Mead Making Progress

Went into a wine making shop today to price out some equipment and ended up in a nice little chat with the proprietor over the making of mead. I ended up buying a hydrometer, some siphoning hose, some Potassium Metabisulphite and he threw in some potassium sorbate and bentonite for free. He also said that if I buy my bottles from him he'll loan me a corker for free. I also got no end of tips from the man. I very much recommend Somerset Fine Wines and Gifts for all your wine making needs.

Now for details on the toys I bought:

Hydrometer: this handy little device floats in the must to tell you how much sugar is still in the solution. The reason this is important to know is that if you take a reading before you pitch the yeast you can calculate the amount of alcohol in your mead. I did not do this, but that's ok, according to Dwight (the proprietor of Somerset) if I stop fermentation at 1010-1015 I'll end up with a nice sweet meed with a guesstimated alcohol content of around 9-10% give or take. Not a strong mead, but a nice sweet desert mead (oops I should be saying cyser).

Potassium Metabisulphite: shockes the yeast and prevents the yeast from fermenting. Also acts as a good disinfectant for sanatizing.

Potassium Sorbate: coats the yeast and prevents the yeast from being able to reproduce ensuring that fermentation cannot start again later.

Bentonite: Clarifier. Bentonite will take the cloudiness away from the mead.

Mead

Mead is fermenting up a storm.....

One thing to note is that I should not fill the carboy as much next time.... some of the liquid from the carboy actually went up the fermentation lock and is in the chamber topping up the water LOL.

Mead Making Progress

Pitched the yeast, the yeast sank to the bottom, hopefully it rises again and starts fermenting. I don't expect any real activity tonight, but we shall see.

Mead Making Progress

Ok so I finally got around to starting the mead. Here's what I did:

• 1gallon of pressed apple cider
• 3 lbs of Honey

I pasteurized the mixture and put it in the gallon carboy to cool for the night. Tonight after work I will toss the yeast in and hopefully in a few months I will have some alcoholic beverage.

I am also planning a larger batch of mead that I want prepared (and aged a year) by next xmas. This one will probably be a relatively plain batch of mead and not a cyser like this batch.

Torc Complete

I finished work on my first torc. Its gold twisted wire. A little small and one finial is a little wrong, but it's not bad. If I can get some pictures of it I'll post them soon. Once I have perfected the method I will also post them here.

A&S Project of the Century

Ok so maby not A&S Project of the Century, but Faye and I are working on plans for an impressive piece. Faye (doh Magurite I should say since this is SCA talk) asked of the traditional dress of a 6th century Irish Celt (my persona) and I responded (after some premiliminary research), "Colourful to the point of gaudy, tunic, usually primarily died saffron and down to the ankles, from thigh to ankle tablet woven or heavily embroidered." She said she can do that and we have been making plans on how to go about it.

She requested I come up with a design for the embroidery and I have basically four interconnecting panels linking up depicting the four treasures of Ireland. I figure if you're going to do Irish you might as well do it up right. The four treasures of Ireland (for you ignorant plebs who don't know) are:

1. Lia Fáil: The Stone of Destiny, which has been the cornation stone of the High Kings of Ireland throughout history. It is said that when the rightful High King places his feet upon it will roar with joy for all the land to hear. Unfortunately Cú Chulainn split it when it did not cry out when Lugaid Riab nDerg stood upon it. There is said to be a link to the Stone of Scone and that the Scottish stone might in fact be a part of the Lia Fáil.
   
   
2. The Spear of Lug: No battle was ever sustained against it, or against the man who held it. Lug or Lugh is a Irish deity known as the long hand or the long arm. While Lugh is known for having a mystical spear Brionac there is no evidence that Brionac and The Spear of Lugh are the same.


3. Claíomh Solais: (The Sword of Ireland) another weapon which no man could stand against. Claíomh Solais was a great sword, the sword of Nuada Airgetlám (Nuada Silver Arm), the first king of the Tuatha Dé Danann.
   
   
4. The Dagda’s Cauldron: This was a bottomless cauldron, no company would leave from its presence unsatisfied. It was also said to have healing properties. Dagda is a prominent god in the Irish Celtic pantheon, he is known as the "good god" although he is often depicted as oafish and crude.

So it comes that the basic design has begun to unfold. much research must still be done since Margurite has decided to do this as period specific as possible. She has asked me to find out if metalic threads were ever used, and I seem to have found some evidence that it was.

"A SMALLER SOCIAL HISTORY OF ANCIENT IRELAND:Treating of the Government, Military System, and Law; Religion, Learning and Art; Trades, Industries, and Commerce; Manners, Customs, and Domestic Life, of the Ancient Irish People" by PW Joyce written in 1906 covers the history of Ireland from the sixth to twelfth century mentions tunics saying "It was usually made of wool or flax: some-times it was of silk, occasionally of satin, highly ornamented with devices in gold and silver thread, worked with the needle". PW Joyce however claims Celt is a phonetic rendering of Kilt and uses this as evidence of the much disputed "Irish Kilt", it is generally accepted that there never was a Irish Kilt, and that all evidence is merely missunderstanding of the manner in which the Celts wore long tunics which tended to resemble kilts from the waist down, and while wearing a brat it was hard to determine that the upper and lower were all part of the same garment. Despite the Kilt claim I see no reason to dismiss all of Joyce's claims since they are backed up with evidence from carvings and other writings.

The Crimson Star Household Favour

I received my sash for joining the Crimson Star at fight practice. So I now have a black and red sash (the colours of the Crimson Star) to identify myself as a crew member of the Crimson Star.

Much updating to be done

Ok, so this blog is terribly out of date again. I am a terrible blogger, but oh well, what can I say.

NEWS

Household changes:
Not talking SCA households (well got an update there, but just wait) Maragrete mka Faye has moved in with Lilley and I on a permanent basis. This makes my daughter and I quite pleased. Maragarete is also a registered member of the SCA, due to her position as Baronial Arts and Sciences minister for Rising Waters, as such we have decided to get a family membership making Lilley and I members as well.

Heraldry:
I have worked on some heraldry for myself, Faye, and Lilley, but Lilley is holding out, not sure what she wants. Faye likes hers, and once I get permission to post hers I'll post it here as well, but mine is shown here on the left. Blazoned I believe it would be Or a chief Azure, Azure Wyvern, an or wolf between two or bees in chief.

Such is the heraldry of Cú Allaidh Mac Cummascaig of Trinovantia Nova. It is not registered yet, but oh well, it soon shall be.

Household News Redux:
Ok this time I am talking SCA household. The good ship Crimson Star has asked that I join their crew, as such I am to begin my career in piracy. This is not such a stretch for my persona, as the Irish have a long tradition of piracy by the sea. Most current members are later period, but oh well they will have to take this early period Celt if they wish me a crew member. Search as I may I cannot find a website for the Crimson Star, as such I think that I will make the offer to the Captain of the ship that I shall make a site for them and host it myself.

Fighting News:
I got a chance to make it down to Rising Waters for a fight practice. It was quite the practice. So many knights, so many bruises, so many tips and tricks emparted. It was a wonderful practice in which I got to work on my blocking skills considerably, wich is a skill that seemed to be lacking of late.

First attempt at poetry

This is my first attempt at a bardic poem, its a work in progress:

A Newbie's Journy

There is this group that meets I was told
A group that meets to clash sword and shield
A group called the SCA

I picked up a sword and answered a call
I picked up a shield and it joined with me
I picked up the game and found a home

Why have I not heard of this
Friends and Family alike have heard
yet none deemed to tell me

Now Masq was held
Dancing to music with steps long forgot
The grip of the game tightened yet

Hark now Rocriptus shows me the martial ropes
And Wulfgang, and Kellen, and Thord, and more
The boys of Trinovantia Nova never fail to assist

A name, what's in a name
I have a name given to me by my father
but in the society I am told a name is what you make of it

The name passed on to me by blood is cast aside
a name I take up to become
The wild hound cries in my heart

At Winter War a test was given
Sword and Board was granted to me
At Winter War a test was passed

A fate worse than death, a fighter who cannot fight
or so I thought that day at the War of the Trillium
Arts and Sciences you say

So it is St. Michael appears before me
'bind this book, I'll show you how'
stitch and glue, carve and stretch

Like a duck to water
a new interest found
the SCA seems an endless pool of possibility

So it is the Society has me
Bookbinder, meadbrewer, fighter, archer, fencer
What lies next for this society man

Perhaps its time to unleash the bard within
all the world is a stage a man once said
The society is a play within the play

Bardic arts I do seek
so the play must go on
this play within the play within the play

Very rough, but I wrote it free form with no thought to form or rhythm.

War of The Trillium

July 1 - 5 I, and my daughter, had the immense pleasure of attending the War of the Trillium. This was our first camping event, and my daughters first camping experience at all. It was unique, to say the least, and wonderful. I felt like a small child, everywhere I looked there was something new and exciting to do/see/experience/taste, wonderful people to converse/drink/sing/laugh/eat with.

I joined the Society a heavy fighter, and I will always remain a heavy fighter, but due to stupidity on my fault (forgetting that most important of armor pieces the all powerful cup) I was not able to fight. I could have simply run to town and picked one up, and more than one person offered me a loaner cup (thanks Raithe and the barbarian who's name I can't recall) but I regretted missing the cup for only a moment before I saw something shiny to distract my attention, a handful of daggers to hurl at a target.

We arrived on Wednesday shortly after lunch and only a handful had set up encampment, Dagmar assisted me in finding a spot for my daughter and I to set up our encampment. Being as I was the only Trionvantian there for the whole time I did not join a group encampment but set my tent up alone, as I was setting up though Eoforwic appeared and set up their encampment behind my own, and a fine fellow by the name of Toki set up his beside my own.

Wednesday I had dinner with the folks at House Druantia (I think that's right) encampment, and one of the women in the camp, Annabelle brought some garb for Lilley that was made by the ever tallented Yvette. The garb fit my daughter like a glove and she loved them beyond compare. Hopefully soon I will have the pics uploaded soon. At dinner that night I met many fine people whome I became friends with, including Tarian and her family, Annabelle, her husband (Richard I believe? and her lovely, yet supper hyper, little one L'lyn), and the beautiful Marguerite (a different Marguerite then is making the garb for Lilley that I won through the silent auction an Lady Mary). After dinner Lilley and I roasted some mashmellows and I sent her to bed. I let the fire burn down, and once it was just embers I went to the Eoforwic encampment and introduced myself since they were all still up and I wasn't ready for bed quite yet. I met many interesting folk there and heard the poem written by a nice woman named Mary who is insane, but in a nice chearful pleasant way and not a stab you in your sleep creepy way.

Thursday Marguerite from dinner at Terian's the night before came by and chatted for a bit. Then the rain hit, and myself, my daughter, Marguerite, and St. Michael (I will discuss him more later) set up shop for the day in the shelter by what would be the heavy list field. Marguerite was working on sewing and she asked Lilley if she would like to make a belt pouch and learn embroidery. This caught Lilley's interest greatly and she took to it like a duck to water. I have not seen the work much since it is a top secret project closely guarded, but what I have seen is quite impressive. While Lilley was busy learning to stitch St. Michael Alewright of Aethelmearc (Ok, so he is not a real saint, his proper title I believe is Master Michael), the patron Saint of the Ealdormerian Bookbinding Guild set up shop for binding books and asked if I was interested, indeed I was as I have much interest in books. And lo and behold St. Michael, of whome I am now a disciple, set me at a sewing frame and taught me to bind books. By the time the rain stopped and it was time for dinner Eoforwic's firepit had vanished into a newly formed bog, my own tent was quite damp inside, and all the firewood was beyond damp. Eoforwic solved their problem by piling wood up quite high and attacking it with what can only be described as a portable flame thrower (propane torch). While Toki, myself, and Marguerite attacked our own little damp fire until Toki gave up and borrowed some kerosine from Tarian's encampment. Personally I thought he used the kerosine a little reclessly, but in the end it worked and no one was harmed.

Unfortunately due to the wet and such from the day before I ended up quite ill Friday. But after a very long nap and some pills by a nice woman with an australian accent who's name I have quite forgotten I reovered well and shot some arrows, and Lilley got a chance to shoot as well. Bardic circle occured that night, Lilley made the first request and joined in to sing Rise. She sang a few more songs before I banished her to the tent and rejoined the circle.

Saturday was perhaps the best day of the entire trip. Finished binding my book (uncovered) and hung out with Marguerite some more. Lilley spent more time hanging out with other kids than she had in previous days, probably due to the amount of freedom that was granted her the day before by my illness. I tried my hand at thrown weapons, and although the first round was superb the rest not so well. Saturday was the fist time I was prepared to fight, but I discovered I had forgotten my cup. And while Rocripus managed to find somone willing to loan me one, a loaner cup (used) is not something I relish the thought of putting on. Like a small child though I was disappointed for a short time then saw something shiny and new (thrown weapons at that point I believe) I quickly forgot my dismay. Then there was the mead tasting, oy vey the wonderfullness of it all. The evening was lovely and well amusing. A visit from Mary while Marguerite and I enjoyed a cozy fire, was brought on by me tripping over some of Toki's gear brought some chuckles forth, then there was the midnight rading party to find more wood after all but a few revelers were asleep in bed.

Then came Sunday.... the saddest day of all. Parting is such sweet sorrow. I made many friends, of whome I hope I keep in touch with every last one of them. Toki gave parting gifts to Marguerite and I, and we all exchanged info. I managed to obtain the email address of St. Michael, and already I have been in contact with lady Tarian about bookbinding, overall I would say that Trillies were wonderful.