acid

[danroh]

Do you guys and gals use acid blend ( when called for) or do you play around with 1, 2 or all 3 acids at different percentages. One book that I have says to only use malic and tartaric at 3/1 ratio and no citric

 

[masta]

Is this question for making mead or wine? (posted in mead & beer making) I have only used acid blend when making adjustments to wine and never used it for making mead since honey has a very low pH to start and should not typically need acid adjustment.

 

[danroh]

This question is for Mead. The recipe book I resently bought calls for low amounts of the 2 acids in straight mead recipes. Are you saying i should do alittle more research and skip all acid? I have been making wine for 10+ years now but only tried mead once along time ago. It was one of my first wines and although it tasted good it was a desaster. All but one bottle blow corks and dumped on my basement floor. I've learned alot sense them and want to try mead again.

 

[masta]

Personally I would not add any acid to a mead until at least the fermentation is complete and then only after tasting and testing.
The fermenting of honey to make mead can cause issues with the pH dropping during fermentation. The yeast gathers some the nutrients it needs from the amino acids and mineral compounds in the honey. These compounds provide the buffering to prevent the pH from dropping and if enough are lost the pH can fall low enough (<3) to cause the yeast to stop working. A sweet mead might truly need more acid to balance the sweetnessbut it is best to wait until just before bottling to adjust.


A great book to buy for learning about making mead is "The Compleat Meadmaker by Ken Schramm.

Edited by: masta

 

[dfwwino]

I second what Masta says. There has been much change in mead making in the past five years based on what Schramm and other mead makers have discovered. Older recipes that call for acid addition or the addition of lemon juice, and the heating of honey before fermentation are outdated. I'm about to bottle a mead made with the no-heat method and no acid addition and it tastes great.