All my fermented honey batches have a musk to them

I have a batch of mead downstairs that has been cleared and is waiting to be bottled, and a batch of cider made with 5 gallons of apple juice and 5 lbs of honey.

both of them have a musky aftertaste to them. is this something that will go away with aging? is this common? They were made with the same kind of honey from a local Amish apiary - not sure if it's wildflower or what.

the mead was a simple one, 13 pounds of honey and 4 vanilla beans.-5 gallons.

Ideas?

the mead is now about 8 months old, the cider/honey combo is perhaps 3 months old.

Hmmmm. I'm no mead expert, but "musk" makes me consider oxidation. Is it topped up, and airlocked?

due to my lack of experience brewing this is 1/2 a question, 1/2 a suggestion. Don't Vanilla beans have a "musky" after taste? Might it be from the beans?

As for what maturing will do... I haven't the foggiest!

all topped up and air locked. I suppose it could be oxidation - but I am inclined to blame something else. Not infected.

it could be the beans, but the taste is also in a apple juice/honey mixture with no beans in it.

Some honey has a musky character. Goldenrod is good example. I'd be inclined to let it age.

If you provide the full recipe and process details, we may be able to see something else. Sulfur odors can come across as musky sometimes, and you could test a sample with a copper penny. Mousy and barnyard character can come from Brett and that might add a musky note.

This was the mead: 13 pounds of honey and 4 vanilla beans added to enough water to bring to 5 gallons. added a little yeast nutrient, add semi sweet mead yeast and allowed to ferment at ambient temp in basement. when ferm was completed I added champagne yeast to clean it up.

apple juice wi honey: add 5 gallons of apple juice - mix in 5 pounds of honey - add montrachet yeast

both used the same kind of honey, I think aging is the best idea. I will bottle it all - which means I will have to degass the carbonated cyser. or I could just bottle it and forget about it in beer/swing tops.

Find out what time of year your honey was harvested. Spring and early summer honeys are lighter, and give less of that "taste of the hive" muskiness. Late summer honeys are usually darker/richer like buckwheat and goldenrod honey, and are muskier. Sometimes I like that rich earthy muskiness of more traditional meads.

will that go away with aging? because I really don't like it.

It probably won't go away. The honey character, and maybe some sweetness, should return with aging. Aging should make your mead more complex in flavor, and maybe the muskiness will complement this. So far my meads haven't lasted long enough to find out.

Well I just bottled it. Some campden tabs and into
Wine bottes it went. I will age 1 year then pop one.

Ill try some different honey and water from the store next time to see if I can change things.

Props on waiting a year from the start.