fix my mead

[scottab]

So i brewed up some mead using 2 gallons of water with 5lb orange blossom honey. I put about a tsp of citric acid into the pot when mixing it up and a whole bunch of yeast nutrient over the first 3-4 days... after fermentation completed and a few weeks to clear i tasted it and found it to be very unremarkable... my wife said it tasted sort of like necco wafers. I tried adding a tiny bit of citric acid to a glass of the mead which added some dimension to the flavor so then added about 1oz citric acid to the rest of the batch. Now i think that i made it too acidic and it still has that necco wafer like flavor. Is there any saving this batch? I was thinking maybe adding some white grape juice and maybe some orange, pear, or peach juice. Since i already put int 1.5l bottles should i rack them or could i pour them into the carboy with the juice? Is this just a lost cause?

 

[nitack]

So i brewed up some mead using 2 gallons of water with 5lb orange blossom honey. I put about a tsp of citric acid into the pot when mixing it up and a whole bunch of yeast nutrient over the first 3-4 days... after fermentation completed and a few weeks to clear i tasted it and found it to be very unremarkable... my wife said it tasted sort of like necco wafers. I tried adding a tiny bit of citric acid to a glass of the mead which added some dimension to the flavor so then added about 1oz citric acid to the rest of the batch. Now i think that i made it too acidic and it still has that necco wafer like flavor. Is there any saving this batch? I was thinking maybe adding some white grape juice and maybe some orange, pear, or peach juice. Since i already put int 1.5l bottles should i rack them or could i pour them into the carboy with the juice? Is this just a lost cause?

As with all meads, it will likely get better with age. You shouldn't really judge it by a young taste testing. Your options are to wait it out, keep tinkering with it (probably to a detriment), or blend it with another mead you know is good.

Even if you blend it, you'll have to wait out another ferment and aging anyway. I'd just age it and see how it is in a year.

 

[scottab]

Do you think the citric acid will mellow over time? Would it help if i bulk age with wood chips?

 

[nitack]

Do you think the citric acid will mellow over time? Would it help if i bulk age with wood chips?

How much acid are we talking about here? Is it eating away at your teeth or just very noticeable? I have never used the stuff so don't know if it will mellow with age. My aging comment was more for the tinkering you did in the first place.

 

[scottab]

How much acid are we talking about here? Is it eating away at your teeth or just very noticeable? I have never used the stuff so don't know if it will mellow with age. My aging comment was more for the tinkering you did in the first place.

An oz for a little over 2 gallons... noticeable but not like eating a vitamin c tab or the sugar left in a bag of sour patch kids...

 

[Tonydots]

After spending some time reading through the pages here I am so glad that I found a very simple mead recipe that does not require all the extra steps I keep seeing mention on here. I have manager to make some very tasty mead that ages well and keeps its taste even after nearly a year later.