what should a mead in process taste like?

[DaniJ323]

I started this mead in September. I back-sweetened it with Honey and sugar a couple weeks ago and intend on bulk aging it for several months. I got into it today to add some clarifiers and of course couldn't help but take a taste... Mistake ;o(

This is my first mead so I really don't know what it's suppose to taste like. It tasted very much of yeast and gas, and had no body. I did degas again and got quite a bit out. Will it develop body over time? I am hoping for a sweet mellow drink when all is said and done.

Yes, I know...'Patience young grasshopper'

 

[fatbloke]

I started this mead in September. I back-sweetened it with Honey and sugar a couple weeks ago and intend on bulk aging it for several months. I got into it today to add some clarifiers and of course couldn't help but take a taste... Mistake ;o(

This is my first mead so I really don't know what it's suppose to taste like. It tasted very much of yeast and gas, and had no body. I did degas again and got quite a bit out. Will it develop body over time? I am hoping for a sweet mellow drink when all is said and done.

Yes, I know...'Patience young grasshopper'

Hard question to answer......

I often have meads that seem to lack body, and often much in the way of taste when "young", so I just go through the process of getting them cleared etc and then leave them 6 months.

If they need back sweetening, I then make sure about the sulphite/sorbate as I don't want them starting to ferment again. Then I back sweeten with honey, to the desired sweetness level (usually about 1.010 to 1.020).

One problem with honey is that when it's mixed in, it will often cause a haze, that has to be aged out (haven't tried removing the honey haze with fining/clarifier type products). It can take a while......

Or you can of course, use something like glycerin to add body (it also adds a little sweetness, but over use can give a sort of metallic taste IMO).

It might not actually be lacking in body, just that it's not got the same viscosity as other wines that you're more familiar with. So whatever you do to try and increase this, be careful, doing it a little at a time and allow a week between. Over doing it will just give you something that's syrupy in texture/viscosity.

regards

fatbloke

 

[St Allie]

After tasting my first one.. ( kiwi melomel) I thought.. what a waste of perfectly good ( and expensive) honey.

You just have to leave them to age really. I have the kiwi and also a gorseflower mead aging in the cellar..probably won't touch them until they are 18 months at least..they were horrible when bottled.

What are your expectations in a mead?...Do you think a mead should be full bodied?

Keep good notes and if you don't like this mead.. you can always experiment with tannin and perhaps raisin additions for body in future.

Allie

 

[mmadmikes1]

I fear saying this, but I have been working on my second batch using my new and improved method(time will tell). I dont stabalize with sorbate and K-meta right away. I keep adding honey back to SG1.01 until it stops using it up (no change in SG) then I added K-meta only. First batch was not nice going into bottles and second will be going there as soon as it clears. I will know in a couple of years how it works, but I know people are going to pass out drinking this stuff. It doesn't take much sorbate for me to taste it, others don't notice it.This is my way of attempting to avoid sorbate.

 

[St Allie]

I fear saying this, but I have been working on my second batch using my new and improved method(time will tell). I dont stabalize with sorbate and K-meta right away. I will know in a couple of years how it works, but I know people are going to pass out drinking this stuff. It doesn't take much sorbate for me to taste it, others don't notice it.This is my way of attempting to avoid sorbate.

mmadmikes1...don't stress about stating your opinion here in this forum, I can't taste the sorbate myself, and also didn't realise other people could taste the chemical. This forum is a safe environment to ask questions without being 'flamed', the mods here will not allow it.

Just because you deliberately choose to make your mead high in alcohol, doesn't mean that you will serve it just like wine to your visitors, once it is aged enough to share, warn them about the alcohol content. All my friends think because my wine is home made.. it's not as strong as commercial wine... mostly my wines are equal to or, if fortified, higher in alcohol than you can buy locally.


Allie

 

[BobF]

I read somewhere (Keller?) that mead takes 1 year to be drinkable. It's good at 2 years. At 3 years it's very good. It's supposed to be excellent at 4 years, but nobody knows for sure ;-)

 

[fatbloke]

I read somewhere (Keller?) that mead takes 1 year to be drinkable. It's good at 2 years. At 3 years it's very good. It's supposed to be excellent at 4 years, but nobody knows for sure ;-)

Depends on where and what you're reading Bob, because I've got some older books from the 60's/70's when mead making was basically the preserve of a few Apiarists, where the techniques where more historical "hand me down" rather than the more technical "wine making" methods used now.

Because so much less was known about it (and many other things), the technique of feeding/chapalization until the yeast wouldn't take any more honey/sugar was regularly used, hence it might be 5, 6 or even 7 years plus before the mead was actually at it's peak.

I have read that the late Brother Adam (of Buckfast Abbey, bee breeding/bee keeping/mead making fame), used to make his meads solely with comb and cap washings, straight into a barrel with "Maury" yeast (same as Lalvins D21, until it became unavailable in small quantity - then he moved over to Montpellier, the same as K1V-1116 until his death in the late 90's). Then it wasn't "ready" until it was at least 7 years old......

regards

fatbloke

 

[BobF]

7 years?! I'm not that patient or young ;-)

 

[Wade E]

Mead is of those wines that can really take lots of time to come around. I have no idea what it is that makes it like this but it is true. Ive made quite a few meads, (usually Melomels meaning that is was fermented with fruit) and those take some of the time needed to come around mcu shorter due to probably the fruiut hiding some of the abv or hotness. Im pretty sure its just the fact that honey is so subtle that anything else in it becomes very easy to taste whether it be fruit or just abv that it just takes time for it to smooth out. So all in all straight mead is probably the most fragile wine out there and can takes 2 years or more for it to come around but when it does you will either love it or still hate it as its a poersonal prefernce. Usually IMO meads have a lot of body due to being a viscuos additive but that can all depend on the ratio of honey to water which can also dtermine how long it takes to smooth out. Hope that helps a bit.

 

[DaniJ323]

IMO meads have a lot of body due to being a viscous additive but that can all depend on the ratio of honey to water which can also determine how long it takes to smooth out. Hope that helps a bit.

Yes, I also feel a mead should have a lot of body. Do you think it will gain body as it ages or is it one of those things, either it's got it or it don't? At this point it taste likes weak, thin, beer.

As far as my expectations of a mead...I bought one at the wine shop near my home and it was wonderful! Very full and rich with a pronounced honey flavor and not too sweet.

Also, I will be bulk aging it for some time. What is the process? Rack and k-meta every 3 months? Or do you recommend going ahead and bottle aging it?
Thanks

 

[Wade E]

Honey in itself is a natural preservative so little to no sulfites are needed but again this depends on the ratio of honey to water used. What recipe did you use so we can sort of figuer out how this will turn out for you and about when it will do so.

 

[mmadmikes1]

Mostly ,Allie, hate to post I am making any thing without sorbate or K-meta because new wine makers start trying without understanding what can happen. Mead is a different critter because of honeys preservative abilities. I am new to mead but I do understand fermentation so I know what kind of messes I can make if not careful.

 

[DaniJ323]

Here is the recipe I used:

10 lbs of honey
1 can of peach puree
1 oz Yeast Nutrient
1 pack of Pectic Enzyme
2 packs cote de Blancs yeast
1 pack Potassium sorbate
1 pack supper clear

Makes 5 gal

I dissolved the honey added yeast nutrient put in primary with enough water to make 5 gallons. SG 1.066.
Checked temp and added one pack of yeast.
Waited 2 weeks - added fruit puree, Pectic enzyme and the other packet of yeast.
Waited another 2 weeks put into secondary.
Waited another 2 weeks, SG .998. Degased and added sorbate and back sweetened with 2 cups sugar and 2 cups honey.
Waited another 2 weeks and add the clarifiers.

Looking at some of the other recipes, maybe I should have used more honey?

Thanks ;o)

 

[Wade E]

That could have used a lot more honey, where did you get that recipe? Hopefully it wasnt here! Did you post that recipe here for any of us to look at? Please say no! I use around 6-8 lbs per gallon! That will probably be weak in body then IMO! Thats probably one reason why it tastes bland an alcoholic as theres not much there to hide the abv.

 

[DaniJ323]

It was a kit I bought at northern brewer. The reason I posted it was to get feedback on what the end product will taste like....not looking to good 'eh ;o(

 

[DaniJ323]

OK, so next question... can I fix it by adding more honey at this point?

 

[fatbloke]

That could have used a lot more honey, where did you get that recipe? Hopefully it wasn't here! Did you post that recipe here for any of us to look at? Please say no! I use around 6-8 lbs per gallon! That will probably be weak in body then IMO! That's probably one reason why it tastes bland an alcoholic as there's not much there to hide the abv.

How much ???

About 3 to 3 and 1/2 lb to the gallon (imperial) will normally give a gravity of about 1080 - I'll sometimes go a bit higher to about the 1100 level, but not generally higher (yes I have done a couple above that, but that often makes them very difficult to manage from a fermenting POV).

Yes, of course, it's all relative to what we like. Me ? I like the idea of about 14 to 16% ABV, with a strong, distinct honey flavour, but not too sweet. No more than 1020 tops (I tested 4 commercially made ones here a couple of years ago, they were all in the vicinity of 1040, and cloying/sickly sweet).

OK, so next question... can I fix it by adding more honey at this point?

Well it depends entirely what you think of as a mead. Do you expect it to be basically like "slightly watered down honey" ? or more wine-like in character ?

With a 5 US gallon batch, I would think that you could make it more like a port/sherry/fortified wine type thing, but with a pound or two of honey.

Though I'd be inclined to wait to see how it aged.

Of course, if you're expecting something quite viscous, then now might be the time to add any extra honey as any haze that might be caused by it (I understand that hazes caused by back sweetening with honey, are protein hazes, and eventually will drop out) should dissipate over time.......

regards

fatbloke

 

[Wade E]

Do mean sweetening it with honey? If so thats the only way I would sweeten a honey wine.

 

[fatbloke]

Do mean sweetening it with honey? If so thats the only way I would sweeten a honey wine.

Actually, not necessarily........

if you've got experience of the actual taste of some grape musts/juices (I haven't, it was a friend in deepest, darkest Oklahoma who suggested it), then get a can of Chenin Blanc (apparently other types are good too) grape concentrate, because it's good for adding body etc, and has a distinctly honey like taste. Sweet, but not as sweet as a honey or honey syrup........ and as long as the wine/mead has been stabilised, unlike a lot of honeys, it doesn't haze the wine, requiring further ageing/settling/clearing.......

It does seem to help with making the mead drinkable a bit quicker, than might be otherwise.

regards

fatbloke

 

[mmadmikes1]

I would start a new batch(stronger) and add this batch in as it gets going. The sulfite and sorbate already added means adding it slow but I have done this with wines to fix a *cough* mistake. Remember sulfite and sorbate will not stop an active fermention so once the new batch is going it will not hurt as long as it is added in slow.
I like Fatty's idea above too. Just adding another option