20 Nov
2002
20 Nov
'02
1:33 a.m.
Except for the the honey-water ratio, pasteurization of the must, amount of
fruit, choice of yeast, using OJ as a starter, and the book he recommends, I
totally agree with Mike.
Just kidding. Mike is spot on.
You can actually buy yeast hulls. And aren't they an ingredient in Wyeast's
Nutrient product? I personally use the nutrient packet that Semplex sells.
Ask Dennis about it. Al, you were asking earlier about secret ingredients?
Well, this is my secret ingredient for mead.
Gary, what's your honey/water ratio?
The ratio you'll use depends on the strength you're shooting for. Here's a
chart from Brother Adam's _Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey_:
Honey/gall. SG
2 lb. 1.053
2.5 lb. 1.064
3 lb. 1.075
3.5 lb. 1.086
4 lb. 1.096
5 lb. 1.114
*Water content of honey varies from 17 to 25%.
I recently made a batch of traditional mead where I used 3 lbs. honey to the
gallon and the OG was 1.082.
I don't boil my meads so I don't use irish moss. I'm not sure if it would
do
anything...
Chris
P.S. Check out the searchable archives of the Mead Lover's Digest at
http://www.aboutmead.com/ . With 500 digests archived - over 1,400,000 words
indexed, you're guaranteed to find information on anything you search for.
-----Original Message-----
From: mba-bounce(a)thebarn.com [mailto:mba-bounce@thebarn.com]On Behalf Of
Moranz, Mike
Sent: Friday, November 15, 2002 4:37 PM
To: Steve Fletty; MHBA (E-mail)
Subject: RE: mead
Oh what an open ended question Steve asks!
I take a very simple approach and most of the time it works out
pretty well.
Approx. 3 pounds honey to make 1 gallon mead. (1 part honey, 2
parts water)
heat to about 160 to help honey mix with water or fruit.
I have had to use 5-8 lbs of fruit to get excellent fruit flavor.
I prefer the wyeast sweet mead yeast because it doesn't ferment dry.
I have had good luck with 1/2 cup tepid orange juice as a starter
medium (orange juice tends to be smoother than acid blend for
balancing IMHO.)
Pick up the book "Country Wines" by Pattie Vargas and Rich Gullin
Recipes for making wine and meads from everything but concrete. :)
Mike Moranz, President
Minnesota Home Brewers Association
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Steve Fletty [mailto:fletty@umn.edu]
> Sent: Friday, November 15, 2002 11:48 AM
> To: allan.boyce(a)usbank.com; Christopher Hadden; Jeff Cotton; Moranz,
> Mike
> Cc: fletty(a)nts.umn.edu
> Subject: Fw: mead
>
>
>
> Here are my bare bones notes taken on the back of an envelope
> while quzzing
> Gary on his chipotle mead.
>
> Having never made a mead before, what advice can you guys offer?
>
> Although Gary said 12 lbs honey per 3 gallons water, I notice
> only 2 gallons
> in notes. He seems to bring some of the water to a boil, then add
> the rest of the water and honey.
>
> I asked him what he meant by yeast hulls. He said to just
> take some old
> yeast and boil it, basically killing it. I guess it add some
> yeast nutrient?
> Anyone heard of this?
>
> It looks very simple, but like I say, I've never made a mead
> and any tips
> would be greatly appreciated.
>
> --
> Steve
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Steve Fletty" <fletty(a)tc.umn.edu>
> To: <fletty(a)umn.edu>
> Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2002 7:13 PM
> Subject: mead
>
>
> > 12 lbs honey per 3 gallons of water
> >
> > yeast nutrients and yeast hulls, 1/2 and 1/2 proportionately
> >
> > irish moss
> >
> > 1 gal water, add nutrients and hulls, boil
> >
> > add honey, add 1 gal. water
> >
> > cool, pitch scotch ale yeast
> >
> > after 6-7 months, add 1-2 chipotles, sample after 1-2 weeks
> > to test for desired level of heat