Problems with first 5 gallon melomel

[hiflystereo]

I've been fermenting low ABV melomels for a while, and I finally decided to make a larger batch with slightly higher abv. This batch has been fermenting for 2 weeks now and I've been struggling with it to the point of ruin. My earlier 1 gallon batches fermented to bone dry in about a week, but this batch is stubborn.

Recipe for 5 gallon carboy:

10lb of Costco Clover honey (bulk honey for first big batch)
32 oz of POM pomegranate juice
5 tablespoons of vanilla extract
~50 raisins
3 tsp yeast nutrient
3 tsp yeast energizer
Lalvin K1-V1116 yeast

I started fermentation at about 65F.

After the first week I tried some and it was ridiculously sweet. I added some additional nutrient and energizer. A week later it was still very sweet, though slightly--slightly--drier. Airlock activity slowed down a lot, and I read that bubbling after 2 weeks is often due to degassing rather than fermentation.

I checked the Ph and it was around 2.5 (yikes) so I added 6 tsp of potassium carbonate to raise the Ph. Adding the potassium carbonate made it taste awful, so I added some citric acid to try to bring it back down a bit. I rehydrated some additional K1-V1116 to add in case something was wonky the first time around.

I'm starting to worry that my first 5 gallon carboy is going to be a bust. From what I understand, the yeast I used is pretty hardcore and should do well difficult situations, so it seems strange that I would be having this much difficulty.

My hydrometer says it's sitting at about 1.025. Any suggestions for how to dry out this slowly fermenting mead?

 

[loveofrose]

The most potassium carbonate I would add to a 5 gallon batch is 1 tsp. You added 6 times that! I'm sorry, but that alone has likely ruined this batch. It will have a metallic flavor that you cannot take back. Are you detecting this?

In the event this is a total bust, read here to learn proper techniques:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/current-mead-making-techniques.html

 

[hiflystereo]

The most potassium carbonate I would add to a 5 gallon batch is 1 tsp. You added 6 times that! I'm sorry, but that alone has likely ruined this batch. It will have a metallic flavor that you cannot take back. Are you detecting this?

In the event this is a total bust, read here to learn proper techniques:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/current-mead-making-techniques.html

The directions indicated 1/2 tsp per gallon to raise the ph by .1, so I thought I was way on the safe side.

I tasted and tested it this morning. The taste is now way off--bitter almost overpowering the sweet. I tried some with lemon juice and it seemed to be closer to normal.

The gravity dropped to about 1.020 overnight so that's something.

Is it unlikely to get this thing remotely palatable even if it ferments down?

 

[loveofrose]

You just have to taste it to determine "drinkable". I will say that sweet hides flaws much better than dry. See how low it goes and taste it to determine what to do next.

 

[FrodeM]

If you have the sorage, wait and see. It will problably not be good without aging anyways.

I don't know enough biochemistry to tell what will happen, but chances are the yeast will be able to convert some of the ill-tasting salt into something else in one way or another.

Heck! Before the internet came about, people over here used ammonium carbonate as a combined buffer and nutrient. That stuff both smells and tastes absolutely horrendous.

 

[hiflystereo]

I'm slowly adding lemon juice in increments of 3 - 4 ounces every 12 hours or so. I know that's opening my batch up to an infection since its Ph is way too high, but it seems like it's getting the flavor back to normal. I looked up how to neutralize potassium carbonate, and the literature suggested sulfuric acid (oddly, not something I have access to), but it looks like citric acid is doing the trick. There are still off flavors, but I think you're right that it's too early to tell. I'll give it a week or two more of aging and adjustment before I decide if I'm going to rack it.