The Compleat Meadmaker
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Wine-Grower-News #324 1-4-16 Midwest Grape & Wine Industry Institute: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Wine Information in this issue includes: The Compleat Meadmaker – Book Review New, MI State University Extension Online Grape Pest Search Engine How to Make Prison Wine – May come in handy some day! 2015 World’s Top Ranking Universities in Agriculture & Forestry ISU Midwest Grape & Wine Industry Institute now on Facebook VESTA Spring 2016 course registration deadline is January 15th, 2016 Composition of American Honeys, USDA Technical Bulletin 1261 1-(22-23), 30th Annual KGGWA Conference – Manhattan, KS 2-(2-3) Inaugural Soil Health Conference – Iowa State University 2-5, MI Vineyard Establishment Conf., Benton Harbor & Traverse City 2-(11-13), Cold Climate Conference Registration Now Open 2-(24-26), Michigan Grape & Wine & Northern Grapes Project Conference Craft Beer in the United States: History, Numbers, and Geography 1-(28-29) Iowa Fruit & Vegetable Growers Conference – Ankeny, IA Videos of Interest Marketing Tidbits Neeto Keeno Notable Quotables Articles of Interest Calendar of Events 2012 USDA National Ag Statistics Service grape acreage map The Compleat Meadmaker – Book Review The Compleat Meadmaker by Ken Schramm, 212 pp. copyright 2003 is considered the mead makers bible by many in the industry. The first portion of this book devotes a lot of effort in describing the interesting history of mead, the process of turning honey into wine and the basics of making mead. A lot of effort is directed towards the many types of honey, the chemistry of these different honeys and the many unique meads that can be made from them. The last half of the book is devoted to describing the different types of mead and many of the details of making exceptional meads. The final portion of the book has a large number of mead recipes. The author, Ken Schramm has been making and studying mead since 1988. He has won many awards in national and regional mead competitions. He is a recognized mead judge 1 and is the founding competition director of the Mazer Cup, America’s oldest mead competition. He is the owner and operator of Schramm’s Mead in Ferndale, MI. I would highly recommend this book to any amateur or commercial maker of honey wine. It goes by the “mead” or “honey wine”. Some call it “ambrosia”, others “nectar of the gods.” By whatever name, no beverage serves as the focus for more myth and folklore- and no beverage is less understood by the public than this romantic and resplendent elixir. From: p. 23, The Compleat Meadmaker New, MI State University Extension Online Grape Pest Search Engine Michigan State University has put a FREE ‘beta” grape pest search engine Online for all to use. It is based on their popular “Pocket Guide for Grape IPM Scouting in the North Central and Eastern United States”. You can purchase the Pocket Guide Online here for $20: http://shop.msu.edu/product_p/bulletin-e2889.htm You can search by the pest name and/or disease, insect or mite or beneficial insect and/or the grape growth stage here: http://grapes.msu.edu/integrated_pest_management/grape_pest_and_beneficial_search Simply put, oak and mead are a match. Whether or not oak barrels were actually designed for the aging of fermented beverages, the effects they have on wine and mead border on evidence of a higher power. Oak contributes vanillin and tannins that add distinct aromas and complexity and fullness to the mouthfeel. From: p. 71-72, The Compleat Meadmaker How to Make Prison Wine – May come in handy some day! Pruno (prison wine), is an alcoholic beverage that can be made from apples, oranges, fruit cocktail, candy, ketchup, sugar, milk, and many other ingredients, including crumbled bread. Bread supposedly provides the yeast for the pruno to ferment. Pruno originated in prisons and jails, where it can be produced with the limited selection of equipment and ingredients available to inmates. Inmates are not permitted to have alcoholic beverages, and prison authorities confiscate 2 pruno whenever they find it. In an effort to eradicate pruno, some wardens have gone as far as banning all fresh fruit from prison cafeterias The pruno concoction can be made using only a plastic bag, hot running water, and a towel or sock to conceal the pulp during fermentation. The end result often contains a very poor tasting alcoholic drink that will provide a buzz to help pass the time. Flavor is often not the primary objective. Depending on the time spent fermenting, sugar content and the quality of the ingredients, the alcohol content can range between 2-14% by volume. Here are few “How To Make” Pruno recipes: a. How to make prison wine... just in case, Thrillist / Food & Drink: https://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/how-to-make-prison-wine-how-to-make-pruno b. How to make pruno, Wiki How: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Pruno c. Artistinal Pruno Prison Wine, Thirstytwoutside: http://www.instructables.com/id/Artisanal-Pruno/ d. How to Make Prison Wine (the craft version): http://www.lamag.com/drinkrecipes/how-to-make-prison-wine-the-craft-version/ e. Cell Block Cusine: Jailhouse Wine, 3:39 min. video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWo25-_oEw8 A bee continues collecting nectar until loaded to capacity. “So, you may be asking , “exactly how much is one bee-ful of nectar?” Well, as best as we can tell, it’s about 50 to 60 milligrams – perhaps as much as 75 milligrams. Incidentally, that’s 90% of a female bee’s body weight…..It takes about twenty thousand trips by a bee, and roughly four million stops at blossoms, to produce a single pound of honey. From: p. 80 & 81, The Compleat Meadmaker 2015 World’s Top Ranking Universities in- Agriculture & Forestry The 2015 list of the world’s top 200 universities for agriculture & forestry was recently released by QS World University Rankings by subject. The rankings highlight the world’s top universities in 36 individual subjects, based on academic reputation, employer reputation and research impact (full methodology here). They include an interactive table to sort the results by subject, location or performance indicator, and to access more details about the universities you’re interested in. Here is the list of the TOP TEN Agriculture & Forestry Universities: 1. UC Davis – California 6. University of Wisconsin – Madison 2. Cornell University – New York 7. The Australian National University 3. Wageningen University – Netherlands 8. Iowa State University 4. UC Berkeley – California 9. Oregon State University 5. Purdue University – Indiana 10. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences 3 The QS Stars ratings were designed for use as a navigation tool in your decision making process, providing a wider picture of an institutionʼs qualities that are relevant for you; looking at criteria such as the employability of graduates, sports facilities and many others. Details and the search engine for the rankings on other subjects: http://tinyurl.com/zayfona Composition of American Honeys, USDA Technical Bulletin 1261 – 1962, 129 pages: http://naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/CAT87201204/PDF 1-(22-23), 30th Annual KGGWA Conference – Manhattan, KS What: 30th Annual Kansas Grape Growers & Winemakers Association Conference When: 8 A.M to 11 p.m. both Friday & Saturday, January 22-23, 2016 Where: The Sheraton Four Points Hotel, 530 Richards Dr., Manhattan, KS 66502 Ph: 785-539-5311 Registration: http://www.kansasgrapesandwines.com/images/pdf/KGGWA_registration_2016.pdf Full Details: http://www.kansasgrapesandwines.com/events/annualconference Questions: Contact Pam Rowe [email protected] 2-(2-3) Inaugural Soil Health Conference – Iowa State University Full Details & Registration: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/marshall/news/inaugural-iowa-soil-health-conference-coming-february-2016 4 Braggot: (aka “bragot or bracket”) describes a mead made from malted barley or other malted grain in addition to honey. Often a beguiling and seductive beverage, it draws characteristics from both of its key ingredients to create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. From: p. 152 The Compleat Meadmaker 2-5, MI Vineyard Establishment Conf., Benton Harbor & Traverse City A wine grape establishment conference will be held by Michigan State University Extension Feb. 5, 2016 at two locations using a webinar hybrid format to address this interest. The program agenda calls for speakers from four states to address basic topics such as soil fertility, site selection, varieties, establishment costs, site preparation, planting and care, trellis construction, and pest management in Benton Harbor and Traverse City. Cost: $100, additional bulletin is $30 Registration Deadline: January 28th, 2016 Full Details: http://tinyurl.com/oe9vbgs France: The new law allows table wines to be made and sold anywhere in France without the need to indicate its geographical area of origin, only the grape varieties used. Vine-planting is now assumed to be legal across Europe unless a good reason can be found to stop it, however new vine plantings in France will be restricted to 8,000 hectares a year. From: Relaxed planting laws spells ‘death’ of AOC system, 1-4-16 the Drinks Business 2-(11-13), Cold Climate Conference Registration Now Open Full Details here: http://www.mngrapes.org/?CCCHome 5 2-(24-26), Michigan Grape & Wine & Northern Grapes Project Conference What: The 2016 Michigan Grape and Wine Conference will be hosting the Northern Grapes Symposium Where: The Radisson Plaza Hotel in Kalamazoo, MI Full Details & Registration: http://www.michiganwines.com/conference Craft Beer in the United States: History, Numbers, and Geography Journal of Wine Economics, Volume 10, Number 3, 2015, Pages 242–274 doi:10.1017/jwe.2015.22 33 page PDF here: http://www.wine-economics.org/aawe/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Vol.10-Issue03- Craft-Beer-in-the-United-States-History-Numbers-and-Geography-by-Kenneth-G.- Elzinga.pdf 1-(28-29) Iowa Fruit & Vegetable Growers Conference – Ankeny, IA What: 2016 Iowa Fruit & Vegetable Growers Conference (IFVGA) 30+ vendors will be displaying their wares.