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"Modern" Mead (From the "Gales Book of Honey")

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  • "Modern" Mead (From the "Gales Book of Honey")

    Ok, this is the recipe I've tried 4 times now, because I was originally looking for the "holy grail" of mead recipes and it's the one that tasted nicest straight off the lees.

    Yes, that just meant that there was some residual sweetness and/or honey flavour - but it encouraged me to make the three gallon batch, split it into 3 X 1 gallon demijohns and use a different yeast for each one.

    It is a little generic and doesn't specify some items too closely but I'll lay it out exactly as my mother hand wrote it out. So.......

    Mead, a drink that can take on many characteristics - sweet or dry - depending on the amount of honey used - about 1.5kg (3lb) for a dry wine or about 1.75kg (4lb) for a sweet wine.

    Makes approximately 1 gallon (imperial) or 4.5 litres.

    Set Honey - 1.5 -1.75 kg/3-4 lb
    Cold Tea - 600 ml/1 pint
    Campden tablets
    Boiled water
    Citric acid - 1 teaspoon
    Wine Yeast compound OR Special Mead Yeast and Yeast nutrient.

    Fatbloke Note: Initially my first mead making used a Champagne type yeast (a.k.a. Dessert/High Alcohol type). This meant that as a total beginner I didn't appreciate it at all when it was first off the lees - I was expecting (wrongly) something not unsimilar to the commercial meads I'd tried. Those types of yeast will give you a dry mead. I'd suggest that it may be more sensible to make a sweet mead on the first attempt (personal preference of course).

    As for "special mead yeast", well as far as I can find out, currently the only one(s) available are produced as liquid yeasts by "Wyeast" and particularly in the UK, aren't quite so easy to get hold of (the packets I have come from Brouwland in Belgium).

    Dissolve honey over low heat

    Add tea and 1 campden tablet dissolved in a quarter pint of boiling water

    Place in 1 gallon fermentation vessel

    Top up to almost three quarters full with boiled water and shake to mix thoroughly

    Add citric acid

    Prep must
    (did the original recipe say this or is it just the way my mother wrote it down? i.e. did she mean prepare a starter ???) The yeast mixture as per the instructions on yeast packet/or yeast compound/or the "special mead yeast".

    When must
    (starter) has been fermenting for about 3 - 5 hours it should be added to the fermentation vessel.

    Ensure it's mixed well and top up with more cooled water. Fit air lock and put in warm place to ferment.

    WATCH IT CAREFULLY

    If heavy sediment builds up, syphon mead into seperate vessel, taking just a little of the sediment.

    When fermentation is complete (4-6 weeks) syphon mead into clean, sterilised vessel i.e. no sediment.

    See campden tablet instructions Dissolve 1 or 2 in a little hot water and add to mead. This will ensure fermentation stops and wine clears.

    Leave sealed under and airlock till the wine is cleared and sediment formed (you can filter it if you have the equipment available).

    Bottle in sterilised bottles, cork and label.

    Store for at least 6/12 - The longer the better.

    Now I have no idea why this version turned out to be the nicest one I've made so far (nicest one straight off the lees that is).

    It's only a very basic recipe, produced by "Gales" (who are now just another brand name from the "food nazis" that are Nestle - as I understand). They just originally sold honey so it was in their interest to produce such recipes.

    As for my earlier comment re yeast, well if you can't track down either the Sweet or Dry Mead yeast, then this recipe was the best when Lalvin 71B-1122 was used (according to my experiment/personal taste). It's easily available but you would need a suitable yeast nutrient - I'd think something like Minavit or Tronozymol (my local HBS has stopped selling Minavit (a Gervin product) and now does the Tronozymol). Then use it according to the instructions.

    Also, I never made a yeast starter as such, just rehydrated it according to the instructions on the packet.

    I'll post some other recipes I have when I get 5 minutes.
    Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.

    Some blog ramblings

  • #2
    By golly FB - I think you have got it. No stopping now just enjoying the skill that you have acquired. Cheers DAW

    Comment


    • #3
      Excellent John

      thanks for that, some great info, a lot of us want to get into mead at some point, so watch out for a new meadmaker series that I have asked Daw to put together, and he graciously has agreed to do (cheers Daw)

      regards
      Bob
      N.G.W.B.J.
      Member of 5 Towns Wine and Beer Makers Society (Yorkshire's newest)
      Wine, mead and beer maker

      Comment


      • #4
        Good one John...

        Will try this one soon...but what tea? I have some Golden Rod from the wild? Got lots of sassafras, again wild? Snake root...naw, it will numb your mouth.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Aristaeus View Post
          Will try this one soon...but what tea? I have some Golden Rod from the wild? Got lots of sassafras, again wild? Snake root...naw, it will numb your mouth.
          Erm no, I suspect that it's referring to just "normal" tea i.e. good black tea (probably Indian).

          I don't know which brands you'd have available Keith, but if it's called something like "English Breakfast Tea" then that'd probably be good. I'm thinking that it'd just be for tannin - rather than say, something like "Earl Grey" as that'd probably leave to much of a perfumed effect from the bergamott.

          I think that Twinings do sell in some places in the US. Though you might have to have a look around.


          regards

          John the fatbloke
          Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.

          Some blog ramblings

          Comment


          • #6
            For teas to use in your meads or wines I have a few suggestions: Earl Grey teas are great - yes flavour is strong. I like the Irish breakfast tea more than the English - more flavour. Please do not forget the Herbal teas - many in there one that comes to mind is one called Red Zinger (hibiscus tea). It is uses in some of the old recipes that I have it is said that if the hummingbirds like that nectar then you will also. use around 8 bags per gallon. Teas provid the acid that you may be missing. Cheers DAW

            Comment


            • #7
              The Mrs. will pick the tea, thanks she likes the twinings tea.
              Last edited by Guest; 20-12-2007, 11:19 PM. Reason: typo

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by StockeyDAW View Post
                For teas to use in your meads or wines I have a few suggestions: Earl Grey teas are great - yes flavour is strong. I like the Irish breakfast tea more than the English - more flavour. Please do not forget the Herbal teas - many in there one that comes to mind is one called Red Zinger (hibiscus tea). It is uses in some of the old recipes that I have it is said that if the hummingbirds like that nectar then you will also. use around 8 bags per gallon. Teas provid the acid that you may be missing. Cheers DAW
                I should think that they (the recipes original author(s) that is) were probably thinking along the lines of English/Irish (Scottish ??? ) breakfast tea's and similar (Twinings Orange Pekoe'd probably also be good).

                As for the strength/quantity ? Well allowing for teabags that are meant to be made in a "pot" of tea, generally used at 1 per mug (mug being about half a pint in size) and differentiating from those piddly little "one cup" teabags, 2 bags per pint should be OK. I'd just point out that one of the "english complaints" of tea made outside the UK is that it's often not "strong" enough. This is probably due to the water no being hot enough when the water is poured onto the tea - theres lots of places that will give you suggestions/advice - it does seem that either boiling (no less than 98 degrees C or 208 degrees F) is about right.

                I just poured boiling water onto the bags and left it to go cold (stirring once about a minute or so after the immersion).

                for those who are a bit anal about their tea and use "loose" leaf tea, then make a pot, with 3 teaspoons i.e. one for the pot and 2 for the equivalent of 1 tsp per cup/mug. Hell maybe it would improve some if you didn't bother to strain the tea and left the leaves in for the period of fermentation - you can always remove them afterwards with syphoning/racking etc. Though whether that's a good suggestion or not I don't know - that'd be down to experimentation - there could be an issue with "off flavours".

                regards

                John the fatbloke
                Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.

                Some blog ramblings

                Comment


                • #9
                  Sounds prettly good. Have you tried something like this recipe, including the shaking part, except jacking up the ph (say 4 or 5) for the primary fermentation and then adding acid to taste when fermentation is about where you want?

                  I recently tried this on a couple of batches with outstanding results (so far).

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by john View Post
                    Sounds prettly good. Have you tried something like this recipe, including the shaking part, except jacking up the ph (say 4 or 5) for the primary fermentation and then adding acid to taste when fermentation is about where you want?

                    I recently tried this on a couple of batches with outstanding results (so far).

                    My suggestion: it is the best to keep the pH in the zone of 3.1-3.5 and use of tartaric acid before fermentation to get the pH into that range. A pH greater than 3.55 will likely cause the Mead's to be unstable, will contact bacterial infection much easier, can be easily oxidized and difficult to protect and adjust with sulphite. Yeast and mead likes and acid environment to ferment in along with yeast nutrients and yeast energizers. This is part of the ongoing debate and research going on with Mead making. My opinion, I likethis method it works well for me. Cheers Daw

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      There is some debate. And while it is true that yeast like acidic environ it is also true that mead basic acidity is not from the usual wine acid suspects, tartaric, malic and citric (okay, there is some malic I think). I believe that my own experience was that the increased ph resulted in a more rapid fermentation, making me think the yeast were somewhere happy. As far as stability and/or resistance to infection, mead's unique defenses and osmolarity are not easily overcome. There is not a problem in adding acidity after fermentation, is there? I'm not too sure about that.

                      All this babbling, but in truth I'm fairly new and fishing/experimenting in most of what I say and in my mead making. I've yet to compare aged versions of increased ph mead against my older more proven styles. However, 15 days from starting it my batch of wildflower mead, using increased ph and areation, is through fermenting and already tastes interesting. The taste, along with freeing up some secondary fermenters much, much faster, has me hooked on making more experiments in this new style.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by john
                        All this babbling, but in truth I'm fairly new and fishing/experimenting in most of what I say and in my mead making. I've yet to compare aged versions of increased ph mead against my older more proven styles. However, 15 days from starting it my batch of wildflower mead, using increased ph and areation, is through fermenting and already tastes interesting. The taste, along with freeing up some secondary fermenters much, much faster, has me hooked on making more experiments in this new style
                        Lets leave the experimentation to the experts with all the lab equipment and microbiological and food science expertise. Our role is to make a mead that we enjoy at a cost that is acceptable to our budget. We can follow and adapt various methodologies that suit our small home mead making but the rest is beyond our means. What is good for one person may be completely different for another.

                        pH is a very important part of making mead and there are varying methods involving this. Acid addition before fermentation is necessary to get the pH at a level suitable for proper yeast fermentation and this also includes correct addition of yeast nutrients and energizers. This is the way that I have had success with however, there are many others. We are not here to argue the benefits of one over another. Lets enjoy all methods and gain our knowledge from each. Daw
                        Last edited by lockwood1956; 28-02-2008, 07:37 PM.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Actually, the success of increased ph combined with aeration in mead making is a done deal, a notable, historical advancement. As a logical consequence there are a lot of confused mead makers. people are pointing fingers and some are calling others heretics, but such is always the case with radical and unexpected improvements. Not only do the yeast do well without acid addition, they perform better, multiplying faster and reaching higher concentrations, especially when in an oxygen rich as well as a relatively neutral ph environment. Acid addition is not only a bad idea, but, in fact, you are better off, in most cases, adding calcium carbonate!



                          John
                          Last edited by Duffbeer; 28-02-2008, 02:28 PM. Reason: Inappropriate content.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by john View Post
                            Actually, the success of increased ph combined with aeration in mead making is a done deal, a notable, historical advancement. As a logical consequence there are a lot of confused mead makers. people are pointing fingers and some are calling others heretics, but such is always the case with radical and unexpected improvements. Not only do the yeast do well without acid addition, they perform better, multiplying faster and reaching higher concentrations, especially when in an oxygen rich as well as a relatively neutral ph environment. Acid addition is not only a bad idea, but, in fact, you are better off, in most cases, adding calcium carbonate!



                            John

                            My reasons for posting the recipe in the first place where because out of the 3 or 4 basic recipes I'd found and tried, it tasted the best of the "test batches" straight off the lees.

                            I'm still looking for a simple recipe that can be made easily for straight forward, easily obtainable base ingredients.

                            Yes, there are some commercial meads available locally to me but I still don't have what I'd consider a benchmark one to use as guidance for flavour.

                            Of course, I've managed to work out what has the biggest changes to the flavours, and after 2 years or so of mead making, this original recipe gave the best basic results - I'm guessing because it had one of the highest starting gravities and the initial use of the yeast I could get locally (though I haven't yet thought about working out which yeast strain it actually is, type wise, that is) because it came from one of the UK suppliers, and not one of the bigger international names (with the consequential greater amount of data relating to it).

                            There's also the issues of which acids to use, because while DAW does sound as if he prefers tartaric for pH modification, the "making mead" book seems to suggest 2 measures of malic to one measure of tartaric, as a blend might be more suitable.

                            So if I understand what you're alluding too, you are saying that it might be better not to add any acid at all ???

                            That it might not have been the usual suspects that provided any acid element ?

                            So where might it have come from ? Fruit goes more acid when it ages, but I understand that it's all connected with bacteria and/or fungal attack on the fruit giving a small amount of acetic acid as "it" rots ?

                            Then there's the issue of what exactly would be the base flavour of the mead (and I'm not thinking about what might have been used as a source of yeast etc) that's been made using modern ingredients ? Surely that would depend on where you are, what the main "ingredient" in the honey is, what kind of water you have locally (unless you are using distilled/demineralised water), etc etc.

                            I mean, is there really one method that's more "correct" than another ? or is it about the flavour/taste of the end product, which might also be dependant on it's final use i.e. for your own consumption or commercial sales etc ?

                            regards

                            JtFB
                            Last edited by Duffbeer; 28-02-2008, 04:24 PM. Reason: To remove text from quote.
                            Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.

                            Some blog ramblings

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Hey Fatbloke,
                              We are on a similar quest, I think, though I thought is was a little odd that you were not sure of your yeast strain. Evidently it works, but I'm still curious as to what you are using.
                              I think that the major acid component of honey is gluconic (hmm, spelling?) although it does contain small amounts of malic, citric, lactic...and the list goes on. So honey is its own beast when it comes to acid, being unique to the nth degree.

                              I am not exactly railing against acid additions per se, as they certainly are needed, as specific cases require, concerning taste and longevity of wines, but in the case of honey/mead it is more a matter of pleasing the palate since the mead will age just fine without its addition. That being the case then it would follow that the acid, the one that provides your favorite flavor, be it the tang of malic or the spritely citric, should be added after fermentation if your palate requires it. When fermenting mead the fermentation will be much quicker if the ph is closer to neutral. This is understanding, too, that the ph being higher does not deny acidity presence. There are all sorts of buffering mechanisms in honey and titratable acidity does not correlate well with ph.

                              Anyway, my point, before I get lost, is that acid addition is totally not needed in mead fermentation (depending on the ph, of course). Honey averages a ph of 3.9. The best ph for mead is closer to neutral, although I have not tried as high as 7 myself, the majority seem happy with a ph between 3.7-6.0. This ph adjustment of the must, combined with the requisit aeration after must is cooled (it's my understanding that aeration of mead while hot produces an unstable finished mead), gives an exponetial increase in yeast reproduction. Fermentation with a high yeast population is wonderfully quick, as is notable with S.G. checks, and the amount of yeast cell sediment fallout, once S.G. gets low.

                              For the record (hey, this is a record!) I'm for any style of mead or wine making, especially if it produces a drinkable product or, more importantly, the process of doing it makes someone happy. My focus was about the need for acid addition in mead making. You can add acid if you want to, but adherence to traditional winemaking ph guides, when making mead, has been found to be unnecessary. The reason for bringing up acidity in mead is due to its integral connection in fermenting mead. I've had meads ferment for a year, and I've had a mead finish fermenting in two weeks. Hmmm. Which will taste better? In the long run? These are some of the questions I am here to find answers for.

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