Bottled my first batch

I had placed my carboy in a corner and would check it every week or so to see if it was clearing. It never looked like it was going happen. Three days ago I took it out of the corner in the closet and put it on the counter and what do you know. Crystal Clear. I think that being in the corner made it look cloudy. When I Bottled yesterday it tasted great! I have had MEAD that was young before and it has a strong tast, this was not like that. Any Ideas?

lostforatime said:

I had placed my carboy in a corner and would check it every week or so to see if it was clearing. It never looked like it was going happen. Three days ago I took it out of the corner in the closet and put it on the counter and what do you know. Crystal Clear. I think that being in the corner made it look cloudy. When I Bottled yesterday it tasted great! I have had MEAD that was young before and it has a strong tast, this was not like that. Any Ideas?

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Don't suppose it could be anything to do with either the differing honey or yeast ? According to the couple of books I've been using they are the two biggest variables, though the water (hardness/calcium content) may also be relevant?

If the stuff you tried before was higher in alcohol content then that can (apparently) make very young mead taste similar to "Listerine".

As for the Honey, I understand from my books, that the differing types, have vastly differing results when you consider that one honey will produce a variety of flavours depending on the yeast and the honey/water ratio of the must.

Sorry if that sounds a bit incoherent, I'm just trying to relay anything useful that I find in my two books - that sounds similar to your question/comment.

regards

Fatbloke.

well I am in the processes of my first mead. It fermented in primary for about 2 months. Then about a month ago I racked it into secondary and tasted it. WHOA! It was the listerine taste you described well I waited about a month and then racked again and added some finings and it was much better at this point. Also, if you haven't tried it that two step clearer with chitosan is absolutely fantastic. I added it to the mead and cleared from slightly murky to absolutely brilliant in 24 hours. Now I just have to have patience and wait....and wait....and wait