How does my recipe look?

[Yeastie]

I am going for a sweet metheglin medium high alcohol non carbonated. This is for a 3 gallon batch.

3 gallons water
8Lbs honey
3 cinnamon sticks
3 whole cloves
6 teaspoons whole coriander
3 teaspoons whole allspice
3 teabags
1 teaspoon ground ginger root
zest from one orange
WLP720 sweet mead yeast
yeast nutrient

Boil water add spice and teabags. Remove teabags after five minutes remove spice after twenty minutes. Add honey boil for 15 minutes remove coagulated proteins. Cool aerate and pitch yeast and nutrient.

So what do you think?

 

[travestyofnature]

Unless you are going for a Bochet or burnt mead, DO NOT boil the honey. There is no need and you will lose the flavor and aroma. Use Hightests advice on staged nutrient aditions. Will help you keep a consistent recipie one batch to the next. I have also found that cold steeping teas works better than boiling them but someone else may have better advice for you there.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

That's a LOT of spice! I think you've got enough spice for 12 gallons in this recipe. A little spice goes a long way. Maybe you really like spice though. I would save those spices for secondary, you can use less & get more flavour that way. As is, I seriously doubt you'll even be able to taste the honey at all. I'd cut that spice down to 1 cinnamon stick, 1 whole clove, 1 whole allspice, 1 teabag, and keep the rest as is with the exception of the coriander. I've never used it, but I do know it's rather aromatic, I'd cut that down to 1 of whatever form it comes in as well. But then you should make it the way you like it, or think you'll like it. That's my 2 cents worth. Regards, GF.

 

[Yeastie]

Hmmm I'll think about it. My spice amounts came from a 1 gallon batch so if it called for 1 cinnamon stick I just assumed a three gallon would require 3.

 

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Add the honey at flameout, no boil.

This is just a matter of taste but I wouldn't do the coriander, it seems out of place with the rest of the spices.

The amount of the rest seems OK; maybe do less allspice, it might be overpowering. Listen to GF!

Good recipe overall, I like it.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Hmmm I'll think about it. My spice amounts came from a 1 gallon batch so if it called for 1 cinnamon stick I just assumed a three gallon would require 3.

It's not just how much spice you add, it's also how long you leave it in. You could put 3 cinnamon sticks in your 3 gallons for 5 days & remove them, and still get less flavour than you would if you used 1 cinnamon stick & left in for a month. Mead also seems to act as the "perfect conveyor" for certain spices, clove, allspice, and nutmeg to name a few. I'd use small amounts of spice & put them in a sort of "teabag" to keep them together & make it easy to remove them. I'd sample the mead every few days to see how strong the spice flavour was. When it reaches the point you want it to be, remove the spices. Hope it turns out well for you. Regards, GF.

 

[Yeastie]

Well the plan was to boil the water with the spices for 20 minutes then remove them all, not let them sit in the fermenter.

 

[Yeastie]

Well I just brewed the mead, I edited the recipe a bit.

OG: 1.086

3 gallons water
8 Lbs honey
3 cinnamon sticks
4 whole cloves
1 teaspoons whole coriander
1 teaspoons whole allspice
4 teabags
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
zest from two tangerines
WLP720 sweet mead yeast
3 teaspoons Fermax yeast nutrient

Everything went well will update when it's tasting time

 

[Yeastie]

Well, I just bottled yesterday and after 7 months it was a spectacular failure. All the honey fermented out leaving a thin, dry mead comparable to "watery tequila." There was a nice honey/spice aroma but only a faint taste of spice or honey. I definatly ahould have used more honey.

I have eight bottles of this **** and I'm not sure whether to keep it or toss it. *sob*

 

[Yooper]

Well, I just bottled yesterday and after 7 months it was a spectacular failure. All the honey fermented out leaving a thin, dry mead comparable to "watery tequila." There was a nice honey/spice aroma but only a faint taste of spice or honey. I definatly ahould have used more honey.

I have eight bottles of this **** and I'm not sure whether to keep it or toss it. *sob*

Keep it! In about 5 years, it'll probably start tasting really good! Honey is fermentable, so you will not get sweetness or honey flavor out of it, but after some aging, the honey notes that are covered by the "hot" alcohol will be back once it smooths out.

 

[jezter6]

Should have come to us before you bottled. A little backsweetening would have helped the body, cured the dryness problem, and probably left you a drinkable mead.

That said...7 months is still kinda early. In the first year, that alcohol burn can be strong and will fade. I've had mead that was still kinda hot on one bottle 8-10, and a month later, you could barely taste the heat, and a few months later now, it's wonderful.

 

[Yeastie]

So what do you suggest? I only have 8 bottles I could uncork them, pour them back into a carboy and add some honey and re bottle later or just let them sit in my basement and mellow out.

 

[jezter6]

if you've bottled, let them be.

trying to uncork and pour them back into something is just going to add more potential problems.

just remember us for next time.