19.2% mead...help

Here is the scoop.
I ordered 20# honey for a 5.5 gal recipe. Found out that it was more like 24# (what a deal)
the issue now is that the mead has completely fermented and is ~19.2%abv and is quite dry and hot. 1.005

I pulled a small sample to test back sweetening with more honey. 1.030 seems like the lowest gravity to offset the EtOH. ie: ~3# honey for the batch.

This will be gift so I want it to be a crowd pleaser and that much alcohol is hard for some to palate.

Please advise...

You could blend it with a lower ABV mead. 5.5 gallons is a lot though. Too low ABV and your just adding honey water. Maybe shoot for 5 gallons of a dry 8%? Get a blend around 14% (much more tolerable, and won't require four years of aging). Then you back sweeten the blend to your desired sweetness.

You could make a low alcohol mead and blend. Though if you gift the almost 20% mead I would recommend that it be aged for a minimum of 18 months, preferably 24 months, before consuming.

Backsweeten a sample with half sugar, half honey and see if you prefer that.

Out of curiosity what was your OG and yeast?

It was ~1.150 and I used a wine yeast that I can't remember. Its been 6 months since I started it. Getting ready to bottle it soon.

TWO YEARS?! of aging- Guess they can drink it on their 2 year anniversary.

Yea mead takes long time to mature and they higher the ABV the longer that needs to be. If you have a wedding in the next 3 months then I suggest doing what others have said and try making a new mead at around 8% ABV to blend in and reduce some bite. You may think about making the low ABV blend a melomel. A strawberry recipe maybe? Fruity meads just seem to be drinkable sooner.

speedy2782 said:

TWO YEARS?! of aging- Guess they can drink it on their 2 year anniversary.

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you didn't plan on this being fast did you?

amandabab said:

you didn't plan on this being fast did you?

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Haha, the rude awakening of every new mead maker. Finding out that you may have years before your laboratory produce something worth drinking.

speedy2782 said:

It was ~1.150 and I used a wine yeast that I can't remember. Its been 6 months since I started it. Getting ready to bottle it soon.

TWO YEARS?! of aging- Guess they can drink it on their 2 year anniversary.

Click to expand...

Ha! I brewed up my blueberry mead for our wedding. It aged six months before the wedding so I slapped a sticker on the back that said "join us our our first anniversary with this blueberry mead" after a week long camping wedding at Letchworth State Park I only made it home with one bottle. It sits in waiting!

Grab a page from the HoneyMoon tradition And incorporate it into your label. Let them know you want them to have a happy first year anniversary.