Mead Lover's Digest #0377 Fri 30 December 1994

 

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

 

Contents:

Refrigerator smell ("Lee Bussy")
mead yeasts ("Daniel F McConnell")
MLD 376 (Bob McDonald)
unsubcribe (Rebecca L Anderson Bishop)
Article for Mead Lover's Digest ("ED: SRAM TEST, MRO1-3/C4, 297-5441")

 

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Subject:       Refrigerator smell
From: "Lee Bussy" <leeb@southwind.net>
Date: Mon, 26 Dec 1994 11:38:18 +0000

Dieter Dworkin Muller <dworkin@village.org> writes:

> The problem I'm noticing is that, since the thing is sitting at 60 to
> 65 degrees, it's not cold enough to suppress that smell that always
> shows up in turned-off refrigerators that have been left closed.

Try a box of baking soda… it works for me. I regularky use mine of
fermenting aled at those temps and the 'ol baking soda trick seems to
work.

I really must recommend however that you give it a good cleaning…
the smell is most likely from mold and I wouldn't want to put my mead
in there no matter how well it was sealed.

 

  • Lee Bussy | The Homebrew Television Workshop Presents: |

leeb@southwind.net | The 4 Basic Foodgroups… Salt, Fat, Beer & Women |
Wichita, Kansas | A Special Documentary on Proper Diet. This Week |
Super Brewer! | On your local PBS Station. Check local listings. |

 


Subject: mead yeasts
From: "Daniel F McConnell" <Daniel.F.McConnell@med.umich.edu>
Date: 26 Dec 1994 17:27:37 -0500


Subject:  mead yeasts


From: mercese@anubis.network.com (Steve E. Mercer)

>Can anybody fill in or verify
>The information below?

>Product Name Yeast Strain

> —————————-

>Yeastlab-Dry Champaigne(?)
>Yeastlab-Sweet Steinberg Riesling
>Wyeast-Dry Prisse de Mousse(?)
>Wyeast-Sweet (?)

Very close! I recently spoke to the folks at Wyeast to verify the
ID's for an article that Ken Schramm and I are working on.

DanMcC

Product Name Yeast Strain


Yeastlab-Dry Champagne
Yeastlab-Sweet Steinberg Riesling
Wyeast-Dry Prisse de Mousse
Wyeast-Sweet Rudescheimer


Subject: MLD 376
From: Bob McDonald <rmcdonald@ansremote.com>
Date: Tue, 27 Dec 94 09:01:57 EST

In MLD 376…

Dieter Dworkin Muller asks about the problem of refrigerator smell in his chest
type freezer. Try taking the entire top off of a box of baking soda and
setting the box in the freezer. This works for almost any odor problem in a
refrigerator or freezer.

Also, Steve Mercer has asked about residual sweetness in his meads. I have had
good results in increasing the 15 lbs/5 gal to a level of 20 lbs/ 5 gal or
more. (depends on how sweet you want it)

Cheers,

Bob


Can anyone believe anything the Bosnian Serbs say anymore?

 


Robert E. McDonald, Jr. (rmcdonald@ansremote.com)

Sr. Telecom Programmer/Analyst Tel: (616) 376-6081
First of America Services – Technology
K-A12-3F
One First of America Parkway
Kalamazoo, MI 49009-8002

 

Trustee of The ENCORE Dance Company – Decatur, MI.

 


Subject: unsubcribe
From: Rebecca L Anderson Bishop <abishop@student.umass.edu>
Date: Tue, 27 Dec 1994 09:26:16 -0500 (EST)

unsubscribe
abishop@twain.oit.umass.edu


Subject: Article for Mead Lover's Digest
From: "ED: SRAM TEST, MRO1-3/C4, 297-5441" <"bt619::iaciofano"@milkwy.enet.dec.c

om>

Date: Tue, 27 Dec 94 08:01:24 PST

O.K. O.K. it's time I broke my silence. I've been read-only for over a

few months now and I have some questions/comments that I'd like some feedback

 

on.

First, my latest batch of mead consists of ten gallons divided equally

into two 5 gal. carboys, starting gravity 1.100. The only difference between
the two is one has the "white crystal" nutrient the other has yeast hulls,
about 5 to 7 teaspoons each (notes are at home). Both were sulphited with the
typical one tablet per gallon, I waited the usual "over 24 hrs." to add the
yeast (Cote Des Blank). Nothing. Waited a few days, added another package.
Nothing. Yeast was re-hydrated in 100 deg F water for ten min. Finally
on the third try about a week later the carboy with the "white crystals"
finally took off, slowly. I had to make a starter from a gal of the other
carboy, once that got going I added it back to the carboy and now both are
bubbling along. Also, the carboy with the yeast hulls is noticeably more
vigorous than the other one ever was. One final note, through all of this
the carboys were in my basement which is at 58 deg. Someone recently mentioned
something about cold shock. Did I kill the yeast by adding it to 58 deg must?
I figured there would just be a longer lag time and I'd be O.K. if I just left
it alone.

I have another question. I've only been able to get my hands on two

meads made commercially, Odin's and Merrydown. Both of them were aged in
oak and this is quite noticeable in both the color and flavor. My question
is: Are meads "supposed" to be aged in oak? Think of it like this: a
certain type or style of wine or beer is usually made a certain way, such as
target original/final gravities, type of grape/malt/yeast used, aging or not
aging in oak barrels, to produce desired characteristics. Is oak aging
"supposed" to be part of the mead making process? I haven't come across any
discussion of aging mead in oak, maybe I've missed it.

Private e-mail responses are acceptable but maybe it's a better idea to

post to the digest so all of us can learn.

Thanks.

 

Regards,

 

Ed_I

 

iaciofano@milkwy.enet.dec.com


End of Mead Lover's Digest #377