Mead v1.0

A decade ago I was really into making my own wine, beer and mead. I was never able to create a good wine, but I made good beer and mead. I quit the doing it a few years ago.
A few months back, when I was talking to my boss who is making mead, I was suddenly struck with the urge to try to make mead again. The first mead-must has fermented to completion as I write this. The must taste surprisingly good, prior to the fermentation, which gives me high hope for the end result. I'm not creating mead in the strictest version as I have added an assortment of spices and hops.

The recipe:

• 6kg honey
• 100g Saaz hops
• 2ts ginger-powder
• 3ts cinnamon-powder
• 0.5ts carnation-powder (nellik)
• lemon rind from two lemons

I added some water, hops, spice and honey to a kettle and boiled it for about 10 minutes. Then I strained the worth through a cloth to remove particles. After which I transferred the must to a fermentation tank and added water for a total volume of 25 liter. The oechsle weight was 1,060.I had problem getting the fermentation to start and had to use to packs of yeast. After three weeks of fermentation the weight was reduced to 1,000. Which results in (1,060 - 1,000) /8 = 7,5% of alcohol.

When racking the wine after three weeks of fermentation the wine was surprisingly clear. Even though I had bought win clearer I opted against using it. I moved the wine into a cooler room, where I left it for a week before bottling it. (The image on the right shows the mead after 5 weeks of bottle storage.)

The labels were printed on a regular laser printer, on regular printer-paper. For adherence I used a thin coating of milk. Which makes the label stick very good, but still easy to remove with water.

Now it's resting comfortably in the cellar. Where I expect it to stay between three and six months.

During this process I found this page very usefull:

• A nice faq for home-brew.

Mead v3.0

Mead v2.0 looked too dark and tasted too much of hops as must, therefore one week after v2.0 was made I made another one. It is mostly done the same way. Except that the hops is boiled less and I droped the anise. Because I did not have the same honey I had to use sweedish honey.

The recipe:

• 13kg honey from Brasil added in 7.7kg and 5kg batches.
  
• lemon rind from two lemons, 10 min in 10l
  
• 150g Saaz hops pelets, 15 min in 10l
• 4ts ginger-powder, 3 weeks
  
• One stick cinnamon, 3 weeks
  
• 32 carnation (nellik), 3 weeks
  

With the yeast I'm using I get aproximately a reduction of 1.010 OE a week.

Mead v2.0

Mead v1.0 looks promising, but unfortunately it tasted better as must than after the fermentation. I hope that storage will improve it. Inspired by the fact that the (1.040 oechsle) must tasted great I'm making a sweeter mead this time. I read a very interesting and well written book about Mead making called The Complete Meadmaker.

I used the no-heat method described in The Complete Meadmaker, in which the honey is not heated at all. According to the book this will preserve the flavor and aroma of the honey. Also instead of boiling spices with the hops I used whole spice (cinnamon, carnation, and anise + ground ginger) and only ground them lightly in the mortar. Then I left them in the must for three weeks.

I boiled 10l of water for one hour. I left 80g of Saaz hops in the water for the entire duration, 30g was added after 30 minutes, and another 30g after 45 minute. Lemon rind from two lemons were also left in the entire time. The resulting must was very dark. It was undrinkable sweet and had a overpowering taste of hops.

I only had Dry Mead yeast which in theory can survive unto 18% alcohol. So I added only 8kg honey, giving me a total volume of 25l with OE 1.100. Which in turn will give 13,75% alcohol. After the fermentation I will kill off the yeast by adding sulfate and moving the must to a cold room. After which I will added more honey to give me OE of 1.040 in the finished mead.

The recipe:

• 13kg honey from Brasil added in 8kg and 5kg batches.
  
• lemon rind from two lemons, 60 min in 10l
  
• 80g Saaz hops pelets, 60 min in 10l
• 30g Saaz hops pelets, 30 min in 10l
• 30g Saaz hops pelets, 15 min in 10l
  
• 4ts ginger-powder, 3 weeks
  
• One stick cinnamon, 3 weeks
  
• 32 carnation (nellik), 3 weeks
  
• 1ts anise

Champagne, value for your money

The ranking is done based on score^3/price. Listing is Name - Product nr at Vinmonopolet, Price, Score.

Veuve Cliquot Demi-Sec - 30569, 344, 10
Pierre Peters Cuvée de Reserve Grand Cru, brut - 40049, 269, 9
Claude Cazals Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Cuvée Vive, extra Brut - 44477, 275, 9
Jacquart Brut Mosaique - 50488, 289, 9
Larmandier-Bernier Terre de Vertus Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature - 40366, 299, 9
Jacquesson Cuvée No - 43739, 337, 9
Veuve Clicquot, sec - 882, 359, 9
Bollinger Spécial Cuvée, brut - 879, 389, 9
Charlemagne Mesnillèsime Grand Cru - 40434, 458, 9
Billecart-Salmon Réserve, brut - 7311, 319, 8
Lanson Rosé Label Brut Rosé - 6407, 349, 8
Dom Perignon - 2321, 969, 11
Deutz Brut Classic - 11609, 299, 7
Dom Ruinart Brut - 3567, 900, 10
Devaux Blanc de Noirs - 56104, 299, 5
Deutz Rosé - 10109, 389, 5

Value for money

RED WINE
Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon 79 nok, score 9
Rosemount Shiraz 135 nok, score 10,5
Eleganta Vinum Merlot 89 nok, score 9
Faustino Slectión de Familia 129 nok, score 10
Armador Cabernet Sauvignon 100 nok, score 9

WHITE WINE
Casablanca Chardonnay 112 nok, score 10
Viña la Rosa la Capitana Chardonnay 42851 129 nok, score 10
Toso Moscato d'asti 67 8 nok, score
Viña la Rosa Don Reca Chardonnay 134 nok, score 10
Strub Niersteiner Silvaner Kabinett Trocken 132 nok, score 9

SWEET WINE
Fresita 87 nok, score 8,5
Gran Feudo Moscatel 106 nok, score 9,5
Churchill's 10 Y. Tawny 219 nok, score 10
Warre's Quinta da Cavadina Vintage Port 221 nok, score 10
Sandeman Fine Tawny 166 nok, score 9
Smith Woodhouse Late Bottled Vintage 229 nok, score 10
Barão de Vilar Colheita 239 nok, score 10
Vigneti di Moron Recioto della Valpolicella 168 nok, score 10

SPARKLING WINE
Vaux Riesling Brut 168 nok, score 9
Fontanafredda Asti 124 nok, score 8
Nottage Hill Chardonnay, brut 129 nok, score 8
Cartron Crémant de Bourgogne Blanc de Noir, brut 145 nok, score 8
Astoria Lounge 105 nok, score 7

Value for money

I recently decided to change the way I generated the ranking to reflect that I now am willing to pay more for better quality wine. The ranking is currently calculated as (score*score*score)/price where score is my average score for that wine. Before next time I hope to change the ranking to calculate price based on liter and not bottle, since the bottle size my vary between some of the products, especially the sweet wines.

RED WINE
Rosemount Shiraz 129 nok, score 10
Faustino Slectión de Familia 129,9 nok, score 10
Rosemount Shiraz Cabernet 99 nok, score 9
Jacob's Creek Shiraz Cabernet 99,9 nok, score 9
Armador Cabernet Sauvignon 100 nok, score 9

WHITE WINE
Toso Moscato d'asti 67 nok, score 8
Seehof Rheinhessen Riesling Trocken 132,9 nok, score 10
Viña la Rosa la Capitana Chardonnay 142 nok, score 10
Viña la Rosa Don Reca Chardonnay 152 nok, score 10
Markus Molitor Niedermenninger Herrenberg Riesling Spätlese 154 nok, score 10

SWEET WINE
Gran Feudo Moscatel 105 nok, score 9,5
Orange Muscat & Flora 102 nok, score 9
Choya Umeshu 80 nok, score 8
Rozès Late Bottled Vintage 104 nok, score 8,5
Vigneti di Moron Recioto della Valpolicella 170 nok, score 10

Value for money

I finally got around to adding the wines for a large wine tasting in Oslo last autumn. This changed the best buy list a bit. As last time the score (based on taste) is 1-11 and the ranking system is based on score*score/price.

Redwine:
Rosemount Shiraz Cabernet, 99 NOK, Score 9
Jacob's Creek Shiraz Cabernet, 100 NOK, Score 9
Rosemount Shiraz, 129 NOK, Score 10
Faustino Selection de Familia, 130 NOK, Score 10

Whitewine:
Loosen Riesling Kabinett, 80 NOK, Score 8
Seehof Rheinhessen Riesling Trocken, 133 NOK, Score 10
Vina la Rosa la Capitana Chardonnay, 142 NOK, Score 10
Vina la Rosa Don Reca Chardonnay, 152 NOK, Score 10
Roc Blanco Perelada, 125 NOK, Score 9

Desertwine:
Orange Muscat & Flora, 102 NOK, Score 9
Vigneti di Moron Recioto della Valpolicella, 170 NOK, Score 10
Ch. Bellevu 157 NOK, Score 9
Pansal del Calas, 199 NOK, Score 10
Niepoort Twany 10 Years Old, 165 NOK, Score 9
Sandman Fine Twany, 166 NOK, Score 9