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First oxidized mead...

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Redleg

NewBee
Registered Member
Oct 6, 2003
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Hey, all.

So, I was just looking over my current batches and I noticed that a pyment I had in the tertiary for the past 9 months, well...the airlock had dried out completely.

I took a taste of the resultant mead and it tasted like a pyment should taste, except one difference. The batch tasted like sherry wine.

I just found out that sherry taste is a direct result of oxidation, but the funny thing is, I think it tastes great! Whereas on one hand I feel like a complete nincompoop for letting my airlock dry out, I am kind of happy it did.

So, that batch is now in bottles, where it will stay for about a year or so.

The question now, is, will the mead improve or worsen with age?

Brian
 

ThistyViking

NewBee
Registered Member
Nov 15, 2003
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Good question, I'd step into rec.crafts.winemaking and ask folks there how sherry ages, then post the answer here.... in a year or two, revisit the thread and update youe real life experience.
 

Dan McFeeley

Lifetime Patron
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Oct 10, 2003
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. . . I just found out that sherry taste is a direct result of oxidation, but the funny thing is, I think it tastes great! Whereas on one hand I feel like a complete nincompoop for letting my airlock dry out, I am kind of happy it did.

The question now, is, will the mead improve or worsen with age?

It should only improve, so long as you keep the pyment from further exposure to air. The sherry taste comes from the oxidation of ethyl alcohol to acetaldehyde. Further oxidation of the acetaldehyde can result in acetic acid, which may combine with ethyl alcohol to form ethyl acetate (a nail polish taste and aroma).

Chris Hadden was asking the folk on rec.crafts.winemaking for advice on making a maple mead with sherry flavors. Here's the URL pointer for the discussion if you're interested in reading through it (sorry, it's pretty long -- a goole seardh for "maple mead w/ sherry flavor profile " might get you there faster).

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=...u%24v1qi%241%40ID-81954.news.dfncis.de&rnum=1
 
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