Why does my Apple/Pear/Blackberry taste so bad :(

McJeff · Mar 3, 2014

9/26
4.5lbs of apples peeled cored
3.5lbs pears peeled cored
1.5lbs blackberries
13 lbs honey
1tsp tannin
1/2 tsp acid blend
4 gallons of water
pectic enzyme over night
71b and dap next(1 tsp and aeration for first 3 days)

11/1 racked into four 1 gallon jugs
didnt right a gravity down, but i know it was dry
11/2 one of the gallons i oaked with Dark American for 13days, another 1gallon i added 1/2 tsp of acid blend

i let age till 2/11 after many tastings it never tasted good at all. So i remixed it all back together(a little over 3 gallons). Cooked down 1 lbs honey and backsweetened the remixed batch.

2/25 tasted again utterly nasty, bitter off flavors. Tossed 1 gallon, bottled 1 gallon and still have another 1 gallon sitting in the jug.

So ive been dwelling over this for some time. besides the other obvious mistakes to me now, I think i know what i did. I blendered(food processed) the fruit

Did i chop up the seeds to give the mead the bad off flavors? Im not tasting arsenic or anything am i?

MJ7 · Mar 3, 2014

I have no idea because it is your subjective opinion. There is an off flavor is all I can gather. It is possible it is from the seeds, I would guess a very bitter tasting off flavor if it was from the seeds. It could also be that there is a lot going on in this one, age should take care of it. Give it a solid 6 months a taste it, just bottle it up and store it away, no need to throw it out just yet.

McJeff · Mar 3, 2014

yeah my vocabulary for wine descriptive words is small. but yeah bitter would be one fo them.

MJ7 · Mar 3, 2014

McJeff said:
yeah my vocabulary for wine descriptive words is small. but yeah bitter would be one fo them.

Apple and pear seeds are super bitter, so I would say they might be responsible. I'm not sure if it will age out, let it sit and see.

Chevette Girl · Mar 3, 2014

I've never fermented on cracked seeds before, I just roughly chop the fruit and freeze it most of the time, except when I press it fresh, but then the macerated seeds don't have a lot of contact time with the juice.

I will reiterate what MJ7 says - time can solve a lot of problems, especially bitterness... I'd give it at least a year before pitching...

McJeff · Mar 3, 2014

Knew I should have just left them rough cut. But I was cutting corners.

skunkboy · Mar 3, 2014

Broken seeds, like the from blackberries will make it bitter, as will the tannin you added originally. Next time just freeze, thaw and mash the fruit.

McJeff · Mar 3, 2014

I should send some to mannye

skunkboy · Mar 3, 2014

McJeff said:
I should send some to mannye

Oh, yeah.... :drunken_smilie:

mannye · Mar 4, 2014

Hell yeah... lol I'll be back on the sauce after this infernal diet is over. April 4th! No booze or sugar till then. Note...no longer missing the sugar AT ALL. But my mead and my bottle of Glenlivet are constantly taunting me... "Manny...just one sip...hardly any calories...we miss you!", they say as I walk past them.

GntlKnigt1 · Mar 4, 2014

Well, if a 1 month diet can have any impact, i want to bknow about it, so keep the faith, and let me know

Sent from Arthur Dent's towel smothering a volume of Vogon poetry, some of which just leaked out.

MJ7 · Mar 4, 2014

mannye said:
Hell yeah... lol I'll be back on the sauce after this infernal diet is over. April 4th! No booze or sugar till then. Note...no longer missing the sugar AT ALL. But my mead and my bottle of Glenlivet are constantly taunting me... "Manny...just one sip...hardly any calories...we miss you!", they say as I walk past them.

What's the diet for? Losing weight or blood sugar problems?

If you want to lose the weight cut the simple carbs, you can still enjoy alcohol, just cut back on things like bread, pasta, grains (white and brown are the same, whole wheat is not better than regular white - cut it all) etc. Also look to cut back on things that raise your glycemic index, e.g. eat sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes. Eat meat, veggies, fruit, dairy (if you can tolerate it) and drink your glass of mead or two. You will lose the weight. Most Americans can't go 2 minutes without sucking down 500 calories in the form of soda, perhaps I'm a rare anomaly.

McJeff · Mar 4, 2014

I'm assuming he is doing this, whole30.com. I felt amazing When we did it, dropped 40 lbs. then the kids started bitching and we slowly fell off the wagon. Been harassing the gf to get us back on track. Doing whole 30 is actually how I found mead and started brewing.

McJeff · Mar 4, 2014

skunkboy said:
Broken seeds, like the from blackberries will make it bitter, as will the tannin you added originally. Next time just freeze, thaw and mash the fruit.

So assuming it is the seeds, will this potentially age out or just toss it?

mannye · Mar 4, 2014

MJ7 said:
What's the diet for? Losing weight or blood sugar problems?

If you want to lose the weight cut the simple carbs, you can still enjoy alcohol, just cut back on things like bread, pasta, grains (white and brown are the same, whole wheat is not better than regular white - cut it all) etc. Also look to cut back on things that raise your glycemic index, e.g. eat sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes. Eat meat, veggies, fruit, dairy (if you can tolerate it) and drink your glass of mead or two. You will lose the weight. Most Americans can't go 2 minutes without sucking down 500 calories in the form of soda, perhaps I'm a rare anomaly.

I'm 6'2'' and was at 290 lbs and my doctor told me to stop f-ing around. I became sedentary since my job pretty much has me sitting in meeting room or desk or dark little edit room all the time. T

he only thing that was inflating me was the daily pint or two at the local, the thrice weekly two fingers of Glen, and of course, the mead! Not to mention the three bottle of wine lunches with clients that happened at least twice sometimes 4 times a week!

As far as results in one month, how about 20 pounds in three weeks from (a) no booze of any kind...no sugar at all..two hours a day of walking..that's every day rain or shine. When it rains I go to the gym and get on a treadmill. Add to that three hours a week doing resistance training and you get 20 pounds in three weeks...for me. (that whole thing is (a)...there is no (b) ) Everyone is different.

It's really the only way... when people around here ask me what I'm doing, I tell them I found this incredible new secret diet... eat right and exercise! It is dull and boring and it sucks.

I could still enjoy the odd drink, but it would extend this torture. It's much easier to drop 5 than to get way over and drop 50. By April 4th, I will be able to reintroduce booze (in New Orleans...in a BIG way) then enjoy in moderation until I reach the goal of 240. At my height, any less and people start asking if I'm OK.

OK...enough of that! I just had to ask Richard Simmons to leave.

I bet if you experimented with some blending you might be able to improve the flavor.

Chevette Girl · Mar 4, 2014

I took off 10% of my highest weight in a year just by eating my 5 fruits and veggies every day... although this was a lifestyle change (I still mostly keep to it) and the weight loss was incidental, the weight has stayed off .. however, I've been on my fair share of restrictive diets for other health issues and I have very little patience for them, not being allowed to eat something makes me want it more... the first time was the worst, lost 10 lbs in 3 months specifically trying NOT to lose weight, and as soon as I was off that one, gained 15 back...

And McJeff, what do you have to lose by trying to age it out? If you've got the space to do it, it's not only good for you by not wasting the time, effort and ingredients that went into this, but it's good for the rest of us if you can provide anecdotal evidence about time and its effect on bitterness presumed to be from seeds.

I have my own experience with time decreasing bitterness from what I suspect would be tannins in a very bitter highbush cranberry cyser, it's taken some years, but when I first started it was "spit it out, this is poison" bitter and it's gone through "hey, I don't have the overwhelming urge to spit it across the room anymore" through to "you know, this is actually starting to taste like it may eventually match its fantastic smell" ...

McJeff · Mar 4, 2014

Well you're right I have the room, I'll do it for science I guess

MJ7 · Mar 4, 2014

mannye said:
I'm 6'2'' and was at 290 lbs and my doctor told me to stop f-ing around. I became sedentary since my job pretty much has me sitting in meeting room or desk or dark little edit room all the time. T

he only thing that was inflating me was the daily pint or two at the local, the thrice weekly two fingers of Glen, and of course, the mead! Not to mention the three bottle of wine lunches with clients that happened at least twice sometimes 4 times a week!

As far as results in one month, how about 20 pounds in three weeks from (a) no booze of any kind...no sugar at all..two hours a day of walking..that's every day rain or shine. When it rains I go to the gym and get on a treadmill. Add to that three hours a week doing resistance training and you get 20 pounds in three weeks...for me. (that whole thing is (a)...there is no (b) ) Everyone is different.

It's really the only way... when people around here ask me what I'm doing, I tell them I found this incredible new secret diet... eat right and exercise! It is dull and boring and it sucks.

I could still enjoy the odd drink, but it would extend this torture. It's much easier to drop 5 than to get way over and drop 50. By April 4th, I will be able to reintroduce booze (in New Orleans...in a BIG way) then enjoy in moderation until I reach the goal of 240. At my height, any less and people start asking if I'm OK.

OK...enough of that! I just had to ask Richard Simmons to leave.

I bet if you experimented with some blending you might be able to improve the flavor.

Good start, and to answer you yes in short sugar is to be limited. Diet plays a huge role and I'm glad you have noticed. Exercise is more important than just losing weight, overall stress and human body needs physical activity no matter the age. Good luck and cheers to your goals.

MJ7 · Mar 4, 2014

Chevette Girl said:
I took off 10% of my highest weight in a year just by eating my 5 fruits and veggies every day... although this was a lifestyle change (I still mostly keep to it) and the weight loss was incidental, the weight has stayed off .. however, I've been on my fair share of restrictive diets for other health issues and I have very little patience for them, not being allowed to eat something makes me want it more... the first time was the worst, lost 10 lbs in 3 months specifically trying NOT to lose weight, and as soon as I was off that one, gained 15 back...

Yes, exactly. Diets are horrible they only create binge eating. I'm a health nut but when I get a sweet tooth instead of grabbing a candy bar or an ice cream I grab a carton of blackberries, raspberries or a pear. I'm trying to get my folks on this as well. My father seems to love pears, so instead of him buying snickers bars mini treats I simply bring over a thing of pears and get him on those instead. Fruit has a lot of sugar, however, it also packs fiber, and because of this the blood sugar response is low, as the fiber slows the absorption of sugar into the blood (this is key). Good luck.

As to aging, I think almost most alcohol ages well. Good luck, as I have a few aging right now as well. Get several batches started at the same time, so when they do age out you create yourself a nice stock and you will not have to worry about having something to drink later. I think starting off in mead is tough because you want to reap your rewards, but you have to sit by idle until they age and become peak.

Chevette Girl · Mar 4, 2014

mcjeff said:
well you're right i have the room, i'll do it for science i guess

FOR SCIENCE!!!!

MJ7 said:
Yes, exactly. Diets are horrible they only create binge eating. I'm a health nut but when I get a sweet tooth instead of grabbing a candy bar or an ice cream I grab a carton of blackberries, raspberries or a pear. I'm trying to get my folks on this as well. My father seems to love pears, so instead of him buying snickers bars mini treats I simply bring over a thing of pears and get him on those instead. Fruit has a lot of sugar, however, it also packs fiber, and because of this the blood sugar response is low, as the fiber slows the absorption of sugar into the blood (this is key). Good luck.

I also try to follow an 80-20 rule, 80% of my daily calories come from a healthy source, 20% can be junk food... I'm as bad for craving fats as I am for craving sweets, and fruit just doesn't cut it. Of course I'm currently very active at my day job so I burn it all off anyway... but carrots before cookies. And if I have to eat pure unadulterated sugar like these terrible raspberry marshmallows I'm currenty jonesing for, eating yogurt with it seems to eat some of the sugar before it hits the bloodstream

Life is all about the workarounds!

Why does my Apple/Pear/Blackberry taste so bad :(

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