"Ray Calvert" > wrote in message
. com...
> That is the style you are making. Use a larger portion of honey and a
> smaller portion of fruit and it will come out tasting more like mead with
a
> hint of the fruit. A matter of taste.

My rule of thumb is to get half of your fermentable sugars from each.
>
> Ray
>
> "Saul_Sabia" > wrote in message
> om...
> > "KD" > wrote in message
> > >...
> >> Greetings all:
> >>
> >> I've been in the winemaking hobby since early summer, until now just
> >> working
> >> with kits from the store.
> >>
> >> This time of year, my wine supply shop offers two 'kits' of fresh
> >> ingredients and all the yeast, etc. that you need. They had to be
> >> pre-ordered; the options were fresh pressed apple juice for apple
> >> wine/hard
> >> cider, as well as fresh Nova Scotia honey to make mead.
> >>
> >> I went the apple wine route, and it's bubbling along nicely, just
started
> >> it
> >> about six days ago. I do enjoy wine, so I'm quite certain I'll like an
> >> apple
> >> one. I was tempted to purchase one of their mead 'kits' as well, but
> >> hesitated - mostly because I don't know what it tastes like and I
didn't
> >> want to be stuck with 23 litres of something I didn't like. Liquor
stores
> >> here don't carry anything close to it for me to try.
> >>
> >> So, who would like to take a try at describing a basic mead?
> >
> > have you ever added a little bit of lemon and honey to a cup of hot
water,
> > for coughs and things like that?
> >
> > yeah, like that but not really. take out the lemon, add a bit of
alcoholic
> > tang, and make it a little less sweet.
> >
> > you're welcome. ;-)
> >
> > i make melomels, and they end up tasting an awful lot like the basic
fruit
> > but tend to have a sweeter nose and tongue-tip-taste.
> >
> >
> > Saul
>
>

Thanks to all who responded.

In my wine/brew supply store, fresh Nova Scotia honey is available once a
year, by special order. That's how I ordered my happily bubbling apple wine
kit. It did try to jump out of the carboy once I put it in there, I think I
may have overfiled it. That's why I put a towel underneath.

After hearing everyone's response (especially Ray, who encouraged me to just
make some and try it and be done with it), I've decided to do just that. I
called my store tonight and asked if they had ordered any extra of these
'kits,' and lucky for me, they had one left. While I've only been making
wine since summer, I've been shopping at the same store since the
beginnning, got my original starter kit from there. The person who answered
the phone was the same person who sold me my initial supplies, knew exactly
who I was by my voice and immediately offered to put my name on it if I
wanted her to. Customer recognition is worth its weight in gold. So I
immediately told her yes.

So, later this week I'll be starting my first batch of mead. I started
making wine because I really enjoy drinking wine, I hope that mead turns out
to be the same way. If nothing else, it will be a novelty that will be
enjoyed by myself and friends for gifts, if it turns out to be yummy in
2005-2006.

Now, I never got any instructions about this when speaking to my store. All
I know is that it's about seven kilos of honey, comes in a primary
ferementer with all additions you need to get it going.

Firstly, I have traditional winemaking equipment; two 23 litre carboys and
two primaries (three once I get the honey), as well as a regular siphon,
etc. Do you ferement it in a carboy like wine? I can spare a carboy for
awhile. Do I need to expect a year or more to make it drinkable? If so, I'll
just buy another carboy and airlock other wine purposes as it ages. Please
tell me more about how it's done after you start out.

Thanks again for all the help.

KD



"Bob" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Brian Lundeen" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> "Ray Calvert" > wrote in message
>> . com...
>> > A friend of mine commented that wine makes him more outgoing where mead
>> > makes him more mellow. I don't know if others would agree but I think
>> > I
>> do.
>> >
>> Mead drinkers are all hippies, so it was probably the pot that went along
>> with it that did it. ;-)
>>
> Farm out, man! Right arm! Power to the people, kill whitey, free Angela
> Davis!!!
>
>> Brian
>>
>>
>
>

Thanks to all who responded.

In my wine/brew supply store, fresh Nova Scotia honey is available once a
year, by special order. That's how I ordered my happily bubbling apple wine
kit. It did try to jump out of the carboy once I put it in there, I think I
may have overfiled it. That's why I put a towel underneath.

After hearing everyone's response (especially Ray, who encouraged me to just
make some and try it and be done with it), I've decided to do just that. I
called my store tonight and asked if they had ordered any extra of these
'kits,' and lucky for me, they had one left. While I've only been making
wine since summer, I've been shopping at the same store since the
beginnning, got my original starter kit from there. The person who answered
the phone was the same person who sold me my initial supplies, knew exactly
who I was by my voice and immediately offered to put my name on it if I
wanted her to. Customer recognition is worth its weight in gold. So I
immediately told her yes.

So, later this week I'll be starting my first batch of mead. I started
making wine because I really enjoy drinking wine, I hope that mead turns out
to be the same way. If nothing else, it will be a novelty that will be
enjoyed by myself and friends for gifts, if it turns out to be yummy in
2005-2006.

Now, I never got any instructions about this when speaking to my store. All
I know is that it's about seven kilos of honey, comes in a primary
ferementer with all additions you need to get it going.

Firstly, I have traditional winemaking equipment; two 23 litre carboys and
two primaries (three once I get the honey), as well as a regular siphon,
etc. Do you ferement it in a carboy like wine? I can spare a carboy for
awhile. Do I need to expect a year or more to make it drinkable? If so, I'll
just buy another carboy and airlock other wine purposes as it ages. Please
tell me more about how it's done after you start out.

Thanks again for all the help.

KD



"Bob" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Brian Lundeen" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> "Ray Calvert" > wrote in message
>> . com...
>> > A friend of mine commented that wine makes him more outgoing where mead
>> > makes him more mellow. I don't know if others would agree but I think
>> > I
>> do.
>> >
>> Mead drinkers are all hippies, so it was probably the pot that went along
>> with it that did it. ;-)
>>
> Farm out, man! Right arm! Power to the people, kill whitey, free Angela
> Davis!!!
>
>> Brian
>>
>>
>
>

Cool,

I will try making one of those. If I like it when it is ready I may make
another!

>
> I have heard that 50 year old mead is very nice....
>>
>> Jack Keller, The Winemaking Home Page
>> http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/
>
>

Right, I have bought me a jar of cloves. One per litre means five in my
demijohn. It appears that my jar of cloves probably contains about two
hundred. By my calculations that means I need to make another 39 gallons
minimum.

Might need a bigger house.

<grin>

"Bob" > wrote in message
...
> "R-D-C" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Do you use the clove for flavour or to clear the mead?
>
> Strangely, it seems to do =both=. I could =swear= it seems to bind with
> fine particulate matter and precipitate it out as a brown dust. This is
> something I've become aware of over the last few years. The flavouring is
> divine; I cannot imagine drinking mead w/o cloves, it is such a perfect
> match!
> Bob<><
>>
>> "Bob" > wrote in message
>> ...
>> >
>> > "KD" > wrote in message
>> > ...
>> >> Greetings all:
>> >>
>> >> I've been in the winemaking hobby since early summer, until now just
>> > working
>> >> with kits from the store.
>> >>
>> >> This time of year, my wine supply shop offers two 'kits' of fresh
>> >> ingredients and all the yeast, etc. that you need. They had to be
>> >> pre-ordered; the options were fresh pressed apple juice for apple
>> > wine/hard
>> >> cider, as well as fresh Nova Scotia honey to make mead.
>> >>
>> >> I went the apple wine route, and it's bubbling along nicely, just
> started
>> > it
>> >> about six days ago. I do enjoy wine, so I'm quite certain I'll like an
>> > apple
>> >> one. I was tempted to purchase one of their mead 'kits' as well, but
>> >> hesitated - mostly because I don't know what it tastes like and I
> didn't
>> >> want to be stuck with 23 litres of something I didn't like. Liquor
> stores
>> >> here don't carry anything close to it for me to try.
>> >>
>> >> So, who would like to take a try at describing a basic mead?
>> >
>> > Describe mead????
>> > Ummmmm........
>> > Indescribably delicious!
>> > I generally use about 7kg for a 23 litre batch, pure clover honey;
>> > ferment til ALL bubbling in the airlock ceases (can take a year), then
>> > sulfite it with campden tablets. When the tablets are completely
>> > dissolved,
>> > and the mead is perfectly clear and still not bubbling (another couple
>> > months) I rack it into a clean carboy and add sorbate/sodium benzoate,
> and
>> > also one clove per litre. After a few months the cloves will have
> swelled
>> > up
>> > and sunk to the bottom, leaving a clear mead with a dusting of brown on
>> > the
>> > bottom of the carboy. Bottle it at this point, sit back and enjoy how
>> > clever
>> > you are! :-)
>> > My last few batches of mead have taken the following time to brew
>> > and
>> > bottle:
>> > 13 months
>> > 15 months
>> > 16 months
>> > I am working on one right now that was brewed 3/23/04, and I am
> trying
>> > to hurry it up in time for Christmas, but that is going to be hard....
>> > Wish
>> > me luck!
>> > Bob<><
>> >
>> >>
>> >> Thanks,
>> >>
>> >> KD
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>
>