Goldenrod Honey for Mead

I found a source for bulk goldenrod honey in NC. Reading on the site I get the impression it is acceptable to use in large quantities, for mead, and imparts a potentially buttery flavour and a good deal of sweetness...

Any updates on goldenrod meads, or suggestions on use??? It will be a while before I tackle this, but I am attempting to ask questions before I start this time...

any reasons to avoid it???

I'm trying to get an idea of what honeys are available and most desirable.
http://www.winepress.us/forums/inde...-use-in-which-mead-recipelets-compile-a-list/
links to: http://www.gotmead.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1960&Itemid=629
http://www.utahpagans.org/MeadLecture.htm
http://www.ebeehoney.com/HoneyVarieties.html

unrelated question...

I haven't noticed anything about skimming the honey wort when making mead w/out boiling... I "simmered" mine and skimmed a little... is skimming necessary??? does it cause headache, etc... if you don't???

I don't heat my honey other than placing it in warm water to reduce the viscosity. I've never had a batch go bad, so I see no reason to.

Goldenrod can make a great mead, but can have an earthy, "arm-pit" smell particularly during fermentation.

Heating/boiling and skimming are not necessary to make mead though there may be some types of honey that do benefit from it.

sounds good. I read somewhere that not skimming can contribute to hangover symptoms... I think I will continue to give it enough heat to kill any critters and call it good enough (160 should do that, right?)... then again I might try some as per Bryan's suggestion.

man, that arm pit aroma just sounds too tempting! I'll have to give it a shot.

Theres no reason to heat honey other than getting it runny enough to actually get it in the fermentor. I get much less hungover on my noob made, unheated mead than on anything I've bought commersially.

goldenrod honey tends to be darker and with darker mead you are taking more chances with your final product. darker honey's can have lots more flavor, but sometimes that flavor can be kind of funky and there isn't any reliable way to test for this. just make it, it's not like it will be "bad", just might not be crazy good (although it might be super fantastic).
mead's gonna give you a helluva hangover if you drink too much of it no matter what you do. plan accordingly.

Frydog... I will take your warning into consideration (seems "goldenrod" honey varies quite a bit)... I am going to get a little experience before I tackle the goldenrod anyway. I will let you know if it ends up being "super fantastic."

I can't rule out that the wildflower honey I used in my "test batch" has goldenrod in it anyway... it was a medium dark honey.

Thanks Insomniac, and cheers!

any fall honey is usually darker honey and all goldenrod is fall honey.

to get the best repeatable results, use the lightest honey you can find. i am not telling you to only use light honey, just saying that it is more repeatable. since we don't do this for a business, it doesn't matter one lick if one batch is different from the last, and i personally think that is one of the great joys of mead making.

i have two batches going now that were made with honeylocust honey. it was the clearest honey i have ever come across, and full of amazing delicate flavors. used K1V on it to try to keep those flavors in it.

*off topic*
i use only fall honey, the dark stuff, when making beer. it's the only honey that has strong enough flavors to muscle up through the malt to make its presence known.

Thanks for the off topic tip... I've only ever brewed one batch of beer with honey (don't know why I haven't done it more), but it's something I am interested in.

I have brewed "identical" beers with the yeast as a only variable to compare, but overall my experience is still limited (esp. in the mead/wine department); I am really looking forward to this new hobby and I agree that the variety makes life much more interesting... a huge perk of homebrewing.

EDIT: to your off topic response, how about a buckwheat honey in beer... I understand it is quite dark and has a lot of character... including a "barn yard" character here in the east...