What makes a good/bad mead.

[ob1]

Hi,

I see banded around the forum and on other sources about good and bad mead. But I have no idea what makes a good made discern from a bad one? Speaking here as someone who wants to obvs make good mead and want to become a good mead maker, Is there something more defining than a subjective opinion in this context.

Thanks

 

[Squatchy]

So this is somewhat a hard question to answer.

What makes a beer good?

See?

There are established parameters that each category would enjoy. But at the end of the day, you can meet all the parameters and still have a crap product. It's almost easier to talk about what makes mead not so good. So I'll start there based on the time I have right now to respond. I am a mead judge and do several comps each year. Along with that. We have a mead club in my home town and we have lots of really great mead makers there as well.

The first thing you need to do is start buying as much mead as you can to find out for yourself the difference between good and bad mead. Honestly. There is a lot of comercial stuff made that is not very good. I think even a child could tell the difference between a good and bad mead without knowing a thing about what they are drinking. If you handed them a few glasses to sip and then tell you good or bad. They would do that without even thinking about it.

Too often meads are very monoral. Meaning they are a one horse pony show. There is no complexity at all to the flavor profile. No mystery. Nothing but on ftraction with nothing more to need to try and detect.

They are often times too sweet. Now this you need to understand. You can have a product that is finished at 1060 and still not present too sweet. So we are talk about perseption and not actuall gravity points. The sweet needs to be in balance with the rest of the mead. We do this by adjusting the acids to the point it's not overly sweet. Tannins will/can also do the same thing. We call this mead fat, or flabby.

Some lack any hint of honey in it. And others taste too much like honey. Agaiin the is presentation and not gravity. The honey should be in balance with the rest of the cast members.

Yiou can too much fruits and so much so that it overpowers the honey.

If spiced the spice, or spices can be too little or too light.

Basically we want to strive for balance. Now what I mead here is that the players all suppoert the overall well. Nothing is too little or too much. Yes. You can have "the star of the show" and in thins case everyone else is a supporting cast member. Now balance does not mean everything is the same (all equall) but it means nothing in misplaced in a way that is takes away from the overall presentaion.

Once you can start to understand and operate in this space your meads will improve.

The science part is easy to learn. But it's only half of what it takes to make a mead. The art portion (liquid Cheif) is easy for some as wee. And some will never get it.

 

[bernardsmith]

Thanks Squatchy, I think what you say here is incredibly important. The secret to a good (great ) mead is all about balance and the fact that you follow the "science" of fermentation does not mean that the alcohol, the flavor, the tannin and acidity are all contributing appropriately to the drink. I guess asking what makes a mead good or bad is a bit like asking what makes a novel or a movie good or bad. Unless you immerse yourself in hundreds of novels you are likely to think poor works are far better than they are but when you have carefully read hundreds you are able to see how the authors do what they do and perhaps marvel at the way the writer uses language to create complex characters and uses language to create and then solve problems.

 

[Squatchy]

Thanks Squatchy, I think what you say here is incredibly important. The secret to a good (great ) mead is all about balance and the fact that you follow the "science" of fermentation does not mean that the alcohol, the flavor, the tannin and acidity are all contributing appropriately to the drink. I guess asking what makes a mead good or bad is a bit like asking what makes a novel or a movie good or bad. Unless you immerse yourself in hundreds of novels you are likely to think poor works are far better than they are but when you have carefully read hundreds you are able to see how the authors do what they do and perhaps marvel at the way the writer uses language to create complex characters and uses language to create and then solve problems.

Hey Bernard

Nice to hear from you. I've been concerned about your absence and was planning to drop you a line tomorrow.

Your coment is very spot on. You said it very well.

Hope all is well brother.

 

[ob1]

Thanks Squatchy and BernardSmith. I guessed as much. I love mead hence why I want to make it, the commercial stuff I have had so far are rather on the sweet side, which does please my pallet as I do like a good dessert wine. However, I do sense that the overall character of the mead is somewhat two dimensional.

At the moment I have my first batch which is the following recipe

4lbs of raw honey from my local bee keeper
spring water to 4.5ltr (1 gallon)
1/2 sachet of mangrove jacks mead yeast (abv 19%)
1tsp yeast nutrient
original gravity 1.121
gravity at racking 1.04

I started first fermentation in a fermentation bucket for 2 weeks
1st racking to a carboy at 2 weeks and now on week 3

2nd batch

3lbs raw honey
4.5ltr spring water
mangrove jacks Belgian ale yeast (abv 14%)
Tannic tea ( steeped black tea bag (Yorkshire tea) and handful raisins) raisins left in must for first fermentation
yeast nutrient added after a few days of bubbling
Starting gravity = 1.08
In its first fermentation in a carboy, will rack it after 2-3 weeks for another 4-6 weeks before cold crashing and then bottling

 

[Squatchy]

Please don't rack before your finished fermenting. How will it ever finish when you take away your biomass?
You need to up your game in regards to feeding your yeast as well.

You don't ever want to bottle without stabilizing it or you will make bottle bombs.

I would just go ahead and use the whole packet of yeast also

Go listen to the podcast here on Got Mead Live and start on 9/5/17

 

[ob1]

Please don't rack before your finished fermenting. How will it ever finish when you take away your biomass?
You need to up your game in regards to feeding your yeast as well.

You don't ever want to bottle without stabilizing it or you will make bottle bombs.

I would just go ahead and use the whole packet of yeast also

Go listen to the podcast here on Got Mead Live and start on 9/5/17

Thanks will do, I am looking into stabilising at the moment, I listened to the podcast on sorbates and sulphites, still a bit confused but I will look it up.