Advanced Meadmaking

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Advanced Meadmaking Ken Schramm 1545 McManus
Dr. Troy,MI 48084 schramk_at_resa.net 248.816.1592
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Advanced Meadmaking
AKA Preventing ESP Meads
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Quality Mead
Strong Appealing Aromatics Great Table
Length Complements Food
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Quality Mead
Accurately Express the
Character of the Honey Stable and Capable of
Improving with Age Induce Sexual Abandon
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Yeast Nutrition
The Path to a Great Mead Must Pass Through a
Healthy Fermentation
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Yeast Nutrition
Nutritive Needs Reproductive/Growth
(Aerobic) Metabolic (Anaerobic)
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Aerobic Needs

• Nitrogen
• Oxygen

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Aerobic Needs

• Nitrogen
• Forms Free Amino Nitrogen
• Ammonia

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Aerobic Needs

• Nitrogen
• Free Amino Nitrogen
• Healthy Fermentation Minimums 130 - 200 ppm
• Info from Beer and Wine Science

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Aerobic Needs

• Nitrogen
• Beer gets Mucho Nitrogen from Malt and some small
  amounts from other grains - even high adjunct
  beers have plenty of FAN
• Wines get some (but not always enough) from
  Grapes

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Nitrogen

• In Beer, Increase in Gravity Results in Increase
  in
• Nitrogen Levels

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Nitrogen

• Mead How Much FAN is there?

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The Testing

• Five Samples
• Four Mead Musts and One Fruit Juice Sample
  (cherry)
• Cornell University Wine Lab
• Dr. Ben Gavitt

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The Testing

• Procedure -
• Measure 100 ml honey into a sanitized Pyrex
  vessel, dilute to 400 ml, stir with sanitized
  spoon, transfer to sterile vials
• Check Specific Gravity
• Ship via FedEx to NYSAES Lab

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The Testing

• Analyses -
• Sample 1 received FAN analysis, along with
  Sterility Check
• Samples 2-5 received FAN analysis
• Sample 6 received Residual Sugar Analysis, ETOH,
  Sterility Check Microbial Analysis

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The Testing

• Analyses
• Dr. Gavitt reported that all samples arrived in
  good condition, showed no signs of fermentation,
  and that FAN numbers were representative of mead
  musts.

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The Testing

• Results -
• Sample 1 Florida Tupelo (LK)
• OG 1.110
• 10 ppm FAN
• Sterility Check
• 1 x 106 Yeast/100 ml,
• Typ. of Saccharomyces (mellis?)
• 0 Viable Bacteria/100 ml (!)

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The Testing

• Results -
• Sample 2 Florida Orange Blossom (LK)
• OG 1.110
• 5 ppm FAN

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The Testing

• Results -
• Sample 3 Pure Clover (Kroger)
• OG 1.110
• 14 ppm FAN

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The Testing

• Results -
• Sample 4 Buckwheat (Private Selection)
• OG 1.106
• 21 ppm FAN

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The Testing

• Results -
• Sample 5 Pasteurized Cherry Juice (Swansons
  Juice Mill, Bear Lake, MI)
• OG 1.047
• 262 ppm FAN
• 12 lbs pitted fruit 1 gallon

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Nitrogen

• In Beer, Increase in Gravity Results in Increase
  in
• Nitrogen Levels

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Free Amino Nitrogen in Honey

• Lysine () Alanine
• Histadine () Cystine (?)
• Arginine Valine ()
• Aspartic Acid () Methionine
• Threonine Isoleucine
• Serine () Leucine
• Glutamic Acid Tyrosine ()
• Proline (1) Phenylalanine ()
• Glycine Tryptophan
• Dr. Jonathon White, Composition of Honey,
  from Honey, A Comprehensive Survey, Eva Crane,
  Ed

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Free Amino Nitrogen Uptake in Beer (Assimilation)

• Lysine 92 Alanine 73
• Histadine 87 Cystine 0 (trace)
• Arginine N/A Valine 80
• Aspartic Acid 80 Methionine 90
• Threonine N/A Isoleucine 86
• Serine 80 Leucine 88
• Glutamic Acid 82 Tyrosine 64
• Proline N/A Phenylalanine 56
• Glycine 54 Tryptophan 67
• Hardwick, 1983, from Yeast Technology,
• Reed Nagodawithana

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Conclusions about Nitrogen

• Less than 15 of optimal levels AT BEST

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Growth/Metabolic Needs

• Vitamins
• Minerals

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Vitamins

• Biotin takes part in all major biochemical
  reactions that involve protein synthesis, in
  nucleic acid synthesis, in carbohydrate
  metabolism, and in the synthesis of fatty acids.
  Its deficiency is clearly shown by poor growth
  and damaged plasma membranes.
• Yeast Technology,
• Reed Nagodawithana

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Biotin

• Most if not all strains (brewing yeast) show an
  absolute requirement for biotin.
• Malting and Brewing Science, Vol. 2, P. 567

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Biotin

• In wort - .56µg/100 ml
• Yeast Technology
• In honey - .066µg/100g
• (Negligible)
• Kitzes, et al, cited by Dr. Jonathon White,
  Composition of Honey, from Honey, A
  Comprehensive Survey, Eva Crane, Ed.
• Honey will be diluted about 3 or 41

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Vitamins

• Thiamine
• Isoleucine and valine biosynthesis and all
  transketolase reactions
• Yeast Technology
• Wort - 60 µg/100 ml
• Honey - 5/6 µg/100 g

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Vitamins

• Riboflavin
• Component of Coenzymes participating in
  oxidation reduction reactions
• Yeast Technology
• Wort - 33-46 µg/100 ml
• Honey - 5/6 µg/100 g

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Minerals

• Both growth and metabolism
• Calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, zinc
• Present in minor quantities
• Part of the buffering capacity of must

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The Testing

• Results -
• Sample 6 Raspberry Mead
• 15 lbs Michigan Raspberries
• 15 lbs Raspberry Blossom Honey
• .5 tsp DAP, .25 tsp Fermaid K/day
• OG Unknown
• FG 1.002 (corrected to 1.009 post lab)

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The Testing

• Results - Sample 6 Rasp. Mead
• ETOH 14.1
• Residual sugar 3.7 (w/v)
• Glucose 25.6 g/l
• Fructose 11.9
• Viable yeast/100 ml 5
• Viable bacteria 1 x 106

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The Testing

• Results -
• Sample 6 Raspberry Mead
• Yeast typical of Saccharomyces strains.
  Bacteria are long rods forming short chains.
  (Lactobaccillus sp.?)

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The Testing

• Possible Sources of Contamination
• Process (questionable, but) Equipment (Racking
  Cane, bottles, cork?)
• The Fruit (My Lead Suspect)
• Airborne contaminants, bug parts, plant matter

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The Testing

• Conclusions
• 1) Repetition is needed
• 2) Clean Traditional meads can be made by the
  no-heat method
• Sulfite may be needed for Melomels Metheglins

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The Testing

• http//www.nysaes.cornell.edu/fst/faculty/henick/N
  YSWAL/
• NYS Wine Lab Attn Ben Gavitt
• NYSAES-Food Science Lab
• 630 W. North St.
• Geneva, NY 14456
• USA
• 315-787-2263
• bkg1_at_cornell.edu

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Advanced Meadmaking Ken Schramm 1545 McManus
Dr. Troy,MI 48084 schramk_at_resa.net 248.816.1592