Tannins, Acids, Back Sweetening

[parks1031]

Currently on day 6 of my first batch. It is a traditional mead with:
Lalvin Ec-1118
Wildflower Honey
SG:1.101

My question is where do I start with adding tannins, acids, and back sweetening to get a good final product. I know there is oak and powdered tannin and different acids but have no idea where to start and how to adjust my mead with these products. I included my mead specs for anyone who has made similar meads to give recommendations.

 

[Drewch]

Following to see what the hive mind says.

I haven't done that much mead myself either. But with that OG, I doubt it's anywhere near done at six days. I'd give it another 2-3 weeks and then taste it.

My first batch of mead was awful at a month, iffy at six months, and really good at a year — with no additions of anything.

 

[MightyMosin]

So your mead will finish at about 13.3%. I have no idea about your yeast and nutrient regimen which is a huge part of making a good mead. I'll touch on a few items from your post.

Tannins - generally speaking I use FT tannins from the start. You can use them later though you generally need to give them enough time to do their work before you bottle. When used in primary they can help your mead clear faster.

Racking - For the most part you will usually wait until you hit 1.000 or lower on the hydrometer to know that it is finished. With the EC-1118, you should hit that point. Your mead will finish dry, but depending on the honey, it may have some residual sweetness to the tongue. On the first racking I will use the cap on my auto siphon to minimize how much sediment I pick up. Generally you can work the auto siphon down slowly so that you only put it near/to the bottom until that last little bit to minimize the sediment you suck up.

Back Sweetening- This is a personal choice. You might end up with enough residual sweetness for your tastes. You will use Potassium Sorbate at least 24 hours before back sweetening if you are using a fermentable sugar. If using something that doesn't ferment, then you can skip it. If you use the Potassium Sorbate, you should consider using Potassium Metabisulfite as mandatory. It is mandatory as Sorbate by itself can be used by some bacteria that will add flavors that you do not want, The Metabisulfite will inhibit those little critters and it is added at the same time as the Sorbate.

Oaking - Personal choice, but I will suggest avoiding chips and use cubes, staves or Xoakers. I do this before I back sweeten as it helps me inform my choice of sweetness.

Acid - I usually do these last but at least these taste changes are noticed immediately.

 

[parks1031]

So your mead will finish at about 13.3%. I have no idea about your yeast and nutrient regimen which is a huge part of making a good mead. I'll touch on a few items from your post.

Tannins - generally speaking I use FT tannins from the start. You can use them later though you generally need to give them enough time to do their work before you bottle. When used in primary they can help your mead clear faster.

Racking - For the most part you will usually wait until you hit 1.000 or lower on the hydrometer to know that it is finished. With the EC-1118, you should hit that point. Your mead will finish dry, but depending on the honey, it may have some residual sweetness to the tongue. On the first racking I will use the cap on my auto siphon to minimize how much sediment I pick up. Generally you can work the auto siphon down slowly so that you only put it near/to the bottom until that last little bit to minimize the sediment you suck up.

Back Sweetening- This is a personal choice. You might end up with enough residual sweetness for your tastes. You will use Potassium Sorbate at least 24 hours before back sweetening if you are using a fermentable sugar. If using something that doesn't ferment, then you can skip it. If you use the Potassium Sorbate, you should consider using Potassium Metabisulfite as mandatory. It is mandatory as Sorbate by itself can be used by some bacteria that will add flavors that you do not want, The Metabisulfite will inhibit those little critters and it is added at the same time as the Sorbate.

Oaking - Personal choice, but I will suggest avoiding chips and use cubes, staves or Xoakers. I do this before I back sweeten as it helps me inform my choice of sweetness.

Acid - I usually do these last but at least these taste changes are noticed immediately.

This is huge. Thank you so much. I used Fermaid O in 4 doses 24,48,72 hours and 1/3 sugar break.

What are FT tannins and would you recommend using them in tandem with oak? I also was wondering if there’s a relative starting amount to use with them or if I should do this first batch with nothing added and work with adjusting later?

 

[MightyMosin]

FT Tannins are tannins made to be used in primary fermentation, though they can be used later on. The packaging or a quick search will give you more info on dosage as that varies based on you needs/wants.

Do you use them with oak?
That depends on what you are making and how long you oak for. The longer you oak, the more oak flavor you will get as well as some of the other flavor profiles. The higher the ABV, the more extraction you will get from the oak. When using cubes, staves or Xoakers you will get penetration into the oak the longer it sits and that will provide more complex flavors as the toasting it heaviest at the outside and as the alcohol penetrates it is getting a graduated exposure to oak profiles.
The longer exposure will help provide tannins, so you can use tannins up front though oak will provide some. The tannin will help mouth feel. Mouth feel will also be impacted by the ABV. A lower session mead at 6% will be flabby and while oaking will help I will almost always use tannin in the primary fermenter along with some oak cubes that will get transferred to secondary. I don't use oak if I'm making a session melomel; that's my choice.
A higher ABV, like yours, will usually have a better mouthfeel.

All of the above is to say that it is a balancing game that experience will help fill in the blanks on. My general thought is that if it is under 10% I use tannin in the primary. If I'm going to oak it, I am prepared to let it sit for months on the oak (with periodic tastings) and gauge the flavor and tannin as I go along. I avoid oak chips as they deliver a lot of oak flavor without any real complexity and if you leave it too long you might end up with Chateau de Plywood.

For a first mead, I would just let it finish and then evaluate. If you are impatient to enjoys it, back sweeten in small amounts to get it to where you like it and then start preparing your next batch with changes in mind. For a while, all I made was 1 gallon batches as it was cheaper and it let me play around with ideas, sometimes with several comparison batches going at the same time to see what I would get.

If you want to oak it, I would suggest any back sweetening after the oaking. There isn't a wrong way, as you can certainly back sweeten and then oak, but I have found that if I iaked too long, then level of sweetness I add may a bit higher than I normally would to blunt the oak flavor some.

A final thought: if you will be making meads in the 10%+ range, then make sure you really get enough oxygen into the must when stirring it up. In truth you will best be served with pure 02 through a .5 micron stone and oxygenate it for a minute prior to yeast pitch followed by another dose 12-16 hours later. This can cut fermentation time up to something like 30% if I remember correctly and your yeast start out healthier which helps prevent off flavors..

 

[bushpilot]

When I taste my mead, one of the things I evaluate is "fruitiness." Strange saying that about a traditional mead, but legit in a melomel.

Anyway, fruitiness mostly comes from fruit, of course, but that taste can be boosted or enhanced with additions of acids, sweetness, and tannins.

Acids are a major difference between sugar water and juice, fruits have acid.

Sweet balances the acid, so it tastes like a pleasing fruit, rather than like a lemon.

Tannin brings completion and balance, brings the peel in with the fruit, rather than just the flesh.

I am not at all a professional, and don't claim any sophistication in wine/mead tasting and evaluation. But these ideas work well for me as a starting point.