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Ken Schramms Book Hyped In "Slate"

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wayneb

Lifetime Patron
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Vicky - GM Founder said:
Sorry....I really have to learn to read slower..... :BangHead:...Launce....I meant Launce....really. I read your response, then his, then, well, you saw. LOL. Hey, whaddya want, I'm a blonde....

On another note, take a look at the Ink Pens' ongoing mead strip:
http://www.gocomics.com/inkpen/2008/03/21/

I know he's capping on our favorite drink, but I've been getting some laughs from the series......

ROTFL!!!

No worries. It's kinda like the way I type after I've had a few glasses of our favorite beverage!! I've gone back over some of those postings... :tard:
 

pain

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I had no excuse, I posted that *before* I racked (and tasted) the JAO and the meadowfoam mead yesterday :tongue3:.

After plowing through tax paperwork today, I'm going to verify that I've enough blueberries, then make Oskaars'
Blueberry Melomel....

I gotta say, since he bugged me into trying the methods he has listed out for his meads in the Patron sections, I have had amazing results. I made an orange blossom traditional and a meadowfoam traditional, and am really impressed with their progress. The orange blossom got pitched mid-January, and is in secondary, and is clean and brilliant with a crisp flavor. The meadowfoam got pitched just after the mead competition in February, and fermented out clean as a whistle, and retained a *lot* of the yummy vanilla character of the meadowfoam. I haven't decided if I'm going to bring that vanilla up some with a bean or two, but both are *seriously* drinkable right now.

I think that the JAO is the most *frustrating* mead I've ever made. God, I *so* wanted to stir it with the rest of my batches!!! I had to hide it so I could just let it sit and not fiddle with it! However, it has dropped clear, and I racked it onto about 3/4 gallon of honey diluted with water (lost some volume to the fruit/etc.) and the pithy nature has gone already, and it has a nice round mouthfeel and is just past medium-sweet. (The guy I'm making it for likes sweet meads).

After that I'm going to make Oskaars' Cherry Cyser (thank you Trader Joes!!!) and a second batch of the Blueberry Mel. And I'm waiting for strawberry season to do a *big* batch of that fantastic strawberry melomel that took Gold at the International Mead Competition this year....

Vicky - trudging downstairs to tackle tax paperwork, I've delayed long enough.....
 

Launcelot

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Dec 9, 2007
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You know, when I read that, I saw Wayne's name, and it translated in me head...

::laughing::

So, after a little round of pay the tax man, I am completely bloody broke until payday... At which point I am ordering honey, putting new tires on the car, and hopefully getting my new "Carnivore Special" off the ground and into primary.

Ok, so long story short... I need to build an enclosure in the garage and do my bulk aging there once the weather turns...

--L
 

wayneb

Lifetime Patron
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Yup - I agree with ya, Vicky!! Oskaar deserves a huge amount of credit for bringing me up to the current state of the art, and making my meads better for it! He, Ken and Hightest have given me the jumpstart that I needed to change decades of ingrained habits, and I am glad I did so!!

But although I appreciate and utilize the advances in technique that I've learned from those guys, I'll still keep coming up with my own recipes. We've got to preserve a little "genetic diversity" in the hobby, after all!! :laughing7:
 

osluder

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Nov 14, 2008
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What sort of rums are you into? My hubby and I both love rum, and are always on the lookout for our next favorite. Our regular rum is usually Mount Gay Sugar Cane.

I'm a big fan of Bajan (Barbadian) rums myself. My personal favorite for day-to-day drinking when I can get it is Cockspur, but Mount Gay Eclipse or Sugar Cane are more readily available to me. The Mount Gay Extra Old (17 yo!) is outstanding if you can find it. I happened upon a bottle of Cockspur 12 on a recent trip to Ottawa.

I also like
  • Appleton Estate Extra (Jamaica; 12 yo)
  • Ron del Barrilito (Puerto Rico; 6-10 yo)

I like mine with mango juice.

I love rum with orange juice myself. Started drinking it in 1990 when I worked in Barbados for a few months and it's still my favorite mixed drink. I think I'll have one now! ;D

-- Olen
 

crisp

NewBee
Registered Member
Rum and Orange juice

I'm a big fan of Bajan (Barbadian) rums myself. My personal favorite for day-to-day drinking when I can get it is Cockspur, but Mount Gay Eclipse or Sugar Cane are more readily available to me. The Mount Gay Extra Old (17 yo!) is outstanding if you can find it. I happened upon a bottle of Cockspur 12 on a recent trip to Ottawa.

I also like
  • Appleton Estate Extra (Jamaica; 12 yo)
  • Ron del Barrilito (Puerto Rico; 6-10 yo)



I love rum with orange juice myself. Started drinking it in 1990 when I worked in Barbados for a few months and it's still my favorite mixed drink. I think I'll have one now! ;D

-- Olen

AH! that brings back some memories!
 

HoneyQueen

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Dec 12, 2010
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Hello Mr. Schramm and Mistress Vicky and Oskaar and everyone-I am 'new' but I want to say-I got my nerve up and made a Mead! I am so excited! It is a Heavy and Sweet Mead-but it will knock you flat after one tall glass. Here is how I made it-BTW thanks for letting me post right away-I promise to totally respect all my elders in the mead -making lifestyle and the Newbies just learning like me. (I looked for and found Mr. Schramms excellent book-very wonderful! Thank you!)

Ok-'How I made my first Mead:

BACKSTORY-One of my sons heard about the 'Honeybee Hive Collapse' awhile back and unbejknowst to me-he invested his paycheck and bought up Honey as fast as he could. Several Moons Later-he thought I knew about it-but then realized that since I didn't 'prowl' or investigate my children's rooms.-I had no clue..He rewarded Mama for helping him when he had a job gap-by giving me ALL the HONEY when he moved away for his new job! Wow! I was excited! Enough honey to be a serious brewer-beer is interesting too-BTW-just luck I got going with Mead due to an excess of honey-I'd neverhad it but once and wasn't real hot on it-honestly-but mine is really just like I like my drinks-heavy weight and sweet.

So-IN SUM-I began plotting immediately-"make Mead-Make Mead" but HOW? Start Internet Search-Ok ASSIGN HUBBS the 'task' for I cook and clean and work and chauffeuer family members routinely. Okay Hubbs gets me RECIPE! I am so excited I begin that very night at 10:30 P.M. (after picking Hubbs up from work late night)

Boil water-dip all utensils wash hands run back and forth to computer to read recipe-DAMN! NO ORANGES! $h*t! Substitute to buy time-ground orange peel-OLD-Vanilla and cinnamon-RAISINS (OLD too!) YEAST: RED STAR-ANCIENT! But refridgerated for years-Honey OLD too (remember I said he bought it up-and by the time I knew about it some had crystallized.) Anyway...I boiled the water I wanted to use-poured in about 1 and 1/2 pounds of honey and the H2O less than one gallon, into a clean 1 Gallon container & about a tablespoon or more or LESS Red Star Yeast-about 30 Raisins, Two bags of black tea tossed in, Vanilla, Cinnamon-one WHOLE STICK of it-a day later got hold of an orange-rinsed it and microwaved it briefly just to certain bacteria were dead on it-squished it and threw it in a day after I got everything together and a few days later threw in some more raisins-not really believing this would all really work. I used a hair-dye latex glove-poked pinprick holes in each finger and the thumb of it-capped it onto old gallon jug with hairband of elastic put it on top of my warm friedge and let it 'rest' but checked it and swished it obsessively all the time! It was READY at 3 weeks-Hubbs was BRAVE and 'tasted' it for me-(I was SCARED to!) LOL! Anyhow-I finally 'tasted' it after he didn't DIE-and then was over-joyed! I put it back and let it work for 3 months It was made the last week of August-then Drunk about one month ago or so for the fist time by the glass and now we are drinking it here and there-there are THREE Large skinny wine bottles mostly full (with glove finger tops-unpricked as seals) and three wine-cooler small neck sizes THIS was the Whole batch! It is heavy-very heavy-kicks good-mellow and sweet. YAY! I may have left out an ingredient-but no steps that I can think of. So now-I made a new batch tonight-and added Blueberries! Based on reading the review of the OrangeBlossom/BlueBerry Winner! Mr. Schramm's Book was bought after the first attempt and I feel blessed to have found this book and this SITE-Thank You-HoneyQueen!
 

HoneyQueen

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Dec 12, 2010
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Miss Rowe is quoted in this article! I just found it tonight and enjoyed it
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L.A, NATION
Mead, drink of vikings, comes out of the Dark Ages
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ALLEN G. BREED

AP National Writer

December 28, 2010, 10:12 a.m.
E-mail Print Text Size sns-ap-us-mead-renaissance
PITTSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Mead, that drink of viking saga and medieval verse, is making a comeback. But this ain't your ancestors' honey wine.

ALLEN G. BREED

AP National Writer

December 28, 2010, 10:12

I cannot link it my software is 'glitchey' sorry! But it is a wonderful read!
 

ken_schramm

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Jan 5, 2005
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Hey Honey Queen;

Thanks for the kind remarks, and welcome to the hobby. Resistance is futile - let the mead flow over you, and enjoy the float down the stream of life.

I hope the book provides you with the start you need. Mr. Schramm is my Dad. I'm Ken, and you should not be deferential unless you have actually seen my garage.
 
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