Mead in Primary for 15 months. Can I save it?

[catatonicmonkey]

Long story short, I started a small batch of Christmas mead late last summer and put the 1 gal primary in my parents' basement to perk away. After a slow start, I decided it probably needed quite a while for the yeast to fully do its thing, so I left it there and promptly forgot about it.

Well, I was visiting home last week, and lo and behold there was my primary with the mead still in it. Of course, the liquid in the airlock had long since evaporated, but when I cracked open the lid just to see where things stood, there were no off smells or funny things growing on the mead, just a completely settled, fairly clear and decent-smelling batch of mead. I don't necessarily expect there's much I can do to truly save this batch, but it seems a waste to just let it go without trying. What might some of my options be?

 

[Texron]

I think I would siphon of the clear stuff and taste it. If it tastes good then I would drink it.

 

[MedsenFey]

The worst that will likely have happened is that it may have some sherry character which may not even be a negative in a mead.

 

[malkore]

wow...that's a story to debunk 'autolysis' if I've ever heard one.

definitely try to save it!

 

[oldmate]

Taste and report back!

 

[scarpozzi]

Despite the airlock going dry, if the yeast is still doing anything, there'll be a thin layer of CO2 at the top layer of the fermenter.... You should be good. Let us know how it is...it might actually turn out to be pretty smooth having aged that long.

 

[catatonicmonkey]

For the record (I found my recipe), it was sitting on a variety of spices and the yeast (the exact strain of which has been lost to smudging on my recipe sheet), so I'm just a bit concerned about overextraction from the spices. If that's the only problem, I should be able to smooth that out either with further aging off the spices or by diluting it. From the smell (since I can't find my OG notes, I can't really calculate ABV), it definitely seems to be packing a punch, which is alright in my book.

I'll be sure to update next week when I've got time to test it and move it!

 

[Germelli1]

For the record (I found my recipe), it was sitting on a variety of spices and the yeast (the exact strain of which has been lost to smudging on my recipe sheet), so I'm just a bit concerned about overextraction from the spices. QUOTE]

Ooooooooooooor,

You just found an amazing way to infuse flavors