Okbrewer

I have not used Alt yeast, but have used a Londond ale yeast. I treat mead kinda like barleywine, start out with say London ale yeast and let it do its thing until the environment becomes too alcoholic and then if need pitch another more agressive strain. I also use wine yeasts, Lalvin EC1118, tho it leaves a dry tasting product, and D47. I have also used Lallemand 71B-1122 (Narbonne) with good results. It's also important to add yeast nutrients (I failed to mention that before), like 2 tsp of diammonium phosphate for a 5 gallon batch. I don't add anything to acidify the must either. The type of honey definitely impacts the final product! If I am going to make a traditional or 'show' mead, I want a very flavorful varietal honey where the honey character will be evident. When I make a metheglin or melomel, I am more likely to use a lighter tasting honey like clover, because I want to show off the fruit or spice. Like anything in homebrewing it takes some trial and error, but I find meak making allows you to be very creative and you can try different concoctions! One other style I failed to mention is 'braggot', traditionaly a blend of old ale and mead or a beer made with a large honey component. I have had good luck with just blending beer and mead. I made a spiced old ale for the holidays and had some left over base mead, so I simply mixed the two! One of the best meads I've made was the result!

Truffle. I have emailed you some information and passed along your note to a friend who is most knowledgable in mead and its history. As far as beers in the 16th century, especially in the UK, you will not find much use of hops that far back. Hops are used to proivde bitterness to balance the malty sweetness, also to provide flavor and aroma, and as a preservative. However, in 16th century England most of those properties were relegated to other herbs/spices, such as bog myrtle, or heather. A combination of these herbs is what is referred to as gruit. Hops have pretty much taken the place of gruit in today's beer, but you can find heather ales and gruit ales. Making mead is very simple as it is basically comprised of honey, water and yeast. Yeast is another component, however, that was not known in the 16th century. Brewsters (most brewers then were women and were called brewsters) knew that something 'magical' happened to turn honey and water (or malted grain and water) into a potent potable, but didn't know that it was wild yeast. They simple called it "God is Good!" As a rule of thumb I suggest at least 3 pounds of honey per gallon of water when making mead. The yeast selected and used is very important! Many new mead makers use a champagne yeast and just let it go. The resultant product is very close to rocket fuel! It is very alcoholic and usually very dry, as honey is 100% fermentable. Many aspiring mead makers are not satisfied with that finished product, because what they had hoped for is a sweet drink that has the flavor and aroma of honey. That is why many people, such as reported in this thread, have had negative experiences with mead and don't think it worth the effort. But a properly produced mead can truly be the nectar of the gods! Instead of using champagne yeast, I employ other less aggressive yeast, I have even used ale yeast. Most recipes suggest heating or even boiling the water and honey. I don't do that. When you boil the honey, the aromatics are lost as well as some of the honey character in the flavor. I sometimes will heat the water to 170F and then add the honey to make it easier to dissolve, but most often I simply mix honey and water and shake or stir until the honey is dissolved. No heat. I then pitch the yeast. And wait! And wait! As someone mentioned, mead fermentation can take a long time. Even after fermentation is done, the mead needs to age in the bottle. (Aged mead is a thing of wonder, though!) I usually make a base mead as described, let it ferment in a 'primary' fermenter then transfer it to a 'secondary' fermenter. In the secondary is where I might add herbs/spices/fruits/vegetables to flavor the mead. As was said, this creates either methyglin, melomel, pyment, cyser, hydromel, rhodomel, etc. depending upon what is added to the base mead. Along the way, during primary fermentation, the brewer should be using the hydrometer to take specific gravity readings to decide if she wants to stop the fermentation. Instead of letting the yeast eat away at the honey until that dry, rocket fuel concoction is produced, the brewer has some options. One is to use the campden tablets mentioned to stop the fermentation. (A couple of tablets added to the 'must' prior to pitching the yeast will also help to kill any wild yeast that may have invaded the must.) If I want a sweet or medium sweet mead, I can stop the fermentation when I get to the desired gravity or taste. Or, secondly, I can always add more honey to make it sweeter or to give it more honey character. I will do this when making a varietal mead. Instead of using more costly varietal honey (mesquite, tupelo, orange blossom, etc) as the base mead, because some of the character gets stripped away during fermentation, I use a clover honey as the base and then add the varietal honey in the secondary. Also where brewers commonly make mistakes in mead making is in the bottling process. I tend to make 'still' meads, no carbonation. Simply bottle without adding any 'priming' honey or sugar. But in doing this you have to make sure that the yeast is inactive, otherwise you end up with carbonated or sparkling mead, or worse, over pressurized bottles which could explode! I like my mead medium sweet and still. But I have made a sparkling blackberry mead that was champagne-like in its effervescence! I have made many very tasty meads, if I do say so myself! One that I make that draws rave reviews is a black pepper mead! I use crushed black pepper and paradise seeds in the secondary fermenter, it leaves a nice hint of pepper to balance the honey sweetness. I have also sampled many great tasting meads, in fact last April I helped judge a national mead competition held in Alaska. Many fine meads were entered and enjoyed by the judges! So, home brewers, the ones responsible for resurrecting mead and making people aware of it, are making some very good product nowadays! I still get offered to sample some rocket fuel from time to time, but for the most part, the mead I taste is very good. It just take knowledge and education on the brewers part to know what mead should taste like. There are some meaderys open that make commercially available product, but it can still be hard to find. But if you go to any home brew club meeting I'm sure someone will have a bottle or two of mead! In fact, our club here in OKC is holding or annual "Mead Clinic" this weekend. We teach people how to make mead, explore the history of mead and of course we drink a lot of mead! If you are in the OKC area and would like more info on the mead event this weekend, email me and I will provide details! Long winded post, but hope it helps put home brewed mead in a positive light!

The newly built Oklahoma City Museum of Art is a destination to see the most comprehensive collection of Dale Chihuly's art glass, as well as other art collections, and is also becoming known for the dining experience in it's Museum Cafe. Thursday evening cocktails on the rooftop terrace is also becoming a popular event. Check out the museum website for more info on all: www.okcmoa.com

I used to eat at Schlotzsky's a lot way back when... But I can count on one hand the number of times I've eaten there in the last 10 years. Even though there is a location not far from my house, it sits directly across the street from Quizno's and my daughter prefers Quizno's! So, guess where we end up!

In OK all beer sold at the liquor store (the good beer!) has to be sold unrefrigerated. You want cold stuff, you go to the grocery store or 7-Eleven and get the 3.2 beer. No high point beer can be sold cold, don't want you to be able to drink it immediately. Fortunately for me, I like mine at 'cellar' temps, so a quick chill is usually all it takes. Of course I also have a well stocked beer fridge, so who cares!

I have a bottle of the Ephemere (F M AIR) but have not yet sampled it, almost popped it last night but didn't. I've heard good things about it and it's good to know that you also enjoyed it. Maybe this weekend!

My friend Tim and I sat out back with cigars and beer again tonight. First up was New Belgium's Loft, an interesting beer with good hop presence but more coriander and perhaps orange peel making its perfumey presence known in both the aroma and the flavor. A very light, airy beer, very refreshing. Followed by Westmalle Triple with its caramel and cotton candy flavors with a slight alcohol burn to the finish. We mixed things up by next going to the Old # 38 Stout again. Very tasty stout! That was followed by another North Coast beer, Old Stock Ale, 2003 vintage. All I can say about this beer is OH MY GAWD! The remaining bottles have already been put away to be tasted again at a later date, this one will age nicely! Wrapped up the evening with Allagash Dubbel. A very fine effort! Well carbonated, deep amber color, rich malt with some fruity flavors, and a drying alcohol finish. Another great evening out on the deck!

Mead is very easy to make. In it's basic form it is just water, honey and yeast. The hardest part of making mead is the patience needed to wait until it is finished! Mead can take a long time to not only ferment, but to finish or age. Usually takes about a year and being anywhere from 9-15% alcohol, it ages nicely in the bottle for many more years. Young meads can taste alright, but give them time to age and they are remarkable. As a general rule of thumb, I use 3-4lbs of honey per gallon of water, so for a 3 gallon batch of mead I might use 12 lbs of honey (which is one gallon of honey) or more. Using the right type of yeast is also important. Depending on the amount of honey and type of yeast used, you can make a sweet or dry mead, sparkling or still mead, or various combinations. When you start adding herbs, spices and fruits or vegetables, then you can really create some unique flavors! If you are at all interested in making mead, check out a book called The Compleat Meadmaker, written by my friend Ken Schramm. It is available on Amazon.com. Sorry to usurp the thread here, but if anyone is interested in mead making, drop me a line!

I buy gallons and gallons of honey, usually clover or wildflower honey because that's what is common around OK. But I use honey to make one of the oldest of fermented beverages: MEAD! Depending on the type of mead I'm making, clover honey works just fine. It is light in color and flavor and allows any spices or fruits that I might add to the mead to shine through. If I make a traditional mead or show mead (no spice or fruit) then I look for varietal honeys like Tupelo, orange blossom, mesquite, etc. because I want the honey component to be readily apparent. So, my favorite? It just depends! I guess I'd have to say clover or wildflower since it is readily available and I use those the most.

and is Lakefront where the interview was held!!? Let us know the scoop, Guy! I've been to Lakefront and enjoyed their beers with my good friend Frank, aka MediumHurt.

I was in Ft. Worth last week and picked up some new beer at Central Market. Sampled so far: Lagunitas IPA Maximus! Big, no, huge floral/citrusy hop nose, with hop flavor and bitterness as well, deep copper color with balancing caramel maltiness, all in a 22oz bottle! I really enjoyed this beer. The other I tasted was North Coasts Old No. 38 stout! What the Maximus had in hops, this stout shouts in roastiness! Deep dark, almost black in color with garnet highlights, the first thing that is experienced is the roast on the nose, and it follows through from first sip to the finish. I appreciate a good stout and this is one of the best I've had in a long time. It is what I was hoping to taste in Boulevard's dry stout, now available in bottles. But, alas, the Boulevard gets bowled over like a locomotive by that ol' #38! Also picked up some Allagash Dubbel and New Belgium's Blue Paddle pils and their Loft. Also an assortment from Avery and several Belgian varieties including Hoegaarden. Now available in OKC, Westmalle and Grimbergen! Last night I sat out on the deck and enjoyed two bottles of New Belgium Tripple and a cigar. Bob R in OKC

Sounds fun! When is the dinner!? You might try tenderizing the turtle meat. I s'pose it would be traditional to pound it on a flat rock with an 'arn' skillet!

The only time I have had turtle outside of a restaurant was when I was in survival school in the Navy. I do remember that we were told to only eat the RED meat. We simple pan fried it, along with some snake meat and we were given some rice to go with it. I remember it as being very tasty, of course, that could have been because I hadn't eaten anything but palmetto shoots for a couple of days! I believe it was a restaurant in Florida that served an appetizer of turtle and alligator tail that was lightly breaded and deep fried, also very tasty. Dredged in seasoned flour and lightly pan fried might be the way to go. Where did you get the turtle meat?

What a timely topic! I just wrote up the following tasting notes for my beer club newsletter: The rain put a damper on recent plans to play golf. It rained most of the day so the course was pretty soaked, but by golf time the sun was shining. Tim and I had a decision to make. Should we go ahead with our plans to play golf, even though we would have to miserably trudge around the sopping wet course? We did what any true duffers would! We said the heck with golf and opted instead to retreat to my house for beer and cigars! Now, I’m not bragging or anything, but the selection of beer at my house is pretty darn good! Not only is my dedicated beer fridge full, but so is every possible storage space around the house! I’ve got homebrew, microbrews and imports galore. Making a decision on what beer to drink is sometimes as perplexing as deciding whether or not to play golf in the rain! But when Tim and I get together the choice is an easy one. We jump straight to anything Belgian or Belgian-like, and often segue into Barleywine to go with the cigars. This day was no different! We started with a Duvel, and we were not disappointed. The Duvel was followed by New Belgium’s TransAtlantique Kriek. It had a taste reminiscent of cherry cough syrup. Interesting, but a sub-par offering considering the other beers available from this brewery. After a quick palate cleanser we foraged around the fridge and found what would prove to be the best beers of the day: Rochefort Ales! These Trappist Ales are seldom seen in these parts, and the three samples I have were purchased on a visit to Kansas City. Rochefort ale goes against the Trappist tradition somewhat by not offering Dubbels and Tripels. Rather, the three main Rochefort beers seem to be very similar to each other with variable body and strength among them. The different beers are conveniently named by a simple numbering system. We sampled Rochefort 6, Rochefort 8, and Rochefort 10 in alphabetical order (inside joke!). Rochefort 6 is the softest and driest of the bunch with an alcohol content of 7.5 percent by volume. Like the other Rochefort beers, the head on Rochefort 6 is thick and creamy. The color of this beer is a beautiful copper. But it is this beer’s aroma that makes a major impact on the senses! It is earthy, sweet, malty, and somewhat fruity, with just a hint of hop presence. The aroma suggests that this will be a big, flavorful beer, but that is not really the case. The flavor is complex with caramel, fruit, and hints of raisins. But the body is rather delicate and the mouthfeel somewhat on the thin side. It’s actually quite a refreshing beer. Rochefort 8 scores an alcohol content of 9 percent by volume. It has a medium brownish copper color with a much more robust flavor than Rochefort 6, but the aroma is actually a bit more subdued. The body and alcohol warmth are also more evident in Rochefort 8, and the flavor of dark fruit is quite pronounced. The alcohol lingers long into the finish. And it keeps on going and going and going! Rochefort 10 was by far our favorite. It has a dark brown color with lots of chocolatey aroma and fruity flavors. It has a substantial body and mouthfeel and, at 11 percent alcohol by volume, the alcohol profile is a major component in the flavor of this rich ale. This beer is very similar to 6 and 8, it just has much more of everything. The alcohol in the finish is just as evident as in the 8, but here it finishes much more dry. This is definitely a beer that would benefit from some aging. Needless to say, we were extremely pleased with each of the Rochefort offerings. These were the highlights of the afternoon. Anything that would follow could only pale in comparison so we torched the cigars and poured the Bigfoot! Ahh! A “Cascade” of flavors to complement the cigars! Bigfoot is always a delight. We sampled 2002 and 2003 vintages, but by this time we were too, uh, well, we just didn’t feel like taking tasting notes. We ended the day with an Old Nick, and likewise, the nuances of this beer are but fleeting memories! What a way to spend an afternoon! Much better than traipsing around a soggy ol’ golf course!

Marlene! You will LOVE your Vermont Castings grill! I bought the VC200 model about 3 years ago. I got the optional side burner. I use my grill ALL the time! It has not only the usual grill burners but also a rotisserie and oven element! It holds a very constant temp. so baking is easy in it. I have baked everything from pizzas to turkey in the grill. It is a heavy, well-made unit! Take care of it and it will last a lifetime! I can't say enough good things about these grills. Home Depot has started to carry lower grade VC models, and even they are superior to the other brands. I purchased mine online. Let us know how you like it!

Marlene! You will LOVE your Vermont Castings grill! I bought the VC200 model about 3 years ago. I got the optional side burner. I use my grill ALL the time! It has not only the usual grill burners but also a rotisserie and oven element! It holds a very constant temp. so baking is easy in it. I have baked everything from pizzas to turkey in the grill. It is a heavy, well-made unit! Take care of it and it will last a lifetime! I can't say enough good things about these grills. Home Depot has started to carry lower grade VC models, and even they are superior to the other brands. I purchased mine online. Let us know how you like it!

I like Gueuze in the summer too! I have a closet full of Lindeman's Cuvee Rene, 1996 vintage. Very refreshing on warm evenings out on the patio!

My usual summertime preference is for wheat beers, usually hefeweizen, but a good American wheat, like Boulevard, also works! I also REALLY like New Belgium's Blue Paddle Pils! And Bell's Two Hearted, and a crisply sour lambic, and an American-style Barleywine with a cigar on the patio in the evening, and, well, heck, just about anything cool and tasty while I'm cooking at the grill! I guess I'm pretty easy when it comes to beer, but you already knew that, RP!

My wife and I have always encouraged our daughter (now 13) to try new foods before passing judgement. We also told her not to say 'yuck!' or 'that's nasty,' but to say "I don't care for that taste." We then try to get her to describe, if she can, what she doesn't like about it; whether it is spicy or too sweet, or acidic or sharp, etc. She will at least take a bite or two of something, and many times she has actually liked a food she thought she would not. For instance, she loves Thai and Indian food, when at first she thought it would be too spicy. She LOVES mushrooms, and has since she was very young. She does not like tomato sauce on her pasta but is OK with Alfredo! She is a very well-read young lady and very interested now in food and especially the health aspects of foods and eating. She will not eat at McDonalds! She doesn't drink soft drinks! Both because of her own 'research' into how much sugar and preservatives go into them. She reads food labels to ensure she is not eating anything with Aspertame, because she read that it can cause seizures and other problems! She LOVES beef, especially steaks! She frequently lurks around the kitchen and rants, "meat, must have meat," so I don't think I have to worry about the vegetarian thing. She also really likes crab legs and will devour mass quantities of steamed mussels or clams! She likes to help me in the kitchen and likes watching foodtv, both for the recipes and the science and history of food. She adores Alton Brown! Along with food, at home, I also encourage my daughter to taste beers or wines that we may have with meals. She knows that, right now, she doesn't really like hoppy beers, but that a Belgian Framboise or Kriek tastes pretty good! When I cook at home, I know there are things that she doesn't care for, so if it is not too much trouble (and since I like to cook anyway) I don't mind making her something that is closely related to the main dish I am making. Or I will season her portion a bit differently. So I think food is just like anything else we want children to learn about, you have to expose them to different things, give them choices and allow them to make their own decisions. When she and I disagree on how something tastes, she is known to remind me, "daddy, people have different tastes, ya know!" Kids are people too, they just come in smaller packages!

I have the Smokin Tex and have been extremely pleased with it! I looked at the Cook Shack model too, but decided on the Smokin Tex because it has more capacity than the Cook Shack and it was less expensive. It comes with casters but I put mine up on a table so it is easy to load and I have work space on the table. They suggest using no more than 8 oz of wood chips, but I found that 4 oz is enough. The neat thing about these is you load your wood chips and meats, secure the door, plug it in, and turn on the thermostat and walk away! You don't have to tend it all day. I put a brisket in at about 11pm, turn it to 180F and go to bed! 12-15 hours later the brisket is ready! Slow cooked ribs in 4-5 hours at 220F, mmm, mmm good! I cooked a pork butt, 2 slabs of ribs and 2 turkey breasts in it for Thanksgiving! The Smokin Tex has 5 shelves to spead the meat on or you can hang ribs from hooks. I also use mine to smoke grains for brewing beer. Just bought some alder chips this week to smoke some grains for a Rauch bier! Check out SmokinTex.com to see their products. They usually run specials around Christmas time. I have been very happy with mine! Just checked the website and they are running the special NOW, SmokinTex with cover and rib hooks and free shipping in US.

I was never one of those that ate paste or, worse yet, whatever I might find while digging in my nose! <YUCK!> I guess even at an early age I had a more disriminating palate! I did, however, enjoy eating raw rhubarb and fresh picked crabapples and wild berries while growing up in PA. Upset stomachs were frequent after over indulging on the rhubarb! I ate alot of strange and foreign items as a kid on Okinawa, but still nothing really too disgusting. Boring childhood? I don't think so, just more aware of what I put in my mouth!

(Traditional Sahti, of course, is made with Juniper boughs, but you could substitute with the spruce.)

Except for the oblique references to rum, noone has yet mentioned with what to wash all this glorious food down! Might I suggest, BEER! And specifically, a unique beer made with spruce tips or some other exotic ingredient such as hibiscus flowers! Spruce beer was traditionally made for sea voyages as the spruce tips are high is sugar content and vitamin C, helping with the scurvy problem. Brewing such a beer would be easy, a pale ale base with lots of hops and the addition of spruce tips. however, given your short lead time you might have to find a commercially available beer. Alaska Brewing Co., in Juneau, makes a beer with spruce added. But, being from Lithuania, you could probably find a locally produce SAHTI beer, made with spruce. Whatever food you decide on, make sure you pair it with BEER!

Everytime I see 'El Bulli' I think E Coli! Like the main course at Sam & Ella's Diner!

I really haven't noticed if we have London Pride Ale here in OKC, because I prefer Fuller's Vintage Ale! I have a closet full of the Vintage Ale. One of out local liquor stores had the 2002 vintage priced at $3.59/bottle, it normally sells for close to $6/bottle around here, so I snatched up 18-20 bottles. Need to go back and see if he has more!