Okay my mead is almost done, i was reading about some wine additive called Super Smoother, does anyone here have any experience with the stuff? If so pros and cons or if i should just ignore it all together??? THANKS!
Super Smoother
- Thread starter darthbooger
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Is this the stuff that comes in two packets - one with oak extract and one with glycerin? If so, I've not tried it, and frankly, I don't think I want to. However, if it performs a miraculous transformation of your mead, please let us know and I'll have to reconsider.
Product description: Super Smoother is a 2-pouch system containing 30 ml glycerine and 30 ml of Sinatin 17 (liquid oak extract). Instantly smoothes and ages 6 gallons of wine. Great addition to kits! - Smooths harsh or young wines, reduces aging time. Sufficient for 6 gallons. Contains 1 fl. oz. total. Stir into finished wine before bottling.
I would advise against it and let your mead age naturally and use oak cubes/spirals to oak your mead. Generally speaking, liquid oak extracts are inferior to using real oak in your meads. I also found this on glycerine:
Glycerine (AKA: Glycerol)
Uses: Contributes "fullness" or "smoothness" when added to a wine. Glycerine also gives the wine "legs", the viscous drips that run down the side of a glass in which wine is swirled. Stir in 3 to 15 ml per litre of wine immediately before bottling. Use a syringe to measure accurately. Caution: Excessive amounts of glycerine cannot be removed from wine and will give a metallic taste. When in doubt, use a smaller amount and add more later, or only add glycerine to a portion of the wine and blend in the rest later.
Contraindications: Overuse gives wine an alcoholic or metallic flavour. Expectation that it will "improve" a very harsh or bad-tasting wine is incorrect.
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(from winepros.org) Adding the syrup glycerine to wine will eventually, in fact, produce an artificial "legs effect" from coating the glass, but why would anyone do this? Not only is it unnatural, the amount necessary to show "legs" will also give the wine a metallic and bitter taste.
When one is just starting out making wine/mead, it is very difficult to be patient. EVERYONE is anxious to experience the "fruits of their labor", myself included. It eventually gets easier as one builds up an inventory of a variety of aging wines. It would be much better to add your own oak and especially some time (aging) to your new triumph! I guarantee, you'll be glad you did!
How large is you batch? If the batch is 5 or 6 gallons (or even just 3 gallons), it’s a fun and educational experience to divide it into several small patches to “play” with. For example, rack into five one-gallon carboys (used wine jugs) and try any of the following (or anything else you might like):
1) Leave one gallon “as is” to serve as you basis of comparison.
2) Oak. There are three main types and four main toast levels. I would try American oak cubes - light toast as a starting point.
3) Naturally carbonate a gallon (in beer bottles) to make sparkling mead.
4) Super Smoother in a gallon. You may have to discard most of the unused portion, but you’ll know if it’s “worth it” for future batches. And we all would like to know as well. Plus it only costs a couple of dollars to find out.
5) If you’re adventurous, try fruit (melomel) or spices (metheglin).
6) Any combination of the above. But I would suggest Nos. 1, 2 and/or 3 as more than enough for a first try.
thank you all very much i did already buy it just incase it was worth the 2 dollars i may set it to the side and split my next 5 gal batch up to play with, i am going to be stationed in san antonio very soon i will have some time when i get there to play with new batches, thanks again!
