Member poll: Please participate

[American Patriot]

The following poll is a little quick, non-scientific poll for some research I'm doing.

I'd appreciate anyone logging into the site taking a moment to hit the poll and answer a few questions.

Thanks a million everyone.

[American Patriot]

Ok, the poll is posted. Here are the "rules":

This is a timed poll - I will close it at the end of the month so I would like to get as many responses as possible, please ask other folks to log in if you can and respond as well. I'm using this information for research that I am doing.

You may give more than one response.

Please carefully read the responses and chose only those that are most appropriate.

Do not chose two things that are mutually exclusive as that will tend to throw off results.

Only take the poll once (I think that is all you can do anyway).

Finally, if you have comments please, by all means post them. I will start the poll and you can get an idea (at least the first few folks) what I'm trying to do.

Comments are definitely welcomed and encouraged.

Thanks everyone!!!!!!!!!!

[American Patriot]

Below is my personal response. Below that I will post my comments.

100.00%

I do like a glass of wine now and again. I prefer beer (especially stouts and my own personal homebrew) to wine.

However, I like mead. I have known about mead since I was a child and tasted it as a child. As an adult I learned a great deal about it and make it myself.

Currently I'm considering starting a business of making mead, but not in great quantities. Currently I am limited to making a maximum of 200 gallons of wine per year as head of household (this is a federal limitation). One state does not allow home making of wine or beers, but the rest do.

You can not sell your home made products and they are only for personal consumption. I certainly can share it or give it away to friends and family members to try or as gifts.

"Mead Awareness" needs to be raised, and this is one reason for this poll, and a reason for my considering a commercial business.

Thanks for participating!

[American Patriot]

By the way, if you don't drink at all - there is no option for that, but you can still read and answer some of the questions, just leave those concerned with beer/wine/mead blank.

You may also post a comment regarding this on the forum here if you wish.

[Luke]

I have heard of meade, but to my knowledge I have never tasted it. I will try a glass.

My Dad used to make homebrew beer, most enjoyable!

My Grandfather use to make homemade fruit wines, cherry,elderberry and I beleve once dandelion. It became a Thanksgiving Day tradition for my cousins and myself to sneek drinks from the wine jugs in Granpaw's fridge. I think he knew all the time.

Two of my cousins made shine for a while, wicked stuff, quick and to the point. They have since left this world for better places.

These days my consumption consists mostly of a few beers. Sometimes a few shots of Jack, straight up. A few shots of Schnapps and an occasional Bloody Mary.

We took my daughter to the KC Renassiance Faire a few years ago. I have been several times since then and always enjoyed myself.

[Brykovian]

I checked the following:
- Yes. I like mead
- I prefer beer to wine
- I have attended a "Renassiance Faire" or Festival in the last five (5) years in my area.

My wife and I were just talking the other day about how we are both more picky about the beer we drink than we are the wine we drink.

Personally, I like a sweet wine with some character. Light whites are okay. I do like mead, but won't go out of my way to look for it. If a wine gets too dry/sharp (or too pricey), I'd simply rather have something else, including water.

As for beer ... I prefer beer that's a bit darker, with some body, and is smooth. Bitters, Reds, and some Stouts usually fill the bill. Some of the crisper wheat and "weiss" beers will do as well under the right conditions. My local favorites would be Leinenkugel's Autumn, Red, or Honey-Weiss (in that order). With the rest of the domestics, I've found that I like Sam Adams and Fat Tire. Travelling abroad, I've found that I prefer the British/Irish beers to German -- Bass, Caffrey's, and Purpose Directors stand out for me.

Once past wine & beer, I do like the sweet southern US whiskey and bourbon. Southern Comfort, Jack, Wild Turkey, etc.

I hope that's helpful for you, Rick.

Cheers,
-Bryk

[PsycoJoe]

All the Fairs I've heard of were down by Detroit/Pontiac (oh, the irony). That's a bit, quite a bit, out of my way.

[Toad]

Voted.
I love beer, like wine, don't hardly drink hard liquor at all. I've homebrewed for about 16 years now and have dabbled in home wine making too. Oddly enough, never made a mead.

Ultimately, I like being somewhat self sufficient. Or at least having the skills to be so. Gardening, woodland foraging, fishing, cooking, homebrewing. I get a lot of satisfaction from getting my own food and drink.

[MagnetMan]

Whoops, only selected one thing. Would have also selected these...

I prefer beer to wine
I have never attended a "Renassiance Faire" or Festival.

[Backstop]

My votes:

Never heard of it (therefore never tried it)
I prefer beer to wine
I have never attended a "Renassiance Faire" or Festival.

Heck, there's still 3 beers in the fridge that I bought at Christmastime...

[Beetle]

I generally don't drink, but when I do I enjoy Tequila. I like Patron Anejo. But I pretty much like all Anejo Tequilas. About a month ago, I met a girl from Texas. We drank over $200.00 of different kinds of Anejo. We must have looked pretty good to each other that night. :-) Booze!! Been helping ugly people get some for years now.

Found a great Tequila at a great price. It is called Hussong. I met a friend and his wife in DC in March. I drove to DC and I chilled a bottle of Hussong in a cooler. I met my friends in DC at the hotel. Three of us drank the entire bottle. It is good stuff. We was tanked already and we went to find more. It is hard to find and we didn't find any, but we found other tequilas to drink. At the end of the night some guy was talking crap. He told me he was a Marine and he told my buddy another story. So, I called him on it and he didn't like it. I remember that. But my buddy tells me that he was wanting to kick my ass. I guess I told him that he could whomp my ass right here and now; but he would get tired and then I will pummel him. My buddy told me he walked away. For some reason, I don't recall it. Kinda wished I did.

But that is why I like tequila. It's like a box of chocalates. You never know what you are going to get.

And if you just drink tequila and don't mix it with sugar drinks, you don't really feel all that badd the next day.

[New Guy]

voted, i drink now and then, mainly a beer once in a while. heard of mead, never tasted it or even really seen what it looks like.

and will never step foot in a renfest! actually i spend some of my free time mocking renfesters. quite fun!

[Ryan Ruck]

• I drink wine but never tired mead (but know what it is)
• I prefer beer to wine
• I have never attended a "Renassiance Faire" or Festival.

I've never tried mead before but would like to. We have a yearly Renaissance Festival in Ohio just north of Cincinanti that is pretty elaborate and, I've never had a chance to go but have wanted to for a while.

[American Patriot]

Thanks to everyone that has voted so far!!!

Ok, New Guy, I have to ask why do you "mock" the folks that visit the faires? LOL

I'm on old SCAer - therefore, I DO go to the faires, and short of those, we make our own. And we carry swords (and know how to use them) LOL!

I have never been to one of the festivals in Detroit, Allen. That's funny as hell! hahaha - Maryland, CO and AZ only.

Those that don't know what mead is, it is made from honey. Basically it is honey diluted with water, with a few nutrients added for yeast to grow and then fermented. It usually is bad when it is first finished (bites back). Wait a year after bottling and it will be mellow and good. It's not like vinous type wines (grapes and such).

It is probably the very first fermented drink even before beer.

My preference for beers are stouts. Commercially, I like Guinness best. Non-commercially, I like creme stouts and I make a killer one. My wife makes the same version with chocolate in it (and don't think that is gross either, it's awesome) - those usually run between 6.8 and 9% alcohol too.

For those who do homebrewing and never tried to make a mead I have a couple articles here someplace and one page on my blog site on how to do it. I'd recommend it - but with it, I'd caution patience. That is, it takes anywhere from 3 weeks to nearly two months to complete fermentation depending on various factors.

A five gallon batch (standard size) usually contains about 3.5 pounds of honey per gallon, thus it takes five quarts of honey (1 gallon, 1 quart) and one gal of honey weighs in at 12 lbs.

There are hundreds of recipes on the internet but they are all basically the same for "traditional mead" the kind that contains nothing but honey.

After it is finished fermenting it must be racked to a new container and allowed to settle out. 3-4 rackings are usually good over the course of 6 months. After it is clear, bottle it, and keep in a cool place (under 72) for another 6 months and you should get some very good wine. Very strong wine, but depending on the honey types you will find it has some interesting flavors and aromas.

[Phil Fiord]

My vote:
I drink wine but never tired mead (but know what it is)
I prefer beer to wine

One thing to consider with mead is honey. A commodity that may become scarce due to bees dying... You think gas is expensive, try honey if it gets scarce.

I would definitely like to try mead though. As to beer, I found Sierra Nevada Pale Ale several years ago before it was widely available. I like it. It seems to go very well with one of my favorite dishes, Jambalaya, especially when its spiced up since the ale soothes my thirst and tames the spice. Ahh.

I used to go to a place named Elephant Bar, a restaurant and get just that. There is one in DC I hear I just have not been yet. The one I went to a lot was in Simi Valley, California as it was closest to me when I lived out west.

[American Patriot]

Oh, there's an "Elephant Bar" here in the Springs. I think my wife wants to go visit it or something.

All you guys and gals wanting to try mead... well, you might get your chance

As for the bees... believe me, I am following their plight very closely. Honey costs me 23 dollars a gallon. So, yes, it is very expensive. That's the cost I get it from my supplier.

if I go to the grocery store that's much more, and it's pasteurized, and usually it has been filtered. I don't like to use filtered honey in processing mead since it takes a lot of original qualities out of the honey (some of the fragrances, the pollen and other stuff that should be there for the yeast to grow).

[American Patriot]

Ok, thats funny. Phil, click on the boxes you copied into the message above. LOL!

[Aplomb]

Now this is the most difficult poll I've ever tried to participate in.
I can't say that I do or don't like mead since I haven't tried it yet.
I can't say that I've never heard of it, though, since I have.
I can't say that I know what mead is, either.
I prefer to either not drink at all or to drink until I don't know much.
Which means that I don't prefer either beer or wine, just make it good.
Sure, no problem drinking something stronger, just don't make me sick.
I've attended some festivals but not drinking festivals or wine tasting.
I might have even attended a "Renassiance Faire" I believe in fairies.
I sure could visit a winery, as long as you're paying.
By the way...I AM a pole.

[samizdat]

to be fair about the renaisance item... I'll shut up.

I looked up some mead recipes. I hope to batch up some honey mango mead. How do i do that? Boil crude honey//add blended mango pulp and yeast. Seal good stuff in airtight container and

[Backstop]

My sister and BIL got all hinky-dressed up for years, and went to the RenFest (? sp) in - or near - Detroit for years.

She was here visiting last week, and said they hadn't been in a while - the Festival itself had gotten "bad." I didn't press for details.

They were really into it, and she made their costumes.

Heck, even their wedding had that 'Robin Hood' look to it.

HAHA!