Making
and Appreciating
Mead
A presentation by
Steve DellaSala 15+ years experience making Mead
Introduction . . .. . 1.0
Understanding Honey . . . 2.0
Important Yeast Facts . . 3.0
Creating The Perfect Mead .. . 4.0
Fermentation .. .. 5.0
Advanced Mead Making Skills .. .. 6.0
If you are a Mead enthusiast, homebrewer, wine
lover or fellow beer drinker, then this class is a perfect opportunity to understand
and learn to make and appreciate Meads.
Anyone with the advanced savvy required to use a stove is capable of
creating award winning Meads.
This class is outlined in a way that will provide basics and essentials
of Mead making and Mead appreciation.
Before venturing on a Mead making mission, it is important to understand
fundamental principals about fermentation as well as develop a basic
understanding of honey. The first two
sections of this class outline this information in an organized and meaningful
way.
Developing an understanding of honey and fermentation allows anyone to
create award winning Meads. From sweat
to dry, carbonated to still, traditional to methoglins,
the remainder of the class is designed for those individuals that want to
create fine, award winning Meads.
Making the perfect Mead for your taste is not enough though. Once we begin to taste different Meads, it
becomes obvious that there must be a basis for comparison in order to determine
what makes a fine Mead. The end of the
class will be devoted to tasting and appreciation of Mead. In this part of the class, we will compare
different Meads based on similar criteria that have been evolved through
hundreds of years within the world of wines.
The best way to make fine Meads is to understand where the source. Honey is a unique product of nature and there
are a number of qualities about honey that should be recognized by any Meadmaker.
2.1
Making Honey
Honey comes from the endless labor of Honey Bees, acting together as a
colony, to produce enough of this wonderful concoction of identifiable and
unidentifiable sugars for us to ferment and turn into Meads. We take for granted that in a 24-hour day of
flying from flower to flower, a single Honey Bee only produces about 1/12-tsp
of honey. Furthermore, for one bee to
make 1-lb of honey, it would have to fly the equivalent of 3xs around the
world. Think about that the next time
you use 15-lbs (400,000 x 1/12-tsps) of honey in your next batch of Mead. The biggest joy of being a Meadmaker is that
we get to let nature do all the hard work of creating the honey and keeping it
clean.
2.1.1
Honeys Defenses
It is fortunate for us that honey, by nature, does not ferment on its own. Honey does not sustain microorganisms. If it did, the effects could result in contaminated beehive and possibility of killing the young bee larva. There are a variety of defense mechanisms found in honey that protect it from fungi and other microorganisms.
Examples of these defenses include the presence of peroxide, an acidic
pH of 3.9, and a high osmotic pressure.
For all these reasons, honey does not want to ferment on its own. It is our job as Meadmakers,
to correct this problem.
2.1.2 Creating Honey
Honey is created when a Bee visits a flower, and captures a small amount
of the complex sugars and starches that makes up the pollen. The Bee takes this pollen, and combines it
with an enzyme to break it down into more simplex sugars. When the Bees storage sacks are full, they
return to the hive and transfer the honey to the young House Bees who spread it
drop by drop, through the honeycombs within the hives.
2.1.3
Honeys Makeup
Each flower type visited by the Honey Bees consists of their own unique
signatures of complex sugars, thus providing a unique aroma, color and overall
character. It is safe to say that based
on these unique signatures of complex sugar chains found in different flowers,
the honey derived will in turn have its own unique signature of simplex sugars
from which it was derived. For this
reason, there are multitudes of different types of honeys that vary in overall
sweetness, color, aroma, flavor, and more importantly to us, fermentability.
Evidence of this is supported by the following table which quantifies
the major sugars found in five different varieties of honey.
Note: The
facts within this table are taken from The
Compleat Meadmaker by Ken Schramm
|
Honey |
Color |
Gran. |
Moist. |
Lev. |
Dext. |
Sucrose |
Malt. |
Higher |
? |
total |
OG |
FG |
|
Buck |
10 |
2 |
18.3 |
35.30 |
29.46 |
0.78 |
7.63 |
2.27 |
4.3 |
79.74 |
1.084 |
1.002 |
|
Clover |
4 |
2 |
17.7 |
37.95 |
30.97 |
1.14 |
7.75 |
1.4 |
2.6 |
81.81 |
1.074 |
0.990 |
|
|
4 |
4 |
16.7 |
39.26 |
31.83 |
1.87 |
6.5 |
1.33 |
2.5 |
83.29 |
1.076 |
0.993 |
|
Palmetto |
7 |
2 |
16.6 |
38.24 |
30.92 |
0.83 |
6.48 |
1.69 |
5.3 |
83.46 |
1.074 |
0.996 |
|
|
7 |
0 |
18.2 |
43.27 |
25.95 |
1.21 |
7.97 |
1.11 |
2.3 |
81.81 |
1.066 |
1.002 |
Yeast is a single celled micro-organism that looks for simplex sugars to consume as it creates alcohol and C02 as its byproducts. The ideal fermentation conditions for most common Wine and Ales yeasts include a pH range between 5.0 and 7.5 at a fermentation temperature of 65Ί F and 75Ί F.
3.1
Mead Yeast
The type of Mead you are setting out to make should govern the type of yeast selected for fermentation as well as the amount of honey. It is important to consider the overall body and sweetness level that the Mead is targeted for, and choose from the range of yeasts along with the correct amount of honey in order to obtain this end result.
Successful yeasts for making sweet Meads include Montrachet, Chardonay, Ale yeasts and believe it or not, the liquid Dry Mead yeast. Depending on the starting gravity, these Yeasts typically result in a medium to high sweet Mead.
Successful yeasts for making dry Meads include
3.2
Yeast Starters
For numerous reasons, it is highly recommended that all dry yeasts are dissolved prior to pitching. In addition, regardless of dry or liquid yeast, it is also strongly recommended that you do a starter about 2 or 3 days before making your Mead. This will boost the population of yeasts thus decreasing the time it takes for the batch of Mead to start fermenting, as well as limit to risk of other microorganisms beating the yeast to fermentation in the carboy, thereby minimizing the risk of an infection.
The ultimate goal set forth by any Meadmaker, is to create the perfect
Mead. Although the perfect Mead is
debatable and dependent upon the pallet of those who taste it, it is possible
to create a Mead that best suites your own
pallet. But first, it is important for
you to define what that pallet is. One
way to do that is to try a variety of different white wines for example, to
help determine what sweetness level and body you wish to emulate in your Mead. As a general guideline, most Meads are
created with about 1 to 2 gallons of honey, filled to a total of 5-gallons in a
glass carboy, with a specific yeast type for fermentation.
4.1
Preparing the Honey
As discussed in the section above, by nature, honey does not want to ferment. It is our job as Meadmakers to correct this problem. It is also important to note that while honey may contain microorganisms in dormant forms, it is not necessary to boil it for sanitization. In fact, boiling honey will strip it of most of its wonderful aromas as well as further break down the sugars resulting in a solution of more simplex sugars and water instead of to complicated array of sugars.
Keep in mind that this does not mean there are no living organisms in honey to worry about. In fact, there is potential for microbes to be present in spore or dormant form, but they are not active enough in the normal state of honey to cause the organism reproduce and contaminate the honey. Though there is some concern that these spores can cause a problem once the honey is diluted to fermentation levels.
It is necessary to first dilute the honey to reduce its osmotic pressure
and allow it to sustain single celled organisms, such as yeast. It is a good idea to take the 1 to 2 gallons
of honey and dilute is with an equal amount of water prior to adding to the
carboy. This solution can then be placed
in a large pot and heated on a stove to about 150Ί F. The reason for the heating process is not
necessarily for sanitation purposes, although it does reduce the potential for
the spores to begin to populate and develop.
The primary benefit for heating the honey is to help it dissolve and
more importantly, allow the proteins and waxes found in the honey to be removed. You will find that by heating the honey to
this temperature for about ½-hour, a white foam layer will appear on the top
surface. Using a screen skimmer or
spoon, continue to scoop up this layer as it forms.
In addition to removing proteins and wax from the honey solution,
heating allows the volatile and unstable peroxide (H202) to break down and become water (H20) and free Oxygen (O2). It is also a good idea to add about ½-TSB of
Irish moss to your solution to aid in additional removal of proteins that do
not coagulate during heating.
Once the honey solution appears to be clean and the top layer is no
longer appearing, pour this solution into a sanitized carboy and continue to
dilute to 5-gallons.
4.2 Proper pH
It is an old myth to state that it takes 1-year to ferment Mead. Those who say that may have not attempted to
use proper and acceptable techniques that decrease this time to
a more reasonable 4-weeks.
Highest on the list of techniques, is to increase the acidic 3.9 (on
average) pH of honey to a more fermentable level. Most yeast perform their best at a pH close
to neutral (7.0), but it is acceptable to increase the pH to a range between
5.0 and 7.5 depending on the desired acidity level of the Mead.
4.3 Fruit Melomels
There are a number of techniques that can be used to add fruit to a Mead and creating a Melomel. Most common among the fruit types are
Cherries, Blueberries, Blackberries, Grapes (Pyments),
Strawberries, Raspberries, and an assortment of others. It is important to note that the three most
important things about adding fruit are as follows.
Firstly, do not boil or overheat the fruit as that will set pectin and
cause the Mead to become cloudy as well as dissipate most of the pleasing fruit
aromas. Secondly, in order to derive the
colors from the fruit in the Mead, it is important to break the skins in order
to extract the pigments. Thirdly, it is
important to sanitize the fruit as a host of microorganisms including fungi,
are present and can/will infect the Mead.
Primary fermentation for most Meads can last as long as 4-weeks. During this time, it is not necessary to rack
the Mead unless you have added fruit.
When fermentation slows down, there is typically a
deep sediment on the bottom on the order of 2-inches or more. Thats O.K!
If fermentation has slowed enough, it is time to rack the Mead into
another sanitized carboy and leave behind this sediment. At that time, it is important to check the
specific gravity to determine how much fermentation is left. If the gravity is high, it is a good idea to
re-check the pH and see that it is between 5.0 and 7.5. If it must be adjusted, it is imperative that
you re-pitch a new yeast, since any drastic
adjustments to the pH can kill active yeast.
Secondary fermentation can be slow and last about an additional 2 to 4
weeks. Its best to just let it continue
at a slow pace since bottling at this time will likely result in either an
under or over carbonated Mead in about 6-months of being bottled.
6.0
Advanced Mead Making Skills
As your Mead skills develop and you search for more excitement, it is
possible to take Meadmaking to a new level and out of
the ordinary. Many of the ideas that are
applied in this section are actually derived from making wine. These ideas include oak aging, blending,
layered fermentation and icing.
6. 1 Oak
Aging
Perhaps the most overlooked technique for making complex beers and wines
is the use of Oak Barrels. Oak Barrels
have been used in creating complicated Belgium Beers and Wines for what seems
like forever. If they work for these
beverages, why not incorporate oak aging to Meads?
Oak aging, when done correctly, can help mellow the higher, undesirable
fusel alcohols found Meads by allowing them adequate time to break down, as
well as adding a slight amount of oxidation and tannins. In combination, this can result in
additional, complex flavors which can create a more interesting taste in any
Mead. Keep in mind that not all oak is
created equal, and caution should be used when considering this approach. First and foremost, its important to
consider what type of oak to use.
American oak for example, tends to have a higher
tannin content, and can therefore add astringency to the Mead if not used
correctly. Young oak, typically in oak
chip form, can also do the same. This is
partly the reason why many winemakers use predominately French oak barrels for
their longer aging processes. American
oak barrels are typically used for shorter periods of time to reduce the tannin
content imparted into the beverage. Many
wineries also use both types of oak (American and French) and blend the final
product. But none, at least that Im
aware of, use oak chips.
6.2 Blending
Blending is another fine art found in the world of wine. It is common for a Winemaker to blend a
variety of different grapes or even vintages of wines, in the creation of their
wine in order to develop complex flavors.
If you remember the discussion above, each honey type (Orange Blossom,
6.3
Layered Fermentation
Equally as important to developing unique chains/combinations of alcohols
and by-products from blending honeys is the type of yeast used to create
them. Yeast is a living organism and
when harvested into single strands that are found in our brewing/winemaking
yeasts, they can also create their own unique flavor profile. To take advantage of these varieties of
alcohols, it is a good idea to consider layered fermentation. This can be done by beginning primary
fermentation with a weaker yeast stand and allowing its fermentation to
complete. At the end of this primary fermentation,
you can then add more honey and water as you rack the original solution into
another cleaned carboy, and/or pitch a more aggressive yeast strand. It is necessary to do a starter on this new
yeast in order to assure acclimate it to the alcohol of the Mead, and increase
the starting population to help ensure its success. Prior to pitching this new yeast, it is also
a good idea to check the pH. Once the
new Yeast begins fermenting, it will begin to look like another primary
fermentation, and in all likelihood, it is.
Allow this yeast to go through its fermentation cycle until
completion. It is possible to continue
using this method of adding honey, water and a new yeast as long as you have
the patience to endure. Each time, if
you dare to be creative, try adding a different honey to the solution. In all probability, this method will produce
a much more complex taste in your Mead then just a straight fermentation with
one honey and one yeast.
6.4 Icing
If you care to make a higher alcohol, higher perceived sweetness, higher
bodied Mead, its possible to take portion of the Mead (dont recommend doing
the entire 5-gallons), and placing it into a separate container with a wide
open top, such as a clean 2.5 Gallon Bucket.
Take this solution and place it in a freezer overnight. In the morning, you will find an ice block
floating on the top of the bucket.
Remove this block as carefully as you can. It will likely be slushy and break up as you
remove it. What you have left is about
40% to 60% of what you started with, which will consist of a
concentrated Mead. Take the ice
block and toss it aside. If you are so
bold, taste some of what was removed as ice.
You will notice that it is not only water that was taken from this Mead,
but instead, icing the Mead also acted as a cold filter, thus removing a
variety of unpleasant tastes from the Mead.
You can do two things with this concentrated Mead. One is to re-dilute it back to its original
gravity (or close) and notice how much cleaner it is then the Mead it started
from before icing. Another suggestion is
to bottle this concentrated Mead in small 6 or 7 oz bottles and use if as a
liquor. If you decide to leave it concentrated,
I recommend placing it in a brandy snifter type glass and slowly sipping
instead of drinking. Mark my words, you will learn to love this type of Mead.