One thing you will hear a lot is to never ever throw away a mead. With time (sometimes lots of it) your maed should get better and eventually become drinkable. Bubbles mean nothing so you need to rely on your hydrometer readings. Can you do your best to describe the odor. That may help us to help you. It will/should smell like yeast until it clears. Does it smell like sulpher?
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Can ingredients be added after primary fermentation has begun?
- Thread starter Ghost99
- Start date
The mead is still quite new. Probably about a month old. The only reason I was alarmed is because when I first racked to secondary it had a really pleasing raspberry aroma and when I racked it again it was such a pungent yeast odour. It's definitely not a sulpher smell though. So maybe this is normal and we should just start bulk aging it and hope for the best after several months?
The odd thing was the hydrometer reading being so low. It was originally about 1.072 and it's dropped to .092 which seems like a lot (although I'm too new to meadmaking to really know what I'm talking about yet
)
The odd thing was the hydrometer reading being so low. It was originally about 1.072 and it's dropped to .092 which seems like a lot (although I'm too new to meadmaking to really know what I'm talking about yet
)I'm relatively new, but I've made a dozen batches over the past 1.5 years.
I think that because you used less that 2.5 lbs of honey per gallon, the yeast ate every scrap possible and 0.92 makes sense. If you want it sweeter than that you'll have to step-feed.
I've also noticed that in all my batches the smells change, the tastes change, sometimes they're great, sometimes they're disgusting. Then the year mark hits and it all balances out. JAOMs, BOMMs, or recipes like yours above all take a year, IMO.
I think that because you used less that 2.5 lbs of honey per gallon, the yeast ate every scrap possible and 0.92 makes sense. If you want it sweeter than that you'll have to step-feed.
I've also noticed that in all my batches the smells change, the tastes change, sometimes they're great, sometimes they're disgusting. Then the year mark hits and it all balances out. JAOMs, BOMMs, or recipes like yours above all take a year, IMO.
Ok, so this batch is about 4 weeks old now and starting to clarify nicely. We're noticing the yeast sediment is starting to accumulate at the bottom of the jugs (as expected). Should we let er' be? Or should we be racking off this?
Also, since we found our efforts tasted a bit TOO dry before, would it ok to backsweeten a bit now?
Also, since we found our efforts tasted a bit TOO dry before, would it ok to backsweeten a bit now?
I like to rack when there's at least a good inch of lees on the bottom or monthly, whichever is sooner. Generally, you don't want to leave the mead on the dead yeast cake for too long, especially with strains like 71B.
Rack, yes.
Backsweetening now is not a good idea, because it won't work (unless your yeast have somehow reached their tolerance, which I doubt). Any fermentable you add now will just get converted into alcohol. You should stabilize fermentation first, before backsweetening.
Backsweetening now is not a good idea, because it won't work (unless your yeast have somehow reached their tolerance, which I doubt). Any fermentable you add now will just get converted into alcohol. You should stabilize fermentation first, before backsweetening.
The SG has been sitting at 0.092 for a week and a half now. It's been clarifying and I'm getting buildup on the bottom of the carboy again. Looking at the mead itself closely, there isn't the faintest hint of any bubbles or fizzing at all, it's completely still.
I will add it still smells fairly unappealing. Very strong yeast smell. I guess it just takes a bit of time to sort itself out, and maybe after racking more of that yeast away it should help.
I will add it still smells fairly unappealing. Very strong yeast smell. I guess it just takes a bit of time to sort itself out, and maybe after racking more of that yeast away it should help.
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Yeah, you can't really go by any one smellin'. They go through such radical changes in aroma (smells) that they can fool ya. It sounds like it's slowed down enough that you can go on to the stabilizing step. I've heard it's a bad idea to try and stop an active one.
