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Barrel Char Wood Products
Hello guys,

I'm back with some news from my first batch! After 2 weeks and 3 days, the fermentation went drastically down, it's rarely bubbling at all. The fermentation is barely noticeable.

The jar has a thick white depot at the bottom and a nice pear and apricot smell escape from the airlock. Some small patch of white foam stay still on the surface. The mead is still extremely opaque.

Is there anything to worry? I'm going to wait 11 more days before racking.
 
So I should take 2 readings with probably 3 days between each reading. If it's stable, I'll rack and wait for a month for it to clear up.
 
Yeah, or even a week between readings. The extra weeks before you rack might even save you another racking down the road. And the amount of time we're talking, you wont have to worry about autolysis either. I plan on leaving my latest and greatest in the primary for as long as I can to save on subsequent rackings.
 
3 days later, reading still give me a gravity of one. I decided to rack it before I red your answer, so it is done.

I tasted it and I have a lot to say and ask about it. It is alright for a first batch, I think. Even if the slight bubble fizzle made the tasting session harder than it should have been, I am mostly pleased by the taste.

Strangely, the mead should be sweeter as I used at 12% max alcohol yeast (Lalvin D-47) and used 3 Kg clove unpasterised honey in 2.8 U.S. gallon of water. But the final gravity give me 1.00, which should not be as the initial gravity SHOULD have been 1.140. I could not take an accurate OG back when I first started, since the honey was not well dissolved through the water, newbee mistake.

In the end, after 2 weeks and 3 days, the mead is mildly sweet, has a nice acidity, smelled like pears in the fermentation jar and smell like clove honey and raw honeycomb in my wine glass. The taste is clove honey only, no or few pears flavors unfortunately and it's very slightly watery and a bit short in mouth. The mead is lightly golden, not colored enough for my taste. I think this should go in pair with the watery feeling.

I would have wanted it sweeter and stronger tasting... Well, I'll let it clear and sit for 3-4 more weeks before the next tasting session. I bet the waxy taste will wither a bit as the mead clear up... I just hope the flavors gain a bit in strength as I let it set.
 
Oh yea and what do you guys think of back sweetening my mead with a bit more raw honey after I racked it once?. It might get the flavor intensity I'm searching for, but I'm a bit scared of adding raw honey that won't ferment... Will this make my mead take like honey and water?
 
Well, I may be wrong - being a noob, it is most likely - but, the "sweetness" of mead is from honey that did not ferment, so adding honey to back sweeten is no different from honey that didn't ferment to begin with.

Frank
 
I think Frnic has it right, the only way you're going to make your mead taste like honey and water would be by adding honey and water, if you just add straight honey it's going to sweeten it up, not water it down.
 
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Barrel Char Wood Products

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