thechemister
Member
I have a few questions about using an orange in the mead. Does the orange contribute much to the flavor of the mead? I was under the impression that it's more for the pH and nutrient, so I'm afraid it's going to completely ruin the flavor I was looking for.
Also, my batch was put in the primary 7 days ago and I took a whiff of it just now and the smell is hard to explain. It's unpleasant (which I don't think is the issue), but it's like sweet and faintly alcoholic and almost acidic but not like vinegar. I almost wanna say it smells like the orange is rotten, but I don't think that's it. There's a weird goop sitting on top of the oranges floating on the top, but I think that's just from when it foamed up when it was first put in the primary. What would a bacterial infection smell like? If the orange is rotting, does that mean I'm screwed? This is my first mead so I'm really unsure. What are the smells I should be wary of?
Assuming it's not ruined, can I rack my mead tomorrow, so I can make sure the orange doesn't impart more flavor into it? I know it's really soon and not nearly done, but will it be fine if it gets disturbed from racking it?
Also, my batch was put in the primary 7 days ago and I took a whiff of it just now and the smell is hard to explain. It's unpleasant (which I don't think is the issue), but it's like sweet and faintly alcoholic and almost acidic but not like vinegar. I almost wanna say it smells like the orange is rotten, but I don't think that's it. There's a weird goop sitting on top of the oranges floating on the top, but I think that's just from when it foamed up when it was first put in the primary. What would a bacterial infection smell like? If the orange is rotting, does that mean I'm screwed? This is my first mead so I'm really unsure. What are the smells I should be wary of?
Assuming it's not ruined, can I rack my mead tomorrow, so I can make sure the orange doesn't impart more flavor into it? I know it's really soon and not nearly done, but will it be fine if it gets disturbed from racking it?