Mead Lovers Digest #1618

Published in

· 7 months ago

Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1618, 21 January 2013 
From: mead-request@talisman.com 

Mead Lover's Digest #1618                                  21 January 2013 

                      Mead Discussion Forum 

Contents: 
  Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1617, 16 January 2013 (Wayne Boncyk) 
  making aged mead (Steve Ruch) 

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Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1617, 16 January 2013 
From: Wayne Boncyk <wboncyk@gmail.com> 
Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2013 08:39:42 -0700 

> I was wondering if anyone has made a mead that will intentionally be aged 
> for 10+ years? What tricks and tips do you have? I know show meads age 
> that long, but I'm leaning towards a traditional with 1.138 OG, 1.030 FG, 
> rhst yeast, fortified with 0.75L 151 proof everclear. 
> 
> ----------------------------- 

Bob, there really isn't any special trick to producing a mead that can hold 
for a decade or longer, other than to be sure that whatever you bottle is 
stable, perhaps consider adding sulfite just before bottling - more as an 
antioxidant than an antimicrobial - and use the highest quality seals 
(corks, etc.) that you can afford in those bottles that you want to put 
down for an extended period like that.  Meads, especially traditionals and 
show meads that have no fruit/vegetable adjuncts, tend to be more tolerant 
of a little exposure to oxygen than any fruit wines, so with good bottling 
and storage practices (keep those bottles in a cool place where the temp 
doesn't fluctuate very much) storage of a decade or longer is possible.  I 
had one traditional mead that I made back around 1980 that I kept a bottle 
of to celebrate the new millennium.  It held up surprisingly well for 
nearly 2 decades - and I didn't even handle it as carefully as I should 
have, since it got packed into several non-climate controlled moving boxes 
along the way. 

Wayne 

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Subject: making aged mead 
From: Steve Ruch <tattoo123@webtv.net> 
Date: Sun, 20 Jan 2013 16:06:26 GMT 

I've made meads to lay down  for my three oldest grandkids, I'll be 
doing one for the youngest later this year. Other than being very 
carefull about sanitation the only thing I've done is go for high ABV. 

Steve 

"We ALL put the yeast in." Larry, Moe & Curly 

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End of Mead Lover's Digest #1618 
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