Well maybe hate is a strop word. I prefer the taste of a mead that has gone thru the fermentation process vs a mead that was backsweetened to the same level of residual sugars.
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I have to say this..... I hate the taste of a backsweetened mead
- Thread starter McJeff
- Start date
That is interesting.
I just bottled my first batch that I tried back sweetening. In the bottom of the barrel taste test I didn't notice much difference, but I haven't opened a bottle yet.
So I am curious what is the difference?
I just bottled my first batch that I tried back sweetening. In the bottom of the barrel taste test I didn't notice much difference, but I haven't opened a bottle yet.
So I am curious what is the difference?
you could have a taste sensitivity to sulfites. But you should still sulfite + sorbate any mead that has residual sugars to avoid annoying things like blown corks, as they are a pain to clean up.
Maybe im crazy but i feel like i can taste a more pure honey flavor in a backsweetened mead. In all fairness i dont have anything backsweetened that is a year old yet to give it a fair taste.
Honey is made up of several different kinds of sugar. I’ve seen speculation that yeasts may have a preference for one type of sugar over another. Think of it as a kid with a Halloween bucket full of Hershey kisses, Red Vines, Sweet Tarts, and Whoppers. He/she may eat all of the kisses, most of the Red Vines, half of the Sweet Tarts and just a few of the Whoppers. That would mean what is left (residual) in the Halloween bucket is not in the same proportion as what was there originally.
When one backsweetens, the proportion of added sugars from honey is the same as the in original must. I do not know if any post-fermentation analysis has been done to confirm this theory. Just food for thought.
Just an info dump:
The Sugars in Honey are Fructose and Glucose, the same sugars that are in wine grapes. They are both the single chain sugars that wine yeast has been bred to prefer.
This does NOT make sense, not to me. I would think I would like more of a pure honey flavor in a backsweetened mead. That's kinda the whole point, isn't it? For the final product to taste like the honey it was made from. I know I prefer the batches I've made that have a taste of honey in the final product; much preferable to the sweet alcoholic water some of them have been.
Those two are the main ones, but also Maltose, Sucrose and Higher Sugars. Those last three combined make up about 10% for the honey by weight and vary depending on the honey type.
If the yeast has been bred to prefer fructose and glucose, then those remaining three would disproportionally make up mead's residual sugar.
totally makes sense, thank you for not telling me in crazy
and dont get me wrong i like the taste of honey, otherwise i wouldnt be here!
Ahh..so you don't like your meads to taste like honey. Gotcha. No, you're not crazy.. you're just weird! Hehe.well now you are getting into the area of personal preference
I find that aging takes away the raw honey taste. Leaving it alone that long is frequently a problem for me though.
i got some stuff that will be a year old this summer, so ill give it another taste. Next few batches im goin to start trying to cold crash stuff at or about the ABV im shooting for, see if i like that process better.
I do not think you're crazy at all. I have the same problem. I also wouldn't say hate... I would also venture to say that I haven't given backsweetening a chance since the first time I did it the result was not pleasing to my taste buds. However, it's important to note that when done correctly, it should balance flavor. If you are getting a drastic change in the flavor of your mead, I think you may be using too much or not giving it enough time to "settle."
But taking the grain of salt into account that I still have a lot to learn about the post fermentation process, I still (at this moment in my mead career) prefer the flavor of a mead that was fermented and without adding raw honey. I much prefer to step feed and produce a sweet mead to blend with dry. There could be an argument that it's the same thing as back sweetening, but not to my palate.
It's one.of the reasons I back sweeten incrementally. I know I usually like my meads at about the 1.010 sort of area, but I ferment dry and then add small amounts of honey, taking a taste after each addition and gravity check.
Perception of sweetness is individual to each of us. It could be that someone else would taste it as a bit dry whereas you taste it as over sweet.
Hence I make it to how I like it. If someone else doesn't think it's right, then ***k 'em. They can make their own.
Overall, it should be balanced..........
Perception of sweetness is individual to each of us. It could be that someone else would taste it as a bit dry whereas you taste it as over sweet.
Hence I make it to how I like it. If someone else doesn't think it's right, then ***k 'em. They can make their own.
Overall, it should be balanced..........
I know a couple of people who claim to be able to taste raw/unfermentated honey added to mead, and they have usually end up being correct when they point it out...
