Mead and High Alcohol Content vs Taste

[bernardsmith]

I found around 13% is best it high enough to kill most bacteria but still don't kill the flavor. I think the point most ppl are trying to say here is cause honey isn't cheap and the time for a mead to come of age is almost for ever even with lower abv%s is it worth it. Unless your making it for a special day 5 to 10 years from now and you have the time. I did a melomel for that reason. But if that's what you want. The lavin 1118 yeast is your best bet. But just don't add your honey all at ounce. Do your best to keep your SG below 1.100

I think that it is a myth that mead needs to age for years for it to be drinkable. Or rather, if you use honey to make rocket fuel then it does need to age for years but if you ferment the honey at low temperatures (about 70F ) and you use a yeast that is in fact aligned with honey (say 71B ) and you don't start with a gravity that is off the charts - (that is to say above 1.100 ) then you can enjoy the mead when it has aged the same amount of time that any wine needs to age (about 9 -18 months). If - IF - you need to age your mead longer then that says that you are doing something wrong.

 

[xtein69]

+1. Sorry if the reply offended you but as Craig said, there are a lot of high school kids that stop by here looking for an easy way to get drunk. Good luck in your endeavors but please, and no insult is intended, can you tell me the attraction you have for high alcohol meads? It just seems that that there's much more interest in high alcohol meads than there are in high alcohol beers and wines and I truly don't understand it.

There are certain wine styles, such as Port, and certain beers, such as barleywine, with high alcohol content but there aren't any specific mead styles, at least commercially or even traditionally, that are designed with a high alcohol content in mind. Yet people continually want to make them and it seems that, particularly, new mead makers want to jump right in and make a mead with 20% alcohol content that likley won't be ready to drink for years.

Please, anyone else feel free to chime in here.

I find that trying to understand someone else's motivation or desires is extremely difficult if not borderline impossible. Just keep in mind that everyone has opinions on things and they are usually differ from yours. I myself like a strong mead. I like the warm feeling high alcohol contents give. There is also a distinct aroma that a high alcohol mead will have I find. My favorite thing about strong mead is I only need 3 or so glasses and I am properly adjusted lol. In my limited experience strong meads tend to be semi sweet and that to is my preference. I'm just trying to shed some light on why people seek out a more robust mead with a high ABV.