A moment of silence for my 1st mead pls....

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grrickar

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I have had 2 -16oz bottles and it is very medicinal tasting. I'd almost describe the taste is like a hospital smells - just blech. It was nothing but Sue Bee Honey, RO water, yeast nutrient and yeast - Wyeast Mead.

Will this mellow as the years go by or not? I have 4.7g more of it in bombers - it is about 5-6 months old now
 
Did you sample your mead when you racked or bottled it? If so did it taste any better then? If it did then maybe its just that all the sugars have fermented out and it needs to be back sweetened. I have never had this happen with a medicinal type taste so I'm just guessing. Hopefully someone else on here might have a better idea and be able to help you more.
 
I have had 2 -16oz bottles and it is very medicinal tasting. I'd almost describe the taste is like a hospital smells - just blech. It was nothing but Sue Bee Honey, RO water, yeast nutrient and yeast - Wyeast Mead.

Will this mellow as the years go by or not? I have 4.7g more of it in bombers - it is about 5-6 months old now

It's just young, don't think about mead in terms of months, think about mead in terms of years. I never expect anything but nastiness from a mead until it's at least a year or two old. You need to tuck those bottles away & let them age for a year. Time works some serious magic when it comes to mead. In a year or two, try one & you'll be amazed at how good it is compared to 5-6 months, you'll also wish you's made more of it.
Regards, GF.
 
My understanding is that a medicinal smell in a wine is typically caused by the actions of Brett and their production of ethylphenols. If so, then I am uncertain that time will improve your mead as Brett is a hardy creature and may in fact still be quite active even in a finished bottled wine or mead. But if the cause is Brett it is not immediately obvious from your description of the ingredients where or how the infection may have occurred.
 
I had made a blueberry Melomel that tasted like cough syrup, it aged into a nice wine. That's different from the bandaid issue... Did you use any chlorinated tap water in any steps? Just a thought.
 
Again, Not an expert by any stretch but I think Brett is pretty much all around but it can be .. um... encouraged... to take root in a wine with too high a pH (the mead not being sufficiently acidic), by allowing the mead to stand too long on the lees of some yeasts, and by applying too little SO2 when racking...
 
I had made a blueberry Melomel that tasted like cough syrup, it aged into a nice wine. That's different from the bandaid issue... Did you use any chlorinated tap water in any steps? Just a thought.

No chlorinated water, so I don't think it was chloramines. I'll give it some time, should be better with age I am thinking.
 
What was OG/FG and fermentation temps? (young, dry, traditional meads can taste pretty weird)

Did you use any nutrients after pitching the yeast (traditional meads are very nutrient deficient, and yeast get really stressed trying to ferment it)
 
What was OG/FG and fermentation temps? (young, dry, traditional meads can taste pretty weird)

Did you use any nutrients after pitching the yeast (traditional meads are very nutrient deficient, and yeast get really stressed trying to ferment it)

Yes, I fed it yeast nutrient/energizer about 4 times over the first couple of months. I racked it off the lees after about 4 months, and one it was bubbling slowly I bottled. The bottles are opening mostly flat - so that tells me there is little to no residual sugars. There are a tiny bit of yeast sediment in the bottles I have opened.
 
I know one poster thinks time may not help if this off taste is due to contamination, but as long as you have the room to store it, you really have nothing to loose by waiting. Good luck.
 
I've had numerous meads turn out with strong medicinal flavors. The flavor stays, even two years in. I have tried brainstorming with others and asking on this forum but haven't been able to come up with any answers. My last two meads did not have the medicinal flavor, those included lots of raspberries in the primary as well so it may have something to do with making sure there are enough nutrients for your yeast. Could also be racking off the lees sooner. Those are my two theories at the moment.
 
The use of RO water in place of spring may have stressed the yeast due to lack of minerals.
 

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