N00b with n00b mead problems....
I started my first mead as the following recipe: Syr Michael of York Mead
http://www.greydragon.org/brewing/mead.html#York
"Ingredients:
1 Gallon Water
2 1/2 lbs Honey
1 Lemon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1 pkg Ale or Champagne yeast
Boil the water and honey. Add the juice of the lemon and the nutmeg. Boil, skimming the foam that rises to the surface, until it stops foaming. Let cool to blood temperature, actually under 90 degrees F, then pitch the yeast.
Let it work two and a half weeks, bottle it and let it age two weeks."
The must had SG of 1.075. Using Lalvin D-47 and sanitizing everything with One-Step, I followed all instructions.... until the two and a half week mark hit and the instructions called for bottling.
Instead, I racked into a secondary and let sit for two months, when the SG was 0.99. It smelled terrible, so backsweetening seemed like a good idea. I racked again adding potassium sorbate (1 crushed tablet) and potassium metabisulfite (1/2 tsp).
I let sit for two days, and while the fermentation seems to be clearly over. The pH is around 3.0 and it tastes so, so, so terrible. My mom called it "vinegeary" and it almost tastes carbonated, but there are no bubbles. It's just bad.
Tasting it, I know I made a huge mistake by not following the original recipe, especially since it was meant to be a short mead. I just wanted to keep brewing! What a waste.
My question is: Is it time to give up and try a better recipe? Can this be saved? What, specifically, is making it suck SO MUCH? Bacteria? My impatience?
Much thanks for any help/direction to where I could find answers. My google-fu is strong, but I decided it was time to reach out myself.
I started my first mead as the following recipe: Syr Michael of York Mead
http://www.greydragon.org/brewing/mead.html#York
"Ingredients:
1 Gallon Water
2 1/2 lbs Honey
1 Lemon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1 pkg Ale or Champagne yeast
Boil the water and honey. Add the juice of the lemon and the nutmeg. Boil, skimming the foam that rises to the surface, until it stops foaming. Let cool to blood temperature, actually under 90 degrees F, then pitch the yeast.
Let it work two and a half weeks, bottle it and let it age two weeks."
The must had SG of 1.075. Using Lalvin D-47 and sanitizing everything with One-Step, I followed all instructions.... until the two and a half week mark hit and the instructions called for bottling.
Instead, I racked into a secondary and let sit for two months, when the SG was 0.99. It smelled terrible, so backsweetening seemed like a good idea. I racked again adding potassium sorbate (1 crushed tablet) and potassium metabisulfite (1/2 tsp).
I let sit for two days, and while the fermentation seems to be clearly over. The pH is around 3.0 and it tastes so, so, so terrible. My mom called it "vinegeary" and it almost tastes carbonated, but there are no bubbles. It's just bad.
Tasting it, I know I made a huge mistake by not following the original recipe, especially since it was meant to be a short mead. I just wanted to keep brewing! What a waste.
My question is: Is it time to give up and try a better recipe? Can this be saved? What, specifically, is making it suck SO MUCH? Bacteria? My impatience?
Much thanks for any help/direction to where I could find answers. My google-fu is strong, but I decided it was time to reach out myself.