come flame the newbie,

[fireball]

after a disastrous attempt at brewing as a young man, I decided to take another crack at it and have a mead and a cider fermenting. I have some questions regarding flavour and aging.

here's the particulars of the mead, as I never had it before I started with a very small batch (just over a qt) as not to make large volumes of something dreadful.

I started with a liter of bottled water which I warmed and added 1/4 teaspoon of powdered orange peal, filtered to remove the solids and mixed in an inexpensive table honey to a SG of 1.080, yeast nutrient as per packet directions and added yeast. nothing was boiled or heated to the point of steaming. I fermented at room temperature which is 65-67F.

after the first week I racked and checked SG which was 1.020, I drew off a half ounze sample and found it almost palatable, a bit sweet and not too yeasty. I'm currently coming up on week two and it's clearing nicely, I measured SG at 1.008 and drew a half ounze sample. it's getting a nice dryness, with a very mild honey flavour but a touch hot, the alcohol is definately there! I'm hoping that will mellow with aging but as it sits almost palatable, as a sparkling I would say palatable.

I wouldn't mind a slightly stronger flavour and am considering using a more raw, unprocessed honey in the next batch. I'm also curious if I should increase the orange peel or add oak, it could use a bit of bitter perhaps.

as an aside, I've never developed a taste for wine or beer, I find wines too astringent, semi sweet whites are about as palatable as they get and I won't horrify anyone with my views on beer!

cider is dear to my heart and this mead business might come in a close second.

any help appreciated!

 

[Nurmey]

Welcome to HBT! The only thing I see wrong is that it is a very tiny batch. Which is not really wrong but tasting alone will run you dry before it gets to age.

Seriously, it looks like you have a good handle on mead making. You might want to look under the mead heading in our recipe database. I am making Malkore's Not So Ancient mead. I have a batch that's about 6 weeks into it and it's tasting pretty good and orangy. As with any mead, it will take a good year before its great.

Hope to see you around the board (even if you don't like beer ).

 

[BigKahuna]

+1 Welcome.

You have taken the first 2 most important steps. You're making mead, and you're here.

Time is definitely your friend. You will be quite surprised in what happens after 4 months (That's about where my #! Batch is at) I have been making a lot of 1 gallons just to check stuff out, but like Nurmey says...You'll run dry before you get a chance to age properly. I'm thinking of upgrading to 3 gallon batches unless it's something super stupid...that's more than likely NOT going to be real good...like Garlic Onion Mead.

 

[fireball]

thanks gents, I'm going to modify my first recipe for a 1 gallon batch.

blend the table honey and a more unprocessed honey 50/50, increase the orange peel to 1/2 teaspoon / liter and start with a lower SG around 1.060 - 1.070 with the hopes of a quafable product by summer. if it works, I can make a larger 3 gallon batch at a higher ABV to age properly.

like the song says the waiting is the hardest part.

 

[Nurmey]

thanks gents, I'm going to modify my first recipe for a 1 gallon batch.

blend the table honey and a more unprocessed honey 50/50, increase the orange peel to 1/2 teaspoon / liter and start with a lower SG around 1.060 - 1.070 with the hopes of a quafable product by summer. if it works, I can make a larger 3 gallon batch at a higher ABV to age properly.

like the song says the waiting is the hardest part.

HEY! I'm not a gent.

 

[BigKahuna]

Ya...I'm not real sure, But I think Nurnmy might be a real live brew babe.:rockin: :rockin:

 

[Fingers]

Hey! He invited us to flame!

Uh.... noob.

Heh. Flamed. (Best I could do seeing as how you didn't give us much to go on.)

 

[Yooper]

thanks gents, I'm going to modify my first recipe for a 1 gallon batch.

blend the table honey and a more unprocessed honey 50/50, increase the orange peel to 1/2 teaspoon / liter and start with a lower SG around 1.060 - 1.070 with the hopes of a quafable product by summer. if it works, I can make a larger 3 gallon batch at a higher ABV to age properly.

like the song says the waiting is the hardest part.

If you want something good by summer, why not try something like Joe's Ancient Orange mead (that's super quick, as far as meads go), and do your recipe just as you'd like but with an OG of 1.080, and plan on drinking it at Christmas or next year? That way you could still experiment with something good, but still have at least one mead ready by summer.

 

[fireball]

well, that'll learn me for not checking profiles!

HEY! I'm not a gent.

interesting idea, I read Joe's recipe but had some reservations on some of the ingredients / quantities but I suppose a good compromise would be to try Malkore's rendition or a cross of the two.....

If you want something good by summer, why not try something like Joe's Ancient Orange mead (that's super quick, as far as meads go), and do your recipe just as you'd like but with an OG of 1.080, and plan on drinking it at Christmas or next year? That way you could still experiment with something good, but still have at least one mead ready by summer.

 

[z987k]

if you go with joe's use a real wine yeast if you ever want clarity.

 

[BigKahuna]

if you go with joe's use a real wine yeast if you ever want clarity.

I have 2 batches going right now...One with US-05 Ale Yeat cake, and one with good 'ol Bread yeast...the bread yeast is funny, you can see right through it at 1 month. I'm not expecting much from the ale yeast.

 

[fireball]

I used bread yeast with this batch and I may have racked it a couple times more than I should have but at two weeks it's at 1.006 and crystal clear. I added a pinch of nutrient to make up for my error and picked up a vial for doing SG readings, the container I used was too shallow and I was racking everything into a one liter wine pitcher for readings.

if you go with joe's use a real wine yeast if you ever want clarity.

 

[Yooper]

well, that'll learn me for not checking profiles!

Yes, there are a few women around here- and you can't always tell who they are at first!

 

[Nurmey]

Yes, there are a few women around here- and you can't always tell who they are at first!

Just don't ever call that hockey player (Yooperbrew) man, guy, dude, etc or you will be flamed.

 

[BigKahuna]

Just don't ever call that hockey player (Yooperbrew) man, guy, dude, etc or you will be flamed.

I nearly avoided disaster...When I started, The Hockey player was an animated Chick in Leather with a whip. I thought..."This guy is either a chick...or....Um....Well....You know.
Fortunately I checked her profile soon!!

 

[fireball]

thanks everyone, I'll post again when consumption begins.