Re: Going to try to make Mead

On 11/25/03 11:56 PM, in article [EMAIL PROTECTED],
"Thirsty Viking" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> "Rich" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
> news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> Hello all,
>> I have decided to try to make a mead.  I;m sure I will be tapping into
>> this group of experts!  Looking forward to learn alot from all of you.
> 
> Welcome I lurked here for almost a year before I jumped in and
> made one.  Feel free to ask questions and don't be intimidated if
> you hear RADICALLY DIFFERENT APPROACHES...
> 
> About the only thing everyone agrees on is that the tools of
> meadmaking (Carboys, stirers, Hydrometer etc...) need to
> be sterilized before each use.  oh yeah and Mead is made
> from honey  Anything else is pretty much open to interpretation.

Well --- as a matter of fact, I will disagree! LOL -- I never sterilize
anything, however I sometimes sanitize using a bisulfite solution. But most
of the time, I simply make sure things are rinsed very well in hot water and
are clean and dry when I store them away. This way nothing bad really grows
on it. Other than that, I rely on the fact that meads and wines with their
low pH, high alcohol levels and judicious use of bisulfite will keep
anything harmful to humans and mead in check. I have not had a spoiled batch
yet. I think we get a bit too paranoid about "sterilization" when just
simple cleanliness is adequate. Perhaps this comes from beer brewers where
it is much more important to sanitize everything as the pH and alcohol is
not at a preservative level.

If you think about how most commercial wines are made, there is no
sterilization of the crushers and presses. They are simply hosed down well
and kept clean. Grapes are tucked in from the fields and dumped in. No
sterilizing here. They are crushed, along with lots of bugs, molds, etc. A
little sulfite keeps the molds from multiplying and once the wine is
fermented, the other things help preserve it.

-- 
Greg Cook
http://homepage.mac.com/gregcook/Wine

(remove spamblocker from my email)