Mead Lover's Digest #0536 Fri 7 February 1997

 

Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor

 

Contents:

Texas producers… (Lisa Wheeler)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #535, 4 February 1997 (PeriMage)
Re: AMA (Marc Shapiro)
1997 MCM/Inside Mead (Daniel S. McConnell/DSMBook)
The AMA and Mark Twain (Mark Cassells)
Restarting stuck mead ("John R. Bowen")

 

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Subject: Texas producers...
From: lwheeler@agr.state.tx.us (Lisa Wheeler)
Date: 04 Feb 97 11:41:50 CST

Hi, I'm new to the list…to be honest, I'm a consumer, not a

producer, having just discovered mead last week (big article in our
Austin paper about producers in New England and I rushed out and
bought some Chaucer's (the only thing available in Austin, Texas).

Which leads me to this question…are there any mead producers in

Texas? Thanks for your help.


Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #535, 4 February 1997
From: PeriMage <perimage@ripco.com>
Date: Tue, 4 Feb 1997 13:49:06 -0600 (CST)

Mark Koopman requested info on mail-order source of American Meadmaker
honeys.

Inside Mead, v.11, #20 just arrived with an ad for Dark Sage or Red
Raspberry honeys at $30/12lb (1 Gal jug) for members, $45/12lb for
non-members, postpaid. Call 1-800-go-honey (1-800-464-6639) for ordering
information. Membership costs $20/yr, $35/2 yrs, so if you are going to
use much honey from them it might be worthwhile to join (though I enjoy
the publications enough to maintain my membership for those alone).

Also, they have prices for 60lb tanks of honey @ $125 (non-member $145)

Wassail!

Bill


Motto of the _Order of the Garter_: "Honi soit qui mal y pense."
Motto of Minsky's _Star and Garter_: "Yoni sois quay valide penes."


Subject: Re: AMA
From: Marc Shapiro <mn.shapiro1@mindspring.com>
Date: Tue, 04 Feb 1997 21:54:04 -0500


>Subject: AMA
>From: jac@access.usa.net (John A. Carlson, Jr.)
>Date: Fri, 31 Jan 1997 14:45:54 -0700 (MST)
>
>My sources tell me that Julian staff member of the AMA has left town. Andy
>Lamorte in Denver
>is trying to get things together. The Ambrosia Adventure is not going to
>occur this year, maybe Andy can salvage it sometime in the future. Inside
>Mead is probably dead for awhile as well.

Fortunately, your source seems to be incorrect. I just received Vol 11
Number 1 (Winter '97) of _Inside Mead_. About half of the issue was
written by Julian Strekal, including the editorial answers to readers'
letters.

Wassail!

Marc Shapiro mn.shapiro1@mindspring.com

Visit 'The Meadery' at:
http://www.mindspring.com/~mn.shapiro1/index.html
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/1265/index.html

"If you drink melomel every day, you will live to be 150 years old,
unless your wife shoots you."

  • –Dr. Ferenc Androczi, Winemaker of the Little Hungary Winery

Subject: 1997 MCM/Inside Mead
From: danmcc@umich.edu (Daniel S. McConnell/DSMBook)
Date: Thu, 6 Feb 1997 00:40:33 -0500


Hi all:

From: Joe Uknalis <juknalis@ARSERRC.Gov>

>Can someone please post when/where is the Mazer cup for 1997?
>Entry info etc?

We have tentatively set the date of the 1997 Mazer Cup. As usual, it will
be in Southeastern Michigan. The judging should be the last weekend in
June and the first weekend in July (it always seems to take two weekends to
do this right these days). This means that the soft entry deadline will be
about June 13-20. Official notice will be posted to this forum in May.
Ken will correct this if I am wrong or if this turns out to be the only
weekend we can get a chance to go pester trout.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Yesterday I received my copy of the Inside Mead. I opened it with some
trepidation (much as one would examine a shipwreck) due to the recent
upheavals and changes in the organization-if there actually IS an
organization.

Imagine my surprise to see that Ken and I had written an article. [Hey
Ken, did YOU see this? Did YOU edit this?] Imagine my greater surprise
to see that we had written a second article! Now, imagine my total
surprise to see that I am on the Board of Directors!! Hey, do I get paid?

I am particularly irked by a number of things in this issue beside
re-publishing old, outdated and inaccurate material. To make the claim
that they have found the solution for varroa and tracheal mites is
preposterous. To make the claim that Charlie Papazian did not know what
Braggot was before being told by Julian at the 1996 AHA conference is
stunningly ridiculous.

It looks to me as if this ship is seriously adrift.

DanMcC


Subject: The AMA and Mark Twain
From: Mark Cassells <GORDONTR@ENH.NIST.GOV>
Date: Thu, 06 Feb 1997 09:56:19 -0400 (EDT)


Reading the last several MLD's was beginning to have me concerned.
I had just subscribed to the AMA last fall, read through all the
back issues, and was anxiously awaiting the one that had to be coming
coming soon. As time passed, I became more anxious.
Yesterday I recieved my Winter issue, ergo the AMA is still
around. Or, to paraphrase Mark Twain;
"Reports of its demise are unfounded"

Cordially;

Mark


Subject: Restarting stuck mead
From: "John R. Bowen" <jbowen@primary.net>
Date: Fri, 07 Feb 1997 10:51:29 +0000


I would appreciate some advice on restarting a stuck fermentation:

14 lb honey/5 gal, Wyeast 3632 (Dry Mead, in a starter), 5 t FERMAX.
OG 1.10, pH 4.06. Fermentation starting in 24 hours. Temperature:
62F. Max rate after 3 days was 1 airlock blub/2 sec. I racked to
secondary after 7 weeks, when the airlock blub rate had slowed to 1
every 35 sec. SpG was 1.02, pH 3.5, and the must tastes much too
sweet.

The problem: Fermentation has not restarted after racking, now for
about 3 days. Secondary carboy was sterilized with Iodophor and
rinsed, so I don't think that is the problem. At first I thought I
might have introduced enough air to revert to aerobic oxidation, but
still no action after three days.

So what is happening here? I have read that 3632 is not very
attenuative, but this is much too sweet. Is is possible that all my
fermentation was occuring in the sediment I left in the primary, even
though the must is still quite cloudy? Is the pH of 3.5 low enough to
prevent finishing? (I didn't add any acid blend).

Possible solutions: 1. Add more yeast, either dry champagne or one
of the wine yeasts. and/or 2. Adjust the pH upwards. I would guess
back to 4.0, if not 4.5. Suggestions? And what should I use? I have
sodium bicarbonate, calcium phosphate, and possibly potassium
carbonate. I am concerned about bitterness from excess sodium or
potassium. (However, the original water was RO, so the only other ions
are from the FERMAX and the honey).

Please provide any experienced suggestions and explanations. Direct
E-mail along with your post here would be appreciated. Thanks. –John



End of Mead Lover's Digest #536