Lessening the "Yeast" Smell?

[littlebirdblue]

So, I think my mead has finished fermenting, it has a bite to it and has cleared drastically just sitting in the dark for a few weeks. I racked it off the thick layer of lees that had developed the other day and I do admit, I played with it a little.

I made a sort of whiskey extract using jasmine scented green tea and added that to boost the floral flavors.

Anyway! The mead has a very strong yeasty smell to it. Is that normal? It honestly smells a lot like beer. Will that fade out over time?

I also had a question about back-sweetening/adding a little bit of peach flavor, I know this is probably going to get me a lot of shaken heads, but would it be possible to use a flavored syrup to back sweeten or would I have more luck playing with an extract? Or, should I just leave it be? I was planning for it to be highly experimental.

Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated!

 

[bernardsmith]

Hiya littlebirdblue - and welcome. My understanding is that despite the irony, a yeasty smell tends to be present when you ferment with too little yeast and not too much. The fact is that it is incredibly hard to over-pitch yeast and very easy to underpitch. A pack of yeast may indicate that it is good for 1-6 gallons but those volumes are based on assumed potential ABVs (and so assumed starting gravities). The starting gravities of meads are often significantly greater.

Regarding extracts: not all extracts are equal. Most (IMO) taste very artificial. I tend to make my own. Flavored syrups are certainly one way to go but if you are cooking fruit you are also setting pectins - not to say anything about the way that cooked fruit tastes ... um.. cooked.

If you want this to be "experimental" then what you really should be doing is dividing the one batch into two or three similar sized batches and adding syrup to one, extract to the third and leaving one unsweetened as your third. That way you now have something (a control) to compare variables to. Any other approach is not really "experimental". It's a gamble.

 

[littlebirdblue]

Thanks so much for the reply!

 

[Mellow Meads]

What kind of yeast did you use? It could simply be that the strain you used has a more beer friendly aroma profile. Although unlikely, it could also have been a bad (or old) batch of yeast. While its probably there to stay, the only way to really know if that yeastiness will ever go away is to let it sit. You could also make another batch using different yeast while you wait.

You can totally use store bought flavouring syrups and extracts, but I would definitely recommend making your own. Unless you know that it is made with pure and natural ingredients, most store bought products have ingredients, like artificial sweeteners, that you probably won't want in your mead. You can also use fruit juices and purees, which require little to no extra stovework. All you need is fruit and a blender or a press. In this case store bought juices can also be used, but again, look at the ingredients to ensure there aren't any additives or preservatives you don't want. And before you ask, juice from concentrate is fine, although some may turn their noses it's essentially the same as non-concentrate juice or any flavouring syrup you may possibly make/use.

Best of luck with your experimenting!