8 replies to this topic

[weave]

I made my first mead at the end of August last year. It is a simple clover honey mead fermented with EC-1118. No other flavorings. OG was 1.102, FG was 1.009. It did ferment at fairly warm temp, my basement was hanging around the mid-high 70's at that time. I kegged it yesterday. Tasted a sample. Wow. Rocket fuel. It has a fairly decent background flavor but it is hot. I imagine every mead is an animal unto itself but any idea how long it will be before a beast like this thing mellows a bit? I am storing kegged under CO2 blanket in a refrigerator at about 40F.I'm not really expecting to drink this thing for quite awhile but I am curious.

[strangebrewer]

Taste again next August. One year minimum aging.

At 12% ABV I'd say 1 Year as well. Though I wouldn't be surprised if it took longer before the alcohol flavor was really gone. I've got a 14% ABV show mead that took about 3 years before the alcohol flavor faded and the complexities of the honey really came through.

[weave]

Sounds like I am leaving it alone for awhile.I used a 2 piece bubbler on the carboy. Stupid, absent-minded me inverted the stopper over the carboy and the loose piece of the bubbler actually fell into the carboy. Don't think I could do that again if I tried. The bubbler was a little dusty from setting downstairs for so long. I am assuming (hoping) that the ABV on this mead is high enough that I don't have to worry about contamination while it sits and ages this long.Hmmmm, if it is gonna sit awhile anyway, I am tempted to throw a couple vanilla beans in there.

[realbeerguy]

If you would like to experiment, draw a gallon off into a jug, & put it on the vanilla bean. That's the beauty of mead making. You can take a base mead like the one you made and fool around with it, adding different spices, herbs, fruits. Try some fennel seeds. But I would do what Guest said, get another one started.

[weave]

I pulled off my first sample from this mead since I started this thread. The recipe is here; 1st mead is in the fermenterO-M-F-GSmooth as silk. And loads of background flavors. I can see why Scott uses mead as a go to. This stuff is gonna be dangerous on tap. Soooo deelish.*locks the dog away and pours a big glass*

[fatbloke]

Well with that yeast, I'd suggest that a final gravity of 1009 was a stuck ferment! EC-1118 is tolerant to 18%, so it would either be a nutrient thing or pH - whatever you do, make sure that you sorbate/sulphite it - as any oxygenation that it experienced during racking etc has a potential for bottle bombs - 1009 means that there's plenty of fermentable sugars left in it.....EC-1118 would easily have brought it down to 0.99X..........regardsfatbloke

[weave]

Well with that yeast, I'd suggest that a final gravity of 1009 was a stuck ferment! EC-1118 is tolerant to 18%, so it would either be a nutrient thing or pH - whatever you do, make sure that you sorbate/sulphite it - as any oxygenation that it experienced during racking etc has a potential for bottle bombs - 1009 means that there's plenty of fermentable sugars left in it.....EC-1118 would easily have brought it down to 0.99X..........regardsfatbloke

No bottle bomb issues. The mead is kegged.I don't doubt that it was a nutrient thing. In that link I got educated by Hightest on nutrients. I did add nutrients to the batch but it was after the mead had been in the fermenter for a few weeks. I am sure my primary ferment was far from optimum. This was a first batch for me to see if I'd like the final product.I'll def plan on doing it again as this batch turned out tasty after it aged a bit.

Edited by weave, 28 September 2010 - 07:33 PM.

[EWW]

Weave take a look at my mead lite post in the recipe section. Simple and easy drinking at 5-6 mo.*lite is a relative term when it comes to mead*

[ScottS]

I'm very sensitive to off-flavors in my meads. I usually can't stand them until 18 months. 24 is when they really get good.I've made several "quick" mead recipes in the past, trying to figure out what makes them "quick". It's usually a higher tolerance for crappy flavor, lots of sweetness to cover up the crappy flavor, and/or lots of spices or other heavy flavors to slap your tongue around and make the crappy flavor less noticeable. I have found no way to speed up the aging process, you've just got to get started and be continually making more so you have a constant supply. I've not looked at EWW's recipe, so please don't consider this a criticism of your recipe. Just don't expect miracles.