Oxygenating Must Too Late?

[Daddywags]

Hello!

I'm on my third mead: a standard medium-sweet black sage mead, based heavily off Ken Schramm's "Medium" Recipe in the Compleat Meadmaker.

Original Gravity was 1.094: it's now hovering at about 1.023, after 8 days of fermentation.

Up until the third sugar break, I stirred, oxygenated with 0.5 micron stone for 2 mins, and adjusted the pH to ~3.5. Then I left it alone for a few days.

Today, I checked and adjusted the pH, stirred the must/mead, and then, without thinking, I oxygenated it for 1-2 minutes. I checked the gravity after doing this, and realized that the mead was much further along in its fermentation than I had originally thought.

Will the ~1-2 minutes of O2 this late in fermentation cause problems with oxidation/off flavors? I did some research, and have found that people generally stop oxygenation after 1/3 break, to prevent oxidation of the fermenting must. I had always thought oxidation to be a post-fermentation issue, but you learn something new everyday.

How bad should I expect this to be? I've already lost a mead due to oxidation, and I'd hate to think I've done it again. =(

I'd be very grateful for any thoughts.

[fatbloke]

I'd have thought you'd be fine. The point of aerating down to the 1/3rd break is to do with helping yeast colony development. Oxygen helps the yeast grow rather than produce alcohol, which I understand is what happens when the yeast is fermenting in the anaerobic stage.

Hence I believe you should be fine. No need to meddle further with it. Just let it finish......

[Medsen Fey]

While there are active yeast in the must, it is hard to do oxidative damage. The yeast keep the environment very reductive.

[Daddywags]

Thank you very much, Medsen and fatbloke, for your reassuring advice.

Cheers!

[Chevette Girl]

Sage mead, did you say? I'm insterested in how much sage you used, whether it was fresh or dry, and how it tastes? I made a sage mead a while back and the early tastings said it really really needed to mellow a bit but later tastings have said it's mellowing nicely.

[JayH]

I make a Sage mead that everyone loves.

I just take a hike up the hill and pick fresh California White Sage. I use 1 full sized leaf per gallon in secondary and taste every 12 hours or so. I wait until I like it, let it go another 12-24 hours and take them out. It seems to my taste buds that the sage will lesson by about 20% over the next couple of weeks and then gradually lesson a bit more if let to set around, but mine never seems to.

Cheers
Jay

[Daddywags]

Actually, Black Sage is the floral source for this varietal honey. It's a mild, medium-light honey with just a bit of noticeable sage flavor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvia_mellifera

I'm planning to use pineapple sage blossoms and foliage in the secondary later on as a flavoring.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pineapple_sage

S. elegans has a wonderfully light floral-pineapple aroma, but it is much milder than most other sages: it doesn't hold up as well to cooking, but it makes truly amazing iced tea. I'm thinking that at least a large spray of flowers per gallon of mead will be necessary to get the aroma I want, but I really have no idea of dosage with this sage variety. I'll let you know how it goes!

Originally Posted by Chevette Girl

Sage mead, did you say? I'm insterested in how much sage you used, whether it was fresh or dry, and how it tastes? I made a sage mead a while back and the early tastings said it really really needed to mellow a bit but later tastings have said it's mellowing nicely.

[Chevette Girl]

Aah, my mistake It's always my base assumption that something in the name of the mead is an additive rather than a honey variety since I don't have a lot of selection around here