Re: Modern history of Mead (last 100 years resurge
Can someone provide a "summary of modern mead pioneers", and some of the influence that they have provided.
This should help provide perspective on how mead making has grown (popularity and "techniques") more recently - say the last 100 years, although it is probably the last 20-50 years.
Cheers
James
I'd agree -- a good amount has happened within the last 20 to 50 years. Research into honey fermentation and mead production has been centered at the University of Cornell. Roger Morse got interested in commercial meadmaking during his graduate years and conducted a series of experiments during the early 1950's designed to recognize and overcome problems in making good mead. He continued his research during the 1960's with Keith Steinkraus, looking at nutrient supplementation, pH control, starter volume, temperature and yeast strains. Robert Kime, also of the University of Cornell, applied ultrafiltration to meadmaking with the intent of eliminating problems with off flavors associated with heating the honey must.
There were a number of mead publications in British beekeeping journals, but Brother Adam's 1953 _Bee World_ article was the most comprehensive guide at the time it was written. Interestingly, it was published in the same year that Roger Morse completed his graduate work on honey fermentation.
Charlie Papazian was an important figure during the 1980's in stirring interest in meadmaking among homebrewers. He had an early interest in meadmaking, although the famed Barkshack Ginger mead in its original form was a very austere and dry mead that would have needed years to age out. The recipe that appears in TNCJHB is a much improved version.
Ken Schramm and Dan McConnell were known as "the mead guys" in homebrewing circles during the early 1990's. They co-authored several articles on meadmaking in _Zymurgy_ magazine, founded the first national level all mead competition, the Mazer Cup competition, and gave seminars and presentations on meadmaking to homebrewers. It was Ken and Dan who researched Roger Morse's publications and then presented them to the homebrewing community, bringing Morse's ideas from the relative isolation of beekeeping journals to the meadmaking community.
Ken has recently published _The Compleat Meadmaker_, the most updated text on meadmaking now available. Ken has also been active in promoting mead, notably at the annual International Mead Fest, and at other places.
Of course, there is Dick Dunn, digest janitor of the Mead Lovers Digest, who has helped maintain MLD as a prime Internet information source on meadmaking.
(Addendum -- I don't know why the software insists on changing "Richard Dunn" (you know who I mean) to "thingy Dunn." But anyway, you know who I mean.
)
Pamela Spence founded the American Mead Association in the late 1980's, and until its unfortunate demise, was a small but important part of mead history in the U.S. Suzanne Price took over the helm of the AMA but the association fell apart after her tragic death.
Let's not forget the Society for Creative Anachronism for its scholarship on medieval meadmaking styles. Marc Shapiro and Cindy Renfrow are standouts. There are others.
Greg Lindahl has been keeping the hist-brewing list going for a few years now. There have been some very good discussions on mead.
C.J.J. Berry was active during the peak of interest in the British home winemaking movement. His books cover meadmaking. There is also Clara Furness, whose articles on meadmeaking were collected into a single publication.
The Internet has been very important in spreading meadmaking information. Vickie Rowe has one of the best, if not the best, web sites on mead. Julia Herz and Chris Hadden also have good sites.
Going back to the 1950's and earlier -- there was interest in improving meadmaking techniques, even during Prohibition time. This was loosely disguised under the topic of mead vinegar. After all, in order to make a good mead vinegar, you first have to make a good mead. Roger Morse noted the research done here, mostly in the area of nutrients.
Morse also noted that a lot of commercial meads made in the New York area during that time were for Jewish sacramental purposes. This is something I'd like to know more about -- mead traditions in Judaism. I'm assuming that this is a part of Ashkenaz Judaism, the Judaism of Germany and Eastern Europe.
I'm sure I've left out a lot of others. Anyone else have ideas here?
