Orange and raisin mead

[vetusstimulus]

I have an orange and raisin mead in a second DJ, tastes acidly and week... Not bubbling anymore...
Can this be saved or should I just be patient, should I encourage more fermentation?

 

[vetusstimulus]

I have an orange and raisin mead in a second DJ, tastes acidly and week... Not bubbling anymore...
Can this be saved or should I just be patient, should I encourage more fermentation?

Oh it may be worth mentioning that this was thrown together with no real science or recipe in mind....

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

Can we see the recipe even though ti wasn't planned out?

 

[Arpolis]

Depending on how it was put together, exact ingredients used & what yeast used will give us insight on how the product is and how it could be after aging. I have done a few orange and raisin meads. So explain what you used like was the orange peeled? Was it just orange juice? Did you use wild/natural yeast or add your own? So on and so forth... Then I(we) can give better insight.

 

[vetusstimulus]

Ok I have a 1 gallon DJ , I used tap water and 1.2lb of honey from my dads bees to make a must, colled to trim temp, put in DJ and added 1 orange sliced into 8ths, peel and all, then I activated bread yeast in a little dish, 15 mins of shaking DJ and then I added the yeast.... Oh and about 30 raisins ....
4 weeks of bubbles then I transferred to a new DJ....

That's where I am up to...

 

[Arpolis]

Ok I have a 1 gallon DJ , I used tap water and 1.2lb of honey from my dads bees to make a must, colled to trim temp, put in DJ and added 1 orange sliced into 8ths, peel and all, then I activated bread yeast in a little dish, 15 mins of shaking DJ and then I added the yeast.... Oh and about 30 raisins ....
4 weeks of bubbles then I transferred to a new DJ....

That's where I am up to...

With that little of honey you probably had a gravity close to 1.042 - 1.044 which if ferment dry to about .998 that gives you close to 6% ABV. When you make an orange mead with whole orange thrown in & using bread yeast the white pith in the peel will add some acidly and bitter tastes. This kind of mead normally needs at least 3.5lb of honey because it needs to finish sweet to balance out the flavors. I would add another 1.2lb of honey. It should pick up in fermentation. And when it slows down add another 1.2lb. When fermentation stops it should still be sweet by that point. Rack off the lees once clear and bottle. Once this hits about 3 months in age it should be drinkable. I like these kind of meads after about the 6 month mark of aging.

 

[vetusstimulus]

Trouble is I didn't consider this a first real attempt, it was just a sort of empty hearted practice run, however watching the bubbles at night has spurned me in to rescue this.... If possible,,,
I transferred from initial DJ to a second when bubbles stopped, now its just dormant and acidic.
Should I chuck it?
A 6 % outcome however along with a sweet taste. Would be great ,
Should I add more yeast? And fruit ?

 

[Arpolis]

The fruit you have is plenty. You should not have to rack or anything. If you do not want a higher ABV and keep it where it is at about 6% the you need to stabilize with Camden and sorbate and then add honey. However as a first run attempt at mead I would suggest adding the lb of honey at a time like I mentioned before to bring the sweetness up. There is probably still enough yeast still there to ferment additional honey added so no need to re-pitch yeast. For your next attempt check out this following thread:

Joes Ancient Orange and spice mead

That link describes the holy grail of easy cheap orange/raisin mead recipe and instructions. If you follow it EXACTLY you can't go wrong.

 

[vetusstimulus]

This was a disaster , I tasted some of this and decided it should go down the plug hole to make room for better attempt...

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

How long ago was this brewed? We don't typically condone dumping around these parts.

Edit: A month is long enough for a quick beer, but not even close to long enough for a mead to age. I don't even think about bottling (yet alone drinking) until its at least 4 months old and cleared.

 

[vetusstimulus]

I don't condone the wasting of anything but,,,, it was a practice run,,, poor attention to my recipe and weights and measures.... And there was no way i could have rescued it ... I think,,

I have brewed beer and wine with varying degrees of success ( and failier) so I just had that gut feeling!

I

 

[Arpolis]

How long ago was this brewed? We don't typically condone dumping around these parts.

Edit: A month is long enough for a quick beer, but not even close to long enough for a mead to age. I don't even think about bottling (yet alone drinking) until its at least 4 months old and cleared.

I agree with MarshmallowBlue on these whole orange/raisin type meads I let it sit in primary for about 3 months about when the fruit falls to the bottom. Then siphon off as much clear mead as I can. If I think it needs further clearing it goes into secondary for another month or two. Then it is bottled. Beer and wine can be done in weeks but mead translates to months. I just started a mead much like yours. Check it out here:

My spiced orange and raisin mead

Since I pitched the yeast it was VERY slow to start but after 2-3 days it picked up fermentation and is going on well right now.

 

[vetusstimulus]

I think It got contaminated somehow, was rancid.. Also I am focussing on my cherry mead,,, its going very well and if my package has arrived I will be starting a habanero one tonight

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

I've had my mead taste like a rubber stopper and it aged out after 11 months! Unfortunately that was the last bottle I had of it.

 

[Arpolis]

I've had my mead taste like a rubber stopper and it aged out after 11 months! Unfortunately that was the last bottle I had of it.

Haha I have a lemon mead with a hint of that stopper taste right now. I started it 5 months ago and it is back sweetened and bulk aging now. I was curious as to when that may fade out.