What should my mead taste like?

[dpearce4]

I have made some mead, It stopped fermenting a good 6weeks ago, and i left it to clear which it has done. It is a lovely straw/grass colour very light, aroma is just pure alcohol, taste is very very dry, no real honey flavour and the taste of alcohol. Im wondering if i need to add some more honey to it to sweeten it up or second ferment.

I have never tasted mead before so have no idea if its right. It maybe that it has just not had enough time to stand.

Any sugggestions?

 

[For want of a better word]

Leave another 6 weeks

I make a metheglen that is halted in fermentation after 3 weeks with 50/50 cheap vodka

bottled in October with the last of the cappings.... just opened a bottle... Cheers!

Thanks for reminding me!!

 

[oliver90owner]

taste is very very dry

Seems to have fermented out all the sugar. Adding more honey is one alternative, for further fermentation with an accompanying increase in alcohol content.

Really need to know the original and final gravities to be able to know the current alcohol content. If too low, it's keeping quality may not be so good. A mead will generally improve with age to a degree, I understand.

Another alternative would be to kill the yeasts present and sweeten with a little honey to taste. That may well ferment unless sulphites (and/or other yeast suppressant) are added.

My first demijohn of mead is currently still fermenting steadily after an initial rush of activity. I used the standard(?) super wine purpose yeast compound by Young's. Your's may be different dependent on the yeast used, for instance.

 

[REDWOOD]

My first attempt is still fermenting also, I used a yeast for a dry wine which is probably why, I remember reading somewhere years ago when i was making more than a healthy supply of wine that you can pop a sweetener tablet in the bottle, don't quote me on this research it first before trying it

 

[Chris B]

My first mead was a dry recipe. After 6 months it smelled vile (marmite and cabbage) so I almost chucked it, but glad I didn't as it was okay eventually. I've done a much better sweet mead - perhaps the sweet ones are more forgiving or maybe just luck?

 

[psafloyd]

Dry anything can be difficult as it generally uses robust yeast that ferments all the sugar away. There is less left behind to be forgiving about. Same is true of beer and wine, too.

 

[oliver90owner]

I used a yeast for a dry wine

Well, you learn something every day. There was me thinking it was the OG that determined the ABV and as long as the yeast was resistant to the alcohol level, it will continue fermenting until all the sugar is used. Of course if the OG is higher than the yeast can convert totally to alcohol, then the resultant wine will be sweeter. Seems sensible to me to work with OGs and FGs rather than a 'dry' or 'sweet' yeast and select the yeast on alcohol resistance as one of the factors (I dare say there are others, like temperature and rate of fermentation, among others).

Perhaps we need Arfermo's experience here?

 

[protheroe]

made a really dry mead so i racked it and sweetened it with honey,its now very nice indeed.first time making it and im happy with the results.i never thought mead would be this good

 

[Tom Bick]

Well for all the ones I have tried including my own each batch can be very different with some hard to swallow and some delicious from the off. It is often mentioned that Mead requires a year or two to fully develop its flavour but for me that is the hard bit as I have been more than happy with my results to date.

 

[MuswellMetro]

It is often mentioned that Mead requires a year or two to fully develop its flavour but for me that is the hard bit as I have been more than happy with my results to date.

i used a turbo yeast last year up to 20% alcohol, not I thought a good idea, just that i had the yeast

it was supposed to ferment out in 7 days but it did not stop for 6 months, i bottled it up to store for the "two or three years" it is said to need....but deicded to enter one in our honey show at only a year old

I won first prize!!!!, not sure that's says much about the other entries but it really surprised me, it would be drinkable

i used a high quality pekoe tea as the tannin source , I think that's all you taste in a dry mead, the modern turbo yeast i think give a cleaner brew and less part brewer out sugars...though not a chemist

 

[tonybloke]

my mead still tastes of honey, high alc content.
I use a high tolerance yeast, and brew quickly with heat ( In greenhouse)

 

[dpearce4]

Does anyone have a recomendation of a mead that i can buy in a shop that will give me a rough idea if my mead is heading in the right direction or not re taste and strength.

I do know that the commercial ones are not the best but im sure it will give me a rough idea.

 

[Tim1606]

I make a couple of batches each year and the bottles I enter into the honey shows are about two years old by then.
Have a few highly commended, they just need that something to get first prize.

 

[REDWOOD]

I have done a bit of research and one factor that determines the sugar levels in the finished mead is the bred of yeast and secondly trace amounts of other sugars that are not fermentable. These are the sugars that guarantee that no wine is “bone dry.”

 

[oliver90owner]

Only if the sugar at the start remains constant.

 

[Arfermo]

Mead is no different from any other wine. To get a decent result it is essential to start off with the SG (specific gravity) at a level where a suitable yeast (champagne type is my preference) will ferment the must out with a potential alcohol yield of about 10.5% - broadly similar to wines in the supermarket. At that point, if the SG is around 990, then one can add more sugar to achieve a higher alcohol content or stop it where it is by stunning the yeast with a crushed Campden tablet (sodium metabisulphate) and then killing the yeast with Youngs’ wine stabiliser (potassium sorbate) and adding sugar to taste after degassing and clearing has taken place. I attach a table which clearly indicates the sugar levels and the related alcohol potential at all levels. Start low and work up is the way I always play it. As mbc says, if you make the starting must too sweet the yeast may be oversaturated and not be able to ferment out and you will wind up with a sweeter wine that you were aiming for.
Initially the wine may not be to ones liking but left to mature or blended with another unsatisfactory wine will usually produce something special. Hic, hic.

 

[drstitson]

your mead should taste drinkable. that's all that really matters.

 

[QueenMaster]

Hi,

Good mead tastes like Muscat wine (Rivesaltes, Lunel, Frontignan), there is no "Honey" taste.

Cheers,

 

[dpearce4]

Hi,

Good mead tastes like Muscat wine (Rivesaltes, Lunel, Frontignan), there is no "Honey" taste.

Cheers,

Cheers for that i love Rivesaltes, i know it well it tastes nothing like that at the moment, def need to add more honey to it.

 

[oliver90owner]

def need to add more honey to it.

Too dry? You really need to know the current 'final' gravity to know the alcohol content, if it is fermented out.

That should give you some idea (if you know the alcohol tolerance of your yeast) of how much more sugar (honey) is required, otherwise it is a bit of a guessing game. Stopping the fermentation sometimes leads to 'sticking' of the fermentation, so is not recommended - it ideally needs to be steadily fermented out and then racked off, after clearing, to avoid the leas 'tainting' the wine. Adding too much will result in a sweet wine - maybe too sweet. I now know how much is in my demijohn (pop it on my scales) or fermenting vessel (calibrated for volume) and do an original gravity on a 'surplus' fermentation sample.

That can be added after the initial vigorous fermentation (when I only fill the demijohn to the shoulder to avoid frothing into the air lock). Any remaining 'extra' can be retained for adding after racking to keep the demijohn filled to the neck to avoid oxidation.

This way I can at least reproduce my fermentation as closely as the variable starting ingredients allow - so if it works OK this time, it should be very similar next time. I'm only a beginner at this lark and, like beekeeping, experience will follow. Just want to avoid making the same mistakes next time if it doesn't work this time.

C J J Berry (First Steps in Winemaking) who died in 2002(?) had a vast experience of wine making but most of the recipes are aimed for the beginner and not the hydrometer user. I may be fermenting at too high a temperature, according to him, as mine is about 18 degees. The beer brewers seem to prefer nearer 24 C but yeast varieties have changed and things appear more specialised these days.

RAB