Where do I sign up? Link. -m

Some of you were at my Aug 2 Meade Classe at MoreFlavor in Los Altos. Here’s the latest: I racked it to a very full 3 gallon fermenter today. The gravity measured at 1.004, a drop of 142 (!) points, which puts it at just a hair under 19% ABV. It’s potent stuff. Good fruit character and some whisky-like heat. It will calm down substantially over the next 5-10 years. :-) -m

A new mead-only competition in Colorado. Submissions for this year’s competition accepted Sep 8 through 18. -m

A great mead tasting event at Rabbit’s Foot tonight. There are a few new commercial meads since my last visit, an excellent raspberry mead and a saison-style braggot. And lots of homebrew mead flowing freely as well.

Say, if anyone in the South Bay is interested in a study group for Mead Judge Certification (likely in the form of weekly meetings at Rabbit’s Foot), let me know. -m

My traditional mead, the one that took years to make took the gold in the 24B (Traditional, semi-sweet) category at the mead-only Arizona Mead Cup. (results) This one goes back before the Great Hard Drive Crash, where (combined with a freak that-directory-didn’t-get-backed-up-bug) my early meadmaking records were lost. But there are a few hints left online.

Here it is, in Jan 2006, almost through fermentation. How nice and clear it looks. It was started in November of 2005 with some of the clearest orange blossom honey I’ve ever seen, from Pam the honey lady at the Mountain View Farmer’s Market. I literally lost an entire night of sleep over this batch, when I incorrectly added some runoff from oak chips.

Seriously, this was about my 4th batch of mead ever. I also bottled it way too soon. It carbonated up in the bottles, and had an unbalanced sweetness to it (called “insipid” in the tasting lingo). I had to un-bottle it, put it back in a fermenter, and add a carefully-measured dose of wine tannin, giving it just that bit of bite that balances the sweetness. It also darkened the color noticeably, which I wasn’t too happy about. Can’t argue with results, though.

The only other problem: There are only 6 bottles of this left in the world. -m

My next Meade Classe will be on Saturday, August 2nd, which happens to be Mead Day. Come learn…and taste. Full details:

Mead brewing and appreciation class

Mead, honey wine, “the nectar of the gods”. Whatever you call it MoreFlavor Los Altos is sponsoring a class to help you learn more about this wonderful fermented beverage and equip you to brew your own.

Saturday, August 2, 2008 2:00 – 4:00 pm
MoreFlavor
991 N. San Antonio Road
Los Altos, CA 94022

Taught by an award-winning meadmaker: Learn about

• Different types of meads
• Brewing techniques
• How boiling affects mead
• The three most important factors in mead brewing
• How to taste and evaluate mead

Food and drink are included in the class materials fee of $10. Seating is limited. Email me at mdubinko@yahoo.com to reserve a spot today. -m