Recent content by bmwr75

If the honey tastes good, it should be fine for making mead.

I racked my first 5 gallon batch to secondary today because it has not cleared at all 12 days after pitch. Didn't want to keg a very cloudy cider. Added 2.5 tsp of pectic enzyme dissolved in about 1/2 gallon of Musselman's Fresh Pressed apple cider (from Walmart) and will see how is clears up...

You used about 2X more k-sorbate than needed, but that doesn't result in a butter taste. Over-sorbating results in a bubble gum type flavor.

How does it taste?

I've heard a professional mead maker, forget which one, say that a certain yeast resulted in a minty overtone in meads. I am woefully short on details now due to fuzzy memory though.

My wife and I love lambics. Am watching this thread to see how it goes.

Going to be really sweet is my guess.

Using extra nutrients is not a current mead making best practice. That is why I've started using the TiOSNA protocol so the amount of nutrients is calculated based on SG and yeast nitrogen requirements.

I never have added yeast to secondary.

Read the last two articles at this link before making the next batch and you will save yourself a lot of future headaches. https://denardbrewing.com/blog/category/articles/

I stand corrected on how the abbreviation TA is used in the wine industry. Learn something new every day. My background is chemical engineering, so was putting forth how the TA abbreviation was used in the Bayer process to refine alumina from bauxite.

TA usually stands for Total Alkalinity, not total acidity. A liquid is alkaline if the pH is >7, it is acidic if the pH is <7.

The addition of ascorbic acid contributed to the tart taste you are experiencing. Might should have tasted it before you added the acid to see if the addition was needed.

Time mellows most meads in various ways. I use American medium toast oak cubes all the time......cause that is what I bought a big bag of months ago.

I'd go ahead and get it off the berries. You can oak it to try and smooth it out.