Green Tea Mead

[zonchar]

So i racked my Green Tea mead yesterday. It's been in the primary for 1 month now. it all went really well no major problems as far as the actual process. 1st racking EVER!!!

But taste wise it was lacking. When I 1st tasted it, there was a very strong citrus flavor (OB honey) to it with close to no green tea. Then I tasted it again after I finished racking and the bit that I set aside got to aerate for a bit. This time the green tea flavor was a bit more prominent over the citrus but still very weak. It was also way too sweet. So I topped it off with 1/2 gallon of really strong brew of green tea. I'm thinking I'll be racking it again in a couple of months just to check the flavor make sure if i need to make it stronger or what not.

If by month 5 i get no good strengthening of Green Tea flavor i plan on sticking a few tea bags into the carboy.

I'll be sure to keep up the posting to let you all know how it goes.

Any other suggestions on bringing out the flavor?

 

[claphamsa]

time will do alot....

 

[zonchar]

time will do alot....

You think the green tea flavor will be more prominent as time passes?
I hope so...
Oddly enough i just racked on Saturday and it's already bubbling like crazy again and there is a 1/2" layer of sediment at the bottom! There was about 1" before the racking.

I'm starting to see what people say about the Sweet Wine and Mead yeast, being slow.

 

[claphamsa]

yeah, I just bought 4 more cheep carboys... pitch and come back in 6 months!

 

[zonchar]

cheap carboys? such a thing exists? please tell me where

 

[claphamsa]

i dunno, jezter called me from some kitchen store... they had 5 gallon glass for 25$

 

[jezter6]

Kitchen & Company. Has them marked as "water bottles"

I couldn't find them on the website even searching for water bottles.

 

[zonchar]

So I'm updating:
it's been about a month since i racked and the mead has a very nice dark amber color and is clearing slowly. I can't read anything through it yet obviously but it's not a nasty as it looked at 1st.
There is still major little bubble action and some foaming on top going on.
Next racking is in 1 month (doing it mostly to control the flavor see if i need more green tea added)

 

[Freezeblade]

I would really suggest not adding the green tea bags directly, rather make a strong tea and add the tea.

 

[zonchar]

I'm pretty sure i won't need to do that. I think worst case scenario i'll need to top it off with green tea again. I think with more of the sugar gone the tea flavor will come through a lot stronger

 

[zonchar]

Update:
1 racked it again this weekend after 3 months cause there was a lot of sediment on the bottom (well over 1") the racking went very well...

Problem: however now... there are no bubbles going or anything. before i racked there were lots of little bubbles floating upward. Now it seems pretty much still. it's been about 36 hrs now.

Should i be concerned?

Thank you in advance for the reply

 

[dudasaj]

what is the SG? Do you expect it to be finished? Was there a constant stream of bubbles or was it just during moving and racking?

 

[zonchar]

I never measured SG. I'm going the non-scientific route here. I know it's a lot harder to diagnose this way. I had my 1st racking on January 10th and it was still fermenting at that point.
after that for the past two months there was a steady stream of tiny bubbles rising to the surface with the airlock going off about every 30 sec. just before racking i'd say the airlock has gone off every minute or so.

Now there are no bubbles what so ever. I know there are several things to do:
1. shake the carboy a bit, but there really isn't much sediment to shake up...
2. restar fermentation using yeats ment for that purpose, then i'll loose more sugar
3. (I'm lenaing to this) add more sweet mead and wine yeast. Since it'll die off at a certrain alcohol level if the level is alreday recahe dit'll just die off and if not it'll just ferment further.

am i anywhere near making sense?

 

[dudasaj]

1st it looks like you typed that very fast. I don't judge on spelling but it looks like your in a hurry. 2nd do you have/use a hydrometer. I will really need to know your full recipe and OG and current SG to advise you. Do simple checks like inspect your stopper and airlock, and check that you have a good seal. I had a cracked airlock before that was leaking around the airlock. Is there enough fluid in the airlock? Was the carboy you racked into clean. Did you use a no rinse sanitizer? During the racking you may have stripped all the excess gas out of solution.

Take a gravity reading and don't worry.

 

[zonchar]

lol... yeah I did type fast... I usually do... spelling is not my forte.
I do now own/use a hydrometer.
Recipe: 16 lbs of OB honey, 5 gallons of distilled water, 3 lemons, 2 black tea bags, 8 green tea bags.
After 1 month: when racking I added a strong brew of green tea to compensate for the lost volume.
Stopper seal: checked! Brand new stopper
Airlock: check! There is plenty of liquid and it's not dripping into the carboy so i know there is enough pressure on the inside
Sanitization: check! I used B-Brite on everything. Washed everything out to make sure no residue was left.
Also I tasted it yesterday. Tasted sweet but not very strong per say.

I hope this is better typed

 

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Check it with the hydrometer, it's not too hard.

 

[zonchar]

Homebrew.com: Hydrometer - 10 inch

Is this good?

 

[dudasaj]

Yes. That hydrometer will be most useful.