BVC - Boiling honey and pasteurization.

[Mills, Scott]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: cchipman at nomadics.com [mailto:cchipman at nomadics.com]
> 
> now now, condescension is tacky.... :-)
> 

OUCH.  I hope it didn't come off that way.  Just enjoying a spirited
discussion and some list traffic.

> seriously Scott, what kind of water to honey ratio to you 
> have to use to 
> get the temporature to what you think you need.  I admit to 
> doing somthing 
> very similar to your process, but when I do it I come out at 
> about 130 
> degrees F. Obviously I am not using enough hot water, but 
> what ratio of 
> boiling water to honey (say gallons/lb) do you need to do the 
> voodoo that 
> you do?
>

Basically I am boiling about 3 and half gallons of water and adding about 5
quarts or 15 lbs. of honey.  That's my basic mead.  Obviously less water if
more honey.  After the honey is in I will add enough water boiled separately
to get my volume to the full 5 gallons.

A lot of the resulting strike temp probably was to do with the thermal mass
of the pot and the cooker that it is sitting on.  A big thick heavy pot or a
15 gallon converted keg has a lot of thermal mass.  Likewise, the starting
temp of the honey will affect strike temp.  My honey has usually already
been sitting in a basin of warm water to make it pour more easily.

Regards,

Eadric
  _____  

Scott Mills	 
Scott.Mills at Compaq.Com <mailto:Scott.Mills at Compaq.Com> 	 
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