Labels:text | black and white | paper | ink | document OCR: Newsletter not generally sold on the mass market, and have very strong flavors: meads yeast strains we have tested, Cote Des Blancs (previously named Epernay) by By William Moore made with them can require 6 or 7 years Red Star and Lavin KIV-1116 have pro- of aging to reach their prime, while duced the cleanest tasting meads, and mead made from milder honey is gener- also settle out well, aiding clarification. Mead ally very drinkable after 6 months. As in brewing, 10 grams or more of dried yeast should be used per 5 gallons, Mead is probably the oldest alcoholic In addition to honey and spices, most and it should be rehydrated in 95º F. beverage, having been brewed since an- meads require a bit of acid to balance water for 10 minutes before adding to tiquity. More an alternative to white their overwhelmingly sweet honey char- the honey wort. wine than a variation on beer, mead is acter. Citric acid or Mead Acid Blend, a an interesting change for the home mixture of tartaric, citric, and malic brewer, as it is made from easily obtain- acids, are usually added to mead in Meads are ideally fermented in the able honey, and requires warm fermen- small quantities, generally 3 to 6 level warmer months, because they require a tation temperatures, making it ideal for teaspoons ( 1/4 to 12 ounce) per 5 gal- minimum of 68' F. (ideally 70º to 78' F.) brewing in the hot summer months. lons. Citric acid has a more citrus flavor during the entire 40 to 50 day ferment. than mead acid blend, which has a more Mead is less sensitive to heat-induced The word Honeymoon comes from an neutral acid character and is therefore yeast off-flavors than beer. Tempera- old English tradition of drinking honey preferred by many mead makers. With- tures below 68º F. will cause a stuck fer- wines in the month-long celebrations out acid, mead tends to be a very sweet mentation and must be avoided. If you that followed weddings of well off people drink. The addition of acid allows the plan to ferment during the cooler in the middle ages. Reputedly, drinking production of a drier mead favored by months, a band-type fermenter heater large quantities of mead during this pe- most home brewers. should be used. A typical mead fermen- riod of celebration helped in the con- tation takes around 40 days, with 20 ceiving of a son. If it happened that the days being in the primary fermenter, bride produced a son 9 months later, the and another 20 or 30 days in a glass car- meadmaker was congratulated. Sons boy secondary fermenter before bot- were of vital importance in the middle tling. It is necessary to transfer the ages, a time of almost constant war. mead to a secondary to get it off the initial yeast sediment, because the ex- Today, mead has vanished into relative tended fermentation time can cause obscurity, but is making a small revival some of the dead yeast cells in the sed- among home brewers and the more cre- iment to decompose, emitting rough ative small brewers at brewpubs. The yeasty flavors. most popular style of mead among to- days brewers is generally a drier mead, lightly spiced with ginger and other After the ferment, mead can be primed spices. Ginger compliments the honey with corn sugar (like beer) and bottled character of mead, while other spices, in beer bottles, although due to the lack such as orange peel, cloves, of yeast nutrients, the mead will only lemongrass, and more have pleasing ef- produce a very light carbonation. Addi- fects. Spice quantities vary, but most Unlike beer wort, which is loaded with tional yeast and nutrients can be added mead makers use a total of 1/4 to 12 ounce at bottling to increase carbonation, but of dried spices per 5 gallon batch, and yeast nutrients from malt, honey lacks this will produce additional yeast sedi- add them at the beginning of the 20 min- the nutrients needed for a vigorous fer- ment in the bottled mead, which will de- ute boil. ment. A good yeast nutrient, which should include yeast extract, vitamins, compose over the long (6 months or Aside from the flavors added by spices, and diamonium phosphate, should be more) maturation period, tainting the flavor slightly. For the beginner, it is the flavor of mead is largely determined added to the mead during the boil to best to be satisfied with a hint of carbon- by the type of honey used. Unfiltered sanitize the nutrient. One half ounce of ation, rather than risk tainting the flavor and uncooked honey is the best type to yeast nutrient (9 level teaspoons) is with an increased yeast sediment layer. use for mead. It can often be found in needed per 5 gallons to ensure a healthy Keep in mind that mead, with its high larger grocery stores or health food ferment. alcohol level (around 11%) and rich stores. Cooked and filtered honey (the flavor, is more an alternative to white type that is sold everywhere and does As is brewing, the selection of a good wine than a beer variant. not say unfiltered and uncooked on the yeast strain is critical to success in mak- can or jar) can be used, although the ing mead. Wine yeast should be used, The recipe at above right is for a dry aromatic character so appealing in good as it is more alcohol tolerant than brew- mead, lightly spiced with ginger. Con- mead will be reduced. A typical 5 gallon ing yeast. Fortunately, due to the high sider this recipe a starting point; after batch of mead uses 12 pounds of honey, alcohol levels attained, dry wine yeast gaining experience with a batch, feel about $16.00 worth at a large grocery produces just as clean a mead as liquid free to modify it with different honeys, store. Heather and eucalyptus honey, wine yeast, so there is no need to use spices, yeasts, and acid levels to suit unlike clover and wildflower honeys, are anything but dry wine yeast. Of the your personal taste. 36
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