Insipid Mead

I put together my first mead in September of 2009. I have yet to bottle it because it's almost completely without taste. It has a very bold floral nose, but it falls completely flat once it hits the tongue. Light to medium body and the primary taste perception is alcohol.

I think my options are to sweeten with honey, add acid blend and and add tannins. Would any of these tend to diminish the nose at all?

For reference, I used about 15 lbs of honey in a 5 gallon batch. The honey was from a local co-op and described as "mountain wildflower." Fermented with EC-1118 at 66-68F using hightest's staggered nutrient method. Started 1.115, finished 0.998. At 15.3% ABV, it was quite "hot" and had what I'm guessing are fuesel flavors, though that seems to have dissipated at this point.


I generally prefer drier wines and meads, though I'm not at all opposed to a sweet product if it's balanced with enough acid. I think I'm going to start with some acid blend and see if it wakes up at all, but I'd love to hear some advice from an experienced mead maker that's seen this before.

Adding a bit of acid may be all you need for it not to taste flabby and that won't harm the aroma at all. Sometimes a little tannin in a dry batch will also help give it more body and mouthfeel, but I'd add it in very small increments. If you take a 4 fl oz glass and measure exactly home much acid and tannin you add, when you get it to a good point, you'll be able to estimate what you need for the whole batch. I'd just suggest when you add it, that you add less than you think you need. You won't be able to take it out if you overshoot.

Medsen

It may also be that straight "Show mead" isn't for you.. Maybe try something with fruit in it like the Strawberry Group Brew or Joe's Ancient Orange....

For the batch you already have made - I would start with the tannin, acid blend, and backsweetening with honey to make it taste good to YOU.... No sense flavoring it for other people....

Thanks

The acid blend helped considerably. In the end I added about a teaspoon to the 3.5 gallons of mead. I finally bottled it today. It's still a little hot, but I'm looking forward to seeing how it ages.

Thanks for the advice!