Author Topic: My mead.  (Read 19324 times)

Tea

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My mead.
« on: August 13, 2008, 09:34:20 PM »
Just in case you thought I was pulling your leg.  This one should be ready by October.

Cheese Head

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Re: My mead.
« Reply #1 on: August 13, 2008, 11:49:24 PM »
What the heck is that, it doesn't look like any beer I used to make!

So that's what mead is, I had no idea, is there fruit in there? Is it a one gallon carboy with fermentation lock? Is it from store bought kit like beer or from raw ingredients?

Tea

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Re: My mead.
« Reply #2 on: August 14, 2008, 04:43:16 AM »
Ok, so when do you ever think I have bought any kit???  Actually I don't even know if you can buy a mead kit.
This is supposed to be a recipe that even a fool couldn't mess up.  So sounded just what I needed.  After having my original mead on the go for the last two years, I needed something quick to bolster my failing spirits.
That one is in a 5 gallon demijohn in a basket so nothing to show.
This one is still fermenting, thus the airlock and yes that is a 1 gallon, or I should say, 5 ltr demijohn.  It is honey, orange, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, raisins, water and yeast.  The fruit should all eventually drop and the must (honey water) clear around the 8-10 week period.  ABV should be around 14% if I have done everything right.
Started another one using tangerines, and I must say that even at this early stage, they taste wonderful.
The next one I want to try is a mocha mead, but still collating all the ingredients that I am wanting for that one.

Cheese Head

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Re: My mead.
« Reply #3 on: August 14, 2008, 12:02:08 PM »
Thanks Tea, sadly I only ever made beer from kits.

Wow, never new anything about mead and that there is such a range. Found a quick guide to making mead here.

Too many hobbies, not enough time, going back to work Monday . . . holidays over.

Tea

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Re: My mead.
« Reply #4 on: September 20, 2008, 11:04:46 PM »
Update on my mead.  It is now nearly 2 1/2 mths old.  I have oaked it and racked it.  It is still clearing as you can see from the pic, so hopefully in the next couple of weeks it will clear completely.
Considering this is young, it has been very much a surprise, and as you can see from the level in the demijohn, well sampled by everyone.
Final ABV is around 13-14%.  Not bad.

wharris

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Re: My mead.
« Reply #5 on: December 18, 2008, 02:28:30 PM »
Some photo's from this year's crush.
Fermentation:



Pressing: (my crappy homemade press)



My son topping off the carboys with argon.


chilipepper

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Re: My mead.
« Reply #6 on: December 18, 2008, 03:28:33 PM »
Wayne and Tea... are you using locally available grapes and honey etc.?  Being up in ND there is not a really strong supply of grapes however, I was just at a meeting last evening about 'going local'.  One of the crops they are really pushing besides the fruits and veggies is grapes.  I'll have to do some looking into it...

As for honey and my understanding of mead from another member in our local brewing club... you really want the raw honey for mead?  He's talking like bee legs and all! :^)  What has your experience been Tea??

wharris

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Re: My mead.
« Reply #7 on: December 18, 2008, 07:01:16 PM »
I did pick about 300lb of some local Chancellor grapes off the vine.  (high acid.)

But,  alas, I had to buy into a trucked-in shipment of central valley Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.  (picked monday, I crushed on saturday) They come in 1000lb boxes.

I picked out 300lbs of boxed cabernet grapes,  crushed them there at the vineyard, and collected must into my primaries.  I did the initial chemisty onsite, added sulfites and drove home.

not ideal,  but good cab does not grow where i live. 

now that i think about it.  I need to re-locate to where good cab grows AND i can get raw whole milk.

I'm 0 for 2 in Ohio.




Tea

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Re: My mead.
« Reply #8 on: December 18, 2008, 08:36:08 PM »
mmm I don't know that I want "bees legs" floating around in my mead, so filtered honey is preferable.  Not heated or watered down with glucose, just pure honey.
I get 30kg containers of honey from a local producer here, and hope to get some honey from Bundy (a member here on the forum) when his next lot is collected.  It should make a good traditional mead.

Unfortunately I live no where near grape or apple growing areas, as I live in the tropics, so my range of fruit is different.  So far I have been using concentrated juices, not ideal, but for now it will have to do, or frozen berries.  The mead pic above has citrice fruit in it.

The next mead that I want to start will be a multi berry melomel, but I will be using all frozen berries.  I have some orange blossom honey on order from America, so just waiting for that to arrive first.

Cartierusm apparently has been making mead for years, so he probably has much more qualified advice than me.

Offline Cartierusm

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Re: My mead.
« Reply #9 on: December 19, 2008, 08:32:20 AM »
Hark! Did I hear my name....Mead to the rescue. What needs knowing? Anyway, you can buy mead kits but they rip you off. I can get local honey here in SF but they want a fortune. I usually buy from http://www.millershoney.com/ and I just saw the prices and they've increased a lot since I last bought. I buy 5 gallons at a time of usually Orange Blossom. Last time I bought a year and half ago was probably $75, now it's $105. Glad I have a good amount left.

Making mead is easy if you follow simple rules. The same is said about wine and I'm sure Wayne will agree the physical act and basic knowledge of wine making is easy. The problem is what happens when something goes wrong, what to look out for during the entire process and the hardest part is how to adjust (for many things acid, sugar, ML, etc...). So making basics is easy. You do need some tools basically a hydrometer is essential. If anyone is seriously interested I can make a detailed post on how. If anyone is interested start now with a few simples things. Bee (get it bee..ha ha), be on the look out for local honey, good deals can be had at farmer's markets. Honey shouldn't be expensive for good raw honey. Although that statement is true the current trend is more expensive as bees all over the world are dying due to enviroment, actually has scientists baffled, so demand is up and production is down. You need raw honey so don't buy store bought honey, raw honey is fresh and can be filtered and heated a little just to move it around while processing, most store honey is heavily heated and destroys many wonderful things in the honey. Nex thing is pick up some yeast, next time your around a home brew store get some Lavin 1122B or D47 or Prise De Mousse Champagne yeast. The Prise is called something different I always forget, I started using Prise about 16 years ago then they changed the name about 8 years ago for some reason. Just get a couple packs of Lavin and you'll be set. Get a hydrometer. You really can start with that. You don't need big pots or stoves...long story, but the biggest argument in all of mead land is to boil or not to boil your wort (pronounced wert, means the raw unfermented liquid). I won't go into the diatribe but you don't need to boil. If you have malice and forthought you should order some 2 oz. mead nutrient packs from http://www.thebeveragepeople.com/ . Other mead nutrient packs are not kosher, I mean they're just repackaged beer nutient kits. The beverage people make from scratch a nutrient pack made from natural chemicals from a study of mead in the 60's where the scientist actually broke down the exact chemicals needs to provide the correct diet for yeast in a honey solution...another long story, but honey is deprived of lots of nutients on it's own.

Holy cow how long can I make this post...mind you I'm in bed on my laptop...read me a bedtime story Mayor McCheese.

P.S. Bee Legs Rule.

Tea, what part of Aussie do you live? Because Aussieland has some awesome wines...Hell I might open a Penfolds right now, alas I'm about to go to bed and after all that wine the only people I would be able to insult with my drunken rage would be in my dreams and that would just be a waste...Oh I mentioned this because you said you live in the tropics and don't have access to grapes. You can buy kits from Canada that some amazing frozen slurries that are not like boxed kit wines, very fresh, but shipping would again be a problem, but think of it this way you're lucky enough to have Nicole Kidman.

Tea

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Re: My mead.
« Reply #10 on: December 20, 2008, 09:08:11 PM »
Well I live on the central coast of Queensland.  Up in the hot humid tropics.  I have been looking at some grape concentrates that I can get down south, so that is in serious consideration at the moment.

You know what I think is unfair.  Here in Aussie as have honey's such as leatherwood, yellow box, outback, iron back, melalucca.

In USA you have honey's called, clover, orange blossom, raspberry, blackberry, lavender... sigh

Of course I have no idea what they taste like, or how they compair to Aussie honey's, but they just sound so wonderful.

Offline Cartierusm

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Re: My mead.
« Reply #11 on: December 20, 2008, 10:32:40 PM »
Trust me try them. There are litteraly thousands of different honeys and some of the most wonderful honeys are weird sounding. Avacado honey is excellent. I would love to try leather wood, if you want to trade some honey I'll make up a care package when I divide up the cultures.

Tea

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Re: My mead.
« Reply #12 on: December 20, 2008, 11:42:18 PM »
Leatherwood is a white honey from Tasmania, and is definately a cultivated taste.  It is very very strong, and for my taste, too strong.  My mother and husband though love it.  It would probably be great for a traditional mead though, as I think the flavours would be too over powering for a melomel or cyser type.

Offline Cartierusm

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Re: My mead.
« Reply #13 on: December 21, 2008, 10:29:42 AM »
Sounds good to me.

Brian

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Re: My mead.
« Reply #14 on: December 30, 2008, 05:46:28 AM »
Get your honey from Winco.  I buy it and have made mead for years.  I only have 5 gallons fermenting right now but have a new 15 gallon fermenter I'm going to use here shortly.
One problem with mead, it has to age a LONG time.  At least a year.

B