Traditional Mead

Mead and appropriate fermentation temperatures.

2012-01-24T18:00:00.000-08:00

© 2012 Douglas Remington

I thought I would post a quick rundown of the proper temperature protocol for the fermentation of Mead since I have gotten several emails about this lately. Note this is an advanced/professional method of Mead fermentation and will require the resources for temperature control.

Mead should be fermented and made exactly like white wine (not beer!) varieties such as Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Müller-Thurgau, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, etc. The correct temperature depends on the honey type and the yeast used. This of course takes much experience (citrus blossom honeys can benefit from a bit more heat and the use of a Sauvignon Blanc yeast for example), but in general we are looking at: 10-18 Celsius or 50-62 Fahrenheit. I shoot for around 12-14c to start my fermentation off. These numbers are lower than most commercial Meaderies (but similar for white grape wine producers), but in my opinion it is simply because they either do not know better or they are trying to get their product out faster: time = money, warmer = faster.

The reason white wine and Mead should be fermented relatively cool is to make it more focused. Warmer temperatures such as 20-25c makes a Mead more fruity, confusing to the palate, and damages the varietal character of the honey. Honey is a product from flowers so we try to retain as much of that floral character as possible. Now when I talk about these temperatures I am talking about the initial fermentation, not the final fermentation temperature. It is most important to keep the fermentation at these cool temperatures for the first 72 hours. That is when the majority of off-flavors are developed if fermented warm. After 72 hours I raise my temp to 15c where it remains there until fermentation is nearly complete and then raise up to 18-20c until fermentation is finished. The 18-20c step permits the yeast to reabsorb any off flavors and finalizes attenuation. From there the Mead is racked off and cold conditioned for a short time at -2c, and then racked off one more time and kept at 10c until filtering and bottling.

On the home scale this can be accomplished by getting a large chest freezer and a dual temperature controller (such as a Ranco that mainbrew.com sells) and some of heating element or ferm-wrap. What I do at home is I have a thermo-well in my fermenter(s), and I have a ferm-wrap attached to the fermenter. When the fermenter warms over the target temperature the controller kicks on the freezer until the desired temperature is reached. If it needs to warm up, the controller kicks on the heating element. You can control your temp within 1 - 2 degrees in this manner and ramp it up to whatever you wish. On the professional scale we do the same thing but with a glycol jacketed fermenter. A glycol chiller pumps cold glycol around the fermenter to control the temperature.

I recommend the following yeast strains for cool Mead fermentations: Lalvin R2, DV10, EC-1118, RHST, Cross Evolution, W15, BA11, Maurivin Elegance, Vitilevure 58W3, QA23, Quartz, CHP.

Prost!

~dr

Dwójniak

2012-01-14T22:04:00.000-08:00

Oh my gosh Droogs, I just bottled my, Dwójniak! A Dwójniak is the Polish name Mead that is made with equal parts honey and water. This particular one was just a 10 gallon batch. I aged it for 4 years before bottling. In this 10 gallon batch I used 81 pounds of honey which consisted of 40#'s of Fireweed honey. 40#'s of Orange blossom honey, and 1# of buckwheat honey. It is 21% ABV and is simply divine! To put into perspective. Most traditional Meads use between 2.5 - 3 pounds honey per gallon. This baby got 8.1 pounds per gallon!

Tasting notes include: Honey, honey dew, apricot, pear, apple, melon, rose petals, sherry, orange and fireweed blossom, beeswax, vanilla, cinnamon and spice, and is somewhat icewine-like.

No, I do not ever enter my Meads in contest on principle, but soon you can try a similar Mead I made for a commercial Meadery. I do consulting, and right now I have taken the reigns as head Mead-Maker at a commercial Meadery (the owner is still very active in the process, I handle the technical stuff, most of recipe development, and the heavy labor). We are making some really good stuff. I will share more about this in the near future, however this current commercial incarnation of my Dwójniak will have a twist to it. It is going to live its final stages in a bourbon oak barrels.

More later my friends...

~dr

Mead University (class)

2011-10-30T23:29:00.000-07:00

My latest Mead making class, Thursday, December, 15 @ 6:30pm. Please register at Mainbrew.com by stopping in or calling: 503-648-4254. Tuition is only $30.00 per person and is limited to 15 individuals. Bring a notepad and pen or pencil. At end of class we will be tasting some fine commercial Meads from around the world in addition to some of my personally made Meads. Expect to stay 2 hours. You can bring your own samples for critique and enjoyment as well. Must be 21 years of age or older.

Cheers!

~dr

November Mead lecture

2011-10-27T09:30:00.000-07:00

I will be speaking at the Oregon state bee keepers convention in Seaside Oregon on, November, 19, 2011. click HERE for more info.

~dr

Mead Lecture.

2011-10-22T09:19:00.000-07:00

I will be speaking about Mead at the Tualatin Valley bee keepers association Friday, October 28. This is open to the public. Follow this link for more information.

~dr

Champagne Mead (Méthode Champenoise)

2011-09-27T16:20:00.001-07:00

© 2011 Douglas Remington

Méthode Champenoise is the traditional way in which Champagne grape wine is made in the Champagne region of France. The same processes can be applied with Mead, since traditional Mead is made and reacts much in the same way as white wine production.

After fermentation the wine is bottled with some fresh yeast and a dose of sugar or honey.

Riddling: After a certain amount of aging the lees are consolidated in the neck for later removal, and this is called remuage. The bottles are inverted on special racks known as pupitres at a 45 degree angle with the crown of the bottle pointed downwards. Usually once a day the bottles are turned and shaken sharply and the angle is gradually increased over a period of time until the bottles are vertical and all the lees (sediment) are captured in the neck plug.

Disgorging: Removing the lees is called disgorging. The neck of the bottle is frozen and the cap and frozen plug is quickly removed and a dosage of sugar or honey is added to the bottle and it is quickly corked to ensure the proper carbonation level.

Metodo Italiano (Charmat process)
The Charmat process is known as Metodo Charmat-Martinotti. This method was invented in Italy. The wine undergoes secondary fermentation in stainless steel tanks or steel vessels rather than in the bottles. It is then transferred to bottles for final sale. This is less costly than the Méthode Champenoise process and some feel it does not provide the same quality that the French practice. This is the most realistic way for a home Mead maker to make "Champagne" Mead. The finished product is transferred into a Cornelius keg and then bottled with a counter pressure bottle filler or a beer gun.

Stay tuned for reviews of some of these Méthode Champenoise Meads by Heidrun Meadery in California and Die Hochland Imker in Austria.

~dr

Mead class today!

2011-04-23T02:44:00.000-07:00

We have one spot left for today's class (Saturday April 23rd) at 4:30pm. If you would like to take this class please call mainbrew.com at: 503-648-4254, or send email to: info@mainbrew.com

~dr

Mead class 4:30pm

2011-03-19T09:41:00.000-07:00

Don't forget to bring pen and writing pad for today's mead class at mainbrew.com!

Also in the news. It is now legal to share homemade ferments outside of your home now in Oregon. So I will bring a mead sample for you all, and feel free to do the same if you like. See you later today!

~dr

Mead and New Zealand earthquake

2011-02-24T23:06:00.001-08:00

Most of you have heard about the devastating earthquake that hit Christchurch New Zealand. I have several friends whom live there including Leon and Gabrielle Havill, of the Havill's Mazer Meadery. I just got off the phone with Leon Havill in NZ and they and they and their Meadery are fine, no damage! I am so relived! Anyway, lots of folks hurting down there. Please consider a donation to the red cross:

www.redcross.org.nz/cms_display.php

or: http://www.canterburyearthquake.org.nz/

This is my favorite photo I made of Leon and Gabrielle Havill.

~dr

Feb Mead Class

2011-02-19T08:30:00.001-08:00

For today's Mead Class (Feb 19) please bring a writing pad and pen.

March Mead class sold out. April Mead class is 3/4 way full! The April class will most likely be on Saturday the 23rd. Will officially announce within a few days.

See you at 4:30!

Cheers!

~dr

Mead review: Die Hochland Imker, Single variety lime blossom

2011-01-30T17:03:00.000-08:00

Meadery: Die Hochland Imker

Name of Mead: Single variety lime blossom Mead - Lindenbluten Met.

Old/new world: Old World.

Country: Austria

Region: Falkenstein

Vintage: n/a

Price: $22.00 usd

Purchased at: mainbrew.com

Appearance: Clear, pale green/gold, medium intensity, medium rim.

Nose: Floral, Lime blossoms, honey, beeswax and hive.

Palate: Very nice lime blossom, clean, focused, honey, honey dew, medium sweet, and pleasant alcohol warmth.

Conclusions: This is a world class European Mead. The fragrance of the hive is well balanced with the lime blossom varietal honey. Very easy to drink, in fact, it is hard to not drink too much. Very exotic, and hard to find. I highly recomend. I give this a 98.

~dr

Mead Review: Steinwaelder Hausbrennerei Schraml, MET.

2011-01-30T17:01:00.000-08:00

Meadery: Steinwaelder Hausbrennerei Schraml

Name of Mead: MET.

Type of Mead: Off-dry traditional Mead - Met

Old/new world: Old World.

ABV: 15.5

Country: Germany

Region: Bavaria

Vintage: 2009

Bottle size: 750ml

Price: $24.50 usd

Purchased at: mainbrew.com

Appearance: Pours clear medium gold, medium intensity, medium rim.

Nose: Plum brandy, oak, honey, toast, butter,

Palate: Complex, plum brandy, oak, pear, honey, whisky, medium tannin, warm alcohol but smooth.

Conclusions: This is a unique Mead. The plum brandy and oak does overpower the Bavarian wildflower honey a bit, but it is quite drinkable. The higher abv and oak tannin gives it a nice dry finish. This is a unique Mead that would compliment a nice evening cigar. Difficult to find. I give it a 92.

March Mead class

2011-01-29T20:14:00.000-08:00

Hey droogs, the March Mead class is three quarters spoken fore, so if you want in, act fast! Email: info@mainbrew.com, or call 503-648-4254!

Cheers!

~dr

Mead Review: Sky River dry

2011-01-26T14:53:00.001-08:00

Meadery: Sky River

Name of Mead: Sky River dry Mead.

Type of Mead: Dry traditional.

Old/new world: New World.

ABV: 10.5

Country: USA

Region: North Cascades,
Washington

Vintage: 2009

Price: $14.00 usd

Purchased at: Sky River

Appearance: Clear, pale gold almost water white, mild intensity, short rim.

Nose: Sulphites, floral, melons, mild general wildflowers, alcohol, slight acetone and spice.

Palate: Clean, focused, mild honey, mild honey dew, semi sweet, medium alcohol warmth, bright, mildly acidic, and smooth.

Conclusions: Sky river Meads in general are a bit brighter in acid than many meads; they are more wine like. Sky river Meads also need to be decanted for a half hour because they are sulphited higher than many Meads. This particular mead being on the drier side has more subtle flavors. There is mild honey character and little to no essence of the hive. Over all this is a good everyday mead and a good introduction to a traditional mead. I would score it an 82.

~dr

Mead review: Havill's Authentic Medium Manuka Mead

2011-01-26T12:41:00.001-08:00

Meadery: Havill's Mazer Meadery

Name of Mead: Havill's Manuka medium.

Old/new world: New World.

Country: New Zealand

Region: Canterbury

Vintage: 2008

Price: Priceless

Purchased at: Brought back personally from Havill Meadery, Rangiora, New Zealand - Aotearoa.

Appearance: Clear, pale gold, mild intensity, wide rim.

Nose: Manuka and honey floral, clover, honey vanilla and spice.

Palate: Elegant, nice manuka flavor, honey, cinnamon toast, honey dew, soft clean finish.

Conclusions: One of the best Meads I have ever had. Very well crafted, perfect balance of sweetness, extremely easygoing down. Would pare with Asian food and curry. I would score this a 97.

Mead University - round two

2011-01-21T20:20:00.000-08:00

Unbelievable, the Mead Class sold out in 24 hours with people traveling from out of state to attend! I will be doing another class in March close to the Spring solstice, so if interested call if you want to reserve a spot (this will sell out fast as well!). Moreover, if you would like to put your name down in a waiting list, I will call you if someone has to cancel. Please call mainbrew.com for your reservation - 503-648-4254, or email: info@mainbrew.com

Cheers!

~dr

Mead Class; buy the drink of love for your loved one this Valentine's day!

2011-01-18T12:22:00.000-08:00

I will be conducting a comprehensive Mead class on Saturday February 19 @ 4:00pm PST. The course will be limited to 15 individuals and the cost will be $30.00 each. Included in that price will be a tasting of some fine authentic Meads from around the world. This instruction addresses beginning to very advanced mead making. Expect to stay a couple of hours and please bring a writing pad and pen!

Please, do not bring your homemade Mead for critique. Until the current OLCC ruling pertaining to transportation of homemade alcoholic beverages is changed, we cannot have them on premise. The current law will be changed soon and following that I will be able to evaluate your treasured imbibes - so hang tight! :)

The instructional course will be held at the new mainbrew.com super store off of highway 26. The address is: 23596 Clara Lane, Hillsboro OR, 97124.

To reserve your spot please call 503-648-4254, or email: info@mainbrew.com

Cheers!

~dr

Meads for sale!

2010-12-29T18:36:00.000-08:00

The new mainbrew.com super store located at, 23596 Clara Lane, Hillsboro Oregon 97124 - currently has 8 different Meads and their variants for sale, with over 17 more coming in a week or two, and more to come in weeks after that. They also have about 200 different craft beers as well, with more on the way. In addition, you can buy kegs of craft beer as well.

Mainbrew.com is the ultimate fermentation supply store (the largest in stock supply of specialty grain on the west coast if not the country); one stop shoping for all things Mead, beer, and wine - and it is conveniently located right off of U.S. highway 26 with lots of parking.

Cheers!

~dr

Mead Class!

2010-12-28T04:38:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to give an advance notice that I will be teaching a Mead class (beginning to advance) at the new, mainbrew.com - super fermentation store (Portland Oregon metro area). I will be giving details of the time in the near future. We will be covering some secrets that I haven't even posted on traditionalmead.com. The class will end with a Mead tasting.

So stay tuned my friends!

~dr

Water and Mead - H2O, CaSo4, NaCl, MsS04, CaCl, NaHC03, CaCo3

2010-12-14T15:09:00.000-08:00

© 2010 Douglas Remington

Hard water should generally be avoided to make Mead with, especially water with high sulphate content. Many people boil their municipal water to remove chlorine compounds, however a boil will create an endothermic reaction to mineral ions in water and precipitate out some of the minerals. This may be good or bad, depending on the structure of your starting water. If using municipal water, the lab analysis are provided to you free through your water department. Some municipalities use well water in certain times of the year and non-well water for the rest of the year. Water content will vary throughout the seasons so it's best to check the content quarterly.

Calcium and Magnesium are the principle ions in consideration of TH. We are addressing calcium here.

You need a minimum of 50ppm of calcium for yeast health. 50ppm of calcium or higher also aids in natural yeast flocculation, clarification, and stability of ph buffering value during fermentation.

Water below 100ppm could be considered soft, with 150pp of total hardness is considered semi soft. For Mead making we want to avoid water above 150ppm TH to prevent a permanent to semi-permanent harshness to the finished product. I prefer my Mead water to be between 50 - 100ppm TH.

Also to be considered (and perhaps beyond the interest and capabilities of the home Mead maker) is the mineral content of the honey type itself, which can have a wide degree of variance.

Here in the Portland Oregon area we have the softest water in the world. Our water is softer than famous brewing cities in Czechoslovakia and Poland. Portland water is as close as it gets to distilled as provided by nature. This is ideal. It is very easy to add desired mineral value, but very expensive to take it out. This is just one of the reasons why Portland Oregon is the brewing capital of the world today.

To add calcium to your Mead, I recommend via calcium chloride. In small amounts it helps create a round and perceived sweet mouth feel to your Mead. Gypsum (calcium sulphate) can add a harshness because of the sulphates. So we should avoid this type of calcium addition. Calcium carbonate (chalk) is helpful in managing temporary ph drift in fermentation, however it is largely a temporary hardness and much of it precipitates out in a short amount of time.

If you are starting out with distilled or Portland water, .75 grams per gallon of calcium chloride is a good start for great Mead making (I would avoid exceeding 1 gram per gallon).

I will address other minerals for Mead in a future blog, however calcium is of the imediate interest here.

Na zdraví!

~dr

Mead Bottle shop to open.

2010-11-06T17:22:00.001-07:00

Mead drinkers rejoice!

A Mead bottle shop is opening in the Portland Oregon Area (Hillsboro) at a very convenient location on U.S. highway 26 sometime later this month of November. Unlike like mass produced "Meads" that you can find at some grocery stores and some beer bottle shops, this shop will have GOOD hand selected Meads from around the world. The goal is to have the largest selection of quality Meads in the United States. Please stay tuned and I will provide more details as the official opening date approaches.

Cheers!

~dr

A quick word about Sulphites.

2010-04-23T09:58:00.000-07:00

Fear not this odd-sounding word. There are few things in this world that are more misunderstood than this element that is used in wine making. Those who believe sulphite is bad or that they are allergic to it, please read on. It is currently in vogue to label your Mead or wine “without added sulphites.” Labeling a Mead or wine with, 'no added sulphites' is simply a marketing gimmick to mislead the uneducated into buying a "purer" product.

Most alcohol-controlling agencies will not allow a professional winery or Meadery to label their product "sulphite-free." Why? Because there is no such thing, there cannot be such a thing, for yeast produce sulphites on their own on an average of 6-10 parts per million (ppm) and sometimes as high as 80ppm. Wineries are aware of which yeast produce these higher levels of sulphites, and will avoid them if they intend to undergo a malo-lactic fermentation, for the higher sulphite content will inhibit this desired effect from occurring in that wine. Many wineries add sulphites from 20-50ppm at bottling time, which much of later vanishes. If you get headaches from wine, especially red wines you are most likely experiencing a histamine reaction (grape skins). If you were truly allergic to sulphites you’d probably end up in a hospital or die if you ate produce from the supermarket.

This is an excerpt from Our Philosophy page, please visit that for more on this.

~dr

Web update

2010-04-21T23:43:00.000-07:00

Just did some web updating to the site. I converted weights of nutrients and what not on THE WAY page to volumes, to make it easier for those who don't have small accurate scales.

Cheers!

~dr

Mead Lecture

2010-04-19T09:26:00.000-07:00

I will be speaking about Mead at Fanno Creek Brew Pub Monday, April 19 - 7pm

http://www.fannocreekbrewpub.com/

~dr