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masta

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First 3 Meads from Valley Brew:


2005-09-19_130157_Mead_Bottle_Pics.JPG



Some description and my very untrained tasting notes:


Left is Tupelo Vanilla Mead: SG 1.005 Extremely floral nose from Tupelo honey and vanilla seems to be hidden until the glass is empty and then it comes through. More aging needed and will test in 6 months.


Center is Red Raspberry Melomel: SG 1.005 Powerful Raspberry smell in nose but taste is still a bit harsh.. a bit like cough syrup says the wife! Aging should mellow the harshness and bring out the fruit in the taste.


Right is Orange Blossom Cyser: SG 1.020 A bit too sweet for my taste and apple is hidden by honey aroma. Good after dinner wine with dessert!


Mead is certainly a very different drink compared to wine and can't wait to share this with folks at next years tasting party as most people do not even know what mead is.


I know the labels are weak but I don't seem to have the time or talent to make a nice one.
 
Oh crap! I forgot the labels! Maybe I have some generic ones somewhere!


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2005-09-20_041643_Kopie_von_glenvall1.jpg






I can send you the bigger picture if you'd like.


Wasn't sure of the alc. content. I can change that too.
 
Thanks....hopefully they with age into great tasting meads to go along with the look!
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I am working on plans for the next 3 meads
<UL>
<LI>Cranberry Vanilla Mead</LI>
<LI>Fall Bounty Cyser</LI>
<LI>Mambo Melomel</LI>[/list]


I hope to get these started in the next month or so and will make some corrections to the recipes based on the result of the first 3.
 
Best advice for clearing is time and lots of it!
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These meads were not 6 week kits...more like 6 months and still need much longer for aging into something special...I hope!


Edited by: masta
 
Be sure and let us know when you test taste them again Masta.Edited by: Waldo
 
Are you all using filters in the bottling stage?
I've seen so many photos that look absolutely stunning!~
I'm afraid mine, even after an extra week in the fining stage are not going to
look as clear and bright.

I'm thinking that $30 is not too much to pay for that kind of look.
 
Sometimes a good dose of sparkaloid at the right time can make the wine really shine! If you follow the trend of the kits, use bentonite in the must, then isinglass at stabilizing, but be sure and degass before the isinglass. The bentonite and the isinglass work with each other and can make a brilliant wine. Read all you can find about it.
 
A week after fining is not nearly long enough to allow your wine to settle....3 weeks is a good target. I don't normally filter my wines especially kit wines.
 
This is a kit wine and it says to bottle after two weeks of clearing. I was
thinking about adding at least another week to that. I've seen a number of
times, comments that wine isn't going to clear in the bottle, so as good as it
is in the carboy, that's it, right?
 
That is correct. We've never used a filter and our wines are mostly beautiful. If we have any doubts we wait and rack an extra time. The wine won't go anywhere. When we were new to making wine we had some sediment in a few batches of fruit wines,
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but we've now learned to WAIT!
 

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