Mead Lover's Digest #0579 Mon 28 July 1997

 

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

 

Contents:

Sage honey??? (Jonathan Nail)
Rose Petals ("Linda or Darin")
re: applejack / hard cider (Dick Dunn)
Re: Is cloudy mead THAT big of a problem? (Peter Miller)
Mead & Religion, resolved (David Crafts)
Mead-related clip art (jbrangan)
stabilizing a sweet mead (David Johnson)
aeration (Kirk Jones)
clear mead without boiling? (Kirk Jones)
ultrafiltration (Kirk Jones)
stuck mead (kathy)
Barat's Mead Page ("Richard Weiss")

 

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Subject: Sage honey???
 From: Jonathan Nail <jnail@clea.qualcomm.com>
 Date: Fri, 18 Jul 1997 11:15:26 -0800


Has anyone used Sage honey before to make a mead? Is it considered a mild
or light honey? Or does it tend towards the darker side of honey?

Thanks,
Jonathan

Jonathan Nail

…nothing wise or witty to say
just dreamin' of homebrew
to pass the time of day… JN

Subject: Rose Petals
 From: "Linda or Darin" <mtss@ptw.com>
 Date: Fri, 18 Jul 1997 14:34:25 -0700


It never ceases to amaze me how well the rose petals clarify my mead
(rhodomel) when I add them. I normally wait until fermentation is all but
stopped, then add the petals for a week or two. It takes about two days
for the must to go from that sandy, tan, opaque with lots of floaties look
to a clear, golden amber hue that you can read a newspaper through. It is
almost like magic, (or chemistry.) I love this time of year…

Darin Trueblood

Subject: re: applejack / hard cider
 From: rcd@raven.talisman.com (Dick Dunn)
 Date: 19 Jul 97 20:52:48 MDT (Sat)


"Rau, Will" <wrau@touchtechnology.com> wrote:
> I know this is not specifically a mead question, but does anyone have a
> receipt for applejack or hard cider. I want to make a 5 gallon batch of
> the stuff.

A receipt? I've got the cash register tape from today when I bought some
Calvados. Will that do?

No, seriously:

* Applejack and hard cider are two different things. Start with apple
juice, ferment it and you've got hard cider. Concentrate or distill
that and you've got applejack (and in the US, a visit from the BATF).
* The simplest recipe is to use fresh apple juice (*NO* preservatives,
none at all!) and ferment it. If it's raw juice it will likely have
enough good yeast of its own, but otherwise (or if it seems to need
encouragement) an ale or wine yeast will work.
* Because apple juice by itself produces a finished product of relatively
low alcohol content, some folks like to increase the starting gravity.
There are various sources of additional sugar. Raisins add an inter-
esting character as well as sugar. Just plain sugar will avoid adding
any possibly-interfering character (and unlike brewing, the concern
that adding sugar might give a "cidery" taste isn't a drawback:-). But
if you add honey to boost the SG, you're right back on-topic for the
mead digest…you will produce something called "cyser" which is either
a cider fortified with honey or an apple melomel, depending on your
biases.
* If you want to pursue the cider aspect more, there is a "digest" not
unlike the MLD but for cider. I just happen to have the email address
right here…to subscribe, send to cider-request@talisman.com

  • —

Dick Dunn rcd, domain talisman.com Boulder County, Colorado USA

…Boulder was. 

Subject: Re: Is cloudy mead THAT big of a problem?
 From: Peter Miller <ocean@mpx.com.au>
 Date: Mon, 21 Jul 97 11:25:25 +1000


>From: "David Dickinson" <Telemir@msn.com>
>Date: Fri, 11 Jul 97 15:31:42 UT
>
>Several months back I asked how prevailent hazy mead is for the group. It
>seems like every issue of the digest contains some question/technique
>concerning clarity. I haven't been brewing mead for very long, but I've
>>etc<<
>MOST of you are *much* more experienced mead makers than I probably ever
>will
>be, but I seem to be "lucky" concerning the clarity problem.
>>etc<<
>Am I missing something? God knows that I'm not very lucky, I know that I'm
>not very experienced, and I sincerely doubt that I'm a naturally gifted
>brewer, so there must be some other explaination.

Well FWIW I concur. I would have to say that 99% of my meads/wines fall
bright with no further assistance if fermented out. I have had the odd
exception, but I always have at least an inkling of why, and it's
generally some weird experiment I was trying. I guess it looks like
clarity is an obsession on the list because there's not a lot of point
talking about how spectacularly clear your last mead was…

…and when you _do_ get a problem, this is the best place to ask for
advice!

Peter.

Perpetual Ocean Music & Sound Design
http://www.mpx.com.au/~ocean/ 

Subject: Mead & Religion, resolved
 From: David Crafts <alchemy@mindspring.com>
 Date: Tue, 22 Jul 97 15:12:41 -0000


Typical. I post some general comments about purported connections
between the use of mead and the conduct of human sacrifices ("Say
Whaaat?" quoth Dave), and then I promptly get pulled out of the country
for several weeks.

Thanks for all of the varied responses. The situation has resolved
itself quite nicely. I'm now getting springwater for mead at a nice
exchange rate, and the route driver who asked about satanists drinking
mead before "doing a human sacrifice" has actually taken two bottles home
with him and now wants more.

Don't worry, let the brew do the talking, I guess…

Subject: Mead-related clip art
 From: jbrangan <jbrangan@IDT.NET>
 Date: Fri, 25 Jul 1997 15:51:08 -0400


A while back, I found a mead-related site which offered clip art (bees,
hives, mazers, etc.) for download. I bookmarked the site and downloaded
the clip art. My laptop, (with the backup disks) has since been
stolen.
Does anyone know where this site is?
Or does anyone have any clip art they would like to share?

I promise to store the backups away from the laptop this time!

Thanks,

Jim
(My return address has been altered, for the usual reasons. Remove the
numbers from my address to reply.)

Subject: stabilizing a sweet mead 
 From: David Johnson <dmjalj@inwave.com>
 Date: Sat, 26 Jul 1997 10:34:47 -0700


Meadsters,

I wanted to avoid asking what seems to be a simple newbie

question. I have a mead made with an ale yeast that I want to bottle with
some residual sugar. It started at 1.104 in March and has been at 1.018
for about a month. PH is 3.4. It is clear and there appears to be no
activity. I had planned to bottle as a still mead and stabilize with
potassium sorbate. Now, when it comes down to it, I don't know how to
properly use the stuff. I had figured that some of my books would have
it. How much do I add? How long before bottling? Do I boil the water,
wait for it to cool, add the potassium sorbate, and add it to the carboy
or the bottling bucket? Do I sulfite or fine before using it? Tasting
makes this far the best mead I have made and I don't want to mess it up.

TIA,
Dave 

Subject: aeration  
 From: b-man@aliens.com (Kirk Jones)
 Date: Sat, 26 Jul 1997 13:27:36 -0400


I just acquired tanks with the adjustable top with a bladder that pumps up.
How much headspace should I leave?

also… what is the best technique for tranferring the must at racking with
a transfer pump? It has a canister for a filter(which I remove to
transfer). I seem to pick up some small bubbles as it exits the pump. How
much should I worry about oxidation. And what qualities does oxidation
impart?

Kirk

*Kirk Jones/ Sleeping Bear Apiaries /971 S. Pioneer Rd./Beulah,MI 49617
*Sharon Jones/ BeeDazzled Candleworks /6289 River Rd./ Benzonia, MI 49616

e-mail b-man@aliens.com 

Subject: clear mead without boiling? 
 From: b-man@aliens.com (Kirk Jones)
 Date: Sat, 26 Jul 1997 13:34:12 -0400


The consensus seems to be that one must boil the must to precipitate out
the proteins for a clear mead. Can the same objective be reached with
racking and the use of fining agents such as sparkaloid and bentonite?

Any comments on the best fining agents or the positive and negative of each?

Another thought is filtering after the use of fining agents to produce a
good clear mead. Anyone with experience on this matterd?

Hope to hear from you.

Kirk

*Kirk Jones/ Sleeping Bear Apiaries /971 S. Pioneer Rd./Beulah,MI 49617
*Sharon Jones/ BeeDazzled Candleworks /6289 River Rd./ Benzonia, MI 49616

e-mail b-man@aliens.com 

Subject: ultrafiltration
 From: b-man@aliens.com (Kirk Jones)
 Date: Sat, 26 Jul 1997 13:36:40 -0400

Some time ago I read about some guys from Cornell I believe, using
ultrafiltration to remove proteins from the must before fermentation to
produce good mead.

Does anyone on the list have any experience and where would one get such a
filter at a good price?

Kirk

*Kirk Jones/ Sleeping Bear Apiaries /971 S. Pioneer Rd./Beulah,MI 49617
*Sharon Jones/ BeeDazzled Candleworks /6289 River Rd./ Benzonia, MI 49616

e-mail b-man@aliens.com 

Subject: stuck mead
 From: kathy <kbooth@scnc.waverly.k12.mi.us>
 Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 21:27:12 -0500


I've written before about my stuck mead. It started at 1.104 and stuck
at 1.053. Tastes sweet but clean. I've added yeast nutrient, two packs
of dried ale yeast (rehydrated), 2 T of CaCO3 one t at a time and shaken
the carbouy with serious aggression.

Took a sample to a friend with a pH tester and it read 2.83. Is this
likely the problem? More CaCO3?

TIA for all the great help. wassail jim booth, lansing, mi, CEO of
boo-the-bum meadery,

Subject: Barat's Mead Page
 From: "Richard Weiss" <morgan@o2.net>
 Date: Sun, 27 Jul 1997 16:29:29 -0500


Hi to all,

Does anyone know what happened to Barat's Mead Page. It was a great site

and a good source of information to a beginner. He used to be at
Oklahoma.net. Also, any information on the American Mead Association. I
called their phone number and it is no longer a working number.

TIA Dick Weiss


End of Mead Lover's Digest #579

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