Mead Lover's Digest #1622 Fri 8 February 2013

 

Mead Discussion Forum

 

Contents:

Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1620, 31 January 2013 (lostnbronx)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1620, 31 January 2013 (Anthony Noble)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1620, 31 January 2013 (Adam Strom)
mojito mead (casey jones)
Where'd the honey go? (erbkon@yahoo.com)
Adding pollen to the pot (Henry Murray)

 

NOTE: Digest appears whenever there is enough material to send one.
Send ONLY articles for the digest to mead@talisman.com.
Use mead-request@talisman.com for [un]subscribe and admin requests.
Digest archives and FAQ are available at www.talisman.com/mead#Archives
A searchable archive is at http://www.gotmead.com/mldarchives.html
Digest Janitor: Dick Dunn


Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1620, 31 January 2013
From: lostnbronx <lostnbronx@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2013 22:55:24 -0700


re: Mojito mead recipe

Zest in Primary, juice in Secondary. Watch the mint during aging: it
can add more of an herbaceous quality than a classic mint flavor. Set
yourself a given period with it, then pull it out on time. Sounds
like a nice recipe.


Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1620, 31 January 2013
From: Anthony Noble <nobleurbandesign@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2013 23:34:59 -0800


If I were to do this, I'd add juice and mint tea to the secondary.
However, I'm not a fan of any preserved lime juice. I wonder how
kefir lime leaves would do?

Anthony D. Noble
www.NobleUrbanDesign.com


Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1620, 31 January 2013
From: Adam Strom <adamfive@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2013 10:52:21 -0500


First I would think you would want to use a rum barrel for a mojito mead, a
tequila mojito sounds weird. But if you must proceed, I would recommend
adding lime and mint to secondary, after vigorous fermentation subsides,
otherwise you'll loose all the aroma. Adding lime to the primary won't
hurt pH, actually might help it a bit with nutrients. There are a lot of
good mead recipes that call for citrus juice in the primary.

Adam Strom
Metals and Additives Corporation
630-335-4070
astrom@omnioxide.com


Subject: mojito mead
From: casey jones <casey_jones62@hotmail.com>
Date: Mon, 4 Feb 2013 14:02:06 -0800


heres what i would do in your situation mojito mead guy:

use 15#s honey (3 #s per gal. is about as much as you want)
champagne yeast (not sure what you were gonna use, but champagne gets a
high alc. without messin up your flavor.)
nutrients, or not either way….
mint and zest

buckle up!

boil your water with the mint in it for like 5 minutes. after the water
is minty, let it cool. dump it into your primary fermentor (not the
barrel). add the honey and nutrients, and stir for like 15 minutes. add
yeast. almost seal it and wait a month. then put it in your barrel. add
the zest, but in something you can remove, like a (sterilized sock) or
giant teabag, or grain bag, if you wanna get fancy. after about a day,
remove the zest. then just remember that the longer you let it sit in the
barrel, the better its gonna be. but drink it whenever you want.

final thoughts: mint and lemon are both pretty strong flavors so remember
to use moderation. people will like a not minty/lemony enough batch, way
more than a too minty/lemony batch. by not using the barrel as your primary
it will be easier to clean afterwards. i hope that is helpfull. -casey


Subject: Where'd the honey go?
From: erbkon@yahoo.com
Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2013 16:27:54 -0800 (PST)


Hello all,

I've been brewing occasional batches for 5 years but have never run into
this one.

I'm brewing a variation of a recipe I've done before, a light mead flavored
with juniper and blueberries during the initial fermentation. It has 12
pounds of honey in a 5 gallon carboy with a packet of Red Star Montrachet
for the cycle. The juniper berries (1/2 cup) and blueberries (1 pint)
are just for a hint of flavor. Initial SG was 1.073 and potential alcohol
calc'd at 9.9%

The first fermentation cycle has just about petered out after 37 days,
so today I decided to rack to a cleansed 2nd carboy and take some basic
measurements. The mystery is that my SG reads at exactly 1.000 (at 56
degrees). I've sampled it and it has no joy; it's simply as though the
honey vanished and left behind some pleasantly flavored water. For now I
have it stoppered and have added some nutrient to give this cycle some more
life, and it's fermenting lightly. Where'd the honey go? Do I add more?
Advice is appreciated.

Thanks,

J-Ko


Subject: Adding pollen to the pot
From: Henry Murray <henry.h.murray@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2013 17:16:40 -0500


Dear Mead Makers:

Does anyone have experience in adding dry pollen to the honey/water mixture
before and/or during the fermentation process to enhance the flavor of the
mead? I read a bit about using 1 tbs. of pollen per gallon as a yeast
nutrient. Others suggest that adding pollen to a mead recipe enhances the
flavors. Others caution that you need to know where the pollen comes from
or it is a bit of a crap-shoot.

Bottom line: any actual experience out there to share? Thank you.

Hal Murray
Bloomsbury, NJ


End of Mead Lover's Digest #1622