to boil or not to boil

[VermontFreedom]

Picking up on a point made in the "local honey" thread recently.

I've made just 3 meads so far, all with wild/local honey (supplementing with a few ounces or a pound or two of store-bought if I'm just shy of the requisite amount) but ALL the recipes I have instruct to boil the honey for 10-20 minutes. I understood this is to help clarify, remove particulates, etc. They do say that this will remove some of the flavor, but I've gone with the recipe.

Would a suitable alternative be to mix the honey with some warm water, just enough to liquify, then strain/filter to remove the particulates like bees legs and larger wax chunks?

The mead I'm currently working on (in secondary) is a sweet dessert mead: 4 lbs honey per gallon. I got it unfiltered from the producer and had to simmer it for an hour to skim off all the junk. Is this mead going to task like water?

I realize meads need extended aging. I'm still 3 months shy of one year since my dry and sack meads were fermented, but they taste boring with this strange off-flavor that I can't describe--kind of musty. I hope (1) this will disappear once they're bottled and age for a good 6-18+ months and (2) my dessert mead doesn't turn out this way!

 

[homebrewer_99]

No, it shouldn't taste like water at 4 lbs per gallon. That's a lot of honey.

I did a long boil (60 mins) a long time ago and it turned out nicely although I used a bit too much wild black raspberries.

Now I just boil for 15 mins and skim all the time. I have no problems doing it that way. Plus it retains more of the honey flavor.

 

[Rookie]

My m o is to boil the water for 15 minutes and turn off the heat. Then stir in the honey and steep at 160 or higher for 20 minutes.
After it goes into the second (or third) stage carboy I just give it whatever time it needs to drop clear.

 

[opqdan]

I went the simpler route and just heated it to 140 (or maybe 160, I'd have to look at my notes). This is supposedly hot enough to kill bad stuff, but cool enough to leave some of the light floral characters.

As a beekeeper and a honey-eater, I do notice that heated honey loses a lot of the light complex flavors and becomes rather dull. If you are using any sort of veriatal with a light flavor, you risk losing it by boiling. Strong honeys though, I doubt you need to worry, and the same goes for those of a rather general taste. Clover or wildflower honey will come out almost the same. Whenever possible though, avoid boiling it, if you can smell the honey strongly, then that means you are losing it.

When I added more honey later on in the secondary, I just disolved it in warm water. The yeast activity and alcohol already in the mean should keep any bad guys from gaining a foothold.

 

[Blackbyrd2]

I started out boiling, and skimming the scum off. My mead was usually fairly dry.
Now I merely raise the entire mix to 180 degrees for a few minutes (5-15 minutes) to ensure safety (I use bottled water, because tap water here is hideous) and then cool the pot down to under 100 to start the yeast. (I generally aim for about 75 degrees, but I usually lose patience and start the yeast at aroun 80-95 degrees. A bit warm, but it usually likes it well enough.)

I think boiling makes for a drier, less flavorful mead. IMO

 

[Focus]

Check out the article in my post on this page. It's a little dated (1993), so it may be common knowledge by now, but they say - and it's supposedly backed up by scientific stydy - that as little as 1 mintute at 155F is sufficient to kill anything that may be a problem; bacteria and wild yeast in partiular. I would think that getting your must up to 155-160, immediately shutting the heat off, and letting it cool naturally would kill all bacteria / wild yeast sufficiently and wouldn't take nearly as long to heat up / cool down as a full-up boil would take.

I haven't made a mead yet, but I've done lots of beer, and I know that a large quantity of liquid takes a damn long time to heat up and cool down. So anything that can cut down on that time is fine by me.

BTW, at what temperature does must - Say one with 3lb/gal - actually boil?

 

[david_42]

A minute at 155F isn't enough to kill yeast spores and many bacteria can survive that as well. 165F for 20 minutes will do the job and not lose too many flavor components.

 

[BrewStef]

Ken Schramm, author of "The Compleat Meadmaker", one of THE current experts in the field, says it is NOT NECESSARY TO BOIL OR EVEN HEAT the honey. The heavy gravity of the must and the natural antibacterial qualities of the honey are sufficient by themselves to prevent nasties from proliferating. Once it ferments and you have more and more alcohol, that will prevent the buggers from replicating as well.

Benefits of not boiling:
1) Less things to clean
2) One less thing to worry about cooling
3) No reduction in the delicate honey aromas and flavors
4) Faster overall process

Cheers!

BrewStef

 

[VermontFreedom]

...after all, ancient Romans actually used straight honey as antibacterial applications to wounds, and everyone knows honey never goes bad and won't grow mold if just left out.

I'm thinking for my next mead I might try just stirring in some hot water to make the must and avoid heating altogether, or just warm up a bit and not boil....

 

[homebrewer_99]

Ken Schramm, author of "The Compleat Meadmaker", one of THE current experts in the field, says it is NOT NECESSARY TO BOIL OR EVEN HEAT the honey...

I just picked up that book the other day. So far it's all pretty basic stuff for the experienced meadmaker. I hope it gets better.

 

[NurseNan]

I bring my water to a boil with any spices/citrus components I may be using, then turn the heat off before adding any honey. Haven't had a problem yet....

 

[nosnhojr]

Ken Schramm, author of "The Compleat Meadmaker", one of THE current experts in the field, says it is NOT NECESSARY TO BOIL OR EVEN HEAT the honey. The heavy gravity of the must and the natural antibacterial qualities of the honey are sufficient by themselves to prevent nasties from proliferating. Once it ferments and you have more and more alcohol, that will prevent the buggers from replicating as well.

Benefits of not boiling:
1) Less things to clean
2) One less thing to worry about cooling
3) No reduction in the delicate honey aromas and flavors
4) Faster overall process

Cheers!

BrewStef

I just started my first mead (a raspberry melomel actually) this morning, and I went with the no-boil method. The 12 lbs of honey disolved much easier in 2 1/2 gallons of room-temperature spring water than I'd expected. I used about 2 cups of near-boiling water to rinse the last bit of honey out of the plastic jugs, then topped off to 5 gals with spring water. The OG is 1.26!

I definitely enjoyed the time-savings from not having to heat and cool the must.

-Richard

 

[nosnhojr]

The OG is 1.26!
-Richard

Hmmm. Looking at other mead posts and OGs, this can't be right, right?

 

[Caplan]

Hmmm. Looking at other mead posts and OGs, this can't be right, right?

Too right! It isnt right for just honey at that volume of water. Re-check! I'd say around 1.09 to 1.11 might be closer (depending on the honey/temp of reading of course). You haven't already added the rasberries?.....

 

[nosnhojr]

Too right! It isnt right for just honey at that volume of water. Re-check! I'd say around 1.09 to 1.11 might be closer (depending on the honey/temp of reading of course). You haven't already added the rasberries?.....

Okay, panic averted. I came home and looked carefully at my hydrometer, and I'd read off of the Balling scale. Reading across to the correct scale, I get a temp-adjusted OG of 1.107.


I have a question about the raspberries, though. The kit came with two big cans of puree, with instructions to add the fruit to the bottom of the secondary, then rack the mead on top. No stirring mentioned. Is this the usual procedure? Will the fruit mix with the mead if I just rack on top? Or does it pick up the flavor as the yeast reactivates and starts fermenting the sugars in the fruit puree?

Thanks!