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Mead Lovers Digest #1533
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1533, 15 July 2011
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #1533 15 July 2011
Mead Discussion Forum
Contents:
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1532, 11 July 2011 (lazurus106@aol.com)
RE: Mead Lover's Digest #1532, 11 July 2011 (David Edgecomb)
crystallized honey (dan@geer.org)
Re: MLD #1532, Perry (arthur_torrey@comcast.net)
Ginger Mead (Patrick King)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1532, 11 July 2011 (David Vachon)
Sweettooth & Sauternes ("Wout Klingens")
RE:Perry ("Wout Klingens")
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1532, 11 July 2011 ("M. Graham Clark")
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1532, 11 July 2011
From: lazurus106@aol.com
Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2011 11:20:28 -0400
Hi Guys,
Ok You guys really have me confused there seems to be a nice leavening of
beekeepers here. But you continue in the odd idea that the normal state
of honey is liquid ?
You are aware that the bees ad enzymes to the nectar gathered, then let
it dry in the cells till the moisture drops well below were it will spoil,
right! You don't seem to be aware that bythe time it cools off outside most
honey has crystallized. There are a couple of specific nectar source honey
that seem to crystallize if you sneeze in the same room!, others that are
very difficult however if a beekeeper waits to long with the wrong honey
in the combs. it will crystallize in the comb and your done .there is no
known way to reliquify the honey without melting the wax and honey above
165 degrees, by that time the honey is pretty well cooked and oxidizes
that one way you get the cooked tasting darker honey known as separator
honey were you are separating the capping wax from the last of the honey.
(its usually cheap so its a good first mead honey) a lot of beekeepers
sell this to hog producers for feed as it is kinda poor.
As someone said honey is pasturized by rasing it temprature to at leeast
the 165 point for just a moment, this breaks down the enzyme the bees
add and melts out all the seed cystals which is what the enzyme causes. I
have just over a ton of honey stored in the barn most in 5 gallon pails
all are cystalized solid its how non commercial beekeepers and or organic
beekeepers keep there honey.
You may know of honey that is cystalised with very small cystals used for
spreading on toast, it is specificly started by adding tiny seed cystals,
when added cause a very smooth soft spreadable mix, that is so beloved
by those who have run into it. Beekeepers please think before you flame,
I know you know this but its never spoken off anywhere, I can think of,
and it causes new beekeepers all kinds of problems.
Cheers,
Dutch
------------------------------
Subject: RE: Mead Lover's Digest #1532, 11 July 2011
From: David Edgecomb <diode21@msn.com>
Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2011 09:47:14 -0600
> The Mead finish... that thick kind of cough syrup-y thick finish that
Meads seem to have So here is a question for you... What was your water
to honey ratio? I typicaly use a 5:1 or 4:1 for my meads. Granted it is
not a perfect ratio but I feel a good starting point. David
------------------------------
Subject: crystallized honey
From: dan@geer.org
Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2011 13:57:57 -0400
I'm a beekeeper of 35 years standing. Bees store honey in wax
cells that are sealed with wax all around. The bees seal the
cells when the moisture content is "right" and, as such, the
competent beekeeper does not harvest uncapped cells intentionally
but rather times harvest to when combs are fully capped.
When harvesting, the cells are cut open, that is the tops are
cut off. The frames of honeycomb are then spun in an extractor
such that centrifugal force removes the honey from the cells
leaving the comb empty but intact. This is frugal insofar as
the re-use of the combs in subsequent seasons saves the bees
the metabolic expense of building new combs. "Cut comb" honey
is just what it sounds like -- the whole of the honeycomb is
cut with a knife to fit whatever container, e.g., 4" square,
will be the sales vehicle.
That metabolic expense is reported as "one pound of wax costs
seven pounds of honey to produce," so the ability to re-use
comb is not inconsequential. Most larger beekeepers have gone
over, however, to plastic comb so cut comb honey is both a more
costly product because of the metabolic cost to the bees, the
hand labor of packaging, and the need to use full wax combs
(plastic is, in beekeeping as in damned near everything else,
"cheaper" even though the bees flat-out hate it).
If you are serious about avoiding oxygen contact, then cut comb
honey is your answer. It will be a relatively expensive answer
but an answer it will be. When honey is extracted, the cuttings
are, indeed, a mass of honey and wax so most beekeepers use some
kind of settling tank that will, over the course of 24 hours,
let the wax and honey separate (the wax rises to the top of the
honey and the honey is then drawn off from the bottom of the
settling tank). I let my bees clean up the remainder but one
could just as easily wash that remaining wax/honey residue in
clean water and use that in your mead making.
In any case, store-bought honey will always have been heated
to 160F (markedly reducing its viscosity) and filtered to
remove nucleation sites that would later be the source of
crystallization. Yes, nucleation sites might also be dust,
pollen bits, the odd bee's knee, or whatever. Once heated
and filtered, it will not readily crystallize but at the
cost of having driven off volatiles, i.e., aroma components.
If you have ever had creamed honey, then you have seen the
other end of the spectrum, viz., the intentional crystallization
of honey with much mixing during the crystallization process
(that mixing gets small grain size and is the same idea as
why you keep cranking the ice-cream maker as the freeze up
progresses -- small grain size).
Crystallized honey and liquid honey keep equally well. I,
myself, prefer crystallized as it is less inherently messy
to use, but we are now into matters of taste and style.
Really long keeping would probably mean cut comb as we can
only presume that the bees make the best storage containers
themselves -- the sealed cells. FWIW, honey crystallizes
fastest at 55-60F.
More than you asked for.
- --dan
------------------------------
Subject: Re: MLD #1532, Perry
From: arthur_torrey@comcast.net
Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2011 22:11:47 +0000 (UTC)
I've made one batch of Perry, which came out quite well. If I time it just
right, the orchard that I get my untreated apple cider from also sells
a PEAR cider, made the same way, by crushing the pears and squeezing out
the juice. Only downside is it costs about twice as much...
I bought 1.5 gallons, and used it to make a 3 gallon batch of Perry, using
essentially the same recipe I use for a Cyser - except that I didn't add
the "apple pie spices" (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice) that I usually
add to my Cysers.
I make my Cysers the same way that I make a simple mead, just substituting
the Cider for the water, and going a bit light on the honey. I used to
use champagne yeast, but now stick with Lalvin D-47, as it doesn't make
quite as much alcohol before going dormant.
The Perry came out fairly dry, with a sort of champagne like taste, with
a nice light pear flavor, much milder than a cyser, which makes sense
considering the milder flavor of pears to begin with...
ART
> Subject: perry
> From: Chris Fales <chris.fales@yahoo.com>
> Date: Sat, 9 Jul 2011 05:25:42 -0700 (PDT)
>
> Another lurker comes forth. As a new mead maker I try to read and learn,
> but now have a question. I want to make a pear melomel. Wikipedia only
> discusses perry as a fermented pear drink similar to apple cider but makes
> no mention of honey. Apparently the variety of pear is important too,
> and the good ones are not readily available. That said, can anyone give
> advice on a commonly available type of pear that migh be suitable for a
> pear melomel, and a recommended quantity for a 5 gal batch? I have in mind
> a light (clover) honey and would like to have a distinctive fruit flavor.
> Many thanks.
------------------------------
Subject: Ginger Mead
From: Patrick King <patkingfilms@optusnet.com.au>
Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2011 08:35:27 +1000
Hi Nathan,
I have been looking for a good Ginger Mead. Any chance of snipping
the article (with attribution of course).
I Have recently tried exchanging brewing sugar for honey on a coopers
ale and a apple cider can kit. I have read that 1 kg honey equals 1kg
sugar has anyone found this to be true?
Pat
>
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1532, 11 July 2011
From: David Vachon <vachon.david@comcast.net>
Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2011 22:07:56 -0400
> Hello Everyone,
> This month's Zymurgy (AmHomebrewersAssoc Periodical) has recipe for a
> ginger mead that uses 3.25 POUNDS in 5 gallons. Do any of you have
> any
> experience with a ginger mead that has this much ginger? The
> gingers is
> added to fermentation in a sack.
Hmmm... I have experience with ginger, not only in mead but in
cooking and in juicing. If you were to add this much ginger to a
mead, it would be undrinkable, not to mention the expense of all that
ginger. An amount about the size of your thumb, grated, added in a
bag for about 2 mos is (for me who likes the ginger "burn" plenty)
Are you sure they weren't talking about the honey instead of the
ginger? If not, must be a typo. I have never measured the ginger but
I bet they meant ounces...
David
------------------------------
Subject: Sweettooth & Sauternes
From: "Wout Klingens" <wout@nivo-media.nl>
Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2011 13:42:58 +0200
Yes, I am. So what?
I like sweet meads.
I didn't like sweet wines though. Some 30 years ago I tried a sweet Grave
Superieur and I didn't like it.
That's good, because nobody seems to like sweet wines.
Shortly after that I bought a Tokaj Aszu. I read a great review about it.
Frightfully expensive for my income in those days.
I never heard of puttonyos, but it must have been 3, or else it would have
been completely out of my budget.
I liked it. Well, that's bad, because you shouldn't like sweet wines, right?
I immediately dropped in esteem within my family.
I dropped the idea until a few months ago, when I planned to try a
Sauternes. So I bought me a 37,5 ml (half bottle) right from the shelved of
a large supermarket.
Please note, that a shelf is *not* a wine cellar.
I forgot the name of the chateau, but I liked it. A lot! Well, that's worse.
So I started reading about it. Reading material is easy to come by nowadays
with internet 'n all :)
So I read about Cru's and production processes and the effect of noble rot
to the taste. And I went to a good wine shop in the neighborhood.
The guy is a vinologist, which is a tasting expert. So I told him that I
think I have a good palate, that I can taste apricots and cherry in wines
(don't laugh! He didn't. I *meant* apricot in red wines). So I bought me a
1997 Chateau Broustet. A 2nd cru. I thought I would climb up to the premier
cru and even try the one premier cru superieur some time.....
Obviously he kept this in his cellar.
So after a few days I chilled it, and opened the bottle. BAM! APRICOT!
I was *so* surprised. I enjoyed the aroma for some time, and after a while I
had the courage to taste it.
"Sigh" says it all, though I had some criticism.
So let me come to the point and share with you my lessons learned:
1. It is all about balance. Sweetness balanced with acid is what can make a
sweet mead magical.
2. A good mead with a FG of more than 1.030 is very well possible.
3. Complexity is what makes a magical mead stand out: Except APRICOTS! I
obviously tasted a lot more.
4. 14.5% alcohol is not a mead which is made by a meadmaker who doesn't know
how to stop a fermentation, but a respectable dessert wine target.
5. A lot more.
6. It's all about taste but these precious sweet wines are no laughing
matter, but the result of exceptional craftsmanship.
So: Let's see what the specs are from the world's greatest dessert wine:
Chateau d'Yquem.
http://www.yquem.fr/yquem.php?lang=uk > Vintages > fact sheets
2007 has a 14.2%, TA of 5.55 tartaric, residual sugar of 137 gr/l.
So OG was: (off my scale, 410 grams/liter sugar), Must be around 1.150 or
so.
FG: 1.050
So I made me some with these specs....
I used a Sauternes yeast (Brand: Kitzinger), my favorite sweet mead yeast.
It looks like it'll finish in the 1.055 range. So target reached. I haven't
tasted it yet and it will be many months before it will be ready.
I think I will try it soon though, to see if I need an acid adjustment. I
will definitely add tannin.
I'll start bâtonnage shortly, once a week or so, though I didn't ferment on
oak.
More reading: Wikipedia. Look for Tokaj Aszu and see what the FG of a 6
puttonyos is: at least 1.060. Gasp!
I hope you enjoyed this one. More to come...
------------------------------
Subject: RE:Perry
From: "Wout Klingens" <wout@nivo-media.nl>
Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2011 16:50:28 +0200
Chris asks:
> That said, can anyone give advice on a commonly available type of pear
that migh be suitable for a pear melomel, and a recommended quantity for a 5
gal batch?
Hi Chris,
Why are you worrying about the variety? Are you a commercial meadmaker? Are
you trying to win a world class contest?
Is anybody asking about blueberry varieties when making mead? (Though there
are a lot of them and quite different!)
I am the "take it easy"-kind. I would take fruit, which is clean, tastes
good, is ripe, cheap and available.
The juice yield is about 50% so you do the math for your size of the batch.
The OG of the juice is about 1.040 most of the time. If you'd like a good
pear flavor, you'd want 100% juice so no water, with added honey. Depending
on the style you'd like to make add more or less honey and choose an
appropriate yeast strain.
That's all there is to it. Get it done first, get smart later, like
macerating the pulp or other perry techniques. Just use sound meadmaking
practices. Maybe add some nutrient, maybe some acid if the TA is low. Maybe
some sulfite. Or maybe not. All things go and the result will be a nice
drink most of the times.
Hope this helps.
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1532, 11 July 2011
From: "M. Graham Clark" <mclark04@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 13 Jul 2011 12:27:27 -0300
> RE: Subject: perry
>
Hey Chris,
I have not made a perry, or a pear malomel, but I do know a, small, bit
about apples. If you live in the proper area I would hunt down someone
already making a pear cider and talk to them. This is you best bet. If
not, you want acid, the more the better. Pears tend to be sweater then
apples, and thus I would think you would need an even more acidic pear then
most commercially available pears. Pears and apples are a strange fruit, in
that the offspring of any particular pear or apple will not taste like that
fruit. You have to graft variates to propagate them, this means you will
have to hunt someone down who produces a more sour pair for cider, or chance
some wild ones if you can find them on the side of the road. Most producers
are looking for the high sugar, but as a fermented beverage you want a more
sour fruit to create a good balance (you can always adjust sugar with more
honey). The other option is to add some cranberry juice, which is high in
acid and tannin, and compliments pear nicely. In this case it would be best
to find someone who cold presses the juice so you know its source and
processing technique. (i.e. you don't want anything in it that will kill
your yeast). Plus cold pressed cranberry is much more tart then the stuff
you find in the store. I luckly have such a supplier near me, but you might
have to visit a bunch of local markets to find one. The other option is to
find any pear you like then add an acid blend to get that needed pucker. I
plan on trying a vanilla roasted pear malomel this fall doing just that.
Cheers,
- -
M. Graham Clark
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #1533
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