Toggle sidebar

Maxwell Honey Mead

  • PATRONS: Did you know we've a chat function for you now? Look to the bottom of the screen, you can chat, set up rooms, talk to each other individually or in groups! Click 'Chat' at the right side of the chat window to open the chat up.
  • Love Gotmead and want to see it grow? Then consider supporting the site and becoming a Patron! If you're logged in, click on your username to the right of the menu to see how as little as $30/year can get you access to the patron areas and the patron Facebook group and to support Gotmead!
  • We now have a Patron-exclusive Facebook group! Patrons my join at The Gotmead Patron Group. You MUST answer the questions, providing your Patron membership, when you request to join so I can verify your Patron membership. If the questions aren't answered, the request will be turned down.
Barrel Char Wood Products
Montead said:
ytutequ2.jpg

Wow. I did not expect a reading of 1.034 no wonder my wife likes it so much. I wonder what reading their spiced mead would be???
Anyways. Hope this was interesting to someone.
Click to expand...
No but at 1.034 its right in amongst the commercial dessert meads I tasted/tried/tested a few years back....
 
Grimm312 said:
Wow, that's a bit of a surprise. Like I said, I thought it was dry.
Click to expand...

Did you correct for temperature or let the refrigerated stuff you checked SG on come to room temp? If not, it could still be fairly dry and you're getting an artificially high reading from the cold (more dense) sample.
 
I did a some research and found a pdf on maxwell meads. (See link) http://www.maxwellwines.com.au/media/docs/new_tasting_notes/Maxwell_Meads_2010.pdf

Information about the mead from the pdf:

The original mead. Maxwell Honey Mead has a delicate bouquet of floral
beeswax and nutty marmalade-like aromas. Refreshingly light on the palate,
subtle apricot and honey characters fill the mouth. Ideally consumed chilled
(over ice), it can also be mixed with soda water, lemonade or dry ginger ale. It
has been awarded ‘best pure varietal mead’ at the International Mead Festival
Competition in the USA.

Grimm312 did the description match the mead at all?
 
That's the "blurb" n the bottle, Kansas Mead. And no, it doesn't. Well, not to me. I'm sure there are people with better palates than mine. Like I said, it didn't really taste of anything at all, it just had the after-taste of a white wine.

I'm not so concerned now, I had a proper taste of my JOAM (I couldn't help myself, I've got 16L of mead fermenting away, I would have been devastated if it turned out I didn't like it ...) and it's much better. I'll have to wait for my Show mead to finish to see what a "plain" mead is like (Or I might do a trad if it'll finish quicker ...) for a "proper" comparison, but the JOAM was nice. There's a definite orange flavour, which is more than I can say for the Maxwell's stuff.
 
Sorry I have been away for a while. You are correct. I failed to take the temperature before. Even though it had been out if the fridge for a bit I am sure that is a false reading (great catch). I should have caught it and I probably wouldn't have been as shocked. Thanks for pointing that out. I am going to retry next time before I put it in the fridge.
 
Grimm.
I am just getting into the mead making myself (probably partially why I messed up with my hydrometer reading). I am very tolerant of the maxwell. I can not compare to any I have made as of yet.
I am about 45 days into my JOAM and realize I really don't like what seems to be a "hot" flavour. I have only tried 5 different types of mead. I don't like Oaked mead. Or spiced mead. I lean towards the traditional meads I have tasted. I am super curious how mine will turn out. Sorry for any confusion I may have caused with not catching the temperature.
 
It's all good, mate.

I've been drinking some more of the Maxwell's, and it's growing on me.

The "hot" flavour is caused by something called fusels, which break down over time, mellowing the flavour.

JAOM's are meant to mask them pretty well with the orange and spices, though. If you don't like it straight away, I'm led to believe 6 months aging can make a world of difference.
 
Grimm312 said:
It's all good, mate.

I've been drinking some more of the Maxwell's, and it's growing on me.

The "hot" flavour is caused by something called fusels, which break down over time, mellowing the flavour.

JAOM's are meant to mask them pretty well with the orange and spices, though. If you don't like it straight away, I'm led to believe 6 months aging can make a world of difference.
Click to expand...
Fusels don't always mellow with time. The rather forward "alcohol hot" sort of taste is usually just young mead that needs aging, and yes it really does seem the higher the strength the longer mellowing can take.

Its part of the reason why its recommended that their production should be avoided, with stuff like D47 yeast being fermented with honey musts at over 70F/21C. The "highe alcohols" take a long time, if ever to mellow. Despite the numbers that Lallemand quote for D47 it may just be a mead/honey must thing.

Plus you being in Aus, I suspect you do have to take more care/effort with your ferm temps. Hell I know you can find skiing, but generally it seems you guys often get some damned hot weather.

I'd guess that the commercial wine people have to use temp control kit for some of those marvellous brews they make ? and hence id guess it wouldn't be much different for meads ?

I wonder if that affects the types of meads that're made commercially in Aus ?
 
Depends where you are. We have some pretty big wine regions here in Aus. The Hunter Valley, the Yarra Valley, the Barossa Valley, etc. So I suppose if the area is suitable for wine it'l be suitable for mead.

And not everywhere is stereotypically hot. Most of the population lives on the east-coast, where the temperatures are much more ... "normal".
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Barrel Char Wood Products

Viking Brew Vessels - Authentic Drinking Horns

Top Bottom