Can you age a mead too long?

[Seamonkey84]

Thanks for your awesome post!

If I'm reading you right, using TOSNA may save a lot of time and is all upside and no downside.

I’m a newbie to this, but as I understand it, it’s stressed yeast (or wrong choice of yeast) that causes a certain brew to need to be aged longer. The off flavors and aromas are produced when the yeast aren’t performing at their prime. So step feeding nutrients and degassing using which ever protocol you go by, is going to reduce stress on the yeast. The traditional set it and forget it approach, using the same amounts of nutrients up front (or none at all), does of course work, but then you need to age it.
Since I started this hobby in April, I’ve made 7 various batches. Two set it and forget it, and now on my 5th BOMM style. The first two gallons started in April (a cyser and a juice wine) I can’t even think about trying based on smell alone. The BOMMs (Melomel and others done with sugar in fruit wines) have mostly all been pleasant at sampling.

 

[Maylar]

Thanks for your awesome post!

If I'm reading you right, using TOSNA may save a lot of time and is all upside and no downside.

Modern protocols have drastically reduced the time required for a mead to be drinkable. I made a gallon batch of clover BOMM that never made it past 3 months. It was delicious.

 

[CKuhns]

Yes IMO TOSNA lots of upside for Higher ABV Mead.

I wouldn't say no downside. The trick is finding the TOSNA protocol and technique that works well with your recipe and ingredients and then perfecting it to promote ageing as quickly as practical. The downside is that when you change something with your recipe or experiment a bit TOSNA may not work as well until you again figure it out a bit.

Example - When I went to lower ABV Meads using TOSNA 3.0 protocol I initially had OK results but quickly realized by using some of the best (Not all) techniques from BernardSmiths posts and recipes, Denards BOMM, Groenfell Meadery and TOSNA 3.0 I achieved a very quick ferment and something very pleasant in a very short period of time.

To answer the TOSNA question for low ABV Mead my practice really is not a TOSNA per-say as there is no staggered additions the fermaid-O weight as calculated using TOSNA 3.0 criteria is added in the yeast starter and all up-front.

 

[mwilcox]

Does it still take that long if it's made using modern methods (e.g. TOSNA?).

as I've gotten better I generally plan to leave big sweet Polish meads alone for 2, preferably 3 years. The number was higher when I was less experienced.

 

[NeverDie]

as I've gotten better I generally plan to leave big sweet Polish meads alone for 2, preferably 3 years. The number was higher when I was less experienced.

What is it that you're doing that reduces it from 15 years down to 2 or 3?

 

[mwilcox]

What is it that you're doing that reduces it from 15 years down to 2 or 3?

well I never said 15, to be fair. I haven't even been doing this hobby quite 15 years yet. And I would simply say I got better at keeping my yeast happy, and the resulting product was smoother and more drinkable, more quickly.

 

[ItsHammerTime]

In the first week after my daughter was born, I brewed a mead, a case of which I plan to present to her on her 21st birthday. I have a number of extra bottles for annual or biannual tasting along the way. Two years in, it is aging very nicely - I am excited to see if it keeps improving or at least holds up as the years pass.