schramm s mead.

[Ginwu]

I doubt any one has had this mead yet but it is the best mead hands down that you could possibly ever have. Technically it's not for sale yet, I visited the readers recently. It is not open publicly yet but I got to try some samples. Oh my, almost a wine quality to this man's mead. He has also published a book that I think every mead maker should check out.

 

[Yooper]

I haven't had any of his mead recently (I live too far away) but he shared a few bottles of my favorite a few years ago. I think he called it something like "Heart of Darkness"? Anyway, it was awesome stuff.

I've been keeping tabs on his business opening and it sounds like it's on the home stretch. It'll be fun to visit once its open.

Ken's a good guy, and I know we all wish him the best.

 

[fatbloke]

Hell, even I've been thinking about any excuse to make the trip once he's got the meadery up and running.......

And that'd be no mean feat. About 4000 miles each way.

I've read his book from cover to cover at least twice and while it's aimed primarily at the US market/makers and not forgetting some of the ingredients are impossible to find here, I've been encouraged by his writings etc and it'd be a privilege to shake his hand.......

 

[surlytheduff]

Hell, even I've been thinking about any excuse to make the trip once he's got the meadery up and running.......

And that'd be no mean feat. About 4000 miles each way.

Michigan's a great place to visit, aside from the quality mead & beer being produced here. Having said that, within a 15 minute or so radius you'll have Schramm's place, B. Nektar and Kuhnhenn to visit. Worthy of a mead-cataion.

 

[fatbloke]

Michigan's a great place to visit, aside from the quality mead & beer being produced here. Having said that, within a 15 minute or so radius you'll have Schramm's place, B. Nektar and Kuhnhenn to visit. Worthy of a mead-cataion.

Dunno about the last one, but I've read plenty about Brad's stuff too. Also sounds like a quality brew.......

Problem would be spreading myself too thin. Michigan, then down to Oklahoma to meet up with a friend, then across to California to check in with the couple of family members there.

It'd be bloody handy if the US was the same size as the UK, but it's not

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

Dunno about the last one, but I've read plenty about Brad's stuff too. Also sounds like a quality brew.......

Problem would be spreading myself too thin. Michigan, then down to Oklahoma to meet up with a friend, then across to California to check in with the couple of family members there.

It'd be bloody handy if the US was the same size as the UK, but it's not

I wouldnt mind rowing across the ocean if it were a wee bit shorter distance. Theres many more Iron maiden shows over there.

 

[fatbloke]

I wouldnt mind rowing across the ocean if it were a wee bit shorter distance. Theres many more Iron maiden shows over there.

Bruce used to live down on Hove seafront...... but yes, seen them a couple of times........:rockin:

 

[WVMJ]

And to WV for some elderberry mead tastings. I was searching for meaderies in MI and noticed some of them sell near us, the BNectar guys looked like they had some interesting meads. I bet the beekeepers in MI are happy to have 3 different meaderies wanting local honey! Reports are that MI is having a very good honey crop this year. WVMJ

 

[JRapp]

If anyone is curious I live in Ferndale, Michigan. Schramm's Mead is now open and is freaking amazing. He has Blackberry, Ginger, Raspberry, The statement(cherries and some other) and I am actually looking at a fresh bottle of Heart of Darkness right now on my desk.

His menu looks great, its set up much like a wine bar with small dishes designed to accentuate the tastes of his meads.

Ive walked by it for months and months waiting for it to open(its 2 blocks away) and im stoked.
(i just wish I wasn't a broke college student)

 

[zofoandrew]

I'm going to resurrect this thread cause Schramm's is starting to distribute in my area at least. I live in Troy and am really getting into mead. Ken Schramm's book was really informative (I recommend it if you want to learn more about mead). I want to make some melomels out of fresh fruit this summer because he stresses getting awesome ingredients, not grocery store stuff.

I had The Statement last night with some chocolate and now I'm determined to make something similar. The bottle says 51% Traverse City Balaton cherries and 49% honey wine. It is 14% abv. I wonder if its as simple a recipe as that. (ha) He says in his book that the pits provide vanilla, nutty, and sometimes woody character. I didn't taste that and I would think that you would want to make must with juice from cherries since its so much of the fermentable sugars. I would probably use 71B-1122 since I've heard its good for cherries (and its just cool) and do a starter with my stir plate. I have no experience (successfully) crushing fruit, but i'll read about that.

I buy honey from a local beekeeper. I'll probably go to Eastern Market early July to get tart cherries. I'm not expecting this to taste like The Statement, but I'm sure it'll be good. How man pounds of cherries should I buy for 51% of the must in 5 gallons? Getting the ratio of cherry must to mead is going to be the most difficult part so any advice is greatly appreciated

 

[noblesquirrel]

One thing that I have noticed in the handful of bottles I've had the chance to try is that he has a "go big or go home" philosophy to them. The only issue with that is when you get a bottle from a batch of raspberry where fermentation has clearly stalled and he attempted to save it by adding more nutrients. All I could nose initially was a blast of multivitamin and dead yeast, followed by raspberry. The taste was better but it was under-fermented. Fortunately, the raspberries offered plenty of acid & tannin to kind of balance it out, but that's the danger of playing with fire; sometimes you get burned. The others I have tried were really great, right in line with the most recent batches of Michael's stuff from Moonlight. Big, bold & brash.

 

[TeufelHundenM198]

His website is absolutely terrible.

Having moved past that, I really like what he's doing over there with the restaurant side of it. Too bad I have literally no reason to visit Michigan outside of trying his mead or I'd try to make a trip.

 

[zofoandrew]

Michigan sucks if you hate nature and beer. Founders, Bell's, Kuhnhenn

 

[KenSchramm]

One thing that I have noticed in the handful of bottles I've had the chance to try is that he has a "go big or go home" philosophy to them. The only issue with that is when you get a bottle from a batch of raspberry where fermentation has clearly stalled and he attempted to save it by adding more nutrients. All I could nose initially was a blast of multivitamin and dead yeast, followed by raspberry. The taste was better but it was under-fermented. Fortunately, the raspberries offered plenty of acid & tannin to kind of balance it out, but that's the danger of playing with fire; sometimes you get burned. The others I have tried were really great, right in line with the most recent batches of Michael's stuff from Moonlight. Big, bold & brash.

Thanks for the info on the aromas and flavors of this mead. I wish I knew which batch this was, so we could pull a bottle from the library to see where it is now.

I will say this: while the characteristics you noted were, I am sure, accurate in your view, the causes are very much not correct. We have never had a stalled batch of Raspberry, and I have never tried to save a batch with more nutrient. In fact, raspberry fermentations are consistently the most vigorous of all of our melomels, and we have never had a batch fail to go straight through to labeled alcohol levels in one fell swoop. If anything, raspberry fermentations are too vigorous. The last two batches had to be separated into two vessels in primary because they blew the lid. They are greyhounds that make the Statement and Blackberry look like water buffaloes. They are generally done in 14 days or so.

We use reduced melomel nutrient additions on Raspberry - 150 or 200 gallon schedules for batches with initial volumes of 500 gallons before racking off the fruit. We also shorten up the time on the fruit to try to control the acidity and tannin levels, raspberries and raspberry pips contribute a lot of both. We also use plenty of honey in primary to insure residual sweetness levels.

 

[Kody_Wulfe]

Ok... who is from Michigan... would love to have a local mentor......

Does Waterford sound familiar to anyone???

Kody