Forgotten Mead

So I'm new to forum, just found it today as a matter of fact, and thought it would be a great place to inquire about a batch I made last year. I brewed up a basic mead (3lbs Wildflower Honey, 1 Gallon water, 1 pack lalvin D-47) and set in the basement to ferment. Well, I also then proceeded to make a few gallons of hard cider and completely forgot about the mead. Here we are 10 months later and Im cleaning out the basement and find the old batch.
Now the airlock still contained enough vodka to keep air out, but its been sitting on the yeast cake for 9 months+ now. My question is, should I even dare to try this stuff? I have always been told sitting on the yeast cake for even a couple of weeks longer than it should will yield a very bitter nasty wine/mead/beer, so I am a bit nervous and yet a bit curious. What are your thoughts fellow brewers?

VaporPhreak said:

So I'm new to forum, just found it today as a matter of fact, and thought it would be a great place to inquire about a batch I made last year. I brewed up a basic mead (3lbs Wildflower Honey, 1 Gallon water, 1 pack lalvin D-47) and set in the basement to ferment. Well, I also then proceeded to make a few gallons of hard cider and completely forgot about the mead. Here we are 10 months later and Im cleaning out the basement and find the old batch.
Now the airlock still contained enough vodka to keep air out, but its been sitting on the yeast cake for 9 months+ now. My question is, should I even dare to try this stuff? I have always been told sitting on the yeast cake for even a couple of weeks longer than it should will yield a very bitter nasty wine/mead/beer, so I am a bit nervous and yet a bit curious. What are your thoughts fellow brewers?

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<~~~new to Mead
I'd try it lol bit that's just me

mead is different. people usually say 2 years is a good place to start for aging meads.

You should definitely try it. Worst case you spit it out.

It's my understanding that you can let mead sit on most yeasts for quite a long time without any negative effects. The only one that I've heard causes problems is 71B.

Scott

Go for it, I have heard of it sitting longer and still being ok

I normally start my ciders in 15 gallon primaries in oct-nov, amd don't rack into secondaries until march or april. I havn't noticed any ill effects. I certainly wouldn't be afraid to at least taste it.

Sounds like a good time to bottle... Give it a little taste and if its ok rack it a few times to get rid of all that yeast.

VaporPhreak said:

I have always been told

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derek81 said:

<~~~new to Mead

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motobrewer said:

people usually say .

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Goofynewfie said:

I have heard

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grrrrrrrrrr......

One big problem with homebrewing is the "I've heard" or "I read" passing along of what may or may not be good information.

Vapor - 9-10 months isn't the end of the world; I personally like to rack off the lees (yeast) after fermentation is done, and again when it clears.

I'm guessing it's pretty clear now?

You could go ahead and either rack, or just bottle.

WOW and Thanks for the responses. You all are fast! I think I'm gonna like this place.
AZ, I know what you mean, and thats why I came here to ask the more experienced folks.

I will pop it open sometime this weekend and pull of a bit to taste. If its decent I will rack and bottle. I'll let you all know how it turns out. Thanks again everyone!!

AZ_IPA said:

Vapor - 9-10 months isn't the end of the world; I personally like to rack off the lees (yeast) after fermentation is done, and again when it clears.

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and where did you get that information from?

motobrewer said:

and where did you get that information from?

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Personal experience, and multiple awards at multiple mead competitions.

and.....how did you know how to make award-winning mead????

well now that I'm done with that, I have a mead that is still a bit cloudy after 9 months. is this normal? It tastes ok, still a bit of rocket fuel. straight honey, 13lb, 5 gallons, D47, SNA.

VaporPhreak said:

I have always been told sitting on the yeast cake for even a couple of weeks longer than it should will yield a very bitter nasty wine/mead/beer, so I am a bit nervous and yet a bit curious. What are your thoughts fellow brewers?

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My experience also has been that off flavors from sitting on lees is not that bad. Autolysis of yeast causing off flavors is pretty rare on a homebrew scale. Granted, I've never gone quite as long as you have personally, but I have heard of others going that long (and longer) with no ill effects.

I'd say you have a fine mead, and go ahead and bottle it...

please post back with your assessment of your mead!

VaporPhreak said:

I brewed up a basic mead (3lbs Wildflower Honey, 1 Gallon water, 1 pack lalvin D-47) and set in the basement to ferment.

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I don't see mention of any nutrients and if you had it chilling in a cool basement you had yourself set up for a slow ferment of a "show" style mead which is much slower by design anyway, you could actually have youself a real good bottle of mead.

motobrewer said:

I have a mead that is still a bit cloudy after 9 months. is this normal? It tastes ok, still a bit of rocket fuel. straight honey, 13lb, 5 gallons, D47, SNA.

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Rocket fuel after 9 months...D47...do you remember your ferment temperature, sounds like some potential fusels

AZ_IPA said:

Personal experience, and multiple awards at multiple mead competitions.

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There you go with that again... Next thing you'll be talking about your bucket of honey.

TheBrewingMedic said:

I don't see mention of any nutrients and if you had it chilling in a cool basement you had yourself set up for a slow ferment of a "show" style mead which is much slower by design anyway, you could actually have youself a real good bottle of mead.




Rocket fuel after 9 months...D47...do you remember your ferment temperature, sounds like some potential fusels

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i don't remember the exact temp. my computer blew up and i lost all my beersmith notes. but it couldn't have been much over 70F. Even with our 95+ degree temps here for the last few weeks, my basement is still at 64F. I'm fermenting a cider down there right now, it peaked at 66.9F wort temp.

D47 is a great yeast but once you start pushing 69-70 degrees farenheit and anything even slightly over that it produces fusels, it may mellow out some but usually requires cutting the tails off distillation in other beverages. Your aging time may be extended beyond expectations because of it.

thanks for the info.

i hadn't really planned on touching it for at least 18 months. so i'm not terribly concerned about it, as long as it eventually goes away

i doubt it was close to 70F as this was last october, my basement was probably close to 60F

AZ_IPA said:

grrrrrrrrrr......

One big problem with homebrewing is the "I've heard" or "I read" passing along of what may or may not be good information.

Vapor - 9-10 months isn't the end of the world; I personally like to rack off the lees (yeast) after fermentation is done, and again when it clears.

I'm guessing it's pretty clear now?

You could go ahead and either rack, or just bottle.

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<~~~~ just had diarrhea

VaporPhreak said:

So I'm new to forum, just found it today as a matter of fact, and thought it would be a great place to inquire about a batch I made last year. I brewed up a basic mead (3lbs Wildflower Honey, 1 Gallon water, 1 pack lalvin D-47) and set in the basement to ferment. Well, I also then proceeded to make a few gallons of hard cider and completely forgot about the mead. Here we are 10 months later and Im cleaning out the basement and find the old batch.
Now the airlock still contained enough vodka to keep air out, but its been sitting on the yeast cake for 9 months+ now. My question is, should I even dare to try this stuff? I have always been told sitting on the yeast cake for even a couple of weeks longer than it should will yield a very bitter nasty wine/mead/beer, so I am a bit nervous and yet a bit curious. What are your thoughts fellow brewers?

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Taste that mead! Odds are good it's on it's way to being great. Here's a little about D-47 from Keller's site:

"Lalvin ICV-D47 (Côtes-du-Rhône) : This is a low-foaming quick fermenter that settles well and forms compact lees at the end of fermentation, although when left on the lees, ripe spicy aromas with tropical and citrus notes develop. This strain tolerates fermentation temperatures ranging from 50° to 86° F. and enhances mouth feel due to complex carbohydrates and high polysaccharide production. Malolactic fermentation proceeds well in wine made with ICV-D47. This strain is recommended for making wines from white varieties such as Chardonnay and for rosé style wines. It is ideal for persimmon, peach, nectarine, paw-paw, and mango, as well as aromatic wines such as rose petal, elderflower, anise and woodruff. It is also an excellent choice for producing mead if supplemented with yeast nutrients, especially usable nitrogen. Its alcohol ceiling is 14%."

Regards, GF.