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Mead Lovers Digest #1487
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1487, 1 September 2010
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #1487 1 September 2010
Mead Discussion Forum
Contents:
Re: Long-term Storage of Mead (docmac9582@aol.com)
Re: really long term storage (mail-box)
Re: Who has a copy of the (historically) oldest Mead recipe? (mail-box)
Maple wine ("M. Graham Clark")
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Subject: Re: Long-term Storage of Mead
From: docmac9582@aol.com
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:44:56 -0400
Re: 15 Year Storage of Mead
Steve asked about alcoholic content needed for 15 year storage of mead.
I only have experience for 12-13 years so far. All three of my kids
wanted mead for their weddings and enough small bottles (6-7 oz) to give
to attendees and also for themselves to open at their future wedding
anniversaries. First wedding mead is 12+ and outstanding, getting better
each year, but was terrific at the wedding. I have seen an article that said
that (traditional) mead reaches its peak at 50 years, and I believe it.
I make mine at about 12%, which is approximately where my WL720 sweet
mead yeast stops. MAKE SURE that you give your mead plenty of time
for ALL of the yeast to drop out of solution. Potassium sorbate coupled
synergisticly with potassium metabisulfite (Campden tablets) added when the
yeast is not actively working - will inhibit further yeast MULTIPLICATION,
and inhibits, but does not kill the yeast. So for long-term storage,
any residual yeast will slowly start making delicious carbonated mead
before it starts to make dangerous bottle bombs. It helps if the mead
is at the high alcohol tolerance for the yeast you use as well, giving it
less incentive to do anything. So the type of yeast (alcohol tolerance)
might be important in determining how much alcohol you need for stability.
Carl McMillin
Brecksville, OH
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Subject: Re: really long term storage
From: mail-box <mail-box@comcast.net>
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2010 22:13:31 -0400
> Subject: really long term storage
> From: tattoo123@webtv.net (Steve Ruch)
> Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 09:56:42 -0700
>
> How high a % would I need to get to to be reasonably sure the mead would
> be good in 15 years?
> Thanks,
> Steve
Steve,
Any wine strength mead, with proper preservation, should be capable of
lasting 15+ years. You'll want a 12% or higher mead, and to sulfite
appropriately. If your mead is of higher alcohol strength, I think that
this just gives you some additional breathing room.
With such long term storage comes some additional concerns. You want a
wine cellar environment where you are controlling the temperature and
the humidity. You will want to use high quality corks, and you will
want to monitor the mead over the years. If you see the corks breaking
down you'll want to decant and rebottle, or at least to recork.
Lastly, my advice is all book knowledge and speculation after that wore
off. I haven't had a mead of over than about 8 years in the bottle, so
please take my advice with the proper grain of salt. I'm fairly certain
that doubling the bottle age I have experience with brings with it a
whole host of concerns that I have not yet had to deal with. You might
find the specific knowledge you're looking for by looking for stories
about the long term storage of vintage wines. There are plenty of these
available to you on the Internet.
Cheers,
Ken
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Subject: Re: Who has a copy of the (historically) oldest Mead recipe?
From: mail-box <mail-box@comcast.net>
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2010 22:21:34 -0400
> Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1485, 20 August 2010
> From: Sammy Wight<sammy.wight@gmail.com>
> Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:51:06 -0400
>
> *Who has a copy of the (historically) oldest Mead recipe? I have one from
> the 15th Century, found online from a British aristocrat. Would love to
> have some more to tuck away in our recipe book. sammy.wight@gmail.com
> thank you.*
Sammy,
I am willing to bet that you would not like to have such a recipe in
your book. I've made two (2) meads from historical recipes. Both were
miserable. This could be a matter of taste, I am willing to admit. But
the historical recipes use far more herbal additions than I am
comfortable with or find flavorful, and are far sweeter than I enjoy.
The upshot is that the "yea olde time" mead makers may have been
influential, in their time, but they lost a lot in translation to modern
tastes.
Make the mead that you like. Honor the ancients for their spirit, their
effort, and their contribution. But don't think to honor them for their
ancient recipes. These are not going to turn out to be what you might
expect.
Regards,
Ken
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Subject: Maple wine
From: "M. Graham Clark" <mclark04@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:58:58 -0300
Hi all,
Just made my first batch of ancient orange. Turned out great. Now that I
have moved, and have the aging time, I can start making more traditional,
and non-traditional, meads. Thanks for the input a few months back!
I have a question about maple wines. I want to make a blueberry maple wine,
since I just moved to New Brunswick, Canada. (I don't know if this can be
called a melomel, since there is no honey) We have ample amounts of both
berries and syrup in this part of the world. I was hoping to get some input
on the following recipe for a 1 gallon test batch:
1.5 - 1.7 L of maple syrup
1 tsp of yeast nutrient
champagne yeast
blueberrys (1-1.5 lbs?) in primary ferment
blueberrys (1-1.5 lbs?) after primary racking
The berries are cheap around here, if not free, so I figure more is better.
Also, I am looking for any advice on maple syrup. What quality makes the
best wine; light, amber, dark, etc. From what I know about maple syrup
production, and I could be mistaken, is that early runs are high in sugar
and therefore require less cooking/reducing, so you get a light product.
The darker the product the more the sap needs to be reduced, but this also
results in a more caramel/burnt taste to the syrup. How much of that taste
will disappear with the fermentaiton of the sugar? Should I go with a light
syrup to preserve the woody taste, or a dark one to preserve the caramel?
Any thoughts would be welcomed. Does it even matter with a lot of
blueberries, will they be the only thing you can taste?
I love the forum, thank you all for making it possible.
Graham
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End of Mead Lover's Digest #1487
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