Too much nutrient - off taste

[theshoe82]

Hi All,

I made my first mead a few weeks ago, but apparently I added too much nutrient. The mead is in secondary and it has a kind of salty/minerally flavor to it. The nutrients were DAP and Fermaid-K.

My question is, if I added more honey / fruit, then pitched fresh yeast, would the yeast consume the extra nutrient to help it ferment the added honey / fruit? Id like the off taste to go away, if possible.

Any help or advice is appreciated.

Thanks,
shoe

 

[CKuhns]

Couple of things i did in this situation.

You could just wait it out. It will likely eventually age out. But did take nearly two years and then I was not completely satisfied with it. (It might be because I just had it in my head that this one was trouble.)

The other thing that worked pretty well was similar to what you are suggesting.

Here are my notes from that one.
Correction Attempt 31 days after yeast pitch
12/23/15 Added 5 Pounds of Honey (Mixed / aerated well)
 Pitched Lalvin E1118 Champaign Yeast (18% tolerant) and added to bucket.
 SG 1.028
12-26-15 - Aerated and moved to a Carboy
 SG 1.028
 Ferment re-started – air lock bubbling each few seconds
1-9-16 SG 1.008 ~ 15.8ABV and still working.
 Still bubbling each few seconds taste has mellowed.
 Still a little of the “salty bucket taste” but much better.
Gaining some hope for this one to be OK!
o 1-17-16 Rack and add fruit 3# Cuties and 4# Cranberries.
o 1-24-16 Racked off of fruit
 Added 1oz medium roast oak cubes after sterilizing in 3 oz Vodka.
 SG 1.001 ABV 17.2%
 Coming along nicely – Going to rack a few times and bulk age for a Year.

8-12-16 - Taste is coming along nicely. Will be good to very good in 6 - 12 months.

Good luck - Let us know how it comes out.

 

[mabrungard]

What is your water like? Maybe it's too mineralized.

Diluting the existing mead with new mead should help, but make sure that you use distilled or RO to avoid another overmineralized condition.

 

[Dr_Floyd]

You should post your recipe when you ask these types of questions because using ingredients like Whey or Coconut Water/Milk can give you similar flavors.

 

[theshoe82]

Our water in Mass comes from the Quabbin reservoir and it is treated minimally, so I dont think its a mineral / water salt issue.

The recipe was pretty bland, just water and honey, plus nutrient/DAP.

 

[theshoe82]

Couple of things i did in this situation.

You could just wait it out. It will likely eventually age out. But did take nearly two years and then I was not completely satisfied with it. (It might be because I just had it in my head that this one was trouble.)

The other thing that worked pretty well was similar to what you are suggesting.

Here are my notes from that one.
Correction Attempt 31 days after yeast pitch
12/23/15 Added 5 Pounds of Honey (Mixed / aerated well)
 Pitched Lalvin E1118 Champaign Yeast (18% tolerant) and added to bucket.
 SG 1.028
12-26-15 - Aerated and moved to a Carboy
 SG 1.028
 Ferment re-started – air lock bubbling each few seconds
1-9-16 SG 1.008 ~ 15.8ABV and still working.
 Still bubbling each few seconds taste has mellowed.
 Still a little of the “salty bucket taste” but much better.
Gaining some hope for this one to be OK!
o 1-17-16 Rack and add fruit 3# Cuties and 4# Cranberries.
o 1-24-16 Racked off of fruit
 Added 1oz medium roast oak cubes after sterilizing in 3 oz Vodka.
 SG 1.001 ABV 17.2%
 Coming along nicely – Going to rack a few times and bulk age for a Year.

8-12-16 - Taste is coming along nicely. Will be good to very good in 6 - 12 months.

Good luck - Let us know how it comes out.

Thanks for the info! I will give this a shot and let you know my results.

-Damon