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John Long · 07-12-2010, 10:49 PM

I'm soaking some rose pedals in vodka and water right now. Has anyone ever added flavored vodka to mead? I'm wondering if it'll hurt anything.

I'm making a 5-gallong batch of rose mead.

Thanks! Trails & Ales again!
-Johnny

JOHN51277 · 07-12-2010, 11:05 PM

vodka should not add any off flavors, but should pick up the rose aroma you are looking for. People add small amounts of vodka to beer all the time. I don't see where mead would be any different. But then again, I have never brewed a mead.

**MeadWitch** · 07-12-2010, 11:43 PM

I doubt it. Are you putting the extract in the primary or secondary? I am thinking it would do much better in the secondary. Adding alcohol to alcohol shouldn't be a big deal, at least in my thinking.

John Long · 07-13-2010, 06:32 PM

I agree. I'm adding it during secondary or tertiary. Possibly during bottling.

I'll let you know!

**biochemedic** · 07-14-2010, 01:30 AM

Neutral spirits like vodka are routinely recommended for extracting spices and adding to mead and beer...as long as you're not using a spirit w/ a distinct flavor, you won't notice it at all, and the amount of alcohol you're adding is likely to be negligible in terms of the volume of your batch.
On the other hand, soaking your oak chips in bourbon is a nice touch for some beers...I haven't tried it for a mead yet, but I've been thinking of going that way for my next pyment...

**fatbloke** · 07-18-2010, 04:54 PM

It's best, that if you have extracted a flavour with vodka/NGS, then add it after the main ferment is complete, because if you add it while the yeast is still doing it's thing it can, in some cases, cause the yeast to stop fermenting.

Plus, if it's added after the ferment has finished, you'll have more of an idea about whether you'd need to add more or not - and yes, that means add a little at a time....

You're effectively "fortifying" it.....

regards

fatbloke