Mead Lover's Digest #1571 Thu 16 February 2012

Mead Discussion Forum

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John Daly says
I've got a cyser that's about 5 weeks old. Ten days ago I added some oak
chips and just took them out tonight. I can't say that I taste much
difference. I used 1 oz. of chips (the package was 4 oz. and said it was
good for 25 gal. of wine, so I figured 1 oz. would be enough for my 5 gal.)
and soaked them for an hour beforehand as per instructions. I discarded
the soaking water did not add it to the cyser. I only left it in for 10
days because I'd heard that if you overdo it, it tastes like burnt wood.
But, after reading Ken Schramm sing the praises of oaking, I'm a bit
disappointed.

John, we would need more info before making an educated reply. For
instance, what kind of oak (American, French, Red, White)? Also, was
the oak toasted or not, if toasted, to what degree was it toasted?

I usually soak toasted American white oak in Vodka or Bourbon, then add
the oak and Vodka/Bourbon to the mead. Using this method, one ounce
for 10 days would give a noticable result…………Kevin

I split a 5 gallon batch of standard sourwood mead and treated half with
malolactic bacteria as an experiment.

At the time of the Malolactic bacteria injection( Oenococcus oeni) the
ph was 3.86 and the gravity was 1.002.

Predictably, the malo portion has developed very strong diacetyl
character after about thirty days, and in spite of the dactyl character,
the sharp acidic character in the control portion is noticeably missing.
This seems to be a good thing.

Does anyone know if, or how long it will take for the diacetyl character
to go away?

Comments and recommendations would be appreciated.

Regards to all,

Steve Scoville

"Life is hard. It is harder if you are stupid." John Wayne

LEED AP – Homes
Member USGBC
Licensed General Contractor

Scoville & Associates, Inc.
740 Darden Place
Nashville, TN 37205
615-476-4933
 www.scovilleandassociates.com

End of Mead Lover's Digest #1571