Source
r/mead•
trigger0219

My first mead is four months young. I have some questions on the future and present.

Hi everyone. I've made a few beers in the past and decided to try my hand at mead. Some background, my OG is 1.100, I used champagne yeast, I did not boil the honey (just the water, and added the honey to that hot), and I did a nutrient step as is suggested quite often on mead web pages. The airlock stopped bubbling two months ago, but started up recently --warmer temps, but still in the operating temperature of champagne yeast. The gravity reading was around 1.010 before it started up again, so it's probably around <1.000 now.

My plan is to get some fining agents in there (bentenite), and rack a few gallons off to gallon bottles and flavor with some mint, maybe lavender, maybe rose water, maybe a salmon head.

I was told (by a pro wine and mead maker) that without boiling or fining agents there are a lot of proteins that could break down to produce off flavors and aroma (sulfides and disulfide). Should I drop the fining agents before the leaf additions? My initial guess is that the fining agents are going to dull those flavors and I should do them after. Also, can I use Irish moss in this stuff (I have a sack of it from beer brewing), or should I stick to wine oriented chemicals like bentonite?

Thanks all. Happy mead drinking!

Posted Apr 23, 2011, 12:09 AM UTC · edited

610
feng_huang•

The airlock stopped bubbling two months ago, but started up recently --warmer temps, but still in the operating temperature of champagne yeast. The gravity reading was around 1.010 before it started up again, so it's probably around <1.000 now.

Without checking the gravity, it's all speculation, but I would wager even money that it's not actually fermenting any more, just off-gassing CO2.

Should I drop the fining agents before the leaf additions? My initial guess is that the fining agents are going to dull those flavors and I should do them after.

This sounds right to me.

Also, can I use Irish moss in this stuff (I have a sack of it from beer brewing), or should I stick to wine oriented chemicals like bentonite?

Keep in mind that Irish moss (and Whirlfloc) needs to be boiled to be effective as a fining agent (which is why it's used as kettle finings in brewing but not much otherwise). Of course, you have to boil bentonite, too (IIRC), so take that FWIW. It really depends on what sorts of things you want to remove, as finings are electrically charged. You could use bentonite, wait, rack, and then use something like Sparkolloid or isinglass (as a quick Google search shows bentonite to be negatively charged and the other two, positive). As for your actual question, I don't know. I've never used Irish moss outside of the brew kettle.

3
phlyingpenguin•

A good alternative to the boil time finings would be to check out Super Kleer KC. It's a two step addition that generally clears things to sparkling condition in 24hrs. Loads of time that mead needs anyhow in the secondary fermenter will also work though.

2
CapOnFoam•

I absolutely LOVE Super Kleer KC. Fantastic stuff.

Here's what I'd do for flavoring...

  1. Soak your herbs & stuff in some cheap vodka for a few weeks. This extract will give you the ability to add flavor to your mead without adding organic matter.

  2. To estimate how much extract to add, pour a couple ounces of your mead into a few containers. Add different amounts of drops to each container. Taste, and see which one you like best. Scale up and add that # of drops to each bottle. (I'd love to know how many drops of fish head extract you use - sounds awesome... ha)

have fun! And don't forget to try adding acid blend & tannin too. Those can really perk up a mead and make it shine. Love using tannin in mead!

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trigger0219OP•

I'll have to pick up some tannin, though I don't think I'll mix the flowers with vodka. Maybe a bit of vodka and water --to make a tea, but I don't want (as someone else mentioned), the hotness that the vodka might give.

Any recommendation on quantity? Do the tannins need to 'age' a bit, or is their flavor instant?

Thanks for the information --as an update on the mead, it is still in the basement, behind five cases of homebrew, so I might be able to get to it in a few weeks :). I did take a 22 of it off to bring to the NYC homebrew club (this month was about mead), but I totally forgot! I can use that to do some little experiments though!

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trigger0219OP•

Since I want a sparkling mead should I re-pitch after adding the Super Kleer KC? Or would this be superfluous, and just not bother with the Super Kleer KC?

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trigger0219OP•

Thanks. I'll check these out, boil time finings are definitely out of the question now.

1
Graey•

Hi. I am still relatively new, only brewed about 12 different 1 gallon batches for the last year (1 a month). Heres what I have noticed, and if I am wrong, anyone feel free to educate me:

Boiling, my early batches were boiled and during tasting I taste more of the additions and less of the honey. The non-boiled honey has a stronger taste, but the clarity takes much longer to achieve. However, I dont see a difference of clarity between boiled and non boiled as long as you rack well.

Clarity, I use Pectic Enzyme and it breaks down a lot of the protiens you seem worried about and you get a lot more sediment, so if you rack well, again you get a really clear mead. Also, I've not noticed a taste difference between my pectic enzyme meads and my friends meads he does without (because he doesnt like adding anything chemical)

The ONLY mead I have that doesnt seem clear is my blackberry mead, which I have to shine a flashlight to see through its so dark and I cant accurately judge on that.

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trigger0219OP•

Thanks, I'll look into the Pectic Enzymes. I'm worried about the stability in aging --the purpose of the Benonite. I'll ask around about pectic enzymes, if I hear anything I'll report back.

1
RickyHansing•

First off, relax a bit. Your Mead is only 4 months old, you should just give it a rack and let it sit for a few more months. Clarifying agents are a tool you should be worrying about in several months if your mead is not clear. You will not know the F.G. of your mead 'til you take the reading... and Champagne yeast can really dry you down to oblivion (or 18%).

As for the flavoring components, I would avoid fish heads. What I've done is just toss the stuff in the fermentor, let it sit and then taste it. If you want the flavor to be more potent (you won't) do a vodka infusion and blend very subtly. You don't want vodka undertones in your fine honey wine I assure you. All of the flavoring components you've listed above I've used (excluding the Salmon Head) and I would exercise restraint with all of them, especially with the Lavender. Don't get me wrong, I have a gold metal on my shelf from a Lavender mead, but it can get to be too much VERY quickly.

Good luck and enjoy your mead... and don't be afraid to want a year or two before you start to drink the meads.

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trigger0219OP•

That's why I said "four months young"...

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