No alcohol flavor in BOMM

[NerdrageIMO]

I pitched a 5 gallon BOMM using vanilla beans, raw blackberry honey (1 gallon), the 1388 Belgian strong ale yeast suggested in a recipe I found online, and filtered water..

I took the sterilization steps and the campden steps.

It was pitched near the end of May, so it sat until now.
I took a gallon sample to both bottle condition and set aside until my upcoming birthday.

It smells like honey... Like any other mead... but the flavor is just kind of sour... nothing else... No alcohol, no real honey flavor....

I'm afraid, despite my efforts at sterilization, I got a bad yeast strain. Not the 1388, but something wild.....

there was a film that covered the surface of the must, but I figured it was just some weird protein chains...
--

anyone able to provide some input?

 

[loveofrose]

Happy to help, but I need more info.

Why did you add Campden?
What was the final gravity?
Do you mean it is smooth or still sweet?

Wyeast 1388 is a very neutral yeast, so your honey has a lot to do with the flavor. Every honey is different. If there are no fusels, you did well in the ferment. Also, some honeys go through a dumb phase. A few months of age and the honey comes back with a vengeance.

The film on top is beeswax. No worries there. It just means you had raw honey (a good thing).

 

[NerdrageIMO]

Happy to help, but I need more info.

Why did you add Campden?
What was the final gravity?
Do you mean it is smooth or still sweet?

Wyeast 1388 is a very neutral yeast, so your honey has a lot to do with the flavor. Every honey is different. If there are no fusels, you did well in the ferment. Also, some honeys go through a dumb phase. A few months of age and the honey comes back with a vengeance.

The film on top is beeswax. No worries there. It just means you had raw honey (a good thing).

Campden into the must, 30 hours or so before pitching the yeast.
Final gravity is dry... between 1.000 and 1.002...
It doesn't taste like honey... It smells like the rest of the meads I've made.

It just kinda tastes sour.. like a sour patch kid without the bite and without the sweetness afterward.
'm not sure that I can properly convey the flavor.

What I mean is, I guess this may be what honey tastes like if it is diluted and stripped of its sugars.
But I don't taste any alcohol... My last straight mead was smooth, but you knew there was alcohol in it.

I guess the only way to find out is to drink 12 oz and see if I catch a buzz.

input is very much appreciated though.


Thanks!

 

[HB_in_Subic]

Using this calculator http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/calculator/ your 1 gallon of Honey is typically 12lbs. So that is an estimated SG of 1.101 and your current FG of 1.001 = 13.23% ABV. I have experienced ABVs as high as 15.7% using Wyeast 1388 and the BOMM method. So, if the ABV is not high enough, you can step feed more honey until the yeast can't handle it anymore and die. If ABV is not a limitation, it is also a way to back sweeten without using chemicals.

I typically use at least 3lbs of honey per 5 gallons (SG1.126) which might explain your "diluted and stripped of it's sugars" observation. It may also have something to do with the type of honey used.