Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Mead Lovers Digest #1491
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1491, 28 September 2010
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #1491 28 September 2010
Mead Discussion Forum
Contents:
Re: Ice wine/mead (Mike Faul)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1490, 23 September 2010 ("M. Graham Clark")
Re: Ice Wine/Mead (Chazzone)
Quick question on MEAD (anthonydykes@iendeavor.com)
Re: Ice Mead (docmac9582@aol.com)
re: Ice wine/mead (Steve Piatz)
Re: Ice wine/mead (Mark Kornell)
NOTE: Digest appears whenever there is enough material to send one.
Send ONLY articles for the digest to mead@talisman.com.
Use mead-request@talisman.com for [un]subscribe and admin requests.
Digest archives and FAQ are available at www.talisman.com/mead#Archives
A searchable archive is at http://www.gotmead.com/mldarchives.html
Digest Janitor: Dick Dunn
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Re: Ice wine/mead
From: Mike Faul <mfaul@faul.net>
Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2010 09:25:58 -0700
There really is no reason to try to replicate the method of icewine
production whereby the grapes are either left to freeze on the vine or
artificially frozen etc.
With mead, you can simply reduce the sugars to the desired level with
water. The harder part is stopping fermentation at the right level AND
having the correct acidity (similar) naturally or via addition of
acid/acid blend.
The latter being the key using the right acid blend of citric/tartaric acid.
I have one mead (Melia) that has won gold medals each time entered into
the international mead competition (single varietal) as well as numerous
awards in international competitions. It was also featured on the menu
at the French Laundry in years past, thus making it not only the only
mead ever served in a Michelin rated restaurant, but putting mead on the
map for people who enjoy fine dessert wines.
Mike
Rabbit's Foot Meadery
www.rabbitsfootmeadery.com
> Subject: Ice wine/mead
> From: "Leo Knisely"<leoknisely@centurytel.net>
> Date: Sun, 19 Sep 2010 12:24:27 -0500
>
> I have recently been introduced to Ice Wines and love them but this got me
> to thinking and reading up on the subject with an eye towards mead
> production. Is there such a thing as Ice Mead? I read of a alternate
> method to induce artificial cold to the grapes/fruit and then press them as
> this reduces the loss one has if the natural freeze comes to late. What if
> one were to press the fruit first and then freeze the resultant juice to
> remove the water content and them ferment would not this obtain the same
> desired result? The reason I ask is the only fruit press I have is a very
> old, small one that I fear would break trying to crush frozen fruit.
>
> Leo Knisely
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1490, 23 September 2010
From: "M. Graham Clark" <mclark04@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2010 13:56:36 -0300
Subject: Ice wine/mead
> From: "Leo Knisely" <leoknisely@centurytel.net>
> Date: Sun, 19 Sep 2010 12:24:27 -0500
>
> I have recently been introduced to Ice Wines and love them but this got me
> to thinking and reading up on the subject with an eye towards mead
> production. Is there such a thing as Ice Mead? I read of a alternate
> method to induce artificial cold to the grapes/fruit and then press them as
> this reduces the loss one has if the natural freeze comes to late. What if
> one were to press the fruit first and then freeze the resultant juice to
> remove the water content and them ferment would not this obtain the same
> desired result? The reason I ask is the only fruit press I have is a very
> old, small one that I fear would break trying to crush frozen fruit.
>
> Leo Knisely
>
>
Hi Leo,
The ice wine process is highly controversial, and as much folklore as
science. I grew up in Niagara, Ontario, Canada, one of the premiere ice
wine regions in the world. The simple answer is yes, you can just freeze
the fruit and press them to get the 'iced' effect. I see no reason why that
wouldn't work with a malomel as well. Make sure you use the concentrated
juice, not the pulp, or you will lose the 'iced' effect. There is a company
out of Quebec that does this with apples, really tasty stuff. However many
of the top ice wine producers leave the grapes on the vines for as long as
possible (some until Febuary) to also get a bit of dehydration and other
'environmental effects'. The grapes end up looking like raisins by the time
they are picked. This is why Ontario can have excellent ice wine some years
because it gets really hot in the summer but also cold and dry in the
winter, which reduces the chance of mold before the grapes freeze.
Ironically, the really good years get a type of mold on the grapes that
further extracts water before the grape freezes (I forget what its called,
but other style of desert wines are made with the mold too). So the long
answer is that just freezing your fruit does not have the same effect as
leaving it in the elements until the frost gets too it. So many more
factors affect a good bottle of ice wine then simply concentrating the
juice. All that being said it comes down to what tastes good, is good, so
try it out and see for yourself. (Please let us know how it went)
Also as a side note, I find ice wine too sweet on its own but if you mix it
with equal parts of a good vodka and you have one great cocktail.
Happy icing,
Graham
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Ice Wine/Mead
From: Chazzone <chazzone@sbcglobal.net>
Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2010 13:55:03 -0400
Leo,
The fruit used to make ice wine is not frozen when it is pressed.
In reality, it is little more than making wine from raisins.
The whole point of ice wine is that the fruit is left on the vines to
dry out until the sugars are concentrated, and if they undergo
freezing, it ruptures the cells and allows for easier pressing once
they are thawed..
This can be accomplished with mead by increasing the gravity of the
must.
- -zz
------------------------------
Subject: Quick question on MEAD
From: anthonydykes@iendeavor.com
Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2010 16:48:52 -0400 (EDT)
Hello, My name is Anthony Dykes. I am just getting involved in
HOMEBREWING, and am VERY interested in makeing MEAD. I think i pretty much
have everything down, But i just wanted to ask a few questions. I remember
when i was younger, I was at a local festival, and remember having some
"SPARKLING MEAD" a freind had homebrewed. I am NOT quite sure on how this
is done. On your internet post at
http://www.oldwestbrew.com/basic_meadmaking.htm under the "BOTTELING"
section it states "A normal amount of priming sugar is about 4 ounces by
weight for five gallons. " Now, Is this saying 4 Ounces of sugar added to
water in a syrup solution, or is it saying a SUGAR/WATER soultion in the
amount or 4 ounces added to the must? I also have a quick question on
ageing. At what relative temperature should Mead be stored at, Does mead
get better with time (is a 5 year old mead BETTER than a 1 year old mead),
and how long should I age a mead before i can really enjoy it? Any help
would be MUCH appreciated.
Thank You,
Anthony Dykes
anthonydykes@iendeavor.com
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Ice Mead
From: docmac9582@aol.com
Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2010 21:04:33 -0400
Leo asked about ICE MEAD. I think in general, this would be equivalent to
SACK MEAD, the higher alcohol equivalent to traditional mead, and much more
concentrated than "hydromels". In order to make Ice Grape Wines (which I
also like), crystallized water is removed to concentrate the grape juice
by pressing the grapes immediately as they come off a frozen vine (or less
expensively in the bulk). Also, wines like the Germen Trockenbeerenauslese
have concentrated juice (less water) due to both the late harvest and
???noble rot???. With mead, we do the opposite. We add water in order
to allow the honey to ferment. If you want a stronger/sweeter mead, add
less water and make sure you have an appropriate yeast for the product
you desire. The same is pretty much true for melomels. With fruit meads,
we do not need to worry about too much water in the fruit ??? we simply
don???t add as much water to the honey.
In the National Homebrew Style Guidelines, ???Sack Mead??? is supposed to
have an original specific gravity of 1.120-1.140+ (which is a potential
alcohol of 16.2% ??? 18.8%+ if fermented to dryness) and an alcohol content
of 14% - 18%. Beware that some high alcohol meads taste hot and may smooth
out and improve with longer than usual aging (a couple of years).
Carl McMillin
Brecksville, OH, OH
------------------------------
Subject: re: Ice wine/mead
From: Steve Piatz <sjpiatz@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2010 10:59:03 -0500
Leo Knisely asked about Iced Mead ala Eis Beer. While I do not know
of any commercial product, we do allow Mead in the Eis Anything
category in The Upper Mississippi Mash Out homebrew competition. See
http://www.mashout.org/index.html for details though the site has not
been updated to the 2011 details as yet. Following the Eisbock
process for the Eis Anything category, the competition wants you to
remove at least 20% of the volume as ice. Beware that it can be
difficult to Eis some meads, sweet sack types in particular need to
get really cold before they turn slushy.
- --
Steve Piatz sjpiatz@gmail.com
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Ice wine/mead
From: Mark Kornell <mkornell@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2010 11:54:08 -0700
Leo Knisely wrote:
> I have recently been introduced to Ice Wines and love them but this got me
> to thinking and reading up on the subject with an eye towards mead
> production. Is there such a thing as Ice Mead? I read of a alternate
> method to induce artificial cold to the grapes/fruit and then press them as
> this reduces the loss one has if the natural freeze comes to late. What if
> one were to press the fruit first and then freeze the resultant juice to
> remove the water content and them ferment would not this obtain the same
> desired result? The reason I ask is the only fruit press I have is a very
>old, small one that I fear would break trying to crush frozen fruit.
>
> Leo Knisely
I made an "ice" wine about 10 years ago by freezing fresh grape juice. After
it was frozen, I drilled holes (3/8" diameter, about a dozen) in the bottom
of the bucket and let it drip into another container as it melted. When the
new container was at about half the volume of the original juice, I then
fermented the concentrate. The result was pretty good. Still drinking it,
albeit slowly, and it seems to age well.
A few caveats:
- - Allow plenty of room in your first container for expansion as the juice
freezes!
- - Don't let the frozen juice sit in your freezer for long, as it will start
to pick up freezer flavors
- - Since you will drill holes in the bottom of the first container,
clean/sterilize the drill bit
Not sure how this would pertain to freezing/thawing honey. Even if the above
process would work (I doubt it would be very effective due to the high
viscosity of honey), honey's already got a pretty high sugar concentration,
and is used in diluted (with water and/or juice) form to make mead. If you
wanted a higher concentration, use less water/more honey.
Or, are you thinking of making a pyment with this type of grape juice
concentrate?
- --
Mark Kornell mkornell@gmail.com
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #1491
*******************************
