Check your s.g. at the start of ferment, startat maybe 1.090 or so. Ferment to dry, stabalize and sweeten back with honey to the sweetness you want. Now it is not too sweet, not to dry. Arne.
Question for you Arne: If I start the fermentation at 1.090 SG, does it mean that I would get a dry mead? If so I would like that, because then I can control the amount of sweeteness I can add later.
Here is how Sweetness levels are judged:
Sweetness Levels
Identify and define the three sweetness levels for traditional mead styles as defined by the BJCP.(Beer Judge Certification Program)
How are the differences perceived?
How does this perception change with strength, carbonation, and honey variety?
Scoring: identify levels (3 points), define levels (3 points), discuss how balance varies in each category (9 points)
Sweetness Levels
Dry
FG 0.990 - 1.010
Semi-Sweet
FG 1.010 - 1.025
Sweet
FG 1.025 - 1.050
How are the differences perceived?
Sweetness simply refers to the amount of residual sugar in the mead.
Sweetness is often confused with fruitiness in a dry mead.
Body is related to sweetness, but dry meads can still have some body.
Dry meads do not have to be bone dry.
Sweet meads should not be cloyingly sweet, and should not have a raw, unfermented honey character.
Sweetness is independent of strength
That said, i agree 100%, ferment to dry than back sweeten with honey to your taste.
I've found that the Berry Bliss Melomel aka Red Dragon, we can back sweeten to 1.020 and it is fine for our taste, only one person has declared it to be too sweet for them.
Tom
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