Best cheese source?

[terracore]

I agree, the local craft brewing businesses should all be making mead. So many people honeymoon on Hawaii, and the term honeymoon can be traced to the medieval tradition of drinking honey wine (mead) for a full cycle of the moon after marriage. It was believed to bring good luck and fertility. More than likely the alcohol eased the new couple's inhibitions leading to the fertility part and limiting it to one lunar cycle helped prevent fetal alcohol syndrome.

[kalakoa]

the aftertaste of most commercial mead

Most (if not all) commercial mead includes added sweeteners because that's what people expect from a "honey wine" -- real mead is nothing like that.

[knieft]

quote:

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Originally posted by kalakoa

the aftertaste of most commercial mead

Most (if not all) commercial mead includes added sweeteners because that's what people expect from a "honey wine" -- real mead is nothing like that.

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One can make mead dry or sweet. Simply depends on the honey to water ratio. When the alcohol level gets high enough the yeast die. How much sugar is still left at the die off determines the sweetness of the final product.

Cheers,
Kirt

[kalakoa]

How much sugar is still left at the die off determines the sweetness

Compare a "sweet" homebrew mead to, say, Chaucer's. While both are "sweet", the character of the sweetness is very different.

[PunaMauka2]

I used to make mead regularly when I had a connection with a local bee keeper who would supply me with 15 or 30 pounds of honey at a time at outrageously low prices. All mine were fermented out to be dry. Aside from maintaining the usual brewing standards of careful sanitation, pure ingredients, the proper yeast, using an airlock, and no added refined sugar, ...the key to good mead is patience and time. Immature mead can be quite rough or harsh. Some say 6 months minimum before consuming. I found 1 year to be a more worthwhile minimum, 2 or more years even better.

[SBH]

Hawaii Island Goat Dairy makes a variety of cheeses in Honoka'a and can be bought in Hilo and Pahoa.

http://www.hawaiiislandgoatdairy.com/index.html

http://www.hawaiiislandgoatdairy.com/Cheese.html

Cheeses are available at the following venues. Please note that we do not sell directly from the farm, or online.

BIG ISLAND
Waimea Homestead Farmer's Market (Saturday 7-12 am)
Kamuela Liquor Store (Waimea)
Healthways II, (Waimea)
R. Fields - (Foodland,- Waimea)
Island Gourmet (Waikoloa Beach Resort)
Mauna Lani Shops - R. Fields - Foodland - (Mauna Lani Beach Resort)
Good Earth Hawaii - (Kealakekua)
Abundant Life - (Hilo)
#8203;Locavore Store ( Pahoa )

[terracore]

"One can make mead dry or sweet. Simply depends on the honey to water ratio. When the alcohol level gets high enough the yeast die. How much sugar is still left at the die off determines the sweetness of the final product."

Most commercial operations kill the yeast with sulfites and then blend the product and add sweeteners as needed to create a standardized product. Letting the product ferment until the alcohol gets high enough to kill the yeast can develop off-flavors in commercial-sized batches because it takes so long. Whenever you're drinking a fermented beverage you are consuming the waste products of the yeast (you can think of it as poop and pee if it illustrates this point better) with CO2 and alcohol being the desirable waste by-products, however there are also less desirable tasting things the yeast craps/pees out and the longer its fermenting, the more of it you're going to taste. So commercial operations usually kill the yeast at a lower alcohol level than what would occur naturally. Generally speaking, smaller batches ferment more quickly so home brewers / vinters can let nature take its course.

[beejee]

I found a nice cave-aged cheddar at Costco, but I must admit that those parts closest to the cave were too much for me. The interior was device though, so yummy.