There's been some good conversation on this forum on the "natural" approach to meadmaking, avoiding the use of additives or other methods such as boiling or heating the honey must. This is more or less what has been categorized in mead competitions as a "show mead," a mead made with honey, water and yeast alone.
I'd like to add a little more to this, and outline the natural approach to meadmaking in this way. Natural meadmaking is making use of the biochemical properties of honey to aid the fermentation as much as possible, avoiding the stricter controls of technological approaches whenever possible, in order to best bring out the delicate flavor nuances and character of the honey. It's also recognizing the distinct properties of honey flavor, charactor and aroma, their causes and how they can be harmed, in order to better optimize specific choices in meadmaking techniques.
This is more or less similar to what has sometimes been called the noninterventionist approach in winemaking. Here, the winemaker feels that the best thing to do is to stand aside and let the fermentation take its own course. The advances of technology are not set aside, however, technology is not considered the sole means to the end.
This was a great part of the dramatic change in U.S.A. winemaking that pushed U.S. wines to world class status. Prior to the 1970's, U.S. wines were big and bold in flavor, but one dimensional in overall flavor profile. There was nothing subtle about these wines -- about as loud and dramatic as the tailfins on a 1950's Chevy. Criticism of these wines, especially when it was pointed out that they were not food wines, i.e., something meant to be paired with food in order to enhance the meal, woke up U.S. winemakers. At that point reliance on technology was scaled down, vitaculture was improved, and the basic flavor components of the grape were given greater attention. The result? U.S. wines improved to the point where they achieved world class status.
There's much more I can say here, but I don't want to make this post too long. Essentially, when we talk about using different varietal honeys in order to boost nutrient and anti-oxident levels while achieving a better flavor profile and acid/sweetness balance, we are relying on the natural properties of honey to make a good mead. Taking stock of the natural antiseptic properties of honey changes the range of options for proper sanitation methods in meadmaking.
I'd like to add a little more to this, and outline the natural approach to meadmaking in this way. Natural meadmaking is making use of the biochemical properties of honey to aid the fermentation as much as possible, avoiding the stricter controls of technological approaches whenever possible, in order to best bring out the delicate flavor nuances and character of the honey. It's also recognizing the distinct properties of honey flavor, charactor and aroma, their causes and how they can be harmed, in order to better optimize specific choices in meadmaking techniques.
This is more or less similar to what has sometimes been called the noninterventionist approach in winemaking. Here, the winemaker feels that the best thing to do is to stand aside and let the fermentation take its own course. The advances of technology are not set aside, however, technology is not considered the sole means to the end.
This was a great part of the dramatic change in U.S.A. winemaking that pushed U.S. wines to world class status. Prior to the 1970's, U.S. wines were big and bold in flavor, but one dimensional in overall flavor profile. There was nothing subtle about these wines -- about as loud and dramatic as the tailfins on a 1950's Chevy. Criticism of these wines, especially when it was pointed out that they were not food wines, i.e., something meant to be paired with food in order to enhance the meal, woke up U.S. winemakers. At that point reliance on technology was scaled down, vitaculture was improved, and the basic flavor components of the grape were given greater attention. The result? U.S. wines improved to the point where they achieved world class status.
There's much more I can say here, but I don't want to make this post too long. Essentially, when we talk about using different varietal honeys in order to boost nutrient and anti-oxident levels while achieving a better flavor profile and acid/sweetness balance, we are relying on the natural properties of honey to make a good mead. Taking stock of the natural antiseptic properties of honey changes the range of options for proper sanitation methods in meadmaking.
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