of D-47, add amylase and pectin enzyme).
> I
> had run the dates and raisins through a blender with some cider, but only
> until "diced". The initial SG was 1.122. It was down to 1.027 last night
> (approaching end of fermentation), so I tried a little taste.
>
> BITTER :(
>
> Other than that, the flavor was OK, but a bit light in the honey. As
> bitter
> as it was, it was hard for me to determine if the sweetness was right (I
> was
> aiming at slightly sweet). Of course, since the fermentation wasn't quite
> done, the sweetness will be changing anyway.
>
> I'm guessing that the bitterness was due to the tannin from the fruit
> skins.
> I racked this into another 3 gallon carboy, filtering out the fruit (I
> used a
> fine mesh bag - it worked great), to finish the fermentation.
>
> Short of aging this for multiple years, is there anything that can make
> this
> more drinkable? I have considered starting up another half-batch, without
> fruits, and blending them. I've also considered adding more honey, and
> having
> it end up at medium-sweet.
>
> Am I heading down the right path? Does anyone have any other suggestions?
>
> Thank you.
>
> Peter Ashford
>
Reply from Mitchell Omichinski
I made a pear wine some years ago with bitter tasting pears which resulted
in a bitter wine. I had to bulk age it a year before the bitterness
attenuated enough to bottle. However, I was tempted to use Polyclar (low
M.W. polyphenols) AKA: Polyvinylpolypyrrolidone food grade. Polyclar AT
/10. Polyamide as a finnining agent to cut the bitterness.
------------------------------
Subject: pH and mead
From: "Todd Miller" <todd.miller@borderlandnet.net>
Date: Sat, 29 Mar 2008 17:19:29 -0600
Hello, folks--
Not too long ago, I picked up a pH meter for beer brewing, and wondered
whether or not it might be useful in mead making as well. I'm hoping some
of you can provide feedback on what the correct pH range for a must should
be, techniques for adjusting the must pH, etc. Many of the recipes I've
seen in the past simply call for the addition of some predetermined amount
of acid blend or some such. But it seems to me that if the goal is reaching
or maintaining an optimal pH, it would be preferable to determine what the
correct pH should be, and adjust as necessary. So I'm just curious to hear
some thoughts on pH, adjusting pH, and whether or not it's even worth doing.
Thanks in advance for any ideas--
tm
~~~~~~~~~~
Theirs is a hidden land; wolf-haunted,
Stormy highlands with perilous paths,
Where mountain torrents plunge through the mists
And flow unseen...
- -Beowulf
~~~~~~~~~~
------------------------------
Subject: second-hand bottles
From: dan@geer.org
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2008 10:52:54 -0400
Folks,
I use second hand bottles, picked out of the trash
in this recycling-mad town, and soaked in Idaphor
for several days to both sanitize and to loosen the
labels for removal (Oh, but do I wish that American
producers had not gone to self-stick labels rather
than good European gummed labels...). Prior to
bottling, they get a bath, hot water only, in the
dishwasher set to "auto-temp."
My question: As bottles get used and re-used, the
outsides do accumulate some fingerprints and the
like which hot water does not remove. Does anyone
know if using, say, B-Brite in the dishwasher is
a good idea for this, and, if so, would a second
water-only washing be required?
- --dan
------------------------------
Subject: cider miscalculation
From: Dick Dunn <rcd@talisman.com>
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:00:29 -0600
These numbers are way off--"Launce Haught" <launcelot@gmail.com> wrote:
...
> I can tell you is what I did for my "Christmas Fireworks" Cider.
>
> Tree-top concentrate in bulk. Enough to produce 15g
> 15g pure organic apple juice (something the grocery store had)
> Re-constituted the concentrate with apple juice (in essence giving it double
> the sugars)
> Pitched in distillers yeast, and stood back.
...[rapid fermentation notes snipped]...
> I took it out of my 15g primary, and settled it into a little bulk aging...
> like a months worth (in one big demi)
> After it was "kind of clear" I pushed half into primary, and bottled half at
> it's *estimate* 32%abv (No, that is not a joke, literally my vinometer
> capped at 27% and that was not high enough to read the ABV)...
Summary: You're saying you started with a must at about 8.5% potential
alcohol, fermented it with a yeast capable of 18-20% alcohol, and got 32%
alcohol (64 proof) in the result...and then primed and fermented more.
Whoa, Nellie...you just pegged the Bogo-meter! Mighta bent the needle too.
(Hmph.)
I Don't Think So.
Working backwards: How did you get such a wrong %abv number? By using a
vinometer. Vinometers are notoriously difficult to use. They will not
give accurate results -except- with a completely dry, completely still,
cleared liquid. Can't tell how much sugar you still had present, but you
had suspended solids, and surely a lot of dissolved CO2, at the point you
took the measurement. (Using a vinometer on a newly-finished ferment, even
if quite clear, you have to de-gas.)
The yeast: No, distiller's yeast won't reach 32% or anything close to it.
The manufacturer of your yeast claims 18-20% max. For those unfamiliar
with "distiller's yeasts": The point is not that they can achieve high
alcohol (they're about as capable that way as a strong wine/champagne
yeast) so much as that they ferment very fast. They can take the heat
of a rapid fermentation. In such a fast ferment, they produce off-flavors,
of course...but the assumption is that those can be removed during
distillation and a filtering step. That's why their practical use is
limited to pre-distillation fermentation.
The must: Standard concentrate is 4:1 - 1 volume of concentrate
reconstitutes to 4 volumes of juice. With normal commercial 1.040
juice, your mixture gives theoretical 1.064 OG. You might get a few
more points from the organic juice base, but you're still under 9%
potential alcohol.
It's fun to stretch a story a -little- bit, but do a sanity check on the
numbers. Keep in mind there are people reading the MLD not only for good
information -but- also because they're trying to learn.
- --
Dick Dunn rcd@talisman.com Hygiene, Colorado USA
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #1372
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