Mead Lover's Digest #0470 Sat 30 March 1996

 

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

 

Contents:

final mead sweetness (Swanston_Dale/safety@sask.aecl.ca)
Priming a Sparkling Cyser (Eric Cloninger)
Orange Melomel (Karl Long)
White hangers from Lalvin champagne (Douglas Thomas)

 

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Subject: final mead sweetness
From: Swanston_Dale/safety@sask.aecl.ca
Date: Tue, 26 Mar 96 17:13:34 -0700


Greetings,

In the past couple digests there have been a questions regarding
controlling the final sweetness of the mead. I've been waiting hoping
someone would reply, I'm very curious. I find my meads ferment out too
dry (most of the sweetness is gone). What is the best way to control
this? Via, initial gravity/yeast type (ie ale vs champagne say) or
using a chemical wine makers use to stop fermentation or to keep adding
honey to the fermenting mead until the yeast poops out leaving you with
the desired sweetness.

Can someone reply describing how they control their mead's sweetness.

Thanks in advance,

Dale Swanston
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan


Subject: Priming a Sparkling Cyser
From: eric.cloninger@pobox.com (Eric Cloninger)
Date: Tue, 26 Mar 1996 19:06:43 -0600


Hello all. I just jumped on mead-lovers and I have a question that didn't
get answered in r.c.b.

Within the next month or so, I'll bottle my 1996 holiday mead. This year,
it's a sparkling cyser. I don't have a large number of champagne bottles,
but I do have two cases of Grolsch swing-caps. Do you think these will
contain the pressure? I'm pitching new champagne yeast and ~3/4 cup honey
in 1 quart apple juice to prime.

  • -E

| eric.cloninger@pobox.com | http://www.pobox.com/~eric.cloninger |


Subject:  Orange Melomel
From: Karl Long <KLONG@ftc.nrcs.usda.gov>
Date: Wed, 27 Mar 1996 08:41:11 -0700

I want to try an orange melomel (with orange juice concentrate). What

I would like to know is, what should I add for balance. I'll probably use
some raisons for tannin.

If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them. If you have

actually made a mead with orange juice, what did you balance the
orange with and how did it turn out.

By the way, I don't really want to use hops (personal bias).

Thanks,

Karl G. Long
Lindsay Brothers Mead
Fort Collins, Clolrado


Subject: White hangers from Lalvin champagne
From: Douglas Thomas <thomasd@uchastings.edu>
Date: Fri, 29 Mar 1996 12:21:04 -0800 (PST)


Hello all!
I am currently on the second racking of some strawberry wine. A very
potent one indeed. To get this potency, I used Lalvin Champagne yeast,
with a tolerance somewhere near 18% and a good fruity nose. Well, my
first racking revealed to my unbelieving eyes, floating mats of what I
later had confirmed as yeast (i baked with one, and it made great,
sorta winey bread). Now that the wine has been racked, I have not
encountered any more mats, but have found some white stringy floaters.
Could it be that the yeast is trying to form more mats? If not, what are
they? The wine tastes fine so far. Has the typical green flavor, but no
off tastes or bouquet. Any ideas?

Doug Thomas
thomasd@uchastings.edu



End of Mead Lover's Digest #470