Later,

Richard L Scholz
Brooklyn, NY

Quartz, in its simplest form, is silicon dioxide (SiO2) – this is clear
or white, and is one of the most common minerals on earth (sand, a large
component of granite, etc). All kinds of semiprecious stones are formed
from this base: Carnelian, aventurine, amethyst, citrine, rose quartz
are all simple silicates with minor impurities (metals, such as iron,
copper, etc).

>From there, you get into complex silicates, such as beryl (such as
aquamarine), tourmaline, topaz, ruby (corundum), sapphire, etc. These
also have the basic SiO2 core, but hang other molecules around them.

All of the above minerals will dissolve in the proper solution, but I'd
really recommend that you NOT drink it (depending on the mineral, you
may have to use sulfuric, nitric, or hydrofluoric acid of high strength)

Those minerals that do dissolve in your brew are probably worse for
you. Usual suspects include carbonates (ranging from calcite – calcium
carbonate, perfectly harmless, to malachite – copper carbonate
hydroxide, which is toxic) or sulfates (bornite – copper iron sulfate).

The trouble is that even the "safe" minerals like calcite can contain
unacceptable amounts of free iron, magnesium, manganese, zinc, or even
cobalt (bright pink cobaltocalcite is a really nice looking mineral, but
don't go chewing on it!) So even if you were to put something in the
brew, it won't help the flavor. It can only hurt (you).

Good reference: www.minerals.net

Fred Bourdelier
Tucson AZ

(lurk mode on)

If the good web version was not available I certainly would be. I know it
was down, but only for a short time and accidents do happen. I personally
feel that you would be unnecessarily duplicating the efforts of Mister
Spencer. If you end up doing it anyway I would very much like to see it and
play with it but I probably would not take the time to keep it updated with
all of the latest posts as Spencer web version does seem to do a great job.

If anyone would like a programming project related to MLD I think someone
should pick-up on the now defunked Cats Meow. It hasn't been updated in
years and I seem to remember the web site stating that it got to be too much
to maintain. Probably due to the explosion of posts that had been hitting
HBD. I know there are places where you can post your recipes but I think it
would better if someone pulled them out of MLD and kept a nice index. I
mean I am happy to post recipes to MLD but don't really feel the desire to
post them again to a recipe repository (call me lazy). I'm not really a
programmer but I'm sure there is a way to at least semi automate that kind
of process as recipes are usually typed out in a fairly predictable format.
Just an idea.

Matt Maples
Anagram: "Tap Me Malts!"

May mead regain its rightful place as the beverage of gods and kings

Ok now for my questions. Should I do any sort of pre-treatment to blunt the
flavor of the oak or is it ok to just age for a shorter time? How long
should I let the mead stay in the oak for it to pick up a good amount of oak
flavor given the above specifics? How many batches of mead will I have to
do before I can do the bulk of my secondary aging in oak (ie leave it in the
oak for months on end without ending up with oak juice)? Also please feel
free to add any other info you would feel is helpful in the use of oak
barrels.

Private email is fine, though this might be of interest to the masses.
Thank you in advance for your help.

Sebastian Padilla
Tucson, AZ

I'm with Dick in that some good care does need to be taken with adding
crystals to your mead. I am not really sensitive to such things but as I am
getting older I am more open to non scientific ideas (I detest the term "New
Age") BUT knowing a little chemistry of the rocks would be prudent. You seem
to be a fellow that does his research and as I know you wouldn't use herbs
without at least reading up on them so to with the crystals. Good vibes from
the crystals is one thing, lead poisoning is another. I'm sure you are
already doing this but I just want you to be safe.

Matt Maples
Anagram: "Tap Me Malts!"

May mead regain its rightful place as the beverage of gods and kings

I'm new to making mead and was wondering if royal jelly is good to add to
mead. The substance is produced by the young worker bees and is fed to the
larva from which the queen bee develops and eats through her eight year life
span (the workers get none and die in two to six months). Royal Jelly
contains proteins, several types of natural sugars, unsaturated fats,
enzymes, high levels of pantothenic acid, nucleic acid and vitamin B-6. The
British royal family uses it for health and longevity. Most health food
stores carry is in raw form.

Also, I like the idea of inverted carboys. Seems like it works better than
racking for removing the lees and such. What say you, brewers?

Matthew Ransom
spiritflight@kachina.net

>Any one out there ever made Tej? I've been looking around but haven't
>turned up much info about it. So far all I know is it's an Ethiopian
>mead. Does it differ from other meads? If so how? I'd like to make
>some as my next batch…..but then I have a freezer full of prickly
>pears too……..so many ideas!

T'ej is the national drink of Ethiopia, generally made in the home for
family consumption and having a tradition supposedly going back to at
least the 4th Century. It's quite unique and nearly impossible to exactly
duplicate here in the states. T'ej recipes vary from family to family,
but the basic style comes from the use of a bitter extract from a native
Ethiopian tree, the Gesho. The mead is an ideal pairing with the cuisine
of Ethopia, which is spicy hot and served communal style with thin rounds
of Injera bread.

About 15 years ago, a group of Ethiopian nationals living near Washington
DC contacted Anthony Aellen of Berrywine Plantation in Mt. Airy Maryland
and asked if he could duplicate the T'ej they remembered from their
homeland. It took some effort, but he was able to come up with a passable
duplicate. If they're still making T'ej, you can contact them at:

Berrywine Plantation
Lucille Aellen
Linganore Winecellars
13601 Glissens Mill Rd
Mt. Airy, MD 21771-8595
(310) 831-5889
(410) 795-6432
www.linganore-wine.com
info@linanore-wine.com

Here is a recipe for Ethiopian T'ej from _The Meadmakers Journal_, Fall 1988.
I can't vouch for its authenticity — you'll have to try it for yourself!

Utensils needed: Medium cooking pot
3 gallon barrel or glass container

Ingredients: 32 oz. honey
1 gallon water
1 1/2 cups woody hops

Mix water and honey in 3 gallon container. Set aside in a warm room.
After 3 days, put 6 cups of honey water in the medium cooking pot.
Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes after adding
woody hops. Set aside to cool. Add mixture to 3 gallon container.
Let stand for 5 days. Remove hops using strainer. Cover container
for 15 to 20 days. Store in cool location or put in bottles and
refrigerate after filtering. Serves 6 to 12.

Variations of the recipe can call for:

Medium citron — peeled, sliced, seedless
coffee beans — roasted, cooled and ground
orange peels — 4 medium
prunes — 3 pounds ripe
banans — 6 medium

The additional ingredients are added after the hops are removed and
before storing in the covered container for 15 to 20 days.

"Traditional Ethiopian T'ej," by Virginia Davis
_The Meadmakers Journal_ Fall 1988 p. 5.

A couple of notes — Davis suggested that yeast may have been introduced
by wild yeasts or other means, but that meadmakers should use a commercial
yeast. The article gave no details on hop type, only described it
as above, a "woody hop." Brewers on this list may have a better idea
of what type of hop would work in this recipe.

However you obtain your T'ej, either through Berrywine or your own efforts,
try serving it with an Ethiopian style meal. Jeff Smith's _The Frugal
Gourmet On Our Immigrant Ancestors_ (William Morrow and Company, Inc.,
New York, 1990. ISBN 0-688-07590-8) has a section on Ethiopian cuisine.

<><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><>
Dan McFeeley
mcfeeley@keynet.net

Subject: Beet Mead

I once made a Borscht Mead using beets and carrots with wildflower honey.
I'm writing while away from home so I don't have the exact recipe.

However,

I recall using around 5# of beets, 5# carrots, 12# honey to make a 5 gallon
batch. It had a pink color with a thick and chewy texture. It had a
somewhat sweet taste perhaps from the beets, and an unusual earthy taste in
the finish. I remember the color faded with time and the taste became

bland

as it aged. It lost the curious and unique tasting finish too. It was at
it's best when young. It was an early experiment of mine that I made

around

10 years ago and I've always wanted to try it again. I'd say go for it if
you have a bountiful supply of beets.
Cheers, Bob Grossman

>(Need more carboys…)
Is there someone this doesn't apply to?

Keep your stick on the ice!

>I have yet to make a batch of mead, but I am planning one to be started
>shortly. I am looking for any tips or suggestions from you experienced
>mead makers. I am thinking of making a 5 gallon batch and splitting it
>into two different types in 2 1/2 gallon batches, one citrus and the
>other I am not sure of yet (any suggestions?).
>
Great! Why not do half as straight mead with no additional flavors? As
much as everyone goes on here about adding different flavorings, there is
nothing that matches the taste of pure, unaltered mead! (btw, I have 4
fruit batches bubbling away now 🙂 )

Brian

Keep your stick on the ice!

Wheeeeeee!
I didn't realize we were headed down this path.
On the reality side of things, it _is_ possible to produce meads which are
more or less befuddling, and particularly, more or less prone to creating
hangovers. But that is done by control over the higher alcohols produced
during fermentation, _not_ by some mystical "vibrational properties". (Oh
yeah, and "higher" alcohols refers to higher molecular weight, not alcohols
from the astral plane.)

>…If you are at all consciously sensitive to energy…

wuffa wuffa!
I believe that anyone who can see, hear, feel temperature,… is
"consciously sensitive to energy".

> …A couple of points of caution. The crystal will need recuperation time
> afterwards, so don't drop it into another batch right after using it. Also,
> some crystals do *not* like having this done…

woop! woop! woop! woop! woop!
Most likely is that the crystal is unaffected by the mead (and vice-versa),
as would be the case with quartz. There is no "recuperation time". The
other possibility is that the mead would dissolve something out of the
crystal, in which case it's changed and it's not going to change back.

By the way, folks, crystals are inanimate objects, so they do not "like" or
"dislike". The particularly ordered molecular structure of a crystal may
give it some useful properties, but they are not possessed of, or by, any
vibrational magic, awareness, or active abilities. Crystals are basically
pretty rocks.

>…I used an amethyst crystal in
> this way once, without really asking it first. Upon removing it, it was the
> first time I've ever had a crystal yell at me.

If you are talking to rocks, be sure you have a valid, current poetic
license.

If you are asking questions of rocks and expecting them to answer you, or
if rocks are yelling at you, you shouldn't have had that last few glasses
of mead. If you weren't drinking when this happened, you may be delusion-
al–a condition that can be dangerous to yourself or those around you.

The art and craft of meadmaking is an ancient one; as such it carries
lore, mythology, and superstition with it. I think we ought to be able to
accept and remember those aspects for what they are–no more, no less. I
also think we ought to be able to use the gift of our own time–which is
enough science to understand what really goes on in mead and to learn to
make good mead reliably. It would be a shame if our our generation's
"contribution" to meadmaking included a bunch of New-Age bogosities.

>…If you
> can't talk with crystals, state your intention for the crystal with the
> crystal in your left hand, and try and get a "feeling" of whether or not it's
> okay.

What if I'm left-handed? What if the crystal is left-handed (e.g., levro-
rotatory)? What if I'm in touch with reality and holding a crystal in my
left hand produces nothing more than the sensation of holding a pretty rock?

• —

Dick Dunn rcd@talisman.com Hygiene, Colorado USA

…Simpler is better.

Does anyone know of a source of honey that is largely away from
commercially grown agricultural crops? Is this even possible?

Thanks, Tim

I just opened the first bottle of a batch of braggot that I brewed back on
the last day of February. It's the first time I've ever tasted this style.

The recipe was quite simple (for 5.5 gallons): a grain bill of 4.5 lbs.
two-row malt, a pound of CaraPils and half a pound of Caramalt (10 L). I did
a single infusion mash with a 90 minute conversion at 155 F. After sparging,
the runoff was boiled for 75 minutes, with a single hop addition of 1 oz.
Hallertau pellets for 60 minutes. At flameout I added 6 lbs. of clover honey,
chilled the wort and pitched a starter of Wyeast 1318. The O.G. was 1.061.
The color is light (3.9 SRM) and so is the bittering (10.5 IBUs).

Fermentation was 18 days in primary at 62 F (it fermented rather slowly) and
90 days in secondary at 64 F. It never cleared as much as I would have liked,
so I fined it with Sparkolloid and bottled. The final gravity was 1.008. I
used 180 grams (6.3 oz. by weight) of corn sugar to prime.

The result is somewhat interesting. The color is a pale gold and it is quite
clear. The head is medium and relatively long lasting. The aroma is what I
would expect from Wyeast 1318–slightly fruity with some faint yeastiness.
The hop aroma is barely discernible and there is no maltiness.

As for flavor, it is very mild, with just a slight honey character and some
soft fruitiness. There is just enough bitterning to tell that it is hopped,
but no more than that. The body is somewhere between light and medium; the
CaraPils does a good job of balancing the honey. Carbonation is about 2.5
volumes of CO2. And there is a touch of alcoholic warmth, as would be
expected from something that is almost 7 percent ABV.

Overall, it's quite clean, with no off flavors to speak of. But it's also a
little boring. By no means is it thin, but there's not much richness in the
flavor. I suspect it will be a refreshing summer drink, which is why I intend
to serve it while the weather remains warm.

With 50 percent of the fermentables from malt and 50 percent from honey, I
wondered if my braggot would be more like beer or mead. I have to say that it
comes down more on the beer side of the equation, something like a light (in
color, aroma and flavor more than in body and alcohol), slightly fruity ale
with faint honey notes.

Would anyone else with experience with braggot care to comment?

• — Bill Pierce

Cellar Door Homebrewery
Des Moines, IA

Of course, when it comes to energy and metaphysical occurances, there are
rarely absolutes. No book should serve as anything more than a guide, and
this book is no exception. Always (in the *almost* absolute sense 🙂 look to
your own intuition to see if it agrees with, or wants to modify, what a book
is saying. I know a few people that don't agree with Melody's assessments of
crystals' properties, but I feel it's a good place to start, and as I said,
she seems to address potential toxicity.

• Joshua

>By which I infer it is similar to, if not the same as, bentonite.

Have never used Sparkolloid, but bentonite is a clay and
diatomaceous earth is opaline silica. Sparkolloid is a
polysaccharide which uses diatomaceous earth as carrier.

Dry bentonite has a huge affinity for water to hydrate the clay
while diatomaceous earth does not. Bentonite has a net
negative charge while Sparkolloid has a net positive charge.
This means they will strip particles with opposite charges from
the mead, beer or wine being fined. Bottom line: use them for
differing tasks.

>Here's the step I always have problems with (at least with bentonite).
>I get some small percentage of the total suspended, but most of it is
>tied up into big globs. Same problem you'll see with, say, adding
>water to flour in imprudent amounts. Any suggestions?

What i have done successfully is using a wire whisk, add small amounts
bentonite to water, whisking in each bit before adding more, much as
one would do adding flour to liquid. When all the bentonite is added,
boil. When the boiling slurry gets too thick add more water. When
bentonite is well boiled and at pourable consistency, add to carboy.
Cool first.

My $.02, and Wassail!

• -LabRat

Information is available on the web site, linked below; we ship
honey in larger containers:

in a 60 lb. bucket – $64 + $14 shipping, insurance
6 x 5 lb. jars, 30 lb. total – $50 + $8 shipping, insurance

These shipping rates are for the northeast, and for beyond additional
charges apply, per zone. We offer raw Apitherapy honey and lightly
heated honey.

Todd D. Hardie

Honey Gardens Apiaries, Inc.
641 Richmond Road
Hinesburg, VT 05461

tel.800-416-2083

e-mail = todd@honeygardens.com

www.honeygardens.com

rcd@raven.talisman.com (Dick Dunn) wrote:
:
: TPArmantrout@aol.com wrote:
:
: > …I also read somewhere about putting
: > semi-precious stones (ie quartz) in during fermentation, which were
: > subsequently dissolved…
:
: […]
: As for other semi-precious stones, for most of them it is about equally
: unlikely that mead would dissolve them, but before you do this, think
: carefully about what minerals might be present, that the acid of the mead
: might leach out, and that might be harmful. Semi-precious stones are not
: in general intended to be "food grade".
:
: Even that begs the question of *why* you would want to put rocks in your
: mead.

For the various properties ascribed to the various kinds of stones, of
course. In the Middle Ages (and no doubt previous and subsequent
times), just about every kind of stone and mineral had some sort of
special property associated with it. A recent issue of the SCA's
Compleat Anachronist was a write-up of exactly what properties went
with which stones (I'm pretty sure it was in the last year). So, you
might try contacting the SCA's stock clerk (start at www.sca.org) to
get the relevant back issue.

Now, one thing that is stated quite clearly in that pamphlet is that,
despite all the neat and wonderful things ascribed to those stones, in
practice, most are actually poisonous or effectively inert. So,
although there's a lot of interesting historical bits to go look at,
there's little practical application to go along.