Let's Make a Stirplate

The last two weeks, I have been working on completing a home-built stirplate.  A stirplate allows a meadmaker (or homebrewer) to culture a larger yeast colony than what comes in the yeast packets or vials prior to pitching.  A yeast starter better acclimates the yeast to the must, and improves fermentation rates due to the healthier yeast and larger starting colony size.

My design for the stirplate is based on the one available at stirstarters.com, with a minor modification to the resistor and potentiometer.  The smallest potentiometer available at Radio Shack was 5k-Ohm, so I was forced to increase the resistor size accordingly to ensure a proper voltage drop across the fan.

The supplies (all prices at Radio Shack unless otherwise listed):

• 1 SPST Sub-Mini Switch ($3.49)
• 1 micro-F Capacitor, 2 pack ($1.99, $1 each)
• 5 k-Ohm Linear Potentiometer ($3.49)
• 680 Ohm Resistor, 5 pack ($1.49, $0.30 each)
• LM317T Voltage Regulator ($3.49)
• Breadboard ($3.49)
• 8"x6"x3" Project Box ($8.99)
• Four 3" machine screws ($1.26 x2, extra needed for additional nuts to mount fan)
• 12 V computer fan (free, salvaged from an old computer build)
• 4 D83 Neodymium Magnets (free, leftover from another project, usually $1.33 each)
• 12 V 1 Amp power adapter (free, harvested from old Verizon router)
• 22 AWG wire, soldering iron, lead free solder, electrical tape, hot glue gun (price not included)

Total price, tax included: $28.38 ($34.02 with magnets included, fan likely less than $10 additional)

Following the schematic from stirstarters, I laid out all the components and got to work building.  I highly suggest that anyone working with electronics have the appropriate multimeter, and measure the system components before soldering into place.  I should also warn you that the potentiometer will catch on fire, I repeat, it WILL catch on FIRE, if you short the voltage regulator.  Just be careful; I will not be held responsible for any accidents that occur.

Not knowing the pin layout for the LM317T and the potentiometer, I sought some help from a friend working on the same build.  You can find information on the pin layout for the LM317T here.  The potentiometer layout can be found here.  Note that you can reverse terminals on the potentiometer to control the clockwise/counterclockwise rotation of the potentiometer corresponding with an increase in power to the stirplate.  My design used the middle terminal for input, and the ground terminal as the output.  I only wired to two of the pins.  Test it out with a multimeter, and see what you prefer.

It had been years since the last time I put together an electronics project, but the build was easy enough.  First-timers shouldn't have any problem securing all the wires together.  And if soldering doesn't appeal to you, you can add some connectors to the supply list to complete the build.

           The Work Area                        Finalized wiring, Fan removed

All Screwed Together

Once finished, I put it through a test using a 1 gallon carboy filled 3/4 to the top.  Sure enough it created a steady vortex, more than enough for building a good yeast starter.  I still need to trim the potentiometer and add a knob, but looks weren't what I was going for.  It is functional, and more than capable for my needs.  Success!

Completed Project with Steady Vortex

Brewing Season is Upon Us

Now that the Maryland weather is cooling down, I can return my focus back to making meads again.  During much of the summer, the 84 degree temperature inside doesn't bode well for fermentation.  Most yeasts prefer temperatures between 65 and 75 degrees.  Lacking a way to control this, I tend to shelve the idea of making meads (unless they prefer high temperatures) and wait for the fall.

With the changing leaves, I have plans to start experimenting with local yeast capture.  We have a few eastern red cedars on our property with mature berries covered in yeast blooms.  I'm currently working to build a stir plate (plans at http://www.stirstarters.com/), with the intention to focus all winter on meadmaking with a local yeast.  At the same time, inspired by places like Blue Dog Mead and Leaky Roof Meadery, I will focus on low alcohol by volume meads, ideally in the 5-8% abv range.  I also want to try my hand at bochets, or caramelized honey meads.

I will spend part of the time updating you on my plans to turn my backyard into a local fruit paradise.  Right now, we have blueberry, blackberry, chokeberry and huckleberry bushes, with two very young persimmon trees.  Unfortunately none of these are old enough for any serious production.  Combined with the wild raspberries growing in our creek, over time I hope to make meads from these fruits.  I'll have to fight my wife for who gets to use the fruit (she does love to bake), but hopefully in time I'll have enough for us both to share.

I leave you with this recent article on the mead industry.  If mead is a canvas, what would you like to paint with?

New AMMA Publication

Thought I'd take this time to reference to the latest American Mead Maker's Association's (AMMA) newsletter.  Has some interesting articles on mead-food pairings, mead recipe design, an historical reference to mead (Pliny the Elder), and a recap of the 2013 Mazer Cup: AMMA Summer 2013.  If you missed the first two newsletters, they are worth a read as well.

For those who don't know, the AMMA is a relatively newly formed body with the following long-term goals:

• Establish relationship with government officials
• Member discounts at participating wineries
• Reduced entry fees at mead events
• Establish Mead Style Guidelines for legislation and competitions
• Create Mead Judge Certification program
• Clinics taught by industry leaders and subject matter experts
• Mead science research

The organization is extremely young, only founded in May 2012.  I encourage all to support their local meadery, and in turn support the AMMA.  They may not seem like much yet, but show promise in promoting mead related causes in the coming years.  

And while you're at it, you should help promote fair regulations for the mead industry, brought to you by the one and only Ken Schramm, author of The Compleat Meadmaker: http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/revise-ttb-regulations.fb31?source=s.icn.fb&r_by=2503511

Beer and Liquor? Where's the Wine and Mead?

Found an interesting article on artisanal alcohol and boutique beer as great industries to start companies in 2013 (inc.com, beer liquor best industry 2013).  As a home meadmaker, it makes me wonder what leaves mead or wine off the list?  Numerous mead companies are sprouting up across the nation, and it is increasingly being carried in local liquor stores, as well as some larger chains.  Wine might be a saturated market, but the local economy still stands.  Having lived in both Virginia and Maryland, these states are actively pushing the growth of wine within their borders.  Is the barrier to entry any different?  Or have wines already become saturated, and is mead still its own cottage industry (despite a recent article in Popular Mechanics and being named to the Forbes 2011 food trends)?

One day I'd love to start my own meadery, and articles on craft brewing and the increase in the market is inspiring.  Following startups and new meaderies on kickstarter gives me hope that the business idea could work (meaderies on kickstarter), although my plans are far more ambitious.  At some point it will have to reach the popularity of craft brewing to ever take off.  So that's what gets me writing here.  Go out and support your local meadery, and if you can't find one, for the time being a local brewery, winery, or distillery will have to do.

Wedding Mead

It was a beautiful day in April, as the love of my life prepped to walk down the isle.  My niece and first cousin once removed (what an annoying way to refer to a cousin's child) were clogging up the aisle.  Just moments before they were so happy to play with the rose petals, and now that they had to actually do it, they froze and threw off the timing.  But you aren't here to read about my wedding and romance, this is about mead!

Terrapin Bluffs Mead made its first public appearance at my wedding (well, larger than serving to only a few people at a time).  I served the basic JAO recipe and a modified JAO made with blackberries and blueberries, each scaled to 5 gallons so there was enough to go around.  We served both as parts of the toast, to rave reviews from all of our guests.  

As part of the process, I developed a special mead label to signify the occasion.  We used a sunset paper cutout as the central design element for the wedding, so I thought it fitting to place it smack dab in the middle of the logo.  I still kept the TBM logo around, but rotated it and shrunk it to take second place behind the importance of the day.  We used appropriately colored ribbons to glue the logo to the bottles, giving it the final professional appearance.  

From the tasting notes, most of the wine-drinkers preferred the blackberry variety, although as a general rule the majority of the wedding preferred the traditional, unmodified JAO.  We were just happy to serve the mead, and have everyone with us for our wonderful wedding.  It was so great having all of you involved, and hopefully there will be more mead for all the guests come Christmas!

Time Flies...

Already two months since my last post, and I've barely said anything about mead.  Summer's are busy, but they shouldn't be so much that I can't write about something I care for.  I've got many ideas for new posts, and am dwindling in motivation to put pen to paper (fingers to keys may be more appropriate).  So, I'm going to post a public to-do list, and hope maybe in the coming weeks I'll get around to actually posting about everything.  I'll even update with links as they are completed.  I do this as my wife stares at me with those wonderful eyes, full well knowing she's thinking "Yeah, right..."  So here goes, the list of topics:

1. Our wedding and the meads I served (link),
2. The Mazer Cup, and the scores of the meads from the wedding,
3. The American MeadMakers Association (AMMA),
4. The dwojniak in primary, the only mead I've made in the last few months,
5. A note on buying kegs when you know nothing about the topic.  Shame on Midwest Supplies for offering 'as-is' kegs for cheap.
6. And finally a post on that most sacred of ingredients, the honey itself.

That seems like a good start.  With any luck, I'll be finished by next year...

Designing a label

With Terrapin Bluffs as the name, I set out designing a logo.  I had defined a few requirements...  I wanted 7 scutes (the plates on a turtles shell) to coincide with the number of diamondback terrapin subspecies.  I needed a reference to bees, since everything I make includes honey.  And that was it.  A pretty large box to work in.

At one point, I even envisioned a turtle whose shell was built of honeycomb, and whose body was dripping with honey as it stepped from location to location, leaving little drops everywhere along the way.  It's eyes, nose and mouth were the opening to this moving hive.  This fully ambulatory honey hive was pretty cool in my head.  However, my art skills aren't that great, and I wanted something simpler anyway.  The honey turtle may still be a mascot one day, but it wasn't good for the label.

I eventually decided on a turtle shell with a hexagon border (honeycomb), with the Terrapin Bluffs name wrapping around the shell.

Here are a few of the early label designs, with 7 scutes in entirety.

The first design iterations, from winter 2012.

Early drawings of the turtle shell for the logo (summer 2012)

Now we're getting closer.  My carved pumpkin for last Halloween (Oct 2012).

Finally I realized I should include the namesake for the brand in the design, and decided to outline the shell in the image based on the shell on a real turtle.  I took the 7 scute idea from the pumpkin carving (1 large central scute outlining the typical 5 scutes down the middle, with 3 scutes on each side depicting where the 4 would normally be).  I started with a photo, and outlined the shell portions I wanted.

Last, it was just adding a layered hexagon, changing some colors, and there you have it, the TBM logo.  Thanks for reading!