# Questions on 3 month old mead



## brottman (Sep 30, 2014)

Hi everyone, I started a mead about 3 months ago. I used EC 1118 yeast and did not use any yeast nutrient during fermentation. As of right now, it is not horrible, but definitely not something I could enjoy drinking. I know other people have described a medicine type taste in young mead. That could be what I'm tasting, but its hard to put my finger on it. I'm wondering if everyone thinks it not being good has more a factor of:

1. The 1118 yeast I used
2. Not using any nutrient
3. It just needs to age

I know I should have done things differently, but I'm still learning, so I made a few mistakes. Thanks for your input!


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## BernardSmith (Sep 30, 2014)

Hi Brottman, I don't think you have provided enough information. What kind of honey did you use? What was the starting gravity? At what temperature were you fermenting? What was the recipe?


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## brottman (Oct 1, 2014)

I used 15 lbs of wildflower honey from my LHBS. OG was 1.08, FG is 0.998, fermented at about 70-74 F. The recipe was pretty simple in that I just heated the honey to just below a boil for about 20 minutes, filled to 6 gal with distilled water, and pitched EC 1118. I didn't keep good notes, but I do think I gave it a few tsp nutrient at beginning of fermentation, but none after that. At around 1.02 I transferred to carboy where it has been sitting for the last 2.5 months at 0.998. After reaching FG I stabilized with KMeta and KSorbate.

I know I shouldn't have used distilled water, but I did. Hoping that didn't ruin it.


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## seth8530 (Oct 1, 2014)

Distilled water would not have ruined it, but heating honey like that is typically a no no. I gentler yeast strain might have helped as well. However, at this point the mead is still young. They can take quite a bit of time to age. You could try giving it some oak to add a bit of complexity.


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## SouthernChemist (Oct 3, 2014)

brottman said:


> I used 15 lbs of wildflower honey from my LHBS. OG was 1.08, FG is 0.998, fermented at about 70-74 F. The recipe was pretty simple in that I just heated the honey to just below a boil for about 20 minutes, filled to 6 gal with distilled water, and pitched EC 1118. I didn't keep good notes, but I do think I gave it a few tsp nutrient at beginning of fermentation, but none after that. At around 1.02 I transferred to carboy where it has been sitting for the last 2.5 months at 0.998. After reaching FG I stabilized with KMeta and KSorbate.
> 
> I know I shouldn't have used distilled water, but I did. Hoping that didn't ruin it.



Distilled water itself will not ruin anything. EC-1118 is not a high nutrient requiring yeast, either. Adding nutrients, however, wouldn't hurt anything. I am personally not a fan of heating honey to high temperatuers except for the purpose of dissolving it in water. Even then, you do not need to heat it up that much. I had the experience once of trying a couple homebrewed beers (honey porters) - one with honey added to the wort boil and another with honey added after the boil. The same honey and amounts were used. There was a clear, distinct difference between the two in both the aroma of the beer and the taste.

Another big factor is the quality of the honey used.


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## wineforfun (Oct 3, 2014)

I think you may have a couple of correctable issues.
A. It is still very young
B. You may need to backsweeten a touch, say to 1.005-1.010, to bring some flavor out.


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## BernardSmith (Oct 3, 2014)

Back sweetening may help bring out the flavors of the honey but the starting gravity is such that in my (limited experience) long term aging should not really be an issue. My orange blossom mead tastes quite delicious at 3 months and with a starting gravity of 1.090. I suspect that the use of distilled water and the high temperature you exposed the honey to contributed to the lack of flavors. But I also suspect that sweetening the honey may help. The other thing that may help is adjusting the acidity of the mead. Did you check the pH? How low is it? Again, the acidity may be offset with additional sweetness but you may want to consider whether you can remove the medicine flavor by reducing the acidity (I believe that complaints about wines tasting medicine like often are associated with overly acidic wines given the sweetness and the amount of alcohol they contain).


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## brottman (Oct 7, 2014)

I think I have determined that the the not tasting good is simply a matter of it needing back sweetening. What should I back sweeten with? If I do honey, should I heat it first or just dump it in. I don't want to see a bee leg floating in my mead bottle 6 months from now!


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## wineforfun (Oct 7, 2014)

I backsweeten my mead with honey, since that is what you are(I assume) striving for in flavor. I just warm it up a little so it will mix well. I never boil honey before using it.
Maybe I should since I get it from a local beekeeper but haven't had any issues so far. I am always worried boiling it will take away flavor and nutrients.


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## seth8530 (Oct 7, 2014)

Generally you do not want to heat honey to above 120. However, their are exceptions to every rule. If I was you I would let the mead age longer before you do anything to it. I would not even be thinking about how it taste until I am at least at the 1 year mark... Mead is not known for being a fast turn around product.


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## Tenbears (Oct 25, 2014)

I am with Seth, Mead needs to be aged, I have bottled mead that taste good, three months later a sampling taste like heck, another 6 months and it is wonderful. For back sweetening I use 1/4 tsp potassium sorbate (to prevent re-fermentation.) per cup of honey used to sweeten to taste.


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## Ctmaro (Oct 25, 2014)

I agree with wineforfun, let it age. I just opened a 1 year old straight honey mead that was back sweeten, and it is alot different in taste compared to when I bottled it months ago.


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