Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1237, 26 December 2005 Date: Mon, 26 Dec 2005 09:39:58 -0700 (MST) Mead Lover's Digest #1237 26 December 2005 Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor Contents: Re:controlling Alcohol Levels ("Charles Gee") Rose hips ("jamesbrown") Re: Controlling Alcohol in MEADS (Dick Adams) Re: Controlling Alcohol in MEADS ("Dan McFeeley") Commercial Racking (runedog`at`grandecom.net) Thanks, Dick Dunn ("Robert Farrell") Re: Professional Mead Makers (Michael Faul) NOTE: Digest appears when there is enough material to send one. Send ONLY articles for the digest to mead`at`talisman.com. Use mead-request`at`talisman.com for [un]subscribe/admin requests. Digest archives and FAQ are available at www.talisman.com/mead A searchable archive is available at www.gotmead.com/mead-research/mld ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Re:controlling Alcohol Levels From: "Charles Gee" Date: Tue, 20 Dec 2005 15:13:40 -0800 The answer is to select with care what yeast you are going to use and pick the one with the right alcohol tolerance. When fermentation ceases adjust the sweetness level to your preference. You could take a tip from making Port or Sherry and add a reasonable quantity of strong alcohol to overpower the yeast. What you use depends on what you can get. Up here in Canada I tend to use 151 proof rum, but I use Buckwheat honey to make something similar to a Sherry and I do not mind the A/V getting up around 18-20%. To find out about the tolerance of yeasts check the yeast makers website for example Lalvin RC 212 usually quits somewhere between 12 and 14%. Charles Gee ------------------------------ Subject: Rose hips From: "jamesbrown" Date: Tue, 20 Dec 2005 20:13:56 -0600 I would use 2-3 pounds of dried rose hips per gallon Be warned, Rose Hip mead needs to age for at least 2 years ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Controlling Alcohol in MEADS From: rdadams`at`smart.net (Dick Adams) Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 04:14:14 -0500 (EST) >> You and I should be neighbors as my meads have never made it below >> 1.01. If I am correct, D47 has an alcohol tolerance of 14% and your >> result of 16% is really maxing out on both the yeasts and the >> fermentables. >> >> Consider adding non-fermentable sugars/sweetmers. > What non-fermentable sugars would you recommend? That sounds good on > paper. I would have never thought of that. I know people that use a > conditioner/sweetener that stops the fermentation. I myself am against > using chemicals in my meads. My sweet meads are made with 15 to 20 > pounds of sugar for a 6 gallon batch. Yes, they are in the 18% to 20% > alcohol range. I can see where a sweet mead in the 10 to 12 range might > be nice. I presume you meant 15 to 20 lbs of honey. I am never more than three clicks away from the Mead Calculator at http://www.gotmead.com/making-mead/mead-calculator.shtml. It says lbs of honey Batch size OG ABV% ------------ ---------- ------ ------ 15 6 gals 1.092 12.34 20 6 gals 1.122 16.53 Non-fermentable sugar = maltodextrin Dick ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Controlling Alcohol in MEADS From: "Dan McFeeley" Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 08:41:09 -0600 On Wed, 7 Dec 2005, in MLD 1234, Ken Jacobs wrote: > . . . The mead bottomed out near .998 and is very dry, with an > alcohol content near 16%. If I wanted to adjust this recipe to > produce a mead that is more on the sweet side with an alcohol > content in the range of 12-14%, what should I do. I would also > take any recommendations as far as book that covers this topic > well. You can do a couple of things. Choose a yeast that's a little less alcohol tolerant, and you'll get the mead your're looking for. Another way is to monitor the gravity carefully and, if you've got a freezer big enough to hold the carboy, plunk it in there and let the yeasties stall out from the cold. Let it sit there for a good long time to allow suspended yeast to drop to the bottom, rack carefully off the lees (I've never tried this method myself, so I can't vouch for how well it works). Potassium sorbate will work, but only under certain conditions. As Dick Dunn already pointed out, potasium sorbate will not stop an active fermentation. Let the mead ferment out to dryness, let it sit for a while to ensure the yeasties have given up the ghost, Rack off the lees, add sorbate and then back sweeten with additional honey to the level of residual sugar you're looking for. Alcohol level will still be high, but it won't be as dry a mead. An alternate -- use less fermentable sugars in making up the muist, calculate the potential alcohol from the starting gravity to be sure it'll be where you want it, then let the yeasties finish that out to dryness. Add sorbate and backsweeten. Here's a few guides to the use of potassium sorbate -- you'll see that use of sulfites is important: http://www.bcawa.ca/winemaking/sorbate.htm http://www.vawa.net/winemaking-articles/sorbatetable.html http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/bottling.asp http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/finishin.asp <><><><><><><><><><> <><><><><><><><> Dan McFeeley "Meon an phobail a thogail trid an chultur" (The people's spirit is raised through culture) ------------------------------ Subject: Commercial Racking From: runedog`at`grandecom.net Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 22:11:45 -0600 Greetings, Could some of the commercial people explain how they rack? Is it done? How often? What is the process? It would be interesting to hear the way the commercial people do it. CEN ------------------------------ Subject: Thanks, Dick Dunn From: "Robert Farrell" Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2005 16:15:11 -0800 Dick, Many thanks for administering this Digest another year. I have been a subscriber for several years and have found this forum to be interesting, informative and genteel. Thanks again, for a great job! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, Bob Farrell Portland, OR ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Professional Mead Makers From: Michael Faul Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2005 08:12:31 -0800 How can I help? Mike Faul Rabbit's Foot Meadery & Red Branch Cider Co. Award Winning Mead & Hard Apple Cider http://www.rabbitsfootmeadery.com > Subject: Re: Professional meadmakers > From: "Dan McFeeley" > Date: Fri, 16 Dec 2005 12:14:23 -0600 > > On Mon, 12 Dec 2005, in MLD 1235, Rob Moore wrote: > > >>Hey, Are any of you guys pro mead makers. I have some >>questions about making large quantities. > > > Mike Faul of Rabbit's Foot Meadery, Julia Herz of Redstone > Meadery, Bill Smith of Bees Brothers Meadery have posted > here, I'm sure there are others I've over looked (many apologies!) > > Go ahead and post your questions -- if no one answers right > away, it's not that there aren't commercial meadery folk on > this list -- they're just so busy that they may not have time to > respond right away. ------------------------------ End of Mead Lover's Digest #1237 *******************************