Mead Lover's Digest #0481 Sat 1 June 1996

 

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

 

Contents:

Re: Mead Lover's Digest #480, 24 May 1996 ("Robert A. Tisdale")
Honey and corn syrup (Jane Beckman)
Can't taste the difference? (Russell Mast)
"feeding" addl honey (Charles Wettergreen)
crabapple mead? (Charles Wettergreen)
VinBrite Gravity fed filters? (Douglas Thomas)
Mythology & Mead (Dan McFeeley)

 

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Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #480, 24 May 1996
 From: "Robert A. Tisdale" <rtisdale@entomology.msstate.edu>
 Date: Fri, 24 May 1996 10:57:26 -0600
 

Does it ever stop fermenting?
I am a first time mead maker, and I have a question. I put about 15 lbs
of honey, a gallon of grape juice, and some yeast in a fermenter (after
going through boiling and all) in February. It fermented nicely, and I
racked a few times. My question is why hasn't it stopped fermenting? I
still see bubbles in the airlock. I don't want to bottle because of my
fear of glass grenades. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

Brent

Good question! I started a batch of mesquite mead last November and it
fermented until about March. I finally added 3 tsp of potassium sorbate
to stop fermentation. Well, it looked like it had stopped, and has been
slowly clearing since then. Last night I happened to glance over at my
secondary and a bubble came from the airlock!! It has started to ferment
again!! However, it so slow that I can probably go ahead and bottle
without fear of glass grenades. The F.G. is very low and I am confident
that the majority of the sugar is already fermented.

To answer your first question of why it hasn't stopped fermenting; I
don't know.

If it fermenting very slowly and the F.G. is very low then bottling will
inhibit further fermentation and clearing can occur in the bottle.

Hope this helps,

Bob Tisdale

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Subject: Honey and corn syrup
 From: jane@swdc.stratus.com (Jane Beckman)
 Date: Fri, 24 May 96 10:29:07 PDT
 

I was reading the ingredients on a package of "honey" that came with an
order at Burger King, recently, and found it was essentially honey-corn-syrup.
I don't know what the labelling laws specify, but the single serving packet
said "Honey" while what was inside was blatantly adulterated. Maybe the
single-serving fast foodies are exempt. But I compulsively read ingredients,
and if you find your "honey" contains something else, give it a pass!

Jilara [jane@swdc.stratus.com]

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Subject: Can't taste the difference?
 From: Russell Mast <rmast@fnbc.com>
 Date: Fri, 24 May 1996 13:49:36 -0500
 

> Subject: Truth in Honey
> From: davidb@pumpkin.cdepot.net (David Brattstrom)

> ADULTERATIONS
> The major adulteration of honey is done by honey packers. They are blending
> in (HFCS) high fructose corn syrup at 30 cents a pound vs honey at 60cent
> – -1 dollar a pound! This adulterated honey can have up to 75% HFCS added and
> you can not tell the difference. Only an expensive process, developed and
> done in France, can detect the adulteration of honey with HFCS. You can not
> tell "Good Adulterated honey" by it flavor, sweetness, or color!

I'm sorry, but I simply find that totally unbelievable. Of -course- you can
taste the difference between pure honey and adulterated honey. If not, then
what's the fuss? Maybe the average consumer can't tell, and maybe the reason
that the cheap grocery store stuff is inferior is because it's adulterated,
but of course there will be a difference in flavor with adulterated honey.

• -R

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Subject: "feeding" addl honey     
 From: chuckmw@mcs.com (Charles Wettergreen)
 Date: Thu, 30 May 96 08:35 CDT
 

To: mead@talisman.com

When I make my meads I add all the honey at the beginning. However, even
with the large starters that I pitch, I still sometimes end up with an
overly sweet mead.

This time, however, I've decided to do things differently. I've started two
5-gallon batches of mead with only 10 pounds of honey each. The difference
in fermentation activity is dramatic, to say the least.

I'd like to "feed" these two meads with additional honey in order to be able
to better control the ending sweetness level. I'm looking for *your* methods
to do this. Do you just heat the honey and pour it in? Do you dilute it with
water before adding? I'd really appreciate hearing your methods.

Cheers,
Chuck
chuckmw@mcs.com
Geneva, IL

* RM 1.3 00946 *

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Subject: crabapple mead?          
 From: chuckmw@mcs.com (Charles Wettergreen)
 Date: Thu, 30 May 96 12:08 CDT
 

To: mead@talisman.com

Has anyone here ever made mead with crabapples? Because of their size and
acidity I would assume ther might be problems with astringency and tartness.
Can anyone offer any suggestions and/or precautions? TIA. E-mail OK.

Cheers,
Chuck

* RM 1.3 00946 *

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Subject: VinBrite Gravity fed filters?
 From: Douglas Thomas <thomasd@uchastings.edu>
 Date: Thu, 30 May 1996 11:35:22 -0700 (PDT)
 

Has anyone out there used this filter? Most of my meads and wines clear
well, and I don't care if there is a little sediment, but a few, peach
and pear, are still hazy after 4 months (I used pectinase to combat the
pectin haze). I fined with gelatin (my usual fining agent) and still
they have not cleared. I was thinking about getting this as a back up,
and seeing that it is about $100 cheaper than the closest competitor, I
thought it would be worth it. My local retailer sells it for $27.
Posting or private ok.
Doug Thomas
Thomasd@uchastings.edu

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Subject: Mythology & Mead
 From: Dan McFeeley <mcfeeley@olivet.edu>
 Date: Sat, 1 Jun 1996 09:01:23 -0500 (CDT)
 

In the Nov/Dec '95 issue of _Archaeology_ there is a short section
on the Greeks and wild honey:

Honey was the divine ambrosia of the gods, and bees (melissai)
and honey (meli) were endowed by the ancient Greeks with
religious and poetic symbolism. In classic myth, mortals
learned how to ferment honey into mead from a bee-nymph
named Melissa.

My wife Melissa — my bee-nymph and consort of some 7 years —
was quite delighted to read this. I haven't been able to find
the myth itself though. Does anyone know more about this?
Thanks for any info!

Dan McFeeley
mcfeeley@olivet.edu

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End of Mead Lover's Digest #481

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