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: -- Steve Piatz piatz(a)cray.com Cray Inc. 651-605-9049 1340 Mendota Heights Road Mendota Heights, MN 55120

I have not seen the article John refers to. The idea of adding honey to secondary must be based on some honey already being included in the primary -- How would there be a primary fermentation without it? I see several ideas used when making mead: Boil the honey - It's sanitary. Steve and Bill already pointed out the primary disadvantage - loss of honey aromatics. Sanitize the honey by pasteurizing - I have used this one. Put all the honey into very hot water (part of the total water) and hold the mix at a temp (150-165) for a period of time. I have used 160F for 30 min. Cool it down by adding the rest of the water. No heat - Mix honey with water - maybe use enough heat to get the honey dissolved. Use SO2 to sanitize. That could be from sulfite or Camden tablets. I have known some to add more honey/water blend to top up carboys after racking. This is thought to have two affects - keep it sweet and adding honey character to aroma. The case I can name was a traditional mead made from strawberry honey. He used the same honey in all parts of the production. Fruit: I practice the add fruit after primary fermentation approach. However, there are advocates on the mead lovers digest for including in the primary. Ken Schram (and another whose name I forgot) held a discussion on mead making at the 2000 AHA conference. He served a melomel he made by blending fruit with honey and water, without heat. I think it was cherry. It was very clean. Sanitation issues don't seem to be as critical with meads (and wines) as they are for beers. The alcohol level is part of that. There seems to be different ideas about these topics. I see debates about which is best. I don't see a consensus in the mead makers. ===== Leo Vitt Rochester MN __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? HotJobs - Search new jobs daily now http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/