30 Oct
2002
30 Oct
'02
10:27 a.m.
First the concept of secondary fermentation is not really
correct but let's use it to mean after the really active
fermentation if over, i.e., the activity in the airlock has
slowed way down. The reason for adding fruit at that point is
that the active fermentation generates a lot of CO2 and the
thought is that the CO2 may scrub the delicate aromas of the
fruit from the beer. Obviously, if making a mead it is hard to
add the honey at secondary since there wouldn't be anything to
ferment without the honey. In addition, boiling some fruits
can result in a pectin related haze.
Likewise, some people don't want to boil the honey because it
can drive off the delicate aromas. Not boiling the honey is
fine for meads. For beers some older info I obtained from the
National Honey Board suggested that honey in beers should be
boiled since the honey could contain enzymes that could
breakdown complex sugars that the brewer wanted left in the
beer. Boiling the honey should denature the enzymes the bees
collected while they were gathing nectar. The enzymes aren't a
problem for a mead but might be for a braggot.
John Longballa writes:
An article on mead in the latest issue of Winemaker magazine states:
"There are several bulk honey suppliers that are good sources of honey; the
National Honey Board keeps a list of them. (Go to www.honeylocator.com to
search the NHB database. The site also lists beekeeping associations by
state.)"
I read a different article that said that lighter honeys, such as orange
blossom, should be added to the secondary fermenter, rather than to the
primary, in order to preserve their delicate aromas. Is the author simply
telling the reader that the boiling process is too vigorous for the lighter
honeys, or is there something different about fermentation in the secondary
fermenter? I would think that the yeast would do the same things to the
honey that is added to the secondary that it would have done to that honey
in the primary. I've noticed that fruit extracts are often added to beer in
the secondary. Won't the extracts suffer the same fate in the primary that
they would in the secondary? I'm confused. Same yeast, same temperature
(for the most part), what's different? Thanks.
John Longballa
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