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[thepollocks46747]

I am on my second attempt at a first batch and dont know what to expect for results. I have 3 pounds of honey with 2 ounces orange/vanilla herbal tea and topped the gallon off with bottled water. Started at 1.126 crrently at 1.000. 10 days on yeast so far.Racked to new carboy. Tastes like jet fuel. I heard this is normal and it will improve with age. Is this true. If not what did i do wrong? Do i back sweeten to get desired effect or will better flavors come with age

 

[Dan O]

I am on my second attempt at a first batch and dont know what to expect for results. I have 3 pounds of honey with 2 ounces orange/vanilla herbal tea and topped the gallon off with bottled water. Started at 1.126 crrently at 1.000. 10 days on yeast so far.Racked to new carboy. Tastes like jet fuel. I heard this is normal and it will improve with age. Is this true. If not what did i do wrong? Do i back sweeten to get desired effect or will better flavors come with age

Tasting like jet fuel is pretty normal for such a young mead. Yes backsweetening will bring flavors out. So will time. Since you've already racked it, let it sit under an airlock for 3 months, then stabilize, backsweeten, then let it sit another month, taking readings weekly to be sure fermentation hasn't restarted.

 

[thepollocks46747]

Tasting like jet fuel is pretty normal for such a young mead. Yes backsweetening will bring flavors out. So will time. Since you've already racked it, let it sit under an airlock for 3 months, then stabilize, backsweeten, then let it sit another month, taking readings weekly to be sure fermentation hasn't restarted.

Should back sweetening be done with honey or another sugar and which stabilizer do you recommend

 

[Dan O]

Should back sweetening be done with honey or another sugar and which stabilizer do you recommend

I would say, if you're happy with the honey flavor you have, try backsweetening with a nonfermentable sugar, such as lactose, which will contribute to better mouthfeel. If you want more honey flavor, backsweeten with honey.

To all those who stabilize, please feel free to jump in & correct me if I'm wrong with any of this.

Stabilize with this
https://morewinemaking.com/products/sorbistat-potassium-sorbate.html
Add this to help keep from oxidation & off flavors from forming.
https://morewinemaking.com/products/potassium-metabisulfite.html
I hope this helps you.
Happy meading

 

[thepollocks46747]

I would say, if you're happy with the honey flavor you have, try backsweetening with a nonfermentable sugar, such as lactose, which will contribute to better mouthfeel. If you want more honey flavor, backsweeten with honey.

To all those who stabilize, please feel free to jump in & correct me if I'm wrong with any of this.

Stabilize with this
https://morewinemaking.com/products/sorbistat-potassium-sorbate.html
Add this to help keep from oxidation & off flavors from forming.
https://morewinemaking.com/products/potassium-metabisulfite.html
I hope this helps you.
Happy meading

Thanks for the assist

 

[Dan O]

Glad to help when I can

 

[pdhirsch]

You don't mention nutrients -- did you add yeast nutrient or energizer, and if so, how much and when?

Improper nutrition is one possible / common cause of the jet-fuel taste. Your mead will be drinkable sooner if you use a proper staggered nutrition schedule (although it will still probably benefit from aging).

 

[thepollocks46747]

You don't mention nutrients -- did you add yeast nutrient or energizer, and if so, how much and when?

Improper nutrition is one possible / common cause of the jet-fuel taste. Your mead will be drinkable sooner if you use a proper staggered nutrition schedule (although it will still probably benefit from aging).

I did use a yeast nutrient but i added 1 tsp at the start and that was all. The instructions only called for 1 tsp per gallon.

 

[pdhirsch]

Next time try adding the nutrient in a few smaller amounts over the first few days, instead of all at once -- that's "staggered nutrient addition" (SNA) and it generally works much better than adding all of the nutrient at the beginning. SNA will dramatically improve the quality of your mead.

As an example, probably the simplest useful procedure would be to add 1/3 of the nutrient at the beginning, another 1/3 after 24 hours, and the final 1/3 24 hours after that. But there are several different possible schedules for specifying the exact amounts of which kind of nutrient to add at what time -- Google "staggered nutrient addition" or just start a new thread here and ask what people recommend. Then stand back -- you won't have to wait long for responses

Again, your mead will still improve with age, and you may still want to backsweeten. But SNA will certainly give you a better result no matter what else you do.

 

[thepollocks46747]

Next time try adding the nutrient in a few smaller amounts over the first few days, instead of all at once -- that's "staggered nutrient addition" (SNA) and it generally works much better than adding all of the nutrient at the beginning. SNA will dramatically improve the quality of your mead.

As an example, probably the simplest useful procedure would be to add 1/3 of the nutrient at the beginning, another 1/3 after 24 hours, and the final 1/3 24 hours after that. But there are several different possible schedules for specifying the exact amounts of which kind of nutrient to add at what time -- Google "staggered nutrient addition" or just start a new thread here and ask what people recommend. Then stand back -- you won't have to wait long for responses

Again, your mead will still improve with age, and you may still want to backsweeten. But SNA will certainly give you a better result no matter what else you do.

Good info thanks

 

[Bobby_M]

Split the nutient addition into four doses of 1/4tsp each, one on first day and then every other day. Keep the temperature in the low 60's.

 

[JP_BeerFan]

I would say, if you're happy with the honey flavor you have, try backsweetening with a nonfermentable sugar, such as lactose, which will contribute to better mouthfeel. If you want more honey flavor, backsweeten with honey.

To all those who stabilize, please feel free to jump in & correct me if I'm wrong with any of this.

Stabilize with this
https://morewinemaking.com/products/sorbistat-potassium-sorbate.html
Add this to help keep from oxidation & off flavors from forming.
https://morewinemaking.com/products/potassium-metabisulfite.html

And, from a lot of reading anyway, the stabilizing job is best done in tandem with the sulfiting, it helps whack down the yeast, so the sorbate has an easier job of stopping it. Also, there's the rare chance of getting some lactobacillus growing in your mead, and it's supposed to make a terrible rotten germanium off taste eating the sorbate. The sulfite levels keep the bugs at bay, assuming you don't enough enough ABV to take care of that job.

Saw a "taste test" of different sweeteners on YT, ("Doin the Most") though I don't think they included lactose, and they liked Erythritol the best out of the range of artificial sweeteners. They judged it closest to plain sugar in taste.

 

[TjorviTheRidiculer]

And, from a lot of reading anyway, the stabilizing job is best done in tandem with the sulfiting, it helps whack down the yeast, so the sorbate has an easier job of stopping it. Also, there's the rare chance of getting some lactobacillus growing in your mead, and it's supposed to make a terrible rotten germanium off taste eating the sorbate. The sulfite levels keep the bugs at bay, assuming you don't enough enough ABV to take care of that job.

Saw a "taste test" of different sweeteners on YT, ("Doin the Most") though I don't think they included lactose, and they liked Erythritol the best out of the range of artificial sweeteners. They judged it closest to plain sugar in taste.

Be careful with Lactose though, it doesn't provide the sweetness people think it does. Its definitely more for "body" adjustment than sweetening.