Flaked Maize in Mead

[CardenVonDraken]

I'm experimenting with using flaked maize in my mead recipe to increase body and attempt to give it a bit of head retention to appeal to beer drinkers.

Does the maize need to go through starch conversion so it won't be suceptable to bacterial infection, or will it be ok with proper sanitation (sort of like mashing at a high temp in beer recipes)?

 

[Drewed]

I am attempting the same thing, but with oats. Rolled oats to be exact. I added some torritifed wheat and some caramel malt 60L to do something. I brewed it at 155 for 30 min.

 

[CardenVonDraken]

I used to use a bit of malted grain (barley/wheat/rye depending on the recipe), but I'm trying to go the gluten-free route so more people can enjoy it.

 

[Yooper]

Yes, flaked corn will only contribute starch if not converted via a mash or with something like amylase enzyme.

And corn is notorious for making a body lighter, and not fuller, as it is 100% fermentable and low in protein.

Other flaked grains may help.
It my experience, oats contribute a silky mouthfeel to beer, but actually reduce head retention due to the amount of oils in them. In a large amount, they are very oily in a beer. They provide a creamy mouthfeel for sure, because of the oils but I"m not sure how they'd be in mead. They also don't do all that much for body, due to the oiliness. It's more of a mouthfeel texture thing than a real body, if that makes sense. The proteins do contribute a richer texture, but the beer doesn't really seem to have as much body as using flaked barley will.

Flaked barley is used to provide head retention, body, and richness.

Since I've never used them in mead, I can only imagine the impact of course. There are a LOT of full bodied meads that utilize only honey, so maybe it's more of a lack of honey and too much water contributing to a lack of legs and body?

 

[CardenVonDraken]

I'm trying to make like a 5% ABV mead so I don't want to use more honey.

So will it be ok if the unconverted starches are just hanging out, or am I playing with fire?

 

[Yooper]

I'm trying to make like a 5% ABV mead so I don't want to use more honey.

So will it be ok if the unconverted starches are just hanging out, or am I playing with fire?

Starch haze is really icky, plus maize won't help out anyway.

 

[CardenVonDraken]

Starch haze is really icky, plus maize won't help out anyway.

So what can I use that is gluten-free, won't make it overly sweet like unfermented honey, and will contribute body and/or head retention?

 

[clone63]

Maltodextrin perhaps?

 

[Drewed]

Aw crap! I forgot what forum I was in! I have the oats in my cider, not mead. Opps!

 

[CardenVonDraken]

Maltodextrin perhaps?

I thought about maltodextrin, but I've read that it's not exactly good for you.

I might just have to use flaked oats then.

 

[CardenVonDraken]

PLOT TWIST!
Raw honey contains some amylase so it can, indeed, convert starches at an appropriate temperature.

 

[bernardsmith]

Hi CardenVonDraken - and welcome. My two cents: You might want to experiment with different yeasts. Some yeasts are cultivated to produce higher levels of glycerol and glycerol contributes to mouthfeel. You could check the Harvest Vintner's website.
Head retention is not really something expected in a wine or mead. For that you need a net of proteins so you are thinking more along the lines of an ale or beer. To increase the "fizz" you might want to look into using glasses that have been made to provide nucleation points and those will force the CO2 out of solution - increasing the amount of time the mead will remain sparkling...

 

[CardenVonDraken]

I know it's not really expected, but I wanted to see if I could make a mead that could easily be mistaken for a beer.

 

[Drewed]

I know it's not really expected, but I wanted to see if I could make a mead that could easily be mistaken for a beer.

Well, you could, but doing to gluten free will be very hard.
A little food grade glycerin will help with mouth feel, but for beer like head, it is my understanding that you will need proteins - like from grains.

 

[CardenVonDraken]

Well, you could, but doing to gluten free will be very hard.

A little food grade glycerin will help with mouth feel, but for beer like head, it is my understanding that you will need proteins - like from grains.

I read that bee pollen has a lot of proteins in it. Would that work?

 

[bernardsmith]

A braggot is a mead made with a grains or a beer made with honey... or it's an alcoholic drink made with both honey and grains

 

[CardenVonDraken]

A braggot is a mead made with a grains or a beer made with honey... or it's an alcoholic drink made with both honey and grains

Yes. I know this. However, according to my research, a braggot is mostly grains whereas mead has to be mostly honey and can contain pretty much anything else as a secondary ingredient.