Bitter mead

[daimyo2k]

Hey all...

Just attempted my first batch of mead. One of my containers was forgotten about for about 5 weeks. It was still sealed with the air-lock and there was nothing floating on top. This was thr was one that I was going to ice distill. Today I took it out of the freezer and drained the alcohol from the ice. I'll tell you what, that stuff was bitter.

Did my mead go bad? Did it become so dry that there's no sweetness left that it's bitter? Is it salvageable?

Thanks in advance...

Stephen =]

 

[weazelwacker]

Hey all...

Just attempted my first batch of mead. One of my containers was forgotten about for about 5 weeks. It was still sealed with the air-lock and there was nothing floating on top. This was thr was one that I was going to ice distill. Today I took it out of the freezer and drained the alcohol from the ice. I'll tell you what, that stuff was bitter.

Did my mead go bad? Did it become so dry that there's no sweetness left that it's bitter? Is it salvageable?

Thanks in advance...

Stephen =]

Well ice distillation is basically impurity concentration. Unfortunately there is a lot of missing context to be analyzed. Recipe, yeast, ferment temp, ingredients, duration of secondary, etc. To many variables for one to take a guess at.

 

[Barzahl]

Hey all...

Just attempted my first batch of mead. One of my containers was forgotten about for about 5 weeks. It was still sealed with the air-lock and there was nothing floating on top. This was thr was one that I was going to ice distill. Today I took it out of the freezer and drained the alcohol from the ice. I'll tell you what, that stuff was bitter.

Did my mead go bad? Did it become so dry that there's no sweetness left that it's bitter? Is it salvageable?

Thanks in advance...

Stephen =]

If it wasn't visibly bubbling it was probably dry the only way to tell for sure would have been a hydrometer test but you can make a pretty good guess based on the alcohol tolerance of your yeast strain and how much sugar you gave it.

As to whether or not it's salvageable I never messed with freezer jacking so unfortunately I have no clue although since it's technically a sort of low grade moonshine maybe aging for a couple years or so would help. Be careful with it though whereas distilling done properly removes impurities such as methyl and acetone that develop in small amounts during fermentation freezer jacking concentrates them along with the good stuff.

 

[MightyMosin]

Be careful with it though whereas distilling done properly removes impurities such as methyl and acetone that develop in small amounts during fermentation freezer jacking concentrates them along with the good stuff.

Words of wisdom, right there.

 

[daimyo2k]

If it wasn't visibly bubbling it was probably dry the only way to tell for sure would have been a hydrometer test but you can make a pretty good guess based on the alcohol tolerance of your yeast strain and how much sugar you gave it.

As to whether or not it's salvageable I never messed with freezer jacking so unfortunately I have no clue although since it's technically a sort of low grade moonshine maybe aging for a couple years or so would help. Be careful with it though whereas distilling done properly removes impurities such as methyl and acetone that develop in small amounts during fermentation freezer jacking concentrates them along with the good stuff.

Yes, I checked, the hydrometer just dropped to the bottom of the flask. So would assume it's just dry a.f. LOL!

Do you think back-sweetening would help?

 

[Barzahl]

Yes, I checked, the hydrometer just dropped to the bottom of the flask. So would assume it's just dry a.f. LOL!

Do you think back-sweetening would help?

So I did some digging and the bitterness is usually a result of high sulphur content, sadly there's no way to remove it with freezer jacking, it would have to pass uphill through copper tubing in vapour form when the sulfur contacts the copper it forms liquid salts and rolls back down. Back sweetening should help some though, depending on how bitter it is you could also try to mask the bitterness by giving it fruit flavor but it seems like it's going to be more trouble than it's worth, might also be useable as a mixer.

Should you decide to try again it's recommended to choose a yeast strain with low sulphide production in mind, take care that they get enough nutrients and make a low abv "wash".

 

[bernardsmith]

So I did some digging and the bitterness is usually a result of high sulphur content, sadly there's no way to remove it with freezer jacking, it would have to pass uphill through copper tubing in vapour form when the sulfur contacts the copper it forms liquid salts and rolls back down. Back sweetening should help some though, depending on how bitter it is you could also try to mask the bitterness by giving it fruit flavor but it seems like it's going to be more trouble than it's worth, might also be useable as a mixer.

Should you decide to try again it's recommended to choose a yeast strain with low sulphide production in mind, take care that they get enough nutrients and make a low abv "wash".

But sulfur has a very recognizable odor. If there is no smell of rotten eggs (or sewer gas) - ie hydrogen sulfide, then the problem may be simply that the mead is brut dry and that what you say is bitterness is the ethanol. Most country wine makers back sweeten and to do that you need first to stabilize the mead with K-meta AND K-sorbate in tandem, then bench test to see how much honey (or other sweetener) you want to add. Bench testing means that you take a known specific sample size and you add the sweetener to this sample drop by drop. When you find the sweet spot (sic), you know the amount of sweetener you have added (say, in grams or ml) and you know the sample size. Divide the TOTAL batch size by your sample, and multiply that number by the amount of sweetener. THAT is the amount you need to add to the whole batch.