Brother Adam Mead

[AZhornedtoad]

So I'm about to embark on Batch # 13 and thought, for luck, I'd try a traditional, a la Br. Adam of Buckfast Abby. There is a nice essay he wrote on Mead :http://www.pedigreeapis.org/biblio/artcl/FAmead53en.html, that I will try to follow as best I can in the American SW.
General Recipe:
1 gallon of distilled water (Br. Adam says rainwater is best, but distilled will do)
3 lbs clover honey (can't get heather here but Ill add some heather tips in the secondary).
K1-V1116 yeast, which Fat Bloke (and thank you for all your contributions here partner!) declares is the spitting image of the Maury yeast Br. Adam favored.

Mix, and shake and let 'er rip! Adding some nutrient bit by bit to the primary.

I have an ounce of heather flower tips I'll add to the secondary.
Br. Adam kept his mead in oak casks that had been used for Sherry. My plan is medium oak chips soaked in Sherry in the secondary.

Then try to let it sit for the Seven (7!) years Brother Adam suggests.

Hopefully this will end up a bit better than my "traditional" Hydromel from the closet of Sir Kenelm Digby (1699). That one either didn't come out so great (it was okay), or the Queen was not as discriminating as I might have thought (no offence, Fat Bloke).

Any thoughts, all? Appreciate your input.

Cheers! AZhornedtoad

 

[fatbloke]

No, what I got from the Apiary Manager at Buckfast Abbey was that Brother Adam originally used Maury yeast and when he could no longer get it, he changed to using Montpellier strain yeast.

Now the Montpellier strain that we can get easily (whether its the exact same one is anyones guess) is K1-V1116 which is Lalvins listing. It was also sold here as Gervin Varietal 'E' - but it would seem since Gervin changed hands, that they no longer do it. So K1-V1116 is the obvious choice.

We (the couple of us that were trying to ID the Maury yeast he wrote about) found that the only Maury yeast that seems to be available is the Lalvin D21 strain. Which does seem to originate from the Maury AOC area so it is a Maury yeast but whether it's an identical strain to that alluded to by Bro Adam, I don't know.

D21 isn't normally available in hom3 brew sized packs but Morewine do show it in 8g packs so I presume that they repack it from commercial sized packs.

Either way, both strains seem to make good traditionals........

As for the water, reverse osmosis should be nearly as "clean" as harvested rain or distilled water and easier/cheaper to get.......

 

[WVMJ]

I have read many articles on the Buckfast bees but didnt know he also made mead. Thanks for the link. K1-V1116 has always been one of our favorite yeasts. WVMJ

 

[AZhornedtoad]

Thanks for the correction, Fat Bloke. An erudite and edifying essay as always. How cool that you managed a fieldtrip to the Abbey! I might try to order the D21. Our deep well water is reeeeally hard and minerally, so I alway use a jug. I'll be interested to see if distilled makes any difference....

 

[fatbloke]

Thanks for the correction, Fat Bloke. An erudite and edifying essay as always. How cool that you managed a fieldtrip to the Abbey! I might try to order the D21. Our deep well water is reeeeally hard and minerally, so I alway use a jug. I'll be interested to see if distilled makes any difference....

Nah, I just emailed the Abbey. They might be heavily into the tradition thing but they're very business minded too.....

Plus I spent 3 years travelling from my part of the coast to Devonport so I know pretty much exactly how long the trip would take. And I'm actually closer to Paris than Plymouth so........

Yet my father used to have a lot of Bro Adams published info while he still kept bees, but none of the info he had, had Bro Adams mead info.....