Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Mead Lovers Digest #1536
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1536, 30 July 2011
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #1536 30 July 2011
Mead Discussion Forum
Contents:
My honey supplier is about to raise prices (Lauren Cohen)
prise de mousse ("Wout Klingens")
Habenero Pepper Mead (MeadGuild@aol.com)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1535, 26 July 2011 (David Vachon)
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: My honey supplier is about to raise prices
From: Lauren Cohen <lgc24@cornell.edu>
Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2011 10:43:46 -0400
I don't know how many of you are familiar with the Bee Folks here in
Maryland, but apparently they haven't raised their honey prices yet in
response to the low supply because they just sent out an e-mail advising
their customers to buy now before prices go up on Friday. They have lots of
interesting and unique varieties, such as avocado honey. Also apparently
some of their bees got into a mix of meadowfoam and maple at the same time,
so they have a limited stock of that honey (apparently a marshmallowy-mapley
taste).
Lauren
------------------------------
Subject: prise de mousse
From: "Wout Klingens" <wout@nivo-media.nl>
Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2011 18:56:10 +0200
According to some Belgian info
(http://www.wijnkennis.be/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=564,
Dutch language) getting sparkling wine is much easier than it used to be.
It's possible to use a method called "dosage des billes". Adding a dose of
"yeast pills". These "pills" are made of algae with inside sugars and yeast.
These algae containers act like filters and the yeast cells stay inside.
That way the clear wine stays clear.
After this in-bottle fermentation is done, the bottle is turned and the
pills simply roll out into the temporary closing capsule.
My question: does anybody know where to get these pills?
Obviously it's easy to get this info just by writing to the website owners,
but they haven't responded yet.
------------------------------
Subject: Habenero Pepper Mead
From: MeadGuild@aol.com
Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:56:37 -0400 (EDT)
Eight years ago Red Savina Habeneros had the highest Scoville heat units
rating. I planted enough to get almost four pint jars of crushed Habeneros.
This year I planted 23 Bhut Jolkia plants. They were planted late and
just started to bloom. Based on observation, a few of them may not make it
The objective in making a Habenero Mead is to get as much as possible of
the pepper taste with as little as possible of the pepper heat. It ain't
easy as I've judged Capsicum Meads that were undrinkable even with my
cauterized throat.
Most Meadmakers with whom I've discussed this use fresh peppers rather
than crushed peppers. I add crushed pepper just before clarification and
would not add whole or minced peppers until then. On one hand, it's always
trial and error. OTOH,with crushed peppers, you know how much you added last
time. Also that way I can engage in Quality Assurance Testing (QAT), i.e.,
drinking from the carboy. As my childbride says "You can always add
more."
Does anyone else make Hot Pepper Meads?
Dick
- ---
Richard D. Adams
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1535, 26 July 2011
From: David Vachon <vachon.david@comcast.net>
Date: Wed, 27 Jul 2011 19:39:24 -0400
On Jul 26, 2011, at 9:41 AM, mead-request@talisman.com wrote:
> I'm posting here for the first time to agree with Steve on how much ginger
> to use. I haven't yet made ginger mead, but I've made two batches of ginger
> beer. In the first one I used under a pound of ginger, and it was not
> nearly strong enough for my tastes (which certainly tend toward the strong
> side). It was more like ginger ale, really. In the second, I used 2.5
> pounds of ginger as well as 4 habaneros, and it was much spicier. My next
> batch will have fewer habaneros, but probably even more ginger. In both
> batches, my method was to grate the ginger, squeeze all the juice into my
> primary, and then boil the ginger shavings a couple times to get out any
> extra flavor.
> So while 3.25 pounds of ginger is a lot, I'd say it's definitely reasonable
> as long as you want a nice kick to your ginger mead. And I've always seen
> fresh ginger for about $3 a pound at supermarkets, so the cost is pretty
> negligible. The biggest problem for me was peeling and grating it all,
> since I didn't have a food processor/blender/juicer and did it all by hand.
>
> Eric Holzhauer
I have made many ginger meads and honestly, the fact that Eric is
using pounds of ginger is pretty absurd to me (no offense Eric).
Possibly the ginger in beer is much less pronounced than in mead but I
usually use about 2.5 ounces in a 5 gal batch of mead to get a strong
ginger presence. My advice would be to make a 5 gal batch and split
it into 5 one gallon batches and try different quantities of ginger to
find what works best for you. Ginger is a very strong spice and if
overused can render your mead undrinkable. Just my 2 cents.
David Vachon
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #1536
*******************************
