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dummkauf · 10-22-2011, 01:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandomBeerGuy

@ yooper, I am trying my hand a mead today, Is the honey just used for the sugars or does really have a slight honey flavor? I have tasted a mead before and I didn't get any honey flavors. It was like stale alcoholic water.

The honey you use should definitely affect the flavor. Not sure what meads you had before(homebrew or commercial), but that sounds very very wrong to me.

That said, if you load the mead up with herbs, or other flavorings, I could see how you could over power the honey flavors too. Plus a really dry mead would not have nearly as much honey flavor as a sweet mead.

2brew1cup · 10-22-2011, 02:20 AM

After a month of fermentation or so.. How long (minimum) should this age for?

underground and under the influence

dummkauf · 10-23-2011, 03:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2brew1cup

After a month of fermentation or so.. How long (minimum) should this age for?

underground and under the influence

Age it til it's drinkable....which seems to be the general rule of thumb for most meads.

The last batch of this I made was aged 3 months in the carboy, bottled, and then aged another 3 months before it was drinkable, though it was another 6 months later(1 year total) until it was really tasty.. However I also use wine yeast for this, I believe the point of the bread yeast is that it will not get the ABV as high, and sweeter meads tend to not need to age as much.

My suggestion would be to let it age, pull samples, and bottle when you like the samples(assuming it's cleared by then anyway).

salli4102 · 10-23-2011, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2brew1cup

After a month of fermentation or so.. How long (minimum) should this age for?

underground and under the influence

I aged mine two months in the carboy and a month in the bottle before I drank any. It was alright then. But the longer the better. If I'd have let the bottles sit for another month I beleive it would have been primo but I just couln't stop drinking the stuff. I followed the recipe exactly.

DeadNutsBrewing · 10-24-2011, 11:19 AM

Mine has been in bottles almost 7 months now

RandomBeerGuy · 10-25-2011, 01:52 PM

Ok I brewed this recipe on sunday. I have to say its super easy process, I added fresh squeezed peach juice and it rocks. I got active fermemtation within a couple hours of pitching. Its awesome! Since its my first mead once its done fermenting I'll drink it. Then make a new batch in January and then I'll let it sit for a year.

**CreamyGoodness** · 10-25-2011, 02:06 PM

What I really need is a tea-totaller friend with a basement. Id hide my bottles there for aging where they are out of reach. At this point I have been making and drinking at a good clip.

bluegrassbrewer · 10-25-2011, 02:43 PM

I have made 6 batches of this mead over the past 4 years. Last night I found a gallon jug pushed to the back of a shelf in my basement which started on 10-14-09 and racked into the jug on 12-25-09. It is by far the best tasting. Definitely worth the wait, even if the wait was accidental!

BootsyFlanootsy · 10-28-2011, 12:58 AM

I just polished off my last 8oz bottle of this stuff last night. I will definitely put forth that this stuff only gets better with age. I had written it off as of a few months ago as far too harsh and way too astringent. HOWEVER, I had only three bottles left and I certainly am kicking myself as of now over that fact. That extra few months in the bottle certainly rounded off the rough edges and then some. I kept it still as I find it's better to sip stuff like this slowly and enjoy the tastes and aromas. Speaking of which, the smell from this stuff really was nothing short of amazing. Flowers, citrus fruits, spices, and of course honey... all mingling together and clearly perceptible from a foot or two away from the glass. It was great out of a brandy glass so you can get your nose in there and smell it as your taking a sip. The taste was pretty intense too.... honey and oranges, cloves and vanilla ... and a really nice flavor I can only imagine coming from the yeast, ( which is odd, but welcome),. I wouldn't even pair it with anything.., it stands on its own.

The only thing I have to say towards the bad is: i really can't imagine that this is different than any other mean in so far as that it really needs a proper amount of time to age. I would hate for people to think that this is something that is truly drinkable in 3-4 months time, go through the trouble and expense of making it, only to be let down by how harsh and phenolic it is at that young of an age. I'd say this really needs AT LEAST 8 months to a year to come into it's own.

Other than that, GO MAKE SOME!

Tnoodle · 10-28-2011, 01:09 AM

I have a couple bottles that are 7 months old and it gets better and better every month. I also entered a bottle in a competition so we will see how it does.