Recently I decided to email Ken Shramm, the author of The Compleat Meadmaker, and although I'm sure experts like Joe Matiolli exchange words with him on a regular basis, I thought it was really cool when he responded. Just wanted to share this with you guys:
Jeff Tollefson (Norskersword) wrote:
Hello Mr. Schramm, I just wanted to let you know you did an awesome job on your book (although I'm sure you hear this enough). You did such a great job on it, I have heard your book called things like "The Mead Bible" on various forums including gotmead.com and morebeer.com. It seems that everyone who appreciates mead appreciates your book as well.
I'm a newbie to mead myself, but meadmaking has quickly become one of my favorite hobbies. I think with your book you have taken giant leaps in achieving your goal of making mead well known again.
Have you thought about writing another book? I think the mead community would welcome a recipe book from the Mead Master. You mentioned in your book that The Compleat Meadmaker was not as much about recipes as it was about learning to make mead. You have some great recipes in your book, but I'm sure there are many more where they came from.
Once again, my compliments on your "Mead Bible".
Ken Shramm wrote:
Thanks for the kind words, Jeff. I'm trying to reclaim some of my life now, and I think another book may be a few years away. I have pushed my other love (fly fishing) aside to get this book out and publicized, but the stream is calling me again, and is far to satisfying to be ignored.
The book has certainly helped some folks get off on the right foot. Some of the medal winners at this years AHA National Competition have given me some credit for influencing their mead making efforts, for which I am most humbly grateful.
We picked, pitted and froze three gallon bags of cherries this evening, and more cherries are a-ripening. There is mead making afoot, I tell you.
Life is good. Thanks again.
Ken
Jeff Tollefson (Norskersword) wrote:
Hello Mr. Schramm, I just wanted to let you know you did an awesome job on your book (although I'm sure you hear this enough). You did such a great job on it, I have heard your book called things like "The Mead Bible" on various forums including gotmead.com and morebeer.com. It seems that everyone who appreciates mead appreciates your book as well.
I'm a newbie to mead myself, but meadmaking has quickly become one of my favorite hobbies. I think with your book you have taken giant leaps in achieving your goal of making mead well known again.
Have you thought about writing another book? I think the mead community would welcome a recipe book from the Mead Master. You mentioned in your book that The Compleat Meadmaker was not as much about recipes as it was about learning to make mead. You have some great recipes in your book, but I'm sure there are many more where they came from.
Once again, my compliments on your "Mead Bible".
Ken Shramm wrote:
Thanks for the kind words, Jeff. I'm trying to reclaim some of my life now, and I think another book may be a few years away. I have pushed my other love (fly fishing) aside to get this book out and publicized, but the stream is calling me again, and is far to satisfying to be ignored.
The book has certainly helped some folks get off on the right foot. Some of the medal winners at this years AHA National Competition have given me some credit for influencing their mead making efforts, for which I am most humbly grateful.
We picked, pitted and froze three gallon bags of cherries this evening, and more cherries are a-ripening. There is mead making afoot, I tell you.
Life is good. Thanks again.
Ken