Mead Lover's Digest #99 Thu 18 March 1993


Forum for Discussion of Mead Brewing and Consuming
John Dilley, Digest Coordinator

Contents:

caromel again ("Daniel F McConnell")
honey subsidies? (Dick Dunn)
Carrot Wine Recipie… (Mark Taratoot)
1st batch results and ideas about 2nd (Julie Kangas)

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Date: 16 Mar 1993 08:49:31 -0500
From: "Daniel F McConnell" <Daniel.F.McConnell@med.umich.edu>
Subject: caromel again 

                      
Subject:                               Time:8:41 AM

OFFICE MEMO caromel again
Date:3/16/93

As promised, here is the Borscht Mead recipe. It was brewed by Bob Grossman of
Haddington Heights, NJ, for the 1st Mazer Cup Mead Competition.

For 3.5 gal
5 lb clover honey
3 lb wildflower honey
6 lb organic carrots
4 lb orgnic beets
Red Star Prise de Mousse yeast

Vegetables were stewed in 180 deg water for 15 min before being put through a
juicer. Honey boiled 15 min, cooled to 80 deg before adding juice.

OG=1.110
TG=1.005

Fermentation: 1 month at 60-65 deg., glass primary
3 months at 60-65 deg., glass secondary

Bob , if you're out there…I really appreciated your unusual effort.

Stay tuned for an announcement about the 2nd Mazer Cup Mead Competition.
Deadline for entry is June 18, judging to be held the following weekend, June
25-27. We will need qualified judges (anyone live within driving distance
from Ann Arbor, MI?)…last year we had 67 entries, this year probably more.
I will post the complete flyer and user-printable entry forms and bottle labels
when they are ready. In the meantime, if you are interested, send me e-mail
and I will make sure that you get an official snail-mail copy.

DanMcC

Date: 14 Mar 93 19:25:51 MST (Sun)
From: rcd@raven.eklektix.com (Dick Dunn)
Subject: honey subsidies?

I heard recently that part of Clinton's economic plan involves phasing out
subsidies to the "honey industry" in the US (because the justification for
the subsidies is a long-obsolete requirement for a reliable domestic supply
of beeswax for military purposes in case of war). However, that's the
extent of what I "know" (one bit of hearsay). Anyone have more informa-
tion about this, and more to the point, what it might portend for us?

(This isn't intended to get us off into the wisdom or folly of politics,
economics, or agricultural subsidy. I just want to know what it might do
to the price and availability of decent honey.)

Some specific questions that come to mind:

  • How heavily is honey subsidized now?
  • How much of subsidies go to large producers vs small?
  • How much honey is imported vs domestic? How does that split out
  • against "whole" versus heavily-filtered and processed "super-
  • market" honey?

What I'm really getting at is "How is this going to affect our precious raw
ingredient?" I'm guessing that the less-processed honey is already less
affected by a world market because it probably isn't shipped as far and
isn't in competition with imports.

(Would it be the end of meadmaking as we know it, or do we need to rally
in patriotic fervor and make as much mead as possible to save America's
beekeepers, or does it just mean honey is going to be a bit more
expensive?:-)
—
Dick Dunn rcd@eklektix.com -or- raven!rcd Boulder, Colorado USA

…Simpler is better.

Date: 17 Mar 1993 09:07:18 -0600 (MDT)
From: Mark Taratoot <SLNDW@CC.USU.EDU>
Subject: Carrot Wine Recipie...

Greetings.

Well, here is the recipie for carrot wine. I have not tried it yet.

CARROT DESSERT WINE

2.5kg (4.5lb) carrots, topped, tailed, scrubbed clean and thinly sliced
3 litres (6 pints) cold water
500g (1 lb) concentrated white grape juice
10ml (2 tsp) citric acid
5ml (1 tsp) grape tannin
activated Tokay wine yeast
5ml (1 tsp) nutrient
1.5kg (3 lb) white sugar


  1. Boil the carrots in the water in a covered pan for 1 hour until
    tender. Leave to cool.

  2. Strain the liquor into a fermentation jar, add the concentrated
    grape juice, acid, tannin, yeast, and nutrient. Leave room
    for the sugar, fit an airlock and ferment at around 21C (70F).

  3. After 5 days, remove some of the must, stir in one third of the
    sugar, and return it to the jar. Replace the airlock and continue
    the fermentation for 7 days.

  4. Repeat the process with half the remaining sugar, re-fit the
    airlock and ferment for another 7 days.

  5. Add the last of the sugar, top up if necessary, then ferment out.

  6. Siphon the clearing wine into a storage jar, top up, bung tight,
    label and store in a cool place until the wine is bright.

  7. Rack again and mature this wine in bulk for 2 years before bottling.
    Serve as for Beetroot Dessert Wine. (Instructions for Beetroot
    Dessert Wine say, "Serve it free from chill, either as a sweet
    dessert wine after a meal or with cheese and biscuits.")

NOTE. Neither pectic enzyme nor a Campden tablet is necessary.


This recipie is from Home Wine Making Brewing & Other Drinks by
Charles Foster. There are recipies for apple wines, elderberry wines,
apricot and dried apricot wines, beeet wines, parsnip and fig dessert
wine, various berry wines, various flower wines, date and rhubarb wine,
fig and rose hip wine, orange wine, peach wine, plum wine, prune wine,
rhubarb wines, rice and rasin wine, jam wines, and others. Even wine
made from grapes!

Enjoy!!!!

-toot


Date: Wed, 17 Mar 93 08:44:56 PST
From: julie@eddie.jpl.nasa.gov (Julie Kangas)
Subject: 1st batch results and ideas about 2nd

My first batch of mead finally cleared (brewed at Thanksgiving)
and I thought 'oh boy! it's looking good!' and went to sample just
a bit before bottling. I took a sip and

'yuhh! <pucker>LEMONCITRUSACID<pucker>!'

Yep, I think I must have added too much acid blend. I followed
the instructions on the kit I got at the homebrew shop and took the
acidity level up to .8. After I brewed the mead, I was a little
concerned since I've seen in a couple of places, including here,
that a level of .4 is better. (I feel kinda stupid about this —
I added 4 1/2 tsp of acid blend in a little bitty 1 gallon batch.)

So, I'm going to try again. I'm going back to basics (sort of)
and brewing a 2 gallon batch which will be broken into 2 separate
1 gallon batches during the secondary fermentation. I'll give the
details here in case anyone would like to comment on them. (I really
want something that won't cause a horrid pucker factor.)

Batch 2 (for 2 gallons):

5 pounds organic clover honey
2 tsp yeast nutrient
enough acid blend to bring the acidity to .4

Epernay 2 yeast

I plan on boiling the honey/water/nutrient for 30 mins
and then, while the must is still warm, measure the
acidity and adjust. (When do most people adjust the
acidity? I've never seen this mentioned.)

Ferment until active part is done.

Batch 2(a)

put in 1 gallon jug and let clear (I said I was going
back to basics!)

Batch 2(b)

put in 1 gallon jug with a strong herb/spice 'tea'

I plan on boiling 1/4 cup water and then steeping with
some sort of herb or spice mixture and adding it to
the pre-mead as I siphon it into the gallon jug.
I was thinking about using cardamom for the spice —
has anyone used this before?

 

Any comments on the above would be greatly appreciated.

Julie

Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1993 15:37:33 EST
From: "ROBERT HAMMOND, LENOIR-RHYNE COLLEGE, HICKORY, NC 28602, USA"

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