to back sweeten or not to backsweeten? Opinions?

[Sourcheese]

My second 1 gallon batch of mead went dry. Absolutly dry. 1.000 dry and I still see bubbling in fluid. My first is around 1.010.

ph is perfect. 3.8 Taste.. well seems bland. No nasty flavors to be honest, but no sweetness, but I only had a very small sip.

It was 2 lbs of honey from an apple orchard and .75lbs of clover honey to 1 gallon water and like 15 raisons and 1.5 cinnomin sticks broken up. my yeast was white labs 720. just pitched it in raw without culture... again when I made this mead I knew absolutly nothing about making mead. I didnt know about specific gravity, I didnt know about ph, I didnt know about nutrients.

I didnt add nutrients, I did add a little potasium bicarb when I finally learned what it really took to make mead.. I checked the ph, and at that time the ph was under 3.2 and specific gravity was a little over 1.020. (maybe a week ago)

So just now I am cold crashing it to get the sedement out, then tomarrow I plan on adding campdon tablet and then potassium sorbate.

Next thing... do I add a 1/4 cup of honey to sweeten it up? Or do I leave it as it is? Ive never been a big white wine drinker so I wouldnt know a sweet from a dry white wine... I usually drink reds and I really wouldnt know what a dry red is to a sweet red. My wines I like are chianti and merlot.

Any advice or opinions would be appriciated!

Thank you,

Mike

[Medsen Fey]

It often takes traditional meads a year or 2 two develop their full aroma and flavor. During that time, perceived sweetness usually increases a little. You might want to wait about 6 months and then taste it. Take a full glass, then start adding honey to that glass a little at a time to see if sweetening it makes it better. When you find the "sweet spot", you can take a gravity reading and you'll have a target for where you want to sweeten the rest of the batch.

Medsen

[Sourcheese]

thanks for the advice! that is a very sound plan. Ill do that.

[Chevette Girl]

You may find in 6 months that you like it the way it is... and apparently the honey flavour does come back around that time. I'm too sporadic in my aging and tasting to have noticed this myself but people who have say it's really surprising.