Akustaka
Member
So on a whim I decided to try making mead for the first time. I used a single 5g packet of red star baking yeast with no nutrients or energizer in a 5 gallon lowes bucket, 3.5 gallons of water to 6-8ish pounds of honey. I watched a video or two on youtube and decided to just give it a whirl. I have racked the mead after 4 1/2 weeks of fermentation time into 3 single gallon bottles and am letting it age. I stirred the mead every single day (gently) but on the last half week (3 days roughly) left it alone to let the heavy suspension fall, it's been sitting in the gallon jugs with airlocks ontop for about a month now and I decided to take a taste only to find it kinda... like vinegar? I wouldn't say the flavor profile was exclusively vinegar, like it was not super harsh to pallet and had a pleasant feel on the tongue. I guess the best way to describe it was SUPER acidic or dry? I'm not really a wine drinker and have never tasted mead before so I don't have a reference to come from but the best I could say is it did not taste soured or like is rotten.
My concerns though is I now just got a hydrometer and tested the gravity, it is coming off 3 ticks under 1.0 gravity signaling, 2 ticks above "10" 1.006 at 70ish degrees ambient temp (the glass and the mead itself is colder to the touch) and with the small level of sediment that has fallen from suspension after racking there is still small bubbles going up along the inside of the glass. It's not a lot of bubbles, imagine a glass of coke that's been open for a few minutes after the initial rush of C02 escapes from the pressure change of opening the bottle, it's just bubbling up along the inside and when I place the hydrometer inside it forms bubbles on it. (Hydrometer is calibrated to 60 degrees F)
Does it sound like anything may be wrong with my mead? Should I back sweeten it after I've finished letting it age for 3 months (it's only been a month since racking)? Does it sound spoiled?
ALSO, I've started a second fermentation in the meantime! I've gone on the complete deep end this time though and purchased energizer, nutrient, loaded 15 pounds of honey to 3.5 gallons of distilled water and with a 5g packet of ec-1118. I did a staggered use of the nutrient and energizer, added .5 tsp energizer and 1 tsp nutrient for the first every other day totaling a full 3 tsp nutrient and 1.5 tsp energizer after the first week. I'm stirring every day still without aerating it, and it has a gravity of "1.091" @ 66.6 fahrenheit as of TEN days into fermentation. What should I look for and do differently with this second batch or is it going fine?
Thanks in advance!
Picture below is of the first batch fresh after being racked.
My concerns though is I now just got a hydrometer and tested the gravity, it is coming off 3 ticks under 1.0 gravity signaling, 2 ticks above "10" 1.006 at 70ish degrees ambient temp (the glass and the mead itself is colder to the touch) and with the small level of sediment that has fallen from suspension after racking there is still small bubbles going up along the inside of the glass. It's not a lot of bubbles, imagine a glass of coke that's been open for a few minutes after the initial rush of C02 escapes from the pressure change of opening the bottle, it's just bubbling up along the inside and when I place the hydrometer inside it forms bubbles on it. (Hydrometer is calibrated to 60 degrees F)
Does it sound like anything may be wrong with my mead? Should I back sweeten it after I've finished letting it age for 3 months (it's only been a month since racking)? Does it sound spoiled?
ALSO, I've started a second fermentation in the meantime! I've gone on the complete deep end this time though and purchased energizer, nutrient, loaded 15 pounds of honey to 3.5 gallons of distilled water and with a 5g packet of ec-1118. I did a staggered use of the nutrient and energizer, added .5 tsp energizer and 1 tsp nutrient for the first every other day totaling a full 3 tsp nutrient and 1.5 tsp energizer after the first week. I'm stirring every day still without aerating it, and it has a gravity of "1.091" @ 66.6 fahrenheit as of TEN days into fermentation. What should I look for and do differently with this second batch or is it going fine?
Thanks in advance!
Picture below is of the first batch fresh after being racked.
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