To Bottle or Not to Bottle

[KJB5200]

Hi Everyone,

The wife and I took our first shot at making mead this past Fall and now we're trying to figure out whether it's time to bottle or not. We made two 2gal batches to start in November 2012; one being turned into cyser and the other remaining a dry mead. After a couple months we racked off the leeds (although there was very little) into fresh kegs where they've sat for the past two months. At that time the cyser (OG: 1.124 | FG: 0.968 | ABV: 20.5% | pH: 4.0) smelled/tasted great and was very clear - the mead (OG: 1.105 | FG: 0.980 | ABV: 16.4% | pH: 3.0) was a bit bland and slightly hazy but otherwise enjoyable. Now both are fairly hazy and smell/taste extremely dull compared to previous samples.
(Note: All my readings have been by refractometer due to the small volume so my FGs might be off a bit as a result of the high alcohol, despite trying to account for that variable in the formula I use to calculate FG/ABV.)

I'd like to get these batches bottled sooner than later if they just need time to sit considering I'm taking up two kegs for less than 5 gal of mead, but I also don't want to find out 6 months down the road that I should've done something to them before bottling. Any suggestions how I should proceed?

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

I would split them into 4, 1 gallon carboys and age more in those, then blend them back together and bottle. The longer they age the better they will taste, and if they age in bottles each bottle may come out a bit different where aging together makes it more cohesive.

 

[KJB5200]

Thanks for the quick response MarshmallowBlue - have you had batches of mead that tasted better fresh than they did aged? I'm a bit bewildered with how great both the cyser and mead smelled & tasted very shortly after fermentation but now they both seem bland, one-noted, and boring. I'll still sit on this batch for another 6 months at least (the plan was to make it to Christmas 2013) but I'm still surprised at how much they've changed, and not necessarily for the better.

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

I had a batch that tasted really great when it was still fermenting but its dried out now. Other than that, I cant say I have. I would keep waiting and see how it is every month. If it's very clear and you like how it is now, then you can bottle it.

What kind of ingredients are in the batches? Many times, flavors come back with age to bring complexity and harsher hot alcohols will mellow out.

And if you need the kegs for more keggy things, than just move them to carboys.

 

[saramc]

The thing is you have two high alcohol content meads and they seriously need some age....many people say to allow 1 month bulk aging for every % of ACV. Plus you would want to check the TA, pH alone is not the entire picture...as attributed by the dull taste.