Mead update

So I just did a old fashion test and tip a swig of my JAOM and it's pretty freaking strong almost undrinkable it's 2 weeks into fermenting and all the yeast seem to be dead I think cause of the alcohol I'm not to sure, but will the taste lighten up and sweeten? cause right it's taste like I'm getting a mouth full of alcohol.

Use a hydrometer for a far more accurate reading. After taking the OG, I don't even think about checking SG till I rack to secondary & I leave mead in primary for a month.
Regards, GF.

gratus fermentatio said:

Use a hydrometer for a far more accurate reading. After taking the OG, I don't even think about checking SG till I rack to secondary & I leave mead in primary for a month.
Regards, GF.

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I agree, plus 2 weeks to be drinking anything is usually rushing it.

Trust me it's still fermenting. You should rack it off of the sediment, then wait for more sediment, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch before racking it again. Once it's at the point of being clear enough to read through then rack one final time and wait a week. Then you are into the aging process. Some of us bottle and age in the bottle due to the wish to brew more. After bottle or at the last racking after clear you then have about 6-8 months, a year is best, for it to age.

My first mead was a show mead with no extra flavors. When first bottled after clearing it tasted like an astringent antiseptic. But then it aged for a year and was sweet and yummy.

Also the point of nearly clear I oak it and that does smooth out the alcohol flavor even more. In my melomells you can't taste the alchol. I had to warn someone once that what they were drinking (My strawberry mead) was about 3 times as potent as a beer and to be careful. They still drank 4 12 oz bottles in the course of 2 hours and got smashed. I later was told that they didn't really have much of a hangover. The body LOVES honey.

Matrix

So go ahead and rack it and let it sit for a good while to settle then do it once more til I can read through it, I don't have any hydrometers or anything of that being I just started a few weeks ago. Also would it be ok if I racked it into say a water bottle so i can clean out the carboy and put it back in the carboy I don't have any extras to rack in it. One more thing should I take out the fruits and flavors or keep them in the mix?

vahallasbrew2 said:

So go ahead and rack it and let it sit for a good while to settle then do it once more til I can read through it, I don't have any hydrometers or anything of that being I just started a few weeks ago. Also would it be ok if I racked it into say a water bottle so i can clean out the carboy and put it back in the carboy I don't have any extras to rack in it. One more thing should I take out the fruits and flavors or keep them in the mix?

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You'll want to rack off the fruits and lees (dead yeasties and other things). You can rack into a water bottle just make sure its sanitary. You may want to invest in some campden to mix in at every other racking. This helps reduce oxygen spoilage. Typically 1 tablet per gallon.