experiement turned out horrible

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felix

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in my opinion the culprit is the cinnamon (see signature). I tasted one of the 2 gallons and it has an horrible smell. Didnt even try to taste it. It wasnt so much like a moldy or vinegary smell, more like when my gf tried to make a apple-cinnamon bread and turned out real weird. Is the idea to use cinnamon at racking instead of primary? Was 1 stick per gallon too much? Maybe the cinnamon wasnt heated enough during the melting of honey and sugars and some bacteria was left in the cinnamon/honey/sugar? Also, i've read somewhere that what we buy as "cinnamon" is really just another, cheaper plant?
thanks in advence for any input on that! :eek:
 
Oils from cinnamon families can mess with fermentation, and when I use it, it is one to two sticks at the most for a 5.5 gal batch of mead / cider, and added after primary fermentation is done. Helps retain the flavor.
 
thanks for this precious info :)
i had a feeling i was overdoing the quantity, but the GF loves cinnamon and wanted it strong.
lesson of the day: never listen to a grrrl while fermenting stuff.
i suspect women to be behind such concepts as "backsweetening" and "vanilla stout". hehehe just kidding.
 
You are correct in thinking that most cinnamon sold in the US is not cinnamon, but rather a spiced named "cinnamon" if you know what I mean. It is primarily Indonesian cassia, which has sweeter flavor, less spice, and lower oil content than real cinnamon, such as Saigon.
 
+1 on what Tusch said. You can tell the difference between cassia & cinnamon (Ceylon cinnamon) by the thickness of the curl. Meaning cassia is thicker & stronger than true cinnamon; true cinnamon is thin & will usually crumble easily with just finger pressure, it's brittle & usually lighter in color. Hope you find this info useful. Regards, GF.
 
I think that batch would be a prime candidate for blending into another batch to make say 4-5 gallons total for a still heavily spiced mead.
I don't know about other people, but just a hint of the spices is my goal, if I can actually taste them then its too much and often overpowering.
 

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