(no subject)
Haven't posted in a very long time, but I thought I'd cut and paste what I put in my SCA LJ. Today I opted to stay home rather then deal with the idiots out on the ice. I rescheduled my lesson with my trainer for Saturday yesterday, so I don't feel bad about staying home and it won't kill Hen to have a day off.
I've been asked (and accepted) to give a clinic at our local brew shop on meads. I'm a little nervous because I'm more of a 'fly by the seat of my pants' kind of vintner. I make good stuff, so I'm sure that my basic recipe is what they are looking for. My problem is that I really don't know what to say to a large group. One on one I have no problem with and I've emailed a ton of people on what to do but this will be my first 'public' class. Brian (store owner)said he'd be able to fill in blanks with meter readings and all that so hopefully I can just kind of wing it. I can't keep a hydrometer alive no matter how hard I try, so I just gave up on taking readings. Seems every time I get a new one I turn around to find it's broken somehow. I think I've gone through about one a year for 5 or 6 years. I give up!
What I plan on doing is make up a short handout with what mead is and a handful of what the different varieties are. Then we can make a batch and see how it goes. Hopefully Brian will supply the ingredients and then everyone can have a few bottles this summer when it's all done. Or maybe he'll let me keep it as my "payment" and I'll have more to bring to War this year.
As far as this years melomels: I decided to do something fun that I can't get. So, I've picked up containers of Vintner's Harvest fruit wine bases (http://www.homebrewit.com/wine-making-supplies-fruit-wine-bases.php). I decided on Loganberry and Gooseberry. Two fruits I can't here. They are all fruit, so it is just cutting out the middle man (me!) from wacking up all that fruit to put in the carboys. I'm sure that in period there were "people" to cut up fruit- I'm just making Vintner's Harvest into my "people" :) The only thing in the cans are fruit and water. The can’s yield about 9 cups of juice. Silly me thought it was juice and water so imagine my surprise when I opened the can and berries came flying out. I was at least smart enough to run everything through the strainer before going into the carboys, so I won’t have fruit sludge to pull out later.
Brian also had a open can of sweet cherry Oregon Fruit Puree (http://www.homebrewit.com/wine-beer-fruit-purees.php) that he had planned on making a beer out of and never got around to so he gave it to me. That will then become my third melomel for the year. These cans are 49oz and are all fruit puree. In this case it all got thrown in the carboy and should be pretty sludgy when I’m ready to rack.
I'm looking forward to seeing how the puree works versus the wine base. I'll be using more of the base (96oz) versus the puree (49oz).
Gooseberry is a period fruit and has been harvested as early as the 1500's. They are located throughout Europe and are high in Vitamin C.
Loganberries were an accidental hybrid created in 1883 when James Harvery Logan, an American lawyer and horticulturist planted two blackberry plants too close to a red raspberry plant and they pollinated to create this hybrid.
So, now everything is in carboys and the waiting game begins. I'm hoping for fermentation to begin in the next 48 hours and then I'll plan on doing my first racking sometime in May followed by bottling in late July for Pennsic. Feel free to swing by camp and I'll be happy to open a bottle!
I've been asked (and accepted) to give a clinic at our local brew shop on meads. I'm a little nervous because I'm more of a 'fly by the seat of my pants' kind of vintner. I make good stuff, so I'm sure that my basic recipe is what they are looking for. My problem is that I really don't know what to say to a large group. One on one I have no problem with and I've emailed a ton of people on what to do but this will be my first 'public' class. Brian (store owner)said he'd be able to fill in blanks with meter readings and all that so hopefully I can just kind of wing it. I can't keep a hydrometer alive no matter how hard I try, so I just gave up on taking readings. Seems every time I get a new one I turn around to find it's broken somehow. I think I've gone through about one a year for 5 or 6 years. I give up!
What I plan on doing is make up a short handout with what mead is and a handful of what the different varieties are. Then we can make a batch and see how it goes. Hopefully Brian will supply the ingredients and then everyone can have a few bottles this summer when it's all done. Or maybe he'll let me keep it as my "payment" and I'll have more to bring to War this year.
As far as this years melomels: I decided to do something fun that I can't get. So, I've picked up containers of Vintner's Harvest fruit wine bases (http://www.homebrewit.com/wine-making-supplies-fruit-wine-bases.php). I decided on Loganberry and Gooseberry. Two fruits I can't here. They are all fruit, so it is just cutting out the middle man (me!) from wacking up all that fruit to put in the carboys. I'm sure that in period there were "people" to cut up fruit- I'm just making Vintner's Harvest into my "people" :) The only thing in the cans are fruit and water. The can’s yield about 9 cups of juice. Silly me thought it was juice and water so imagine my surprise when I opened the can and berries came flying out. I was at least smart enough to run everything through the strainer before going into the carboys, so I won’t have fruit sludge to pull out later.
Brian also had a open can of sweet cherry Oregon Fruit Puree (http://www.homebrewit.com/wine-beer-fruit-purees.php) that he had planned on making a beer out of and never got around to so he gave it to me. That will then become my third melomel for the year. These cans are 49oz and are all fruit puree. In this case it all got thrown in the carboy and should be pretty sludgy when I’m ready to rack.
I'm looking forward to seeing how the puree works versus the wine base. I'll be using more of the base (96oz) versus the puree (49oz).
Gooseberry is a period fruit and has been harvested as early as the 1500's. They are located throughout Europe and are high in Vitamin C.
Loganberries were an accidental hybrid created in 1883 when James Harvery Logan, an American lawyer and horticulturist planted two blackberry plants too close to a red raspberry plant and they pollinated to create this hybrid.
So, now everything is in carboys and the waiting game begins. I'm hoping for fermentation to begin in the next 48 hours and then I'll plan on doing my first racking sometime in May followed by bottling in late July for Pennsic. Feel free to swing by camp and I'll be happy to open a bottle!