Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Meadomancer]

As the name might suggest, I make mead.  Or, to put it a more metal way, I habitually use crude bioengineering to enslave a fungal colony with the intent to convert bee vomit into an intoxicant.  The currently-brewing batch is a one gallon run using Texas wildflower honey. 

(click to show/hide)

And because I probably take it too seriously, I hacked together a label with stock images. 

(click to show/hide)

[Cornelius]

Nice. Do you capture your fungal colony, or purchase?

My experiments with mead have been less than stellar, so I stick to beer and wine.

At the moment I have a batch of pilsner happily bubbling away.

[Meadomancer]

I purchase, for the sake of consistency.  This batch is using d47 Champaign yeast, so I had to use a temperature controller to turn a minifridge into a 65 F cooler.  Mead is definitely more finicky than beer, though it has the advantage that pretty much any bad taste can be aged out. 

[Cornelius]

Consistency is always nice. It depends on what's in the air, as well - over here, if I try with the local wild yeast, it'll come out fairly sour - if it doesn't pick up anything else.

Last time I tried mead, I used a Kitzinger Sauternes yeast - but I think it died on me. Possibly a problem with the acidity, which I hadn't measured. That, or a contamination.

[Meadomancer]

Yeast can be a little bitch like that.  I think being a bit of a purist helps.  Water, honey, yeast, patience.  If I were to start adding cranberries or something, the pH would very quickly become a concern.  If I ever see juniper berries or sale, though, I might have to try, for the sole reason that it got mentioned in the Skyrim intro. 

[Cornelius]

A bit late to comment, but when adding fruit, you'll probably have to watch not only pH, but also actual acid content, if only to correct it. I know it's been an issue with some of the fruit wines I tried. Turns out my neighbors prunes will give you a decent sherry like drink, if you like your sherry dry.

Now, I actually came back to this thread because I'm going to be needing a new batch next week. I've not sure decided what exactly, though. A red amber trial batch, at any rate, as I need to age that particular recipe for a year, before blending it in with a fresh batch.

I've been having some issues with the pressure of my last bottled batch, though. As in, it's doing enough to deny the -admittedly light weight- kegs I used. Bottled are fine, even if pressure is apparent on opening. I suspect the temperature at time of bottling may have had something to do with that.