# Sweeten Dry Mead



## Bert (Apr 23, 2006)

I have a Mead that fermented out to dry...would like to sweeten it back a bit....anyone have some ideas or experience with sweetening Meads..


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## Angell Wine (Apr 23, 2006)

How about Honey?


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## masta (Apr 23, 2006)

You can follow the same procedure as with sweetening wines by stabilizing with sulfite and sorbate and add honey to the desired sweetness level.


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## Bert (Apr 23, 2006)

I thought of that , buta honey and water syurp still has that raw honey flavor and fermented honey is quite different [at least I think so]....and Mead really seems to pick up flavors easily...Hopeing to stay with the flavor I have now...


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## pkcook (Apr 23, 2006)

Bert,


All the info I've read on sweetening mead has been with honey added back. Given some time in the bottle for the flavors to blend, I don't believe you would be disappointed. I have two gallons of basic mead (my first try) that I've racked once and is very clear right now. I plan on using honey to sweeten it back a bit. Let us know what you decide to use and how it turns out.


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## pkcook (Apr 23, 2006)

Bert,


Most mead recipes that I have read that want a sweet finish use a staggered honey addition method to acheive. They start with a basic recipe and after the mead SG drops to a designated level they add additional honey and continue this process until the yeast is exhausted. You end up with a very high alcohol/sweet mead. Personally, I would prefer knowing the initial SG and let it ferment to dry andaddhoney back to desired sweetness.


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## PolishWineP (Apr 24, 2006)

Bert,


I find that I like a little taste of honey.


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## masta (Apr 24, 2006)

I have read that back sweetening mead with honey will cloud it some so it would be best to stabilize and sweeten before allowing it to settle and clear.


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## sally3 (Apr 25, 2006)

I have had my mead in a 3 gallon carboy since February 13, 2006 with an
airlock, stuck in a corner..basically trying to forget about it.
It is still very cloudy and tastes terrible. It does however
still bubble when I shake the carboy. It's a very basic sack mead
that was fermented directly in the carboy (D-47 one package with
12 pounds of clover honey, 3 lemons and 1 cup of green tea). Do I
just continue to ignore it and let it do it's thing? Thank you
for the advice Sally


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## masta (Apr 25, 2006)

Yes just let it sit and it will slowly clear and taste much better over time.


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## sally3 (Apr 25, 2006)

Thanks so much! It feels so unusual to just let it run.  Sally


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## pkcook (Apr 25, 2006)

Has anyone ever used fining agents on mead? Masta mentioned that honey could cloud mead when added back to sweeten. I've got a couple of gallons of basic mead I started on Mar 14 that is very clear now after 1 racking and I'm curious what to use if cloudiness happens.


PC


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## sally3 (Apr 25, 2006)

"...Fining agents are not typically used with mead but you could use one if
you have a batch of mead that doesn’t appear to be clearing".



The above is taken from an article on mead making that Masta wrote in
the newsletter that goes out once a month. Sorry I can't help
more but it looks like you can.  Sally


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## Bert (Apr 25, 2006)

One thing needed with Meads is patience...most of my recipes call for a year in the carboy and a year in the bottle before tasting....really thats a long time to wait, but the Mead is really gets awesome....


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## masta (Apr 25, 2006)

I did a little more research and found a few notes about using Sparkalloid as a great fining agent with meads. The other option is to sweeten and just allow the mead to settle on it's own. A 3rd option is to sweeten with sugar instead of honey and eliminate the risk of clouding a nice clear mead. 


Your mead is very young and certainly could use plenty of aging before it is ready to drink so allowing time to clear after sweeting with honey wouldn't hurt the time-line of when it is ready to hit a glass!


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## Bert (Apr 25, 2006)

Masta


The Mead I am thinking about sweetening is still clearing...do you suggest I sweeten with honey now??? Adding K-meta and sorbate first and sweetening??


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## masta (Apr 26, 2006)

Yes that is what I would do.


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## pkcook (Apr 26, 2006)

Thanks Masta,


I'll follow your advice and sweeten with honey and let it go for a few months. I took a taste when I racked from primary to carboy and I was not impressed



! I'm hoping this is typical with mead in general. I've racked again, but didn't taste. So once I've got it sweet enough, it shouldn't be hard to leave for a long while



. Time is a wine/mead maker's best friend!


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## masta (Apr 26, 2006)

From my experience with the meads I have made is that they don't even start to taste good until after 9 months of aging and are ok after 1 year. I am hoping for a real good after 2 years!


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## Bert (Apr 26, 2006)

This sounds like something to try....maybe mixing the honey with water and boiling it would help too....I think I'll try it that way....thanks for the help


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## sally3 (Apr 27, 2006)

So would you just leave the mead in the carboy with an airlock for that
2 years? Also, do you top it up and with what? Thanks
Sally


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## sally3 (Apr 27, 2006)

Sorry, I just read this whole post...obviously I'd top it up with honey prepared as written in the first few postings.




Sally


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## Bert (Apr 27, 2006)

Sally3


I try to top up with a like mead, but when I can't I add marbles to the carboy to bring the level up....or break it down to smaller carboys....to make it fit and that they are all full....all so I rack about every 2 months for a yearto help it clear...


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