I've done this recipe a few dozen times, but my latest batch http://www.gotmead.com/forum/showthread.php/23099-Brewlog-Mike-s-Famous-Christmas-Cyser is "different".
Only thing I can think is the cloves have done this. I get nothing but a bitter, astringent, knock-your-tastebuds-into-submission kind of bitterness, and this warm, fuzzy, all-over kind of lethargy that's pretty quick and pervasive. I'm guessing it's the cloves. We had had a bottle of cloves in the spice cabinet for years (and I mean decades, really). Well, I bought all new, fresh, organic ingredients for my latest batch, and it's come out like this; so completely different from previous batches.
I decided to err on the side of caution and only use 1 tsp of acid blend, and I usually use 3 tsp for my recipe. Well, the only thing I didn't do was reduce my cloves usage. I could've sworn that at the time of bottling, the taste wasn't that much different, but, after all, it was just a taste. But, it had the same astringency, almost too-dry finish, and I attributed it to a very full and complete fermentation of my yeast this time. Although it was the same strain yeast and basic conditions as far as ingredients and amounts go, it finished very quickly and completely in record time. I attributed that to a complete pre-fermentation aeration, which I had never done before.
So, does anyone have any experience with over-using cloves? Would it go past fragrant and floral and licorice-like, and just go straight to crazy-bitter? It's the only thing I can think of. It's not a total loss, but it's nigh-on undrinkable to all but the most adventurous of us. Me and my 2 eldest sons will have no trouble drinking it, but definitely not in the same quantities as history would suggest. One 8 oz glass and my face feels like it's going to melt right off, and I'm overcome with a surreal lethargy and hot-flash level of flushing that's very unusual after the first test glass.
24 cloves is a lot, I know, but I have a dozen recipes over the years where I used 4, then 12, then 20, then 24 cloves, and my wife was always the same in her reaction: "MORE CLOVES!! I love them."
Any thoughts?
Only thing I can think is the cloves have done this. I get nothing but a bitter, astringent, knock-your-tastebuds-into-submission kind of bitterness, and this warm, fuzzy, all-over kind of lethargy that's pretty quick and pervasive. I'm guessing it's the cloves. We had had a bottle of cloves in the spice cabinet for years (and I mean decades, really). Well, I bought all new, fresh, organic ingredients for my latest batch, and it's come out like this; so completely different from previous batches.
I decided to err on the side of caution and only use 1 tsp of acid blend, and I usually use 3 tsp for my recipe. Well, the only thing I didn't do was reduce my cloves usage. I could've sworn that at the time of bottling, the taste wasn't that much different, but, after all, it was just a taste. But, it had the same astringency, almost too-dry finish, and I attributed it to a very full and complete fermentation of my yeast this time. Although it was the same strain yeast and basic conditions as far as ingredients and amounts go, it finished very quickly and completely in record time. I attributed that to a complete pre-fermentation aeration, which I had never done before.
So, does anyone have any experience with over-using cloves? Would it go past fragrant and floral and licorice-like, and just go straight to crazy-bitter? It's the only thing I can think of. It's not a total loss, but it's nigh-on undrinkable to all but the most adventurous of us. Me and my 2 eldest sons will have no trouble drinking it, but definitely not in the same quantities as history would suggest. One 8 oz glass and my face feels like it's going to melt right off, and I'm overcome with a surreal lethargy and hot-flash level of flushing that's very unusual after the first test glass.
24 cloves is a lot, I know, but I have a dozen recipes over the years where I used 4, then 12, then 20, then 24 cloves, and my wife was always the same in her reaction: "MORE CLOVES!! I love them."
Any thoughts?
