How long to age a mead?

[Mike]

I made my first mead a little while ago. It's been in bottles aging for maybe 4 months now. How long should I let it age before trying? It tasted awfully hot when I tried a sample when I bottled.

Also, does the overwhelming majority of mead makers on this board keep their meads still?

 

[TheTooth]

I'm fairly new to meadmaking (only 3 batches under my belt), but so far I've served them all still. My experience has been that the sweeter the mead it, the earlier it's ready to drink.

That said, I'm looking to make some drier meads that will need to lay down a while before they are ready. I'm also looking forward to trying a sparking mead.

 

[Malkore]

sweeter meads, lower abv, and lighter colored honeys should take less time to age/condition.

If it was real hot at bottling, I'd wait 6 months before sampling one.

 

[Wade E]

I agree that most wines will be ready much earlier when sweetened and if they are hot when bottled that is a good indivator that it will take much longer to come around, Im betting this 1 wont be ready to drink for more like a year though.