Uses for mead

[casual]

Like so many others, I have been reading for a while. In that time I have been brewing beer and wine. I had a try at mead recently, still going.
I have started a sugar wash that has been going really slow. As a result tried racking plum wine and putting the sludge into the wash, no good. I tried again with the mead, and the wash has taken off. So there is a reason to make mead.
Now to upset people, no I am not trolling but I have an air still. I get to use it soon.

[Bigbob]

Welcome casual! My last post was to welcome recoil who has an air still. He wants to know what kind of fuse it needs, maybe you can help him! Welcome again and stay safe

[S-Cackalacky]

Welcome to HD. Didn't quite follow what you were doing with the mead, wine, and sugar wash. To give a little better direction to your reading, read the links in my signature. Also, take a look in the "Tried and True Recipes" section of the forums for some more successful recipes.

I don't know much about air stills, but I'm sure someone will jump in with comments.

Good luck to you and stay safe.

[casual]

Thank you Bigbob and S-Cackalacky,

Bigbob,
I am way too new to give advice to anyone yet. More reading and lots of learning to go.

S-Cackalacky,
I will get into your links and read through them.
Basically, what I was trying to say was that before I thought about starting to distill, I have been making wine andhad a go at mead. I really don't like what I have tasted in mead before, but not much different to making wine so maybe if I try it can be to my taste. It is still a project in progress.
However, my sugar wash started well but almost stalled, maybe it did, Instead of doing a fresh starter to kick start the wash, I added the used yeast from the bottom of a demijohn of Plum wine that I had almost finished. It did nothing. I then looked at the mead and decided that it needed racking. Again I put the dead yeast into the wash. To my surprise it started up instantly.
Just think about that for a moment, a wash ferments in a week to a fortnight. Mead will easily take a year. Result - if you like mead you get a drink, and some viable yeast after winter.

Just a thought.

[NZChris]

Have you tried making Joe's Ancient Orange Mead? I haven't had a failure yet. I use the dregs to make a honey/whiskey, Glayva style, liqueur.

[S-Cackalacky]

I don't know the recipe for your sugar wash, but guessing that the honey mead lees may have had some nutrients that the sugar wash was missing. Dead yeast are an excellent nutrient for live yeast. For a better chance of success with a sugar wash, take a look in the "Tried and True Recipes" section of the forums. The Birdwatdher's and Wineo's recipes are excellent recipes for sugar washes.

[HDNB]

ive done a few mead distillations. the ferments were all slooow. i read somewhere in here thats normal as the bees have a natural preservative in their honey to prevent fermentation and spoilage. can't offer the reference, but it made sense to me.
the straight mead ferments after oaking were nice, not a big flavour profile, i would describe it as "tight" nothing bad...the good note was just that... "a" note. made corn whiskey with the dregs like NZC suggested^^ and added fresh honey and corn and some honey backset... and it was friggin awesome!

[casual]

Thanks to you all.
I am really just a newby who believes in getting in there and making the mistakes. There are two ways to learn. Make mistakes, or learn from others who have been there and done that.
Really, the only reason for starting a mead is that I started beekeeping as well. I need to get into some good recipes, and Joe's ancient orange mead has to be in there.
I agree that there was something in the mead that added to the nutrients, but I used the same yeast in the plum and the mead, so it is possibly more related to the Honey than the yeast. The change in ferment rate was dramatic.
NZChris, that liqueur sounds very interesting - started drooling when I read that.

Looking forward to getting in to this hobby.

[rad14701]

Fermentation issues can be directly related to honey... I've tried using honey too many times and have given up even though I had over a ton in the basement... Between honey not fermenting to dry reliably and tainting due to improper storage issues, I've given up on honey as it's more aggravation than it's worth... My father was a beekeeper for close to 70 years...

[phillmystill]

Like so many others, I have been reading for a while. In that time I have been brewing beer and wine. I had a try at mead recently, still going.
I have started a sugar wash that has been going really slow. As a result tried racking plum wine and putting the sludge into the wash, no good. I tried again with the mead, and the wash has taken off. So there is a reason to make mead.
Now to upset people, no I am not trolling but I have an air still. I get to use it soon.

Hi casual,

I too have an airstill!

With a bit of effort it is possible to make decent drinks with this equipment but be prepared to stay away from turbo yeasts, make multiple distillations and proper cuts.

Here's my experience of making a neutral:

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=51919

[ihatemurphy]

ive done a few mead distillations. the ferments were all slooow. i read somewhere in here thats normal as the bees have a natural preservative in their honey to prevent fermentation and spoilage. can't offer the reference, but it made sense to me.
the straight mead ferments after oaking were nice, not a big flavour profile, i would describe it as "tight" nothing bad...the good note was just that... "a" note. made corn whiskey with the dregs like NZC suggested^^ and added fresh honey and corn and some honey backset... and it was friggin awesome!

honey does not spoil in the comb for a couple of reasons, its acidic, the enzymes introduced into it form the bee's gut and the fact that its stored in an air tight container. in my experience mead needs add yeast nutrients.