Masters of Mead
Borrowed from somewhere by Mark Tumarkin

To list all the awards that Jackie Rager and Dan Davis have won for their meads would take up all the space for this article. Let's just say that there is no way I would miss their presentation on meadmaking, given at the 1999 AHA Convention in Kansas City.

True to form as mead makers, even these partners don't agree on everything when it comes to ingredients or even technique. They DO know and make great mead. So what are the secrets of these two masters?

1. Ingredients: Simply, the best ingredients make the best meads. IF you're going to ties up a carboy for a year or more, don't waste your time with second rate ingredients. They shun processed honey and suggest that you seek out a local beekeeper. They use whole fruit or fresh juice, not concentrates.
2. Preparation: Dan boils his must for just 2 minutes, skimming the scum and antennae, legs, wings, etc. that float to the top. He then force chills the must to 70F with an immersion chiller. Jackie sanitizes his must with sulfites. For a 5 gallon batch, he will start with just over a gallon of honey, and two gallons of water. He then doses this concentrated must to 70 - 100 PPM overnight. After 48 hours, he adds the necessary volume of pre-boiled and cooled spring water, oxygenates, and pitches his yeast.
3. Yeast: Their advice: "Make lots of mead. Keep good notes. Pick yeast that you like." (I guess they were not ready to give up ALL their secrets.) They also added "ALWAYS make a starter."
4. Nutrients: Always use nutrients. (Note: Check out Wyeast's yeast nutrient. It is a blend of chemical [D.A.P.] and natural yeast nutrients, along with vitamins and nutrients vital for yeast health.) They recommend using nutrient while building up your yeast starter AND while fermenting. David Lodgeson of Wyeast recommends doubling the usage rates on the instructions when using this nutrient for meads. (The nutrient was made for beer wort.)
5. Adjuncts: "Add them in the secondary, to prevent the aromas from being carried off with the escaping CO2 during the vigorous primary fermentation."
6. Fining and filtering: They both fine and filter everything they make. Sparklloid is their fining agent of choice, since it clears nearly everything, and it "sets up" the filter nicely. Use polyclar to drop excess tannins, when necessary. They use a #2 (~ 1.5 micron) pad filter.
7. Ferment temperature: Keep it ale temps, 60 - 65F. Anything warmer will create harsh, higher alcohols.
8. Acid: Add it after fermentation, only when necessary, to taste. Regardless of the final sweetness of your mead, there needs to be a balance between acid / sweetness / astringency.

I soaked up several new ideas, and a half dozen glasses of outstanding meads, melomels, pyments and a hippocras at this presentation. I hope to see some winning meads from our brewers at next year's AHA Nationals!

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