Aging a mead

[BernardSmith]

I tend to agree with folk who argue that allowing a mead (or a wine) to age tends to improve the finished product but I usually chime in and say but that only applies to a well made wine. A poorly made mead or wine just gets older not better. But Friday night I cracked open a bottle of mead I had bottled two years ago in August and for which I pitched the yeast December 2017- avocado honey; dates, figs and cocoa nibs (10%). Last year I though the mead was a failure. I did not like the sharpness I tasted although my wife liked it. A year later and the flavors are incredibly smoother. It's a different mead. Bottom line - patience is a key ingredient and don't be quick to toss a batch down the drain. Wines, like kids, grow into maturity.

 

[Juniper Hill]

Agreed. Often a wine or mead really seems to come together with a bit of time - I usually leave mine for a year minimum. Sometimes with time the wine falls apart. I recently had a hybrid white that tasted fantastic after a year but essentially died at 2 1/2 years - finished most of it before it was too late. Haven't dumped it yet. Last weekend I opened up a 4 year-old bottle of Tempranillo which had changed dramatically - tons on Anise which wasn't there last year!

I've had similar experience with mead - I find they need some time to smooth out and integrate. I've tried the staggered nutrient addition method - I haven't found that it makes my meads approachable any earlier.

 

[BernardSmith]

Not certain that the key idea of staggering nutrient additions is to bring the mead to market any sooner. I think the real value is that you don't stress the yeast and the yeast can be stressed more as the alcohol level rises in what was a high sugar concentrate must. the higher the ABV the longer it takes any wine to age, and the more complex the flavors and the acids and tannins the longer it takes for those compounds to be fully integrated and most of the chemical processes to be at points whose flavors, aromas and mouthfeel we prefer.

 

[SVEN]

Being from Minnesota, we do not have easy access to fresh grapes but we have a plethora of apple orchards and apiaries. As a result, most of my fermentations revolve around hard cider and mead.

Completely agree with the previous threads here: A good mead gets increasing-better with time-->color, body, aroma, mouthfeel, etc.

As an individual with a strong Swedish/Norwegian ancestry, the pursuit of Viking history has become an addictive pastime.
The Viking were warriors, no doubt, and why they fearlessly and willingly entered into battle may be explained in that they die in earthly-battles but live in Valhalla for all of eternity. See the following passage:

A brief discussion on Asgard, Odin and Valhalla

Asgard is one of nine worlds in Norse mythology.
The Norse gods reside in Asgard.
Inside the gates of Asgard is Valhalla. This is "the hall of the slain”.
Valhalla is an enormous palace, walled with spears and roofed with shields.
Odin is the ruler of Valhalla and is the god of wisdom, divination, death and war.
The dead who reside in Valhalla fight one another, doing countless valorous deeds.
But every evening, all their wounds are healed and they are restored to full-health.
All this fighting encourages an appetite.
Their meat is derived from the boar, Saehrimnir, who comes back to life every time he is butchered.
For their drink they have mead that comes from the udder of the goat, Heidrun.
All this is served by gorgeous women, the voluptuous Valkyries.
In Valhalla, the warriors savor all of this: the fighting, the fine food and drink and beautiful women, into all of eternity.

 

[winemaker81]

I agree with Bernard that ABV makes a difference. Beer strength mead (4%-6%) is quite drinkable relatively quickly. Wine strength mead is drinkable in a year, but every year that passes sees it getting better.

Target 10% ABV for the mead to be drinkable early while still having a good shelf life.

The metheglin I bottled 2 years ago (12.6% ABV) is quite good now (opened a bottle last month) but I foresee it getting better so I force myself to not touch it yet. I'll open a bottle or 2 per years for testing purposes.

 

[WinoDave]

I made a margarita mead last fall/year, it was 12% alcohol and tasted like a harsh limeade, opened one last week it was delicious.

 

[winemaker81]

@WinoDave, you got my attention. What is a margarita mead?

 

[WinoDave]

@WinoDave, you got my attention. What is a margarita mead?

I fermented out 15 pounds of Honey and made 5 gallons of mead. I split the 5 gallons into 2-2.5 gallons of mead batches. I added potassium sorbate and potassium metasulphite to kill the yeast and then I back-sweetened with 1-2 cans (can’t remember) of Orchards Frozen Canned Margarita mix in the frozen food section at Meijers. It’s really good. I’ve back sweeten with a lot of the other Orchards Frozen Juices and they turn out really tasty. Apple/Cherry was really good too. They have a lot of different flavors and your adding real concentrated fruit juices.