Sweetening mead

[fizz head1982]

I have 23 litres of mead chilling to clear. I made it entirely from honey and water and lots of yeast nutrient. Ive stabilised it with pot sorba and pot meta. It has a pleasant taste but doesnt really taste of anything...

I was thinking of using some more honey but how?

Do I just heat it with some water to thin it down and then just add it and my mead to the bottling bucket? How much honey should i use?

I could also do some other things if anyone has any suggestions. Anyone got any suggestions for other flavours?

 

[Tim_Crowhurst]

I would thin the honey with an equal amount of mead, then blend that into the DJ. As with all backsweetening, add it to taste.

For extra flavour I'd go for something like the peel of a couple of lemons/oranges (remove as much of the pith as you can) a couple of split vanilla pods, or some herbs like lavender, applemint or lemonbalm. Lavender has a very strong flavour, so use it sparingly - no more than 1/2 tablespoon dried flowers per gallon. You want something which will compliment the mead, not overpower it.

 

[fizz head1982]

Wont it be a pain to mix the honey and the mead? I dont want to oxygenate it.

The other flavourings you describe, I did that last time but in the first month of the ferment, then i removed them. Would adding them now be whilst they are aging? Then remove and clear?

 

[Tim_Crowhurst]

It doesn't really matter whether you mix the honey with mead or water, you are going to oxygenate it - but because you're only dealing with a small amount of mead the amount of oxygen it can contain is minimised. It is very difficult to mix honey straight into mead, mulsum or must, and much easier if the honey has been diluted.

Herbs and spices generally give the best flavour if they're added at some point after the first week of fermentation, because the rapid early ferment destroys or drives off the flavour compounds, while the higher alcohol content afterwards will draw out the flavour compounds into the wine or mead more effectively. Adding them later on also allows you to judge flavour strength more easily. In addition some herbs and spices, such as cinnamon and lavender, contain natural antibiotics that can slow the rate of fermentation, so are best left out initially.

 

[fizz head1982]

You sir, are a fountain of knowledge on mead. Thanks for your help. :thumb:

I shall go forth and experiment.

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