first JOAM, think i totally F* up

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hey guys, well i put this mead in the back of the self and yup i forgot it. it's been a year!!!! now, i just poped the airlock off and the mead smells like medicine and tastes like it too. is it screwed? or should i continue bottling it? i really need some input tonight as i have to return the corker machine tomorrow.

thanks

btw the airlock didnt go dry or pop out so im pretty sure air didnt get at it. but it is darker than i was expecting.
 
ok so i have to return the corker tomorrow so i went ahead and bottled everything, got 7 bottles from one gallon batch. (half the regular size of a wine bottle) i hope the flavour improves over the next couple months or down the sink it goes, haha. i'll try again when i get my next cheque and bottle on time.
 
A taste of medicine MAY be caused by a bacterial infection called "brett". I believe that you can neutralize this by adding K-meta and by ensuring that everything that comes into contact with your mead is sanitized (with K-meta). Another reason may be that the TA is way off. It should be around .65% Do you have some way of testing the TA? Another source of the problem may be that the sweetness is out of balance with the amount of acidity in the mead... But that said, If you bottle and put the mead aside for a year or two that medicine flavor will disappear..
 
A taste of medicine MAY be caused by a bacterial infection called "brett". I believe that you can neutralize this by adding K-meta and by ensuring that everything that comes into contact with your mead is sanitized (with K-meta). Another reason may be that the TA is way off. It should be around .65% Do you have some way of testing the TA? Another source of the problem may be that the sweetness is out of balance with the amount of acidity in the mead... But that said, If you bottle and put the mead aside for a year or two that medicine flavor will disappear..

i have no idea what TA is, but i bottled it anyway as i have to bring the corker back tomorrow so. i guess i'll box it up and put it in the storage room for a year or so.

thanks
 
Pith is a taste killer. Never add it if you ask me. If you want some citrus in there, just the zest (the outer skin) is good. Any fruit meat you throw in there will be fermented. The pith taste will go away, with a lot of aging.
 
Pith is a taste killer. Never add it if you ask me. If you want some citrus in there, just the zest (the outer skin) is good. Any fruit meat you throw in there will be fermented. The pith taste will go away, with a lot of aging.
ok, so next time no pith.

i guess i'll put it in the box i got from the liquour store and forget it for a year or two?
 
Relax and have a homebrew. You're doing fine.

The only thing you're screwing up at this point is not leaving it alone AND you need to start a second batch right now.

Not because the first batch is bad but because in 100 days you are going to kick yourself for not having made more.

This is the truth!! I made a fantastic first batch JAOM, Everyone drank it and I had nothing left. I now have almost ten gallons ready to bottle.
 
Pith is a taste killer. Never add it if you ask me. If you want some citrus in there, just the zest (the outer skin) is good. Any fruit meat you throw in there will be fermented. The pith taste will go away, with a lot of aging.

I must not drink pith.
Pith is the taste killer.
Pith is the little-death that makes total putrescence.
I will dump the pith.
I will permit it to go down the sink disposal.
And when it has gone past I will shake the JAOM to see its contents.
Where the pith has gone there will be nothing. Only tasty booze will remain.
 
I must not drink pith.
Pith is the taste killer.
Pith is the little-death that makes total putrescence.
I will dump the pith.
I will permit it to go down the sink disposal.
And when it has gone past I will shake the JAOM to see its contents.
Where the pith has gone there will be nothing. Only tasty booze will remain.

Let us know how that works out, (or doesn't) for ya. I'm not buying it :)
 
Let us know how that works out, (or doesn't) for ya. I'm not buying it :)

Funny you should ask! I recently did a 6 gallon JAOM with PNW blackberry honey, Redstar bread yeast and three blood oranges/three navel oranges and only a tiny bit of pith.

Decided to stick to the original recipe. Came out fantastic but it's too sweet to drink a lot of. Very much a dessert, end of the day kind of wine. Was hoping more for a wake-up-on-the-ground-soiled kind of beverage.

But it's only 9 months old so may be room to grow. The blackberry honey adds a surprising lot of flavor given the additives. Not a berry flavor but it's sort of spicy.