I’m of the age where the internet was something few people had, and you actually placed your telephone receiver onto a modem, and dialed a number to connect. You think current dial-up is slow now ? It took forty minutes to load a picture that was buried in snow on a mountain both ways . . . Anyway, as most people around my age and older, know word of mouth is how you heard about the really cool things about to explode on popular culture or become a cult phenomena. You hear whispers of something really cool, and a friend of a friend might be able to get there hands on the object for you to check out. Led Zepplin’s first album was passed from one smoke addled garage to the next until their popularity soared. Evil Dead was played at college theaters and largely unknown.

There have been quite a few things that I would have never heard about unless passed on from word of mouth of other friends. Monty Python’s Holy Grail was one such occasion where a friend had a copy of copy that he brought for a group of us to check out. I laughed so hard the first time through that many of the jokes I missed.

In 1995 (thereinabout), my geekness was made ironclad when a friend passed a rough looking copy of Robert Jordan’s Eye of the World, the first book of the Wheel of Time series. I had already read The Hobbit and  Lord of the Rings, but for one reason or another was enraptured by Jordan’s series. I carried around these huge tomes in high school, and try to pretend I was reading the text book in class or listening to the teacher, but I was really reading  The Wheel of Time. Below is a picture of all my Wheel of Time books.

By the time I was reading the series the sixth book  was the latest one out. You can see in my picture it is around the eight book that I started purchasing on the day of release. You can see that Crossroads of Twilight, book eight, is a British edition- I was back packing Europe at the time of release and purchased it a couple of days later in Ipswich (they had a tavern that was first built in around 1516 that I wanted to have a pint inside).

I remember when I saw the headline of Robert Jordan passing away. I knew this to be a possibility, but hoped that he would finish the series before his death. Madlaugher and Cracker (read about section for reference to whom they are) both letting me know it happened with a touch a derision for good measure at my upended saga. Yet, a glimmer of hope was found, and I have been patiently waiting for Brandon Sanderson to add meat and sinew to the skeleton that Robert Jordan had thoroughly outlined for his last Wheel of Time novel.

So fifteen years later, on my doorstep was my pre-ordered copy of book twelve, The Gathering of Storms. The series overall has had its ups and downs. Some books better than others, some story lines more convoluted than others. However, I was giddy as ever about seeing it, and insanely excited about finally reading the end of this true odyssey. However, Robert Jordan’s outlined concept was so huge in scope that it is now being released in three volumes. . .

I swear if I have to wait another decade. . . then I’ll wait because Mr. Jordan you have me by the balls even in death- you devilishly talented writer you.

The connection to mead will become more apparent in a future post, but this is more or less a fanboy tripping down memory lane in all his geeked/nerded out glory.

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Posted by admin on October 28th, 2009 :: Filed under Uncategorized

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One of the great things about the internet is the ease that everyone is able to get in touch with one another. In my search for other mead makers showing off their inventiveness and passion for mead, I have found Will Kalif. His website on Mead Making is http://www.stormthecastle.com/mead/index.htm and if you are interested in all things medieval, his blog http://www.castlefiction.com/heroicdreams/ is a great source. There are some really good articles and loads of information on his mead making site. Both sites are on my blogroll on the bottom right of my website.

However, what really sets Will’s stuff apart are his instructional videos. His YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/epicfantasy?blend=1), has good mead making video, among others.  There are other cool things that Will has created that have to do with medieval weaporny, etc. However, what really caught my attention was his video on making a mead inside a coconut. I never thought about using anything other than my buckets and carboys. This is truly a cool idea. I have posted the video below.

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Posted by admin on October 27th, 2009 :: Filed under Mead, meadmaking

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Since I am making a braggot with the style of Oktoberfest in mind, I thought it would be a good idea to briefly review some of the BJCP Guidelines for Oktoberfest.

First off, Oktoberfest is a sub-category of the European Amber Lager category. That’s right, Oktoberfest is a lager (which refers to the yeast that is used during fermentation). The aroma should have “a light to moderate toasted malt aroma. Clean lager aroma with no fruity esters or diacetyl. No hop aroma. Caramel aroma is inappropriate.” This indicates that hops should not be used in the end process for aromatic effects; rather, hops should be added in the beginning when mashing the malts.

The taste works in tandem with aroma, and the BJCP stipulates the taste should be “initial malty sweetness, but finish is moderately dry. Distinctive and complex maltiness often includes a toasted aspect. Hop bitterness is moderate, and noble hop flavor is low to none. Balance is toward malt, though the finish is not sweet. Noticeable caramel or roasted flavors are inappropriate. Clean lager character with no diacetyl or fruity esters.” This style of beer is heavy on the malty goodness, and light on the bold hops flavor. Also, notice that they mention “noble hop flavor,” and I’ll cover that a little more in a moment.

For the most part, I’m sticking to the Reinheitsgebot (German Purity Law). This law was originally put into place in 1516 to set the standards for brewing beer and sales of beer. Interestingly, yeast wasn’t actually mentioned in the original document because as we all know, Louis Pasteur did not discover that bacteria was the cause of fermentation and contamination until the 1800s. In the spirit of Reinheitsgebot, this braggot will contain simply water, malt, hops, and yeast.  Well, maybe I’ll bend the rule for loads of honey.

I found a cool little website called www.localharvest.org , which has put me in touch with a beekeeper directly for buckwheat honey. Some times I like to help out the little guy, plus getting the honey directly from the beekeeper tingles my hippy senses.

Recipe:

8.5 lbs of Buckwheat Honey

5 lbs of Vienna Malt

1 lb of Pilsner Malt

.25 oz of Tettanger whole leaf hops

White labs Oktoberfest yeast

A quick distinction between mead and beer (aside from the obvious), before one adds yeast to a batch of mead it is called a “must,” and before you pitch yeast to beer it is called a “wort” (pronounced wert [I have no idea why this is]). So, must becomes mead through the yeast processing the sugars into ethanol and carbon dioxide, and wort becomes beer through the same process.

I briefly discussed why I was using buckwheat honey in the previous post. In all actuality, I had 5 lbs of buckwheat from a previous order that was lying around. I was thinking and plotting on some sort of braggot that would utilize the buckwheat. I have not seen many (if any) recipes that use buckwheat honey. I thought it would be a fun and interesting adventure, although, if this turns out crappy, I wasted quite a bit of money.

There are many different types of malts that can be added into an Oktoberfest beer, but some the best ones I have read are exclusively made with Vienna Malt or the main barley is Vienna malt. There is some debate and discussion on using exclusively Vienna, and if it actually achieves the authentic taste for Oktoberfest beers. Since I am making a braggot, I have decided to use Vienna with a touch of Pilsner malt to impress upon the taste buds a sense of Oktoberfest beer. Vienna and Munich malts have a tendency to create heaviness to the beers, so adding 15 to 20 percent of Pilsner malt to the total amount. If I was making a beer, I would use other varietal malts.

The hops in an Oktoberfest are of the noble variety. This includes hallertau, saaz, spalt, and tettnanger. Noble hops are low in bitterness and high in aroma.There is no good reason for me using whole leaf hops, I just wanted to use them . Most recipes for Oktoberfest utilize hallertau hops, but the company I normally purchase from were out, so tettnanger is taking its place. I’m also using a very small amount of hops, only .25 ounces. Food scales are great for beer brewing so as to measure out these exact weights, since suppliers provide by the ounce, usually 1 oz, 5 oz, and a piss load of hops. Interestingly hops are part of the cannabis family, and at St. James Gate in Ireland, workers would often take breaks due to hops soporific effect.

I feel everything up to this point have been well thought out decision based on research and practice, yet the one ingredient that caused me headaches was the yeast. The yeast was my greatest point of contention. I have never made a braggot, nor did I have a wealth of recipes to look through. I wanted something that would help produce the right notes, be able to handle the higher alcohol level, and help with the malty taste. I ruled out sweet mead yeast, as it has a tendency to produce fruit notes and tastes. I researched the Oktoberfest from white labs and believe that it would do the trick. It can handle medium to high alcohol levels, and all the exact notes I wanted were developed specifically for Oktoberfest beer, which was part of the meads character. It seems obvious, but since these is such an uncharted territory for me, the need to be sure and have some sound reasoning for my choices of ingredients and the amounts was necessary. The draw back is that the yeast strand is a lager, which means it works best in very cold temperatures- optimal temperatures is 58 degrees Fahrenheit. I have a plan on how to deal with and will discuss it in a later post.

Be sure to check for updates, as brew day is coming soon, and I will be chronicling the events leading up to and on the day of brewing my braggot.

Don’t forget I’m looking for a name for this Braggot. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, please post a comment at the bottom.

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Posted by admin on October 27th, 2009 :: Filed under Braggot, homebrewing

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This is part 1 of my creation of my Oktoberfest braggot mead.

We are in the midst of October, one of my favorite months. I’m not a fan of the heat, and we have moments (2 to 3 days) of cooler weather here in Louisiana. I, also, become less fanatical about the temperature of my homebrew with the cooler temperatures. However, there are 2 reasons, especially, that I love about October: 1. Starr’s birthday and 2. Oktoberfest, or as the locals refer to it Wies’n. My brother, years ago, visited Oktoberfest in Munich, and knew my love for great German beer snuck out a stein from one of the beer tents. As you can see, the stein is no small liquid container. Neal, in fact, placed it in his pants to hide it. . . The German ladies were going wild over him, I assume, with his supposed endowments. I have cleaned and sanitized profusely after having that image seared into my brain.

I briefly visited Munich in my travels before, and enjoyed some outstanding drinks (i.e. beers). I know this is a mead blog, but just stay with me for a moment. Märzen/Oktoberfest style beers are my favorite. Oktoberfest is referred to as Märzen because before the advent of refrigeration, early German law prohibited brewing during the warm months (spring and summer) due to beer spoilage. This led to Oktoberfest brewed in March (März), laid down in icy cellars for the non-brewing months, and finished during the fall season. Paulaner has a good version that is best if you can find it on tap during the fall; otherwise, it will be an older brew and less fresh. I have looked through my old recipes and Zymurgy issues to find an Oktoberfest style beer recipe that I could translate into a braggot style mead. I have found it.

In preparation for this mead, as I have previously stated, I reviewed some of my old attempts at creating an authentic Oktoberfest styles and read some articles. One thing I had to keep in mind is a good Oktoberfest is a balance between malt and hops. However, in thinking of the braggot, the idea of using buckwheat honey floated through my mind because of the lack of fruity notes in the BJCP guidelines for Oktoberfest styles. Buckwheat honey has malty tones to it, and it tastes similar to molasses. The other notion that came across my head is the fact that this was a braggot, thus carbonation would be essential. I’m feeling that forced carbonation into a Cornelius keg might be in order. I have never attempted this, but learning is the fun part.

In honor of Starr’s birthday month (we celebrate her birthday over the course of the month), I have named this mead Starr’s Big Bottom Bounty. Is that too suggestive? Maybe Starr’s Fall Bounty might be a more suited name. I am always open to suggestions. If you have an idea for a name for this mead, please post it at the bottom. Whoever names the drink may get a bottle or two of this batch.

In the next post, I’ll discuss the ingredients I’ll be using and the recipe. So, come back soon.

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Posted by admin on October 16th, 2009 :: Filed under Braggot, Mead
Tags :: Oktoberfest

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As I have stated before, I started homebrewing with beer. I strictly brewed beer for over a year. I enjoyed the process, the multitude of ingredients, combination of ingredients, and how it was cheaper to brew a huge batch of quality beer for less than picking it up in the grocery store. I had many batches turn south for one reason or another, but from reading and testing, less batches had to be thrown out. There really is nothing worst than dumping 5 gallons of beer because of your mistakes. I started with extract brewing and moved up to partial mash brewing (grain heavy). The fact that I was a homebrewer first makes more sense as the store continues.

About a year into homebrewing, Ben mentioned the ease of making mead. A fan of literature, especially of Norse Mythology, I knew of the existence of mead, but never saw it in stores. Admittedly, I did not seek it out with gusto, but that it was a common drink of yesteryear, I knew. Ben purchased about  4 to 5 lbs of local honey, I had some ale strand of yeast lying around (I can’t even remember the exact strand), and there were those buckets. I don’t think we boiled the honey at all, but I can’t recall all the steps, as I was not taking careful notes of my procedures and ingredients at the time.

So, we mixed the ingredients together in one our the homebrewing 6 gallon buckets and let it sit for 2 weeks. . . Ellipses to signify the first major mistake. I know you are wondering why this is the first mistake. I was using an ale strand of yeast that I did not create a starter with to have an entire civilization of yeast active before pitching, and I did not have any nutrients or energizers when pitching the yeast. Therefore, it would take the yeast longer to become active, and the yeast would not finish processing all of the sugars into alcohol after 2 weeks. I believe the only reason that any of the sugar was processed is that the yeast was White Labs and had enough little guys to get the process moving, and the relative low amount of honey to process did not hurt. These are just conjectures, and I may be wrong.

Two weeks after first pitching the yeast, we bottle the mead. Being homebrewers, we decided that a little fizzle in our meadizzle was appropriate. I went there and I’m staying there. The same amount of corn sugar that we used to carbonate the beer was used to carbonate the mead . . . Here is where all the bad things converged and became an explosive, messy concoction. All my homebrewing beers (a.k.a. bottles and bottles of beer) was stored in the pantry of my apartment.

After about a week or two ( the exact time eludes me), my roommate at the time went into the pantry to retrieve some morsel of food, and the second he closed the door there was a muffled “pop” followed immediately by the sound of shattering glass and something hitting the pantry door from the inside. Carefully opening the pantry, a mead bottle had shattered. We quickly closed it and another bottle shattered. Over the course of the next few months (could have been longer), our pantry had became a game Russian Roulette with mead bottles when something was desired from the pantry. It did enhance horror movies. Also, there was a sweet, pungent, sticky smell that emitted from the pantry.

More explanations:

Carbonating a fermented beverage is done by allowing the residual yeast to create carbon dioxide in an air  tight container. When filling bottles of homebrewed beer, a space is left to give the gas some room, otherwise it will create enough tension to pop the top of bottles and sometimes explode, although this is rare. How did I unwittingly create Mead Bombs?

1. As stated, I didn’t let the yeast finish fermenting.

2. Adding the same amount of corn sugar for carbonation of mead.  So there was already a lot of sugar left from the honey from my quick fermenting process, and adding a lot more gave each bottle a lot of sugar to consume. This created an over abundance of carbon dioxide, which created over pressurized bottles and that lead to explosivo.

That was a fun trip down memory lane.

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Posted by admin on October 12th, 2009 :: Filed under homebrewing, meadmaking, yeast

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Ok, I am not a beekeeper, but I have the utmost admiration and respect for the guys and gals in netty hats. They are imperative to the continuation of my favorite hobby. The American Beekeeper Federation is having there annual conference and tradeshow in Orlando, Fl January 2010. I drool a little think about the honey on display, and marvel at the latest and greatest in beekeeping.

What is telling is the theme of the conference/tradeshow: “Keeping the Hive Alive”. With the phenomena of CCD (colonial collapse disorder), and the lost of millions of dollars for the U.S. it seems an apt name for the annual conference.

If you do not know anything about CCD, Time online has 2 good articles on the phenomena, and how it impacts not only the production of honey, but the pollination of crops. Well, the first article is about Rowan Jacobsen’s Fruitless Fall, a really good overview. The book has recently come out in paperback. I wish I could get it for my iPhone kindle, but I digress. I’m looking forward to picking it up soon. You can find the other article here. This article was written recently and it states that CCD is a more complex issue than originally thought. . . I think it was widely known that this problem was rather complex, since it is referred to as a “phenomena”.

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Posted by admin on October 6th, 2009 :: Filed under Beekeeping
Tags :: Beekeeping

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