Mead Lover's Digest #0750 Wed 21 July 1999

 

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

 

Contents:

Fermentation temp? (Gail Elber)
Mead Judging – (Anne Trowbridge)
Wyeast Liquid Mead Yeast? ("Carl Wilson")
Cork preparation (Leo Horishny)

 

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Subject: Fermentation temp?
From: Gail Elber <gail@brewtech.com>
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1999 10:26:24 -0700


It's too hot to brew at my house (80 degF garage), but is it too hot to
make mead? How warm can mead be when it's fermenting? How might a
high-temperature fermentation affect the flavor?

Gail Elber
Associate Editor
BrewingTechniques
P.O. Box 3222
Eugene, OR 97403
541/687-2993
fax 541/687-8534


Subject: Mead Judging -
From: Anne Trowbridge <altrow@uswest.net>
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1999 20:05:37 -0600

My local homebrew club has annual mead meeting soon, and

I've been poring over the AHA style guidelines for judging.
My personal feeling is that homebrewers judge meads like
brewers (small wonder) and look for aggressive mead
character like alcoholic strength and sweetness. In doing
so, they miss some of the more delicate aspects that mead
can impart.

Most equate "honey flavor & character" with sweetness –

basically, UNFERMENTED honey flavor and aroma. I've found
most homebrewers don't understand the change in character
that fermented honey has, even though they can readily
recognize the effects of fermentation in a malt-based
beverage. I'm interested in your perceptions of fermented
honey character vs. unfermented honey character. I'd also
appreciate feedback on the effect of yeast character or
other flavor elements (fruit, spices, malt) on the fermented
honey product – from dry vs. sweet, whether the other
flavor components increase or decrease the perception of
honey character.

If you care to respond, private e-mail is fine. I'd be

happy to summarize the results for MLD. I'd love comment
from mead judges, as well as just plain mead lovers. TIA!

Anne


Subject: Wyeast Liquid Mead Yeast?
From: "Carl Wilson" <carlw@sonetcom.com>
Date: Sat, 17 Jul 1999 02:50:51 -0500


Just wondering if anyone out there had had any luck using Wyeast liquid
mead yeast strains. I've heard that they tend to be slow starters.
I've used Lalvin D-47 and K1V so far with success, but thought I'd like
to try a liquid strain.


Subject: Cork preparation 
From: menander@iac.net (Leo Horishny)
Date: Sat, 17 Jul 1999 21:37:09 -0400 (EDT)


I'm finally getting to bottle my carboy. I forgot what I was told to do to
soften the corks.

Aside from soaking them overnight, aren't I supposed to boil them for a
certain period of time first?

I've got the bottles soaking in a mild bleach solution in the tub (I've
had them sitting for too long to just rinse and use) then I'm going to
rinse them and scrub them with sanitizer.

I was inspired to get on with this after tasting some other samples of
meads at a local homebrewing group here in town the other day. Mine can't
be any worse than some of the experiments I tried ;-), so it's time to do
the deed. I hate messing with the siphoning….

Leo Horishny
Cincinnati, OH


End of Mead Lover's Digest #750