Blendind Meads

[SireFelps]

Hello guys,

I´m here to share some new experiences I had. As a 'former' sommelier I´m very used with the winemaking practice of 'Assemblage' - blending different wines to get a better one. The idea is to get wines in wich one can compliment what is missing in another and in the final you have a more consistent product.

So, thinking of that I decided to explore this possibilities on meadmaking as well and I discovered it can be a great source of possibilities and studies as it implicates a lot of new questions to me. For exemplo: I recently made a very strong Bouchet Mead (I burnt me honey a lot!) that in the final got bitter (for me it´s ok but for my wife...) and also I finished a JAOM I mixed 20/80 bouchet/JAOM, and it got amazing! Much better color, the bitterness took out a little of the sweetness of JAOM but improved the middle tones of flavors, aromas and lenght in mouth as well... The same happend when mixing a 20/80 Bouchet/Blackberry melomel, the mispoint here were the facto of the melomel were dry... and got a little bitter. But I´m excited to continue that.

What you say guys?

Best Regards
SireFelps

 

[Matrix4b]

This sounds very interesting. I have an almond mead that I made with 2 pounds of almond slices in the secondary. Turned out very bitter. I wonder what it will be like if I blend it with a strait sweet honey mead. Hopefully the almond flavor will come back and not be as bitter. I will have to open two bottles and try it.

Matrix

 

[Golddiggie]

I'd rather not blend at all. For one thing a mead will change/evolve as it ages. What you might not like this year will change over the coming year(s). Unless you plan to blend in the glass, I can see how it would actually be a bad thing. Especially with young meads (IMO/IME any mead under 3-5 years is young).

 

[Curtis2010]

Go for it. I made a blended braggot last year from a very sweet mead and an IPA that was awesome. I think the sweet mead and the hoppy IPA resulted in a very nice balance. My GF loved it too. I also created a lightly carbonated version of it which was quite good.

 

[biochemedic]

I think this can be a very successful process, and I plan on trying a pretty big experiment with it soon...

I have a ginger metheglin that is bulk aging for over a year, and is still quite hot (spicy hot, not alcoholic/fuesel hot). While I respect and agree with Golddiggie's assertion of how mead can change/improve for years, and do note that it has mellowed slightly, I'm pretty sure this one will always be very, very spicy, no matter how long it ages. I went ahead and brewed a semi-sweet traditional orange blossom (that was the type of honey in the ginger mead), and I plan on mixing several gallons of each together. I haven't decided on the exact ratio yet; I have to do some taste tests. I will bottle at least a gallon of the ginger mead by itself, just for aging comparisons...

 

[SireFelps]

Hi all,
Actually I also agree with Golddiggie about aging. But if it gets better anyway why not make a better composition now and wait for time show it´s work?
Curtis2010, nice to hear that it worked with you!
Matrix4b, almond should be very interesting for mead! Wish try doing it!
As I say before, in wine I´m sure it works... let´s see what happens with mead. I´m preparing some samples (few bottles) of some different ratios to seek for the best one after some time...

Best regards
Sirefelps

 

[Golddiggie]

IMO, blending a mead too soon (IF I was to do it, which I'm not inclined to, I would do it in the glass) means you'll never really know what each one really could have become. I don't mind waiting a few years (or more) for a mead to become great. I have one that was meh when younger that I'll be trying again soon. It was made almost two years ago, so it could be finally coming into it's own.

 

[biochemedic]

IMO, blending a mead too soon (IF I was to do it, which I'm not inclined to, I would do it in the glass) means you'll never really know what each one really could have become. I don't mind waiting a few years (or more) for a mead to become great. I have one that was meh when younger that I'll be trying again soon. It was made almost two years ago, so it could be finally coming into it's own.

Definitely why I want to keep some of each blended mead unblended for comparison...