Grancru

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I have my first basic mead that I made in early January. I just racked it for the 2nd time and tasted. Lots of alcohol but not a whole lot of flavor. Should I let it go longer to see how the flavor adjust? I was thinking of throwing in some cinnamon/vanilla or something for the long aging period.

Any thoughts? Experience?

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Yan

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What kind of honey did you use? Clover and alfalfa can be pretty mild tasting for a plain mead. Is is sweet or dry? I'm not too partial to sweet mead (or much else for that matter) but in my experience, a dry mead tastes pretty good with ginger in it. Vanilla and cinnamon wouldn't be my first choices; i'd sooner use some medium-toast oak for a vanilla-like flavour myself.

shanes66charger

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Is it true though that with a young mead, the high ABV can mask the flavor a it and the flavors will come forward a bit more over time??

jezter6

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yes, your flavors will come out with time. you may have a perfectly wonderful mead straight up, or you might have one that could need some flavoring.

if it's your first mead, just let it go and see how she ends up.

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gratus fermentatio

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IMHO, I think you should let it sit for a year (racking & sulfiting when needed) Mead takes time & the flavour will change dramatically (it gets much better!) over time. Regards, GF.

fatbloke

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Concur with that. The first ever mead I made was with cheap, blended supermarket honey.

When it was first made, I was completely underwhelmed, so I just racked it and bulk aged it.

After a 12 month or so period, I tasted it again and couldn't get it into the bottles fast enough. I was VVV pleased with the efforts.

regards

fatbloke

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Grancru

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Thanks for the insight. I used a local MI wildflower honey from Windhill Farms. I will let this age for a few more months and taste again. It is a dry mead. I thought it had stalled (original D-47) and later piched in some EC-1118 so it is powerfull. Beginner's learning curve but hey, it is what it is.

I just racked it for the thirs time a couple days back. It has stopped fermenting but there is now a dusty (yeast?) film over the surface. Is this anything to be worried about?

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“Happiness? A good cigar, a good meal, a good cigar and a good woman - or a bad woman; it depends on how much happiness you can handle.” - George Burns

wayneb

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The dusty film is most likely yeast residue, and is nothing to worry about. I've had that with several batches I've fermented with D47. It is harmless, and will eventually drop.