# I am askin before trying.



## Arne (Dec 8, 2013)

I made a trad. mead. Started it a year and a half ago or so. Thought I would like to sweeten it with a little honey before bottling. Tried it out with a glass, it went from crystal clear to really tastes good, but mity cloudy. Now, if I try and make a "simple syrup" with the honey, one part water, two honey, will it wind up clear if I watch the temp. while mixing, and not have to wait for everything to clear again?? I am not a mead guru and havn't made very many so need a bit of help. Thanks for now, Arne.


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## Deezil (Dec 8, 2013)

Honey is more than just sugar - and some of these 'extras' are what cause the hazing. You'll just have to let it clear again, if you're using honey to sweeten; kinda comes with the territory. 

Heating the honey into a syrup *could* (over 150F, if I remember right) alter the flavor of that honey, pulling its flavor profile away from the natural profile of the honey. But it would still be cloudy; and a tad diluted. 

Easiest way is to take some of the wine, put it in a pot & put it on the stove on the lowest setting, stirring in small amounts of honey until its dissolved.. Add that wine back to the batch, stir it up really good and see if its sweet enough; if not, then rinse/repeat. 

A major part of what takes clearing so long the first go-around though, is CO2, so with that out of the picture during sweetening, the cloudiness doesnt last to the same extremes as originally


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## Arne (Dec 10, 2013)

Thanks Deezil,
Kinda thought that is what would be said. The mead is a couple of years old already and is coming around. It isn't going to hurt it to sit for another year or so. Arne.


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## GreginND (Dec 10, 2013)

Your mead should have plenty of honey flavor in it already. I usually back sweeten with plain sugar to avoid this exact problem. The sweetness comes through and doesn't really alter the mead/honey taste. Maybe you should do some sweetness trials with sugar and see if it meets your expectations.


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## BernardSmith (Dec 10, 2013)

One of the ways I mix honey and water before I pitch the yeast is to submerge jars of honey in a bath of hot water. The warmth increases the viscosity of the honey and allows it to pour more easily. I then pour that honey into a small blender into which I have added a quantity of water and use the blender to whip the water and honey. This obviously aerates the mixture but it results in a very well mixed must. I wonder if you were to do the same thing with honey you wanted to use as the sweetener whether this might enable the honey to mix more effectively with the mead you wanted to sweeten. I think Deezil is right when he says that adding honey is not simply adding sugar but I wonder if backsweetening with a syrup made from honey and water would inhibit the problem you had, Arne, and you would not have to heat the honey you were adding more than a few degrees


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## WVMountaineerJack (Dec 10, 2013)

Arne, what D said, but we just add it straight to the mead when we backsweeten, dont want to dilute it at all, and are looking to boost the honey taste not just adding sweetness. The honey has proteins that are partly the cause of the cloudiness. I am not patient enough to wait for a second clearing so super kleer or sparkaloid both sweep up the proteins. WVMJ


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## Arne (Dec 11, 2013)

Thanks folks, 
Don't have my notes handy, so can't tell you exactally how I started this. It is nice an clear and about 2 years in the carboy. There are 3 gal. left, so think I mite leave one gal. alone and bottle it, one gal. sweeten with honey and one sweeten with sugar. In the glass, it is best with some honey dumped in and stirred up. Seems like just a little sugar in it is not enough, it needs quite a bit, but with no sweetening at all it is not too bad. Arne.


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## WVMountaineerJack (Dec 11, 2013)

Arne, beekeepers just cant encourage you to backsweeten or add any sugar to a mead, just not right, not respectful to all the work the bees have put into making that honey, just not right at all. If you want to experiment why not try a light vs a dark honey, that would be much better than just dumping sugar in. WVMJ


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## Arne (Dec 12, 2013)

WVMountaineerJack said:


> Arne, beekeepers just cant encourage you to backsweeten or add any sugar to a mead, just not right, not respectful to all the work the bees have put into making that honey, just not right at all. If you want to experiment why not try a light vs a dark honey, that would be much better than just dumping sugar in. WVMJ


 I have been playing with it some. Had an extra gal. and using that to experiment a little. As the mead has aged it has gotten much better. I think it needs a little sweetening. I also have a extra gal. of pear that has been sitting along with the mead. Blending some of the two makes a nice drink. The mead by itself needs a little something more, tho. Extra honey made it better than just adding sugar. I am going to play with it some more and see what I come up with. Arne.


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## WVMountaineerJack (Dec 12, 2013)

MIght it need a pinch of acid, was that why the pear made it better? We got a pear cyser going, the pear is already smooth on its own, throw in some smooth honey, this stuff will slip right out of the glass on its own. WVMJ


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## Arne (Dec 12, 2013)

Sounds like a plan, Jack. Will have to give it a whirl. Arne.


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