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Mead Lovers Digest #1435
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1435, 31 July 2009
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #1435 31 July 2009
Mead Discussion Forum
Contents:
Re: Gruit Metheglin (Bob)
Re: Gruit Metheglin? ("Dan McFeeley")
Mead Day is Saturday & Recipe Adjusted ("Janis Gross")
Yeast Energizer for Mead (Finger)
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Subject: Re: Gruit Metheglin
From: Bob <bobtull@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:51:35 -0400
Wow! Thanks for all the great advice and anecdotes for my Gruit
project! I did get Buhner's book..and after perusing it, decided I
would ALSO like to try a Heather mead...So I guess I will be ordering
Heather tips along with the other herbs.
I've tried to preserve attribution in the replies below, but please
accept my apologies if I screwed something up:
> From: MeadGuild@aol.com
> Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:02:07 EDT
>
> Since you only plan on making a gallon, I suggest skip the Yarrow
> (it gave me a nasty skin rash) and make one gallon each using the
> Myrica Gale as the bittering agent in one and the Labrador Tea as
> the bittering agent in the other.
I've seen that reported for Yarrow. I think I will try to make some
Yarrow tea and test my reaction to it. Since the stuff will largely be
for my own consumption and for a few other adventurous types, I'll at
least test my own susceptibility to the Yarrow reaction.
> From: Arthur Torrey <arthur_torrey@comcast.net>
> Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:14:23 -0400
>
> I have made such a brew for ritual purposes, go through one or two bottles a
> year at Samhein... Probably a bit stronger than what you are suggesting,
> but...
>
Care to share your recipe, or just herb concentrations just so I can
get a ballpark figure for STRONG. I will probably go with some other
advice downthread about testing some Tea in proportion to the final
concentration as a guide. I'd also be interested in your particular
'ritual use'. Feel free to contact me by direct email if you would
prefer. I admit that I was drawn to the topic by BOTH historical and
visionary contexts.
>From: Paul Shouse <paulhshouse@gmail.com>
>Date: Fri, 24 Jul 2009 08:26:58 +0900
>Experimentation is how we learn, so even though I don't know the herbs
>you're planning to use I can say that te results will be interesting. You
>might try this, though, make your tea as planned and mix it into the amount
>of water you'd use in a carboy and then taste it. A wet run, as it were...
>then take a cupful of that and add a bit of honey. If it tastes good to you,
>then go ahead and brew up a batch, and be sure to let us know how it turns
>out.
Good advice! I was planning on trying some herb tea made from these
individually and collectively to be sure that I didn't find them
totally unpalatable in that form..but I should mimic as closely as
possible the final concentration in the must for tasting. I'm sure
there may be some differences with alcohol and fermentation, but I
will definitely do this.
> From: Steve Thomas <fabricus@hvi.net>
> Date: Fri, 24 Jul 2009 10:17:54 -0400
> As noted, the SG is targeted at 1.105 at start of ferment; the mead
> was clearly finishing too sweet, so a fairly large volume was chosen for
> the final herb addition, half a gallon. The ferment picked up again,
> and now the residual sugar is about right. This makes the effective SG
> about 1.092, surprisingly low to have residual sweetness. Apparently
> the yeast, chosen for its scent of rose petals, is remarkably alcohol
> intolerant.
THANKS for reprinting your recipe! What was the Final Gravity? IF it
finished sweet, I'm guessing around 1.02-1.03 or something? Somewhere
around 7-8% ABV? Been torn myself as to whether to go with a wine
yeast and start at relatively high gravity for a 14-15% ABV, or start
lower and use an Ale Yeast for a more 'beer-like' alcohol content.
> From: Wes Cochrane <wcochran@tcq.net>
> Date: Sat, 25 Jul 2009 15:06:34 -0500
> Several people who tasted it like it, but I find it
> not-quite-unpleasant-but-close.
That could describe some of the more 'standard' meads that have come
out of my basement... :-)
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Gruit Metheglin?
From: "Dan McFeeley" <mcfeeley@keynet.net>
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:09:27 -0500
Another good source of information on
gruit are a series of postings by Adam
Larsen on the Hist-Brewing digest. Go
here:
http://www.pbm.com/pipermail/hist-brewing/2000/author.html#6174
Scroll down to near the bottom of the author
listings and you'll see his posts. There was a
compilation of his posts at this link:
http://sca_brew.homestead.com/Gruit.html.
but unfortunately it seems to be down.
Although Steve Buhner's book "Sacred and
Herbal Healing Beers" has gotten a lot of
attention, at times he seems to take a somewhat
reckless approach to the use of medicinal herbs.
Be sure to research his recipes carefully.
Another good source is Cindy Renfrow's book,
"A Sip Through Time." In additon to recipes for
old ales, wines, beers, etc., there is also an herbal
glossary, with herbs to be used with caution marked
with an '*'.
Cindy's book is available at her website:
http://www.thousandeggs.com/sip.html
It's also a good idea to be cautious with herbal
mixtures if you're on medications of any kind.
Some medications will have interractions with
certain herbs so again, use with caution.
<><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><>
Dan McFeeley
"Meon an phobail a thogail trid an chultur"
(The people's spirit is raised through culture)
------------------------------
Subject: Mead Day is Saturday & Recipe Adjusted
From: "Janis Gross" <janis@brewersassociation.org>
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2009 09:04:37 -0600
Hi everyone,
Mead Day is this Saturday; register your site today!
http://www.beertown.org/apps/mead/mead_reg.aspx
Also, this is a heads-up that I have improved the recipe a bit, so if
you printed it out prior to yesterday you might want to compare it with
the recipe now posted
(http://www.beertown.org/events/meadday/recipe.html). Highlights of the
changes include upping the number of yeast packages to use to 2, if you
don't want to make a yeast starter; including the recipe for a yeast
starter, if you want to go that way instead; and removing the
carbonation option in the Bottling section and replacing it with
information on how to use a stabilizer to keep this a still mead.
Have a great time making and sharing mead with others this weekend!
Cheers,
Janis
Janis Gross
National Homebrew Competition Director
AHA Project Coordinator
janis@brewersassociation.org
303-447-0816 x134
1-888-822-6273 (toll free)
www.beertown.org/homebrewing
Brewers Association
736 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
------------------------------
Subject: Yeast Energizer for Mead
From: Finger <johncleal@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:02:05 -0700 (PDT)
Is vitamin B1 suitable either as a yeast energizer, or as a supplement to
yeast nutrients ?
If so, how many crushed tablets per gallon ?
Thanks in anticipation
John Cleal
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #1435
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