In this bonus episode, we follow the first of a three leg journey Tysen takes during the 2015 Meadmust Holiday season. If you don’t recall Meadmust, check out Episode 25 where we bring back many of the Mead Masters we interviewed in 2015. We’ll be following up on Tysen’s travels over the course of a few … Continue reading "MM029: Merry Meadmust Road Trip Part 1: #FoundMead"...
In episode 28 of the Meadcast we introduce the MeadMakr’s Toolbox. These are five calculators we think will greatly help in your meadmaking journey. Starting with the BatchBuildr, we’ll walk through the BatchBlendr, ABV Calculator, SG to Brix Converter, and bringing it home we stumble through the Advanced Nutrient Calculator. To further enjoy the episode, Tysen … Continue reading "MM028: The MeadMakr’s Toolbox – Hear an Acronym, Drink Mead"...
Bray Denard joins us in Episode 27 to discuss the development of the near mythical Bray’s One Month Mead (BOMM) recipe. The BOMM started as a simple beer yeast experiment, assuming that historically beer yeasts have been chosen for fast fermentations whereas wine yeasts were selected for long term viability. Whether you trust the initial … Continue reading "MM027: Somebody Set Up Us the BOMM"...
Frank Golbeck from Golden Coast Mead joins us in Episode 26 to discuss sour meads. If you aren’t familiar with sours, read through the complete show notes and the and check out the Additional Reading links before diving into the episode. Frank walks us through GCM’s sour mead discovery, including the happenstance development of their first … Continue reading "MM026: Golden Coast Mead’s One Weird Tasting Trick"...
Merry Meadmas (or is that Meadmust?)! In Episode 25, we celebrate the holidays with audio from the multitude of mead masters we’ve had the fortunate opportunity to interview this year. You’ll hear from Ken Schramm, Brad Dahlhofer, Paul Zimmerman, Michael Fairbrother, Sergio Moutela, and Jeff Herbert. Topics include agave meads to make margaritas; the historical mead figures … Continue reading "MM025: A Merry Meadmas with the Mead Masters"...
In Episode 24, David Doucette from Hive Mind Mead joins us to tackle bochets. What are they? how do you make them? And what the heck is solera aging!?! Listen in to find out. And if you want to join in on the fun check out the links section below for where to follow Dave’s … Continue reading "MM024: Bochets with Hive Mind Mead"
Ricky from Groennfell Meadery joins us in Episode 23. Ricky hosts his own youtube show, Ask the Meadmaker. Listen in as we talk about Groennfell’s meads and answer a few questions Ricky has for us. http://traffic.libsyn.com/meadmakr/MeadMakr023.mp3 Right click here to download the mp3 directly. Drinks in this Episode Allen and Tysen: Mannaz and Valkyrie’s Choice (Groennfell … Continue reading "MM023: Ask THE Meadmaker"...
We’ve received many questions about staggered nutrients, and in Episode 22 we try to answer them bringing on Sergio Moutela of Melovino Meadery. Sergio also created Mead Made Right, a website devoted to teaching meadmakers about Sergio’s Tailored Organic Staggered Nutrient Additions. http://traffic.libsyn.com/meadmakr/MeadMakr022.mp3 Right click here to download the mp3 directly. Drinks in this Episode … Continue reading "MM022: TOSNA with Sergio Moutela"...
Paul Reiss from Meadist joins us in Episode 21 to discuss brands, bottles, and label designs. Bottling is the last step to finish your meads. While it may not seem relevant to a site devoted to making mead, it is relevant when it comes to sharing the mead you’ve made with friends. Whether you are … Continue reading "MM021: Branding, Bottles, and Labels"
In Episode 20, Tysen and Allen answer the first 20 questions they received from the Podcast listeners. We touch on making peach session melomels, common meadmaking problems, the mead industry, starting a meadery, and even how Allen and Tysen first met. We also feature a MeadMakr Spotlight with Blacksnake Meadery from Dugspur, VA. Steve and … Continue reading "MM020: Let’s Play… 20 Questions!"...
In episode 19, we tackle the topic of cysers with Dan Daugherty from Cidersage and Cider School and Matt Williams from Winemaker’s Academy. Recall from Episode 2 that cysers are simply meads made with apples and honey. Dan and Matt talk us through the apples you need to make cyser, where to find them, and how … Continue reading "MM019: Serious Cyser Symposium"
Have you every wondered how B Nektar Meadery comes up with such great flavor combinations for their meads? Or how they encapsulate and idea into a final product? In episode 18 we ask them just that, and get some practical information for how you can do the same with your experimental mead ideas. http://traffic.libsyn.com/meadmakr/MeadMakr018.mp3 Right click … Continue reading "MeadMakr 018: Experimental Mead with B Nektar Meadery"...
Episode 17 is a bit different from our previous podcasts. We’ve structured this as a *Bonus* episode, featuring some of the shorter content segments we’ve put together that did not justify a full regular episode on their own. In this *Bonus*, our main content is on planning a mead tasting, but we also have a … Continue reading "MeadMakr 017: *B* Planning a Mead Tasting"...
The first Saturday of August has been dubbed National Mead Day by the American Homebrewers’ Association. In episode 16, we change things up, presenting a recording of our 2015 Mead Day Mead Tasting, trying three traditional meads. Some of the guests were brand new to mead, others were a bit more experienced having made a … Continue reading "MeadMakr 016: Mead Tasting on National Mead Day"...
In Episode 15, we talk with James Boicourt, meadmaker at Charm City Meadworks in Baltimore, MD about oaking your mead. We focus a lot on the commercial aspects of oak barrels, but there are some nuggets in here for the home meadmaker as well. And if you are interested in using oak on the home … Continue reading "MeadMakr 015: Oaking your Mead with James Boicourt"...
In this episode, we bring on Michael Fairbrother to discuss making mead consistently. Michael is the founder and head meadmaker at Moonlight Meander and the current president of the American Mead Makers Association. His number one tip, make more mead! Michael went so far as a homebrewer to make 60 batches a year to hone his … Continue reading "MeadMakr 014: Making Mead Consistently with Michael Fairbrother"...
In Episode 12, we bring on none other than Ken Schramm, author of The Compleat Meadmaker and owner and head meadmaker of Schramm’s Mead (logo at right). Ken has been making mead for over 20 years, and his book has influenced many meadmakers who have gone pro in recent years. Our discussion starts with a focus on … Continue reading "MeadMakr 012: Take Ken Schramm’s Advice on Fruits"...
It’s time for another bonus episode! In this episode, Amina Harris wraps up our honey discussion with the development of the Honey Flavor and Aroma Wheel. We also have some exciting site news! We finally crossed 1000 total downloads, and in the three days since recording the bonus episode you’ve already downloaded another 300+. Keep spreading … Continue reading "MeadMakr 011: *Bonus Episode* Development of the Honey Flavor Wheel"...
In Episode 10, we have Amina Harris, Director of the UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center, back to guide us through a honey tasting using the Honey Flavor and Aroma Wheel. Follow along as we wet your appetite for honey, tasting four delicious honeys that would make fabulous additions to your mead. If you are looking for … Continue reading "MeadMakr 010: Honey Tasting with Amina Harris"...
In Episode 9, we bring on Amina Harris to talk all things honey. Amina is the Director of the Honey and Pollination Center at the Robert Mondavi Institute of Wine and Food Science, UC Davis. In addition, Amina is the owner of Z Specialty Food, LLC with her husband and son. Moon Shine Trading Company, a division … Continue reading "MeadMakr 009: Honey Buzz Words with Amina Harris"...
In Episode 008, we interview Chris Webber, the founding president of the American Mead Makers Association (AMMA) and the owner and head meadmaker at Dragon’s Lair Meads, a subsidiary of Outlanders Keep. We bring Chris on to talk about the AMMA, its mission, ongoing activities, and its path forward. We also discuss the Cider Act, … Continue reading "MeadMakr 008: The American Mead Makers Association with Founding President Chris Webber"...
What’s that!? A bonus episode? Whoa… We had some extra content from our interview with Vicky Rowe, and wanted to make sure you got to listen in! In Episode 007, Vicky teaches us how to judge mead. Of specific interest are overcoming your personal preferences, how the mead category impacts judges’ scores, identifying faults in … Continue reading "MeadMakr 007: Judging with Vicky"...
Episode 005 wrapped up our solo podcast content (for now), and in Episode 006 we finally branch out into the information you really want, interviews with the influencers in the meadmaking community. We embark on this journey with the mead mistress herself, Vicky Rowe. Having been involved with the meadmaking world since the late 1980s, Vicky has … Continue reading "MeadMakr 006: Have You Got Mead?"...
In Episode 5, we recap our experience at the 2015 Mazer Cup, the world’s largest mead only competition. With over 320 commercial and 360 home mead entrants, it truly is an experience to behold. This year’s edition included the annual American Mead Makers Association meeting, the commercial and home mead making competitions, the Mead Mixer, … Continue reading "MeadMakr 005: The Mazer Cup"...
In Episode 004, we put into action everything we’ve brought up in our first three episodes (001, 002a, 002b, 003) and make a mead live for you during the recording. We take you through the steps to making your first mead batch. In our case, we are making a sweet traditional mead, but you can … Continue reading "MeadMakr 004: Let’s Make Some Mead!"
In Episode 003, MeadMakr tackles the important topic, basic meadmaking equipment. We present the equipment absolutely necessary to start in the hobby. We also cover the equipment required in the order that you will use it on your brew day, with some commentary on how and why you’ll need the equipment on your brew day. Last … Continue reading "MeadMakr 003: Basic Mead Making Equipment"...
Episode 002b continues where we left off in Episode 002a, answering the question, “What is Mead?” In this episode, we tackle the historical types of mead, how they fit into the Beer Judge Certification Program mead specific categories, and how all of this relates to what you can buy in a liquor store. Hint: the … Continue reading "MeadMakr 002b: What is Mead? Part II"...
In Episode 2, we answer the question, What is Mead? In reviewing the audio of this episode, we realized we went well beyond our target 20 minutes, so we have broken it out into Episode 002a and 002b. This episode, 002a, will cover mead’s history and the definition of a traditional mead. We will post episode … Continue reading "MeadMakr 002a: What is Mead?"
We made it! Episode 1 of the MeadMakr Podcast is now live! Thanks for checking it out. You can download the podcast to your computer, or listen to it right here on the web. We will submit the podcast to iTunes soon, but we need a few more episodes completed before we can submit. http://traffic.libsyn.com/meadmakr/MeadMakr001.mp3 … Continue reading "MeadMakr 001: Introducing the MeadMakr Podcast"...
