6 replies to this topic

[Brewer Pete]

I notice some of the members have Polish meads either racked or aging. I have searched online but found older recipes with boiling and irish moss. Are you guys following the old recipes or are you using more modern methods but keeping the flavoring ingredients the same?Any recipes would be appreciated!

[realbeerguy]

Currently have a Polish Mead going, 10# honey, 10# water, D-47 yeast, SNA while fermenting. OG 1.240, FG 1.072. Currently conditioning with Star Anise. Going to add oak cubes. Sit for 2 years.Also doing a 15 gal batch with some friends. 90# honey, 7.5 gal water in a 15 gal fermenter. Eau d Vie yeast, SNA additions. OG around 1.2, has dropped over 100 points so far.

[Brewer Pete]

Currently have a Polish Mead going, 10# honey, 10# water, D-47 yeast, SNA while fermenting. OG 1.240, FG 1.072. Currently conditioning with Star Anise. Going to add oak cubes. Sit for 2 years.Also doing a 15 gal batch with some friends. 90# honey, 7.5 gal water in a 15 gal fermenter. Eau d Vie yeast, SNA additions. OG around 1.2, has dropped over 100 points so far.

Sounds good, star anise I don't have listed for ingredients, let me know how it turns out.Do all Polish meads finish on the sweeter side?The flavourings I have listed are:HopsGingerCinnamon StickNutmegClovesPepper CornsLemon SkinOrange SkinShould be quite a spicy drink!I just added a 16 Gallon fermenter (60 liters) to my brew gear so I hope to get some decent volumes out of the mead brew sessions over the next couple years.

[realbeerguy]

It's my understanding that they do finish sweet. WayneB, do you want to weigh in on this? IIRC, you had a good post elsewhere on the various Polish Meads.

[Wayne B]

Sorry for the delay - yeah, most Polish meads do finish sweet. In fact in general, the greater the ratio of honey to water in the recipe, the "higher" the quality of the finished mead. The traditional types of Polish mead that are categorized by that honey/water ratio are, for reference:Czwórniak - one part honey, three parts water by volume (literally, made of four parts). This is the lowest initial SG mead regularly exported from Poland, and it ferments out semi-dry and finishes at about 11% ABV. Sometimes aged for a short while in oak, but often not. These aren't regarded very highly except by people who enjoy dry meads, even in Poland. IMHO, we do dry better here than they do there.Trójniak - one part honey, two parts water (made of three parts). This is the "entry level" for higher quality meads in Poland. They finish out at about 13% ABV, and are semi-sweet. They often have fruit or herb essences added -- but are not quite a western idea of a melomel since the additions are after all fermentation is complete. These are the ones most often found where Polish meads are sold in the US, and are the most reasonably priced -- although not the best representative of the meadmaker's skill. Usually aged in oak for 6 mos. or less, sometimes as long as a year or two.Dwójniak - one part honey, one part water (two parts). These high starting gravity meads are where the Polish product really starts to get interesting. They finish sweet, with ABV around 15-16%. These also can have fruit or herb extracts added, but the fruit juice does see more time in aging to meld with the other flavors. Oak aged for a couple of years. These are the ones that start to take on the "port" overtones most people associate with Polish meads.Póltorak - one and a half parts honey, one part water. These Uber-gravity meads are typically difficult to ferment (there are some tricks - like "feeding" an established fermentation with additional honey during the process), and require LONG aging times (5-10 years in oak is the norm; the best ones - like Jadwiga - will sit in barrels for 6 to 25 years before bottling). ABV is in the neighborhood of 16-17%.Just to bend your mind a bit, the equivalent starting SGs for these brews are, roughly,Czwórniak - 1.100Trójniak - 1.140Dwójniak - 1.210Póltorak - 1.250The honeys used are typically acacia (locust trees here in North America are called acacias in Europe), with a little bit of buckwheat thrown in for complexity. European buckwheat is more like Western American wild buckwheat than our eastern cultivated variety, FWIW.

[BeesNBrews]

Any input on which of our available yeasts [e.g. Lalvin or Red Star] would work for the Polish meads?

[realbeerguy]

Any input on which of our available yeasts [e.g. Lalvin or Red Star] would work for the Polish meads?

I used D-47 for the one I did. Got a drop of 140 pts.