I have made a several batches of beer over the last couple years but this was my first mead/hydromel. I used Northern Brewers' Cherry Bomb! Hydromel. I originally got in the primary back on March 25th of this year, so its been almost 7 months. You can see below for the complete instructions. The only difference I made was adding an extra 1-2 lbs of honey and maybe another gallon of water or less when I added the first nutrition blend. I also prolonged everything: Primary for one month vs 2 weeks and Secondary for 6+ months vs 2.5 months. I just re-racked the hydromel into a Tertiary for clarity and another month or so for the aging since it pretty much was aging in the Secondary.
The OG measured at 1.034 (seemed low to me; instructions called for 1.056-1.060)
The SG measured at .996 in the Secondary
The issue I seem to have is that the hydromel tastes watery or thin. Again, I am very new to meads in general, much less making them. Did I do something wrong? Should I consider back-sweetening or added spices or is it too late for that? I do plan on kegging the hydromel and force carbonating and I read that alone might help. A lot of advice also seems to be to give it more time for most meads, but almost 7 months seems like enough time for a taste pallet for a hydromel. Again, the taste is NOT offensive or bad. It is slightly cherry and slightly honey but just seems weak in taste and body.
Any suggestions or advice would help. The wife isn't a big beer drinker but loves sparkling wines and cocktails. I figured she could add this to her champagnes or maybe even use it as a mixer if I can't get flavors into it.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/documentation/meadkits/CherryBombHydromel.pdf
http://www.northernbrewer.com/cherry-bomb-hydromel
The OG measured at 1.034 (seemed low to me; instructions called for 1.056-1.060)
The SG measured at .996 in the Secondary
The issue I seem to have is that the hydromel tastes watery or thin. Again, I am very new to meads in general, much less making them. Did I do something wrong? Should I consider back-sweetening or added spices or is it too late for that? I do plan on kegging the hydromel and force carbonating and I read that alone might help. A lot of advice also seems to be to give it more time for most meads, but almost 7 months seems like enough time for a taste pallet for a hydromel. Again, the taste is NOT offensive or bad. It is slightly cherry and slightly honey but just seems weak in taste and body.
Any suggestions or advice would help. The wife isn't a big beer drinker but loves sparkling wines and cocktails. I figured she could add this to her champagnes or maybe even use it as a mixer if I can't get flavors into it.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/documentation/meadkits/CherryBombHydromel.pdf
http://www.northernbrewer.com/cherry-bomb-hydromel