An age old question and a theory I would like some input on

[Scott Horner]

Hello all

Being that I am in the SCA (yes I am a geek) and a Mead brewer (a very popular geek) I have come upon a bit of a problem with the "Modern" way of brewing mead... So let me dive in with my question and my personal theory as to why there is a differant perspective in modern times.

The question: To boil or not to boil?

Just about everyone I know and respect in the Mead brewing world of today says not to boil honey. This is for many reasons including not wanting to loose the honey tastes and subtile smells that it generates to Morse's experiments that prove boiled honey does not ferment as well.

The problem: Being in the SCA I would like to create my Meads as "true" to peroid as I can. (Pre 1600's) Thus far all the documents that I have read from that time include boiling the heck out of the honey.

The theory: Here is my theory as to why Honey was boiled back in ancient times. I belive it was for 2 reasons, first honey in ancient times was not nearly as pure as it is today. Most honey we have now has be pasturized or at least heated so that it could be transfered. It has be filtered in may ways to remove "bee parts" and wax. The ancients had no way of doing this to nearly the same level so part one of the theroy is ... Ancients use to boil as a way to remove the "scum" from the honey, as boiling allows the bad stuff to seperate from the honey and rise to the top where it may be skimmed off.

The second part of my theory is that water in ancient times was not as pure and clean as it is today. There were no sewage treatment plants nor clorine treatment facilities. Drinking water in ancient times was a risky process, especially if you were poor and had to live downstream from the richer folks. Remember in most places the river was not only the drinking source for the town but also served as the sewer. So the second part of the theory is... Mead was boiled in order to kill anything bad that might be in the water.

I would like to hear thoughts on this theory.. and also hear from anyone that might have other thoughts on the disconnect between ancient recipies and the modern ones. I would also like your permission to use your responses in an article I am writing for our local SCA brewing news letter on the topic.

Another question I have is if any of you in your research has come across an ancient recipie that does not call for boiling?

I look forward to hearing your responses

Scott

 

[Dan McFeeley]

Being that I am in the SCA (yes I am a geek) and a Mead brewer (a very popular geek) I have come upon a bit of a problem with the "Modern" way of brewing mead... So let me dive in with my question and my personal theory as to why there is a differant perspective in modern times.

The question: To boil or not to boil?

Just about everyone I know and respect in the Mead brewing world of today says not to boil honey. This is for many reasons including not wanting to loose the honey tastes and subtile smells that it generates to Morse's experiments that prove boiled honey does not ferment as well.

The problem: Being in the SCA I would like to create my Meads as "true" to peroid as I can. (Pre 1600's) Thus far all the documents that I have read from that time include boiling the heck out of the honey.

The theory: Here is my theory as to why Honey was boiled back in ancient times. I belive it was for 2 reasons, first honey in ancient times was not nearly as pure as it is today. Most honey we have now has be pasturized or at least heated so that it could be transfered. It has be filtered in may ways to remove "bee parts" and wax. The ancients had no way of doing this to nearly the same level so part one of the theroy is ... Ancients use to boil as a way to remove the "scum" from the honey, as boiling allows the bad stuff to seperate from the honey and rise to the top where it may be skimmed off.

The second part of my theory is that water in ancient times was not as pure and clean as it is today. There were no sewage treatment plants nor clorine treatment facilities. Drinking water in ancient times was a risky process, especially if you were poor and had to live downstream from the richer folks. Remember in most places the river was not only the drinking source for the town but also served as the sewer. So the second part of the theory is... Mead was boiled in order to kill anything bad that might be in the water.

I would like to hear thoughts on this theory.. and also hear from anyone that might have other thoughts on the disconnect between ancient recipies and the modern ones. I would also like your permission to use your responses in an article I am writing for our local SCA brewing news letter on the topic.

Another question I have is if any of you in your research has come across an ancient recipie that does not call for boiling?

Although it's possible that boiling the honey must may have been for purposes of sanitation, it could easily have come from then contemporary methods of straining and processing honey.

Boiling the must seems to have been a technique prevalent during the early Medieval period, but may not have been widely practicied prior to that. Here's an old recipe from Pliny the Elder's "Natural History," written during the First century AD -- note that the must isn't boiled but the water is.

http://sca_brew.homestead.com/files/recipes/Crystal_5.htm

Ancient Information on Making Mead, Transcribed by Crystal of Westermark.

Pliny the Elder. _The Natural History of Pliny. Translated with Copious Notes and Illustrations_. Circa 400 CE. Translated by John Bostock and H.T. Riley. Published by Henry G. Bohn, London, 1855. Vol. 3. Circa 77CE.

Page 261, Hydromeli, or Melicraton

There is a wine made solely of honey and water. For this purpose it is recommended that rain water should be kept for a period of five years. Those who shew greater skill, content themselves with taking the water just after it has fallen, and boiling it down one third, to which they then add one third in quantity of old honey, and keep the mixture exposed to the rays of a hot sun for forty days after the rising of the Dog-star; others, however, rack it off in the course of ten days, and tightly cork the vessels in which it is kept. The beverage is known as *hydromeli,* and with age acquires the flavor of wine. It is nowhere more highly esteemed than in Phrygia.

 

[memento]

From a strictly historical perspective and not necessarily SCA or mead related, water was NOT the beverage of choice due to sanitary reasons. I would think that they would boil at least the water for that reason alone. But then if they're going to boil the water, why not throw in the honey too? It will dissolve easier. human nature.

 

[Dan McFeeley]

From a strictly historical perspective and not necessarily SCA or mead related, water was NOT the beverage of choice due to sanitary reasons. I would think that they would boil at least the water for that reason alone. But then if they're going to boil the water, why not throw in the honey too? It will dissolve easier. human nature.

I think it's interesting that some meadmakers boiled the water down to 2/3 the original volume. This would concentrate the mineral content, aiding the fermenation. Check out some of the GotMead discussions on hard water, which was originally prompted by Chuck Wettergreen.

Others recommended soft rain water, sounding much like Brother Adam's recommendations in 1953.

There's a *lot* of different approaches to meadmaking in the ancient world that are hinted at in Pliny's account. It looks like Pliny was reporting on something he didn't fully understand himself, although, he was certainly familiar with the taste of an excellent mead.

On the timing of the mead with the rising of Sirius, the Dog star -- Carl Kerenyi has a lot of interesting speculations on that one ("Dionysos: Archetypal Image of Indestructible Life," pp. 35 - 38 in particular).