In this powerpoint talk, we’ll be looking at the various steps in making a good mead. Mead making is very easy but there are a few critical steps that must be followed in order to make good mead. We will be discussing the various different types of mead, how to choose the best ingredients, what equipment is needed, how to prepare the must, special fermentation techniques, aging mead, serving mead and how to evaluate mead quality.
In this powerpoint talk, we’ll be looking at the various steps in making a good mead. Mead making is very easy but there are a few critical steps that must be followed in order to make good mead. We will be discussing the various different types of mead, how to choose the best ingredients, what equipment is needed, how to prepare the must, special fermentation techniques, aging mead, serving mead and how to evaluate mead quality.
In this powerpoint talk, we’ll be looking at the various steps in making a good mead. Mead making is very easy but there are a few critical steps that must be followed in order to make good mead. We will be discussing the various different types of mead, how to choose the best ingredients, what equipment is needed, how to prepare the must, special fermentation techniques, aging mead, serving mead and how to evaluate mead quality.
Meet the Instructors
C. Marina Marchese
Carla Marina Marchese is the founder of the The AHTS and a member and instructor for the Italian National Register of Experts in the Sensory Analysis of Honey, where she received her formal training as a honey sensory expert.
A graduate of The School of Visual Arts in NYC, Marina's background in the visual arts primed her for the critical skills required to work in a sensory discipline. An accomplished apiculturist for 25 years, Marina has also completed the Charles Mraz Apitherapy Course, twice achieving a deep understanding of products of the beehive
and the applications to health and healing.
Marina is the co-author, with Kim Flottum of The Honey Connoisseur which parallels the concept of terroir to single origin honey
directly matching floral sources to flavors and conceived the first U.S. honey aroma and flavor wheel. She was invited to write the honey chapter for Beekeeping for Dummies and is a co-author of Honey for Dummies with Howland Blackiston. Her 4th book will be released in 2024.
Jason Wilson wrote in The Washington Post "Which is to say Marchese's palate
is so finely tuned that she can literally taste
the beekeeper's fear in a smear of honey."
Marina's web site is honeysommelier.com
Raffaele Dall’Olio is a beekeeper and animal biologist with a master’s degree in honeybee pathogens diagnostic, skilled in artificial insemination of honeybee queens. He has more than 10 year of experience in honeybee research and teaching focusing on genetic conservation of honeybee races, detection of pathogens and viruses, improving quality of beekeeping products. He's member of the international research networks COLOSS (on Colony Losses) and RNSBB (about Sustainable Bee Breeding). Raffaele has commercial experience with 150 hives in Tuscany, Italy and queen-rearing experience and manuka honey in New Zealand. As an internationally sought out speaker including Apimondia and the European Conference of Apidology, Raffaele has more than 10 years experience as a teacher and professional honey taster and panel leader for the Italian National Register of Professional Honey Taster and member of official Panel Test at CRA-API lab since 2005 and in several Honey Contests. In 2015, he found “AsSenso”, sensory analyses as an R&D tool for businesses. Raffaele also has written for national beekeeping magazines in Italy such as L’apicoltore italiano, Lapis and APOidea.
Raffaele's website is beesources.com
Gian Luigi Marcazzan
Gian Luigi Marcazzan is the President of the Italian Register of Experts in the Sensory Analysis of Honey with more than 25 years of experience as a teacher and professional honey taster. From 2008, Gian Luigi works as a panel leader for the international honey competition BioMiel. He is the leader of the Honey Sensory group within the International Honey Commission, the leading organization to develop methods for honey quality evaluation.
Gian Luigi is a researcher and technical manager for honey quality control by chemical and sensory analysis at the Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA) in Bologna, Italy for 26 years. Gian Luigi studies the composition of royal jelly and propolis to open up the knowledge on the composition in order to characterize and control the quality. He is also a beekeeper and breeds bees for the production of swarms and honey.
Cheese Consultant: Ashley Bryant
Ashley Bryant is a cheese educator currently residing in the American cheese mecca of Vermont. She previously ran the Events and Education Department at the famed Murray's Cheese in NYC where she educated the masses on her favorite topic, cheese! During her time at Murray's, she taught hundreds of cheese pairing classes with everything from wine to whiskey but one of her favorite cheese pairings has always been honey! Ashley currently manages the event's program at Dedalus, a natural wine shop in Burlington, VT where she continues to spread the good word of cheese through pairing classes and wine and cheese-focused events.
Mead Judge:
Andy Tipler
Andy Tiplera is a certified mead judge and has been a home brewer of beer, cider and primarily meads for over 50 years. He started young in England and continued his hobby after moving to the United States to work with Perkin Elmer, a company developing and manufacturing scientific instruments. Andy was research manager at one of the company’s R&D facilities. Scientific research and home brewing have a lot in common. He also regularly competes in local and national competitions.
Beekeeping Consultant:
Howland Blackiston
Howland Blackiston is the author of Building Beehives for Dummies and Beekeeping for Dummies. Beekeeping for Dummies is the best-selling book on beekeeping in the Nation, and is one of top 5 best-selling titles in the entire world.
Howland has been a back yard beekeeper since 1983. He has written hundreds of articles on beekeeping and has appeared on dozens of television shows, radio programs and in numerous magazines (including The Discovery Channel, CNBC, Sirius Radio, XM Radio, Metro Learning, Cablevision, NPR, Traditional Gardening, House and Garden, and scores of regional shows and newspapers). He is a frequent and entertaining speaker at clubs and associations throughout the USA.
Howland is the past President of Connecticut’s Back Yard Beekeepers Association.