On Oct 7, 6:35 pm, Peter Pichler > wrote:
> Quixote wrote:
> > I was very lax with record keeping on it. It was enough Texas wildflower
> > honey and water to get a spg of 1.110 in a gallon primary. Forget what
> > yeast, but it may have been Flor Sherry, as my yeast picks were limited
> > then. I did not boil the honey, as I was afraid it might steal some of the
> > honey flavor that I love, and so it took some fining. Some bentonite did
> > the trick. It also went pretty dry for my taste so I back sweetened with
> > just a touch of invert sugar and sorbate. Been in the bottle about six
> > months now.
>
> Flor Sherry? Bentonite? Spg? Sorbate? You are too scientific, mate ;-)
>
> I made three 1-gal batches, as I had three jars (linden, forest and
> multifloral) to spare. I used one jar (~900g or 2lb) per gallon. Dunno
> what the SG was as I only purchased a hydrometer much later. I poured
> the honey into boiling water and kept just below boiling for about 20
> min. It dissolves better that way. I have read that I was supposed to
> skim the froth, but there was not much froth to skim anyway.
>
> For yeast I just used dried baking yeast called Young's from a local
> supermarket (UK). No idea what strain. After about a month of primary
> fermentation, I racked to a new demijohn with 500g of raisins. The extra
> sugar boost from the raisins restarted the fermentation. When it
> stopped, I racked again and left alone for a couple more months to
> clear. I have no idea how much alcohol is in it, but it tastes quite
> potent and smooth even when it is only a few months old.
>
> Here is my first question, before my ISP wakes up and gives me
> rec.crafts.meadmaking: boiling the honey and skimming the froth is
> supposed to remove the proteins and thus speed up clearing. But aren't
> yeast, being living organisms, also made of protein?
>
> Peter

Peter, for now, just go to google.com and grab 'groups', then cruise
over to rec.crafts.meadmaking. It is an offshoot of this group. When
your ISP catches on you will be set. I make mead too.

I never boil and always skim, no need for wax and bee legs in mead.
If you take the water to about 60C you will have no issues with the
honey dissolving and may retain some additional flavor from the
honey. As to the yeast question, I really am not sure what you mean.
They can't handle temperature above 50C. Meads are notorious slow
fermenters, by adding those raisins you not only added sugar, you
added nutrient. If you are happy with your yeast have at it but most
meadmakers use a wine yeast. The protein they are interested in
removing can cause what is called a protein haze, it's more of a
cosmetic defect than anything else.

Joe