This is my second attempt at making mead. Very pleased with the first but this one turned black(ish) when I racked it from the fermentation bucket into the carboy after fermentation had finished. Immediately prior to racking, I sanitised the carboy with Star San diluted to recommended amount in distilled water. I then mixed 6 crushed campden tablets, 3tsp Potassium Sorbate and 2g powdered tannin in about 150ml hot tap water, allowed it to cool and then racked on top (full recipe below picture). As you can see from the photograph, it turned black. The contents of the Coke bottle is the overflow from the racking which did not have any of the tannin-sulphite-sorbate mix added and is the colour one would expect at this stage. I suspect that mixing the three additives together and racking on top has caused some kind of reaction between the tannin and the sulphite or sorbate (or maybe all three) to produce the colour change. It tastes pretty much as expected at this stage: strong alcohol, a bit yeasty and a hint of honey, so I'll let it clear and change the label design to something with skulls and pretend it was intentional. 
Full Recipe
Ingredients:
11kg Wildflower Honey
20l Spring Water
45g Potassium Bitartrate
6g Calcium Carbonate
Meadmaking process:
Yeast Rehydration: 10g Mangrove Jacks M05
Prepare a solution of 150ml spring water with 12.5g Go-Ferm @ 45°C
Add 10 g of M05 when temperature drops to 40°C and let rest 10min
Add 75ml must to the rehydrated yeast and mix well and let stand for a further 15 min
Inoculate the must with the yeast slurry, calcium carbonate and potassium bitartrate
SG: 1.125
Aerate with air stone for 45 minutes
Place lid and airlock on fermentation bucket and wait for the end of the lag phase
Fermentation management:
At end of lag phase add 8.75g Tronozymol
Aerate twice daily with drill attachment and add 2.2g Tronozymol until SG reduced by 0.050
After this point, use drill attachment every two days to degas prior to testing pH
Whenever pH drops below 3.2 thoroughly mix in calcium carbonate to raise to to 3.5
Once SG stops changing, rack to carboy (see opening paragraph).
FG: 0.996
Full Recipe
Ingredients:
11kg Wildflower Honey
20l Spring Water
45g Potassium Bitartrate
6g Calcium Carbonate
Meadmaking process:
Yeast Rehydration: 10g Mangrove Jacks M05
Prepare a solution of 150ml spring water with 12.5g Go-Ferm @ 45°C
Add 10 g of M05 when temperature drops to 40°C and let rest 10min
Add 75ml must to the rehydrated yeast and mix well and let stand for a further 15 min
Inoculate the must with the yeast slurry, calcium carbonate and potassium bitartrate
SG: 1.125
Aerate with air stone for 45 minutes
Place lid and airlock on fermentation bucket and wait for the end of the lag phase
Fermentation management:
At end of lag phase add 8.75g Tronozymol
Aerate twice daily with drill attachment and add 2.2g Tronozymol until SG reduced by 0.050
After this point, use drill attachment every two days to degas prior to testing pH
Whenever pH drops below 3.2 thoroughly mix in calcium carbonate to raise to to 3.5
Once SG stops changing, rack to carboy (see opening paragraph).
FG: 0.996
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