How to get more taste

[The_petrodactyl]

Hi!

I have made tree batches of mead now, one slight bad with apple, one undrinkable, and one ok batch of pure honey. The third batch however, was a little boring on taste. and

I have read that the ancient Norse people added some apple and juniper berries for flavour.
The obvious thing would be to add more honey, but according to my knowledge, that vould result in more fusel alcohols and bad esters.

Is it possible to mix in another 0,5KG/1Lb after racking?

I have tried Scandinavian and Ethiopian honey, 3KG/6Lb honey in 16l/4.2Gallon and Lalvin 1118 yeast, and ferment at 18C/64F.

Your friend
P

 

[WVMJ]

How long have you aged these guys, they could just be to young? Flat meads may just be because they need a little acid added to perk them up. WVMJ

 

[The_petrodactyl]

3weaks initial fermentation 18C/64F, two months in new beerbottle 12C/53.6F, then bottled and corked. I tested one bottle after two weeks.

 

[The_petrodactyl]

3weaks initial fermentation 18C/64F, two months in new beerbottle 12C/53.6F, then bottled and corked. I tested one bottle after two weeks.

Sorry better-bottle carboy

 

[gratus fermentatio]

3weaks initial fermentation 18C/64F, two months in new beerbottle 12C/53.6F, then bottled and corked. I tested one bottle after two weeks.

At a little over 3 months, your mead is way too young, is it even clear yet? Age that mead for at least a year, then taste it. I don't even bottle mead till I've bulk aged it over 1 year. I've bulk aged some as long as 4 years. Mead takes time; sometimes a lot of time. Give it a year & you be amazed at how much better it is.
Regards, GF.

 

[The_petrodactyl]

Thanks

I will mature the rest of the bottles for several months before the next test. Yes I waited until it was clear before I bottled it.

What about the honey to wather ratio, should I add more honey?
Is it an idea to add some more honey when I rack it?
Should I ferment at higher temperature?

 

[Beernik]

I find that a pound of dried fruit helps improve the mouthfeel of mead and cider. I've used raisins, dates, and prunes with good results. I like dates best, but I can't always find them.

A lot of people "feed the mead" by adding more honey as it ferments. It helps you get a higher ABV and doesn't stress the yeast as much at the initial stages of fermentation. I don't do it. I like to add everything at the beginning and let it go.

The honey to water ratio depends on what ABV you are shooting for.

 

[bleme]

I would add some yeast nutrients at the start. Straight honey can really stress a yeast. Raisins, dates or powdered yeast nutrient all work.

 

[The_petrodactyl]

Beernik

"I find that a pound of dried fruit helps improve the mouthfeel of mead and cider. I've used raisins, dates, and prunes with good results. I like dates best, but I can't always find them"

Is aple good?

bleme

"I would add some yeast nutrients at the start. Straight honey can really stress a yeast. Raisins, dates or powdered yeast nutrient all work."

I have acess to Cargus nutrient and Wyeast Beer Nutrient blend, are any of these good?

 

[Beernik]

I've not added apples to mead unless I was making cyser. I was either using store bought juice or I juiced the apples myself.

I use Wyeast Brewer's Choice nutrient blend.

 

[The_petrodactyl]

Have anyone tried juniper berries?

 

[Matrix4b]

How to get more taste? Depends on the flavors you want.

1: Once cleared, the mead will need to be aged (IE: Left alone) for at least 6 months to a year, most meads need a year. One chocolate Mead I have takes over 2 years aging.

2: Honey has verly little nutrients, so yeast Nutrient and energizer is needed.

3: Unless you are doing a JAOM, use wine yeast.

4: Many times it is necessary to backsweeten, stabilize it before you add more honey (a good stabilization agent is potassium Sorbate, sometimes sulfates are needed too) This way you wont have the extra sweeteness eaten up by the yeast.

5: many meads benefit and taste smoother with oaking. Even if I don't feel it's needed I usually use 1 oz (for 5 gal) of lightly toasted oak for a couple of weeks. The improves most meads greatly.

6: most fruits and delicate flavors add to the secondary.

7: Go very easy on the spices, spices will impart their flavor easily when extracted by the alcohol. An example is cloves, about 3-4 whole cloves is all that is needed in a 5 gal batch to make it very clovey tasting. So remember to go easy.

8: If going for a lemon, lime, or orange flavor, use the zest too: that's the colored part of the peel. Many times that is where a good concentration of the flavors are.

9: Temp control. Many yeasts like D47 will throw off fusel alcohols (hot alcoholy flavors) if it goes over 70 degrees while fermenting, 71b has a higher tolerance but you need to make sure to rack it off of the lees in a timely manor to prevent sour tastes. So be mindful of your yeast.

10: remember to have fun and experiment a bit, and research a bit. two great websites are here and gotmead.com. Remember to post full recipe if you post at got mead, that way they can help the best. And make yourself a brew log to help you out and know what you are doing next time.


Just 10 bits of advice, also, get a hydrometer, they are helpful.

Matrix

 

[The_petrodactyl]

Ok
I just put 7 pounds of honey and twenty juniper berries in a tree gallon carboy, I added ½ gallons of High quality mashed apples, and toped up with boiled and chilled water. I added two packs of 1118 and nutrient.
:matrix4B
4: Many times it is necessary to backsweeten, stabilize it before you add more honey (a good stabilization agent is potassium Sorbate, sometimes sulfates are needed too) This way you wont have the extra sweeteness eaten up by the yeast.The plan is to sample, taste and add another pound of honey after two weeks or so.
My plan is to ferment at 64F.

 

[The_petrodactyl]

Hi again

I have just finished racking now, and I am a little bit disappointed by the taste testing. Once again there was no off-tastes, maybe a little bit sour. But very little honey and apple taste.

The alcohol contends was between 13% and 17%. At what temperature should I store it?

Your friend
V

 

[bernardsmith]

Hi again

I have just finished racking now, and I am a little bit disappointed by the taste testing. Once again there was no off-tastes, maybe a little bit sour. But very little honey and apple taste.

The alcohol contends was between 13% and 17%. At what temperature should I store it?

Your friend
V

When you say "very little honey..taste" , you are not expecting the taste to be "sweet", right? The taste will be of the honey with very little to no sweetness. Depending on the quality of your honey and the varietal of honey there may be more or less honey flavor and that flavor may need - as others have said - many, many months to come forward.
One thing you might try is to back sweeten your mead- stabilize and add more honey. The sweetness may help bring out the flavor of the honey.
You might also want to test the pH of your mead. It may be too acidic and so out of balance - the level of acidity may be hiding the subtle flavors offered by the honey.
Last point, some meads need to be drunk cold and others at higher temperatures to bring out the flavors of the honey. If you are drinking yours chilled, try opening the bottle and allowing it to reach room temperature. If you are drinking it at room temperature you might trying chilling it to see if this helps.. Just my 2 cents.