MBM30075
Well-Known Member
I did a 1 gallon batch of mead about 3 weeks ago.
Recipe:
3 gallons wildflower raw honey
packet of Pasteur Champagne yeast
store-bought spring water to make 1 gallon
No heating.
It bubbled nicely through the airlock for about 10 days, and I left it after that for about 10 more.
Last night, I racked it (decanted, really) out of the 1 gallon glass jug and into a sanitized stainless steel brew pot. Then I cleaned out the carboy and poured the mead back in. It looks fine. Color was good and clarity was, too.
Smell was pretty good, like mead should be, except for a little bit of a rubbery aroma. It smelled like the rubber stopper I used was soaking in it for 3 weeks! Now, to my knowledge, the mead didn't ever touch the stopper.
This is my first batch, and this may be a completely normal thing. The small sip I took as a taste tasted pretty good, but raw (like beer when racking to secondary just doesn't taste "done"), with a hint of the rubbery aroma coming in on the flavor.
I'm going to continue to process this batch until it's obvious the whole thing is borked, which it isn't yet.
Couple of questions:
1. Is this possibly a normal smell and I'm just a mead newb?
2. How long should I let this batch sit in secondary before bottling?
3. I've never done a mead before, is it easier to go for still or sparkling?
3a. Based on answer to #3, how do I do it? For still, do I have to drive off CO2 and kill yeast like with wine? For sparkling, do I prime it like beer?
4. Anything else I should know?
Thanks!
Recipe:
3 gallons wildflower raw honey
packet of Pasteur Champagne yeast
store-bought spring water to make 1 gallon
No heating.
It bubbled nicely through the airlock for about 10 days, and I left it after that for about 10 more.
Last night, I racked it (decanted, really) out of the 1 gallon glass jug and into a sanitized stainless steel brew pot. Then I cleaned out the carboy and poured the mead back in. It looks fine. Color was good and clarity was, too.
Smell was pretty good, like mead should be, except for a little bit of a rubbery aroma. It smelled like the rubber stopper I used was soaking in it for 3 weeks! Now, to my knowledge, the mead didn't ever touch the stopper.
This is my first batch, and this may be a completely normal thing. The small sip I took as a taste tasted pretty good, but raw (like beer when racking to secondary just doesn't taste "done"), with a hint of the rubbery aroma coming in on the flavor.
I'm going to continue to process this batch until it's obvious the whole thing is borked, which it isn't yet.
Couple of questions:
1. Is this possibly a normal smell and I'm just a mead newb?
2. How long should I let this batch sit in secondary before bottling?
3. I've never done a mead before, is it easier to go for still or sparkling?
3a. Based on answer to #3, how do I do it? For still, do I have to drive off CO2 and kill yeast like with wine? For sparkling, do I prime it like beer?
4. Anything else I should know?
Thanks!