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Mead Lovers Digest #1447
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1447, 29 October 2009
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #1447 29 October 2009
Mead Discussion Forum
Contents:
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1446, 19 October 2009 (Nathan Boettcher)
5th Annual Valhalla the Meading of Life Mead Competiton Results ("Christop...)
Storage (Joe Kuhl)
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Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1446, 19 October 2009
From: Nathan Boettcher <kalendrinn@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:57:03 -0700
> Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1442, 19 September 2009
> From: queenbee@gotmead.com
> Date: Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:50:12 -0500
>
>> Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1441, 8 September 2009
>> From: Nathan Boettcher <kalendrinn@gmail.com>
>> Date: Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:36:09 -0700
>>
>> So here comes the question. =A0I tasted at the initial racking and it
>> tasted great! =A0The mead had a 12% by volume which was good...higher
>> than I had expected. =A0It wasn't very clear. =A0After the bottling, I
>> tasted it and it had a vinegry taste to it. =A0It was clearer and was
>> 12.5% by volume.
>>
>> Question: Why did it end up with such a vinegry taste??
>>
>>
>> Best Regards,
>>
>> - -Nathan
>
> Sorry for the delayed response, Nathan. My question to you would be
> what are you putting in your airlock? Not water, I hope! Fruit flies
> will swim right through it and turn anything into vinegar! Fortunately
> this has never happened to me, but when I got the heads up on this I
> made sure all my airlocks are now filled with StarSan. I'm amazed at
> the number of dead fruit flies that get stuck in them and die, and
> shudder to think of what a loss it would be if any of my 30 +/-
> carboys were to be left unprotected. You can also use vodka or
> Everclear; I don't know if sodium metabisulphate works or not, but
> with athsma I really have no love of the stuff.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Deborah "Queen Bee" Lee
Thank you for the response Deborah. I used Three Olive Vodka in the
airlock, just the straight stuff. From what I could tell, no fruit
flies. There aren't that many here in the Spokane area as it's very
dry. I think I've only seen 3 in the 4+ years I've lived in this
house. I also had the carboys down in the basement where it was dry
and cool. I have been tasting the bottle I set aside in the fridge
now and again, and it seems to be getting better...though it could
frankly just be my memory. I was wondering if adding a small portion
of diluted honey to each bottle might help cut the vinegar taste.
It's not horrible, but it's not very good to drink at this point
either. It makes me think of what people label in the movies as 3rd
world swill...but drinkable. I will have to try the extra honey on
the bottle I have in the fridge and see if it helps. I will let you
know. Any other input from someone that might have had the same issue
would be great. I still don't know what I did wrong that killed it
other than the unexpected aeration during racking.
Thanks.
- -Nathan
------------------------------
Subject: 5th Annual Valhalla the Meading of Life Mead Competiton Results
From: "Christopher Clair" <buzzclub@verizon.net>
Date: Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:47:19 -0400
It is with great pleasure that I can announce the results of the 5th Annual
Valhalla The Meading of Life mead only competition! Valhalla was held on
October 17th at Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant in West Chester, PA. My
appologies in the delay for these results but there were issues posting to
the web site.
We had 79 entries from around the country competing in 6 judging categories.
Congratulations to Jim Powell for his Best of Show winning Black Currant
Melomel! For complete results, please visit our website
http://www.valhalla-mead.com. Score sheets, ribbons and prizes should go
out within the next day or two.
I also want to thank all the judges and stewards for giving their time on
Sat. and our generous prize sponsors. Without these people, Valhalla would
not be possible.
Finally, I want to give a special thank you to Larry Horwitz and the entire
staff at Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant for hosting us. Their generosity
towards home brewers and mead makers is unmatched and greatly appreciated.
Christopher Clair,
2009 Valhalla Organizer
------------------------------
Subject: Storage
From: Joe Kuhl <joe.kuhl@hotmail.com>
Date: Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:12:22 -0600
HelloI have the finished my bottling my Raspberry Mead. one straight and
one with a little extra raspberry honey added to it. Not bad. I like
the sweetened one better. I have also made raspberry-vanilla liqueur and
raspberry elixir. I figure I can do more experimenting as I drink it.
My question is: What is a good temporature to store all these things at.
would a wine cooler be good, or room temporature or what? The have been
in my bedroom closet which stays at about 68 to 70 degrees. But now I
want to store them for a longer period of time.
Thank you
Joe Kuhl
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End of Mead Lover's Digest #1447
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