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Mead Lovers Digest #1599
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1599, 15 September 2012
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #1599 15 September 2012
Mead Discussion Forum
Contents:
Re: Freeze the mead? (Mike Faul)
re: Freeze the mead? (Steve Piatz)
Re: Freezing mead (docmac9582@aol.com)
RE: Mead Lover's Digest #1598, 10 September 2012 ("Lyle C. Brown")
Re: Freeze the mead? (MeadGuild@aol.com)
Re: Chocolate acerglyn (MeadGuild@aol.com)
RE: Freeze the mead? (Stephen Morley)
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Subject: Re: Freeze the mead?
From: Mike Faul <mfaul@faul.net>
Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2012 12:41:30 -0700
Yes, Hal it is illegal. It is illegal to distill or concentrate by any
method, for you own consumption in United States.
On 9/10/2012 11:56 AM, mead-request@talisman.com wrote:
>
> I read a little about happens when you freeze mead to separate it from the
> water and up the flavor and alcohol percent.
> Does anyone have any tips on technique or could give a ball-park of the
> final ABV?
> Is this illegal for personal consumption? I have heard both Yes and No to
> the question.
> Just looking for some guidance before I consider doing this.
------------------------------
Subject: re: Freeze the mead?
From: Steve Piatz <sjpiatz@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2012 16:12:33 -0500
Henry asks for tips on freezing meads to perform concentration. I've done
this with both beer and mead a number of times with a fair amount of success
in the Eis-anything category in the Upper Mississippi MashOut competition
every January.
My technique is fairly simple, first I transfer the mead to a sanitized
plastic jug, filling it only about two thirds full of mead. I place the
jug in the freezer to chill, ideally I want to remove it as the mead gets
slushy before it turns solid. I have a small stainless steel strainer and
matching size funnel, both have been sanitized. I place the funnel in a
sanitized bottle, place the strainer in the funnel and slowly pour the
slushy mead into the strainer. As the strainer/funnel fills with slush I
empty them into a waiting pitcher. Once the bottle fills I cap it and you
are done. If you know how much mead you started with and how much slush
you removed you can calculate the concentration.
If you end up freezing the mead solid you have a couple of options.
One, let it melt and try again. Two, try inverting the jug over the
strainer/funnel and collect the first runnings as it melts, stopping when
you think you have collected about the desired amount. I've used option
two on fresh grape juice to make an eis-wine like product.
You really want to avoid splashing the mead as much as possible to avoid
oxidation.
If you pour gently you can retain some carbonation through to the
concentrated mead.
You may find your freezer section of the fridge won't freeze the mead as
they frequently don't go cold enough for strong sweet meads to freeze.
A stand-alone freezer may go cold enough or just wait for a cold January
night in Minnesota (getting rarer with global warming).
- --
Steve Piatz sjpiatz@gmail.com
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Freezing mead
From: docmac9582@aol.com
Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2012 17:21:31 -0400 (EDT)
Henry Murray asked about the legality of freeze concentrating mead. I am
glad you asked the question. After reading the appropriate sections of
the Code of Federal Regulations a number of years ago, I knew that the
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (www.TTB.gov which used to be
BATF) regulates spirits with words like ???any method of concentration
of the alcohol??? which would include freezing. The TTB forbids home
distillation of alcohol in any quantity ??? so the first drop of alcohol
from a still is illegal.
However, I found a response from the TTB to the freeze technique question
from a couple of years ago that said the CFR 24.75 gives home wine makers
(mead or honey wine is classed as an agricultural wine) an exemption of
100 gallons/person or 200 gallons per household (same quantities for beer)
??? and further does NOT say anything about any limitations on how to make
the wine. And that the maximum alcohol content for wine is 24% alcohol
by volume (24% ABV or 48 proof). Therefore, as long as at no place in
the process you have greater than 24% alcohol, you are OK for making ice
wines and ice beers. I checked the CFR and could not find anything that
disputes this reasoning.
So the identical final product made by distillation and dilution is illegal,
but freeze concentration of mead - while staying within the limits of the
definition of a wine - would be legal.
Carl McMillin
Brecksville, OH
------------------------------
Subject: RE: Mead Lover's Digest #1598, 10 September 2012
From: "Lyle C. Brown" <beerking1@verizon.net>
Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2012 20:43:40 -0400
Subject: Chocolate acerglyn
From: Hroth521 <hroth521@comcast.net>
Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2012 08:22:08 -0500
Has anyone made this? The link to the source on gotmead is included.
I'm having trouble finding Lalvin D254 and wondered about using sweet mead
or D47 instead. Also, any other hints are welcome.
Wrathwilde's Chocolate Aphrodisiac
http://www.gotmead.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9177
This is for a 6 gallon batch of Chocolate Acerglyn (Semisweet). I Recommend
using 6.5 gallon carboys.
2006
In Primary Bucket (do not use a glass carboy during the first 3 days or
you'll have a Chocolate Geyser!!!)
1.3 gallons (16lbs) GloryBee Wildflower Honey (Excellent for Wildflower)
other wildflower honeys questionable 10oz Ghirardelli's unsweetened cocoa
powder.http://www.foodlocker.com/95341-9.html
4 gallons of bottled spring water
Lalvin D254 (Rehydrated in goferm) I absolutely love what this yeast did for
this batch!!!!
2 tsp (total) DAP - staggered additions over 1st 3 days during oxygenation
2 tsp (total) Fermaid K - Staggered additions over 1st 3 days during
oxygenation At end of 3rd day pour (using a sterilized funnel) into a glass
carboy - this pour is your final aeration Ferment in a 6.5 gallon Glass
Primary Rack into secondary at 1 blip every 15 seconds, Rack Under the Oils
In 6.5 gallon Secondary - Gently degas before adding 1/2 gallon Grade B
Dark Maple Syrup Stir Well but do not aerate.
Add approx. 1 gallon Bottled Spring Water, stir gently.
When fermentation is complete rack into a 6 gallon Carboy and bulk age
for at least one year. Enjoy!!!
Looks like a good recipe, but it is NOT Acerglyn, a mead made with Maple
Syrup. I would consider it a Metheglyn.
- -Lyle
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Freeze the mead?
From: MeadGuild@aol.com
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2012 15:30:00 -0400 (EDT)
Henry Murray <_henry.h.murray@gmail.com_ (mailto:henry.h.murray@gmail.com)
> wrote"
> I read a little about happens when you freeze mead to separate it
> from the water and up the flavor and alcohol percent.
I don't know the effect on flavor, but it will increase the ABV.
> Does anyone have any tips on technique or could give a ball-park
> of the final ABV?
My formulae for final ABV are:
Original.Volume * Original.ABV = Alcohol.Content
Final.Volume = Original.Volume - Amount.of.Water.Removed
Final.ABV = Alcohol.Content / Final.Volume
5 gallons @ 12% ABV gives an Alcohol.Content of .6 gallons.
And that means:
5 gals @ 12% less 1 gal of water = .60 /4 = 15% Final.ABV
5 gals @ 15% less 1 gal of water = .75 /4 = 17.5% Final.ABV
5 gals @ 20% less 1 gal of water = 1.0 /4 = 25% Final.ABV
> Is this illegal for personal consumption? I have heard both Yes
> and No to the question.
It is illegal unless you live in St. Mary's County, Maryland.
Bono fide residents of St. Mary's County can sell beer and native
wines from their homes and, as of 2011, they can get a license to
distill spirits which they can neither sell nor give away.
Dick
- --
Richard D. Adams
Ellicott City, MD
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Chocolate acerglyn
From: MeadGuild@aol.com
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2012 16:23:52 -0400 (EDT)
Hroth521 <_hroth521@comcast.net_ (mailto:hroth521@comcast.net) > wrote:
> Has anyone made this? The link to the source on GotMead
> is included. I'm having trouble finding Lalvin D254 and
> wondered about using sweet mead or D47 instead. Also, any
> other hints are welcome.
I Yahooed D254 and found retailers. D47 seems to be similar,
but the author appears mesmerized with D254. So first I'll
ask my LHBS (Maryland Homebrew) if they can get D234 for me.
If not, I'll buy it online.
> Wrathwilde's Chocolate Aphrodisiac
> ???
This reads like a really fantastic recipe. Will start this
in October on the Sunday after Valhalla!
Dick
- --
Richard D. Adams
Ellicott City, MD
------------------------------
Subject: RE: Freeze the mead?
From: Stephen Morley <stephen@morley.net>
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2012 18:28:48 -0400
First, yes, this is illegal. It constitutes a form of distillation and
private distillation is illegal in the US.
But more to the point it can have great results. I thought I could use it
make crappy mead better. Wrong. But it can make great mead even greater. You
can end up with a liquor type beverage with high alcohol and very
concentrated flavors. It's very easy to do and can be done with small
batches to test the process before you commit a larger quantity of some very
nice mead to the endeavor. Be aware that the ice you remove will contain
some alcohol and the particular ratio is a function of the final temperature
of the solution. So this is not a loss-free method of distillation. (See
Wikipedia for explanation on the entire process:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractional_freezing).
Well anyway, this is what I have heard, as its illegal; I have never tried
this myself. wink wink nod nod, say no more.
Stephen
- -----Original Message-----
From: mead-request@talisman.com [mailto:mead-request@talisman.com]
Sent: Monday, September 10, 2012 2:56 PM
To: mead-list@talisman.com
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1598, 10 September 2012
Subject: Freeze the mead?
From: Henry Murray <henry.h.murray@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2012 22:41:15 -0400
I read a little about happens when you freeze mead to separate it from the
water and up the flavor and alcohol percent.
Does anyone have any tips on technique or could give a ball-park of the
final ABV?
Is this illegal for personal consumption? I have heard both Yes and No to
the question.
Just looking for some guidance before I consider doing this.
- - --
Hal Murray
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #1599
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