First Batch Taste like Grain Alcohol

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knowlesbrew

NewBee
Registered Member
Dec 8, 2008
47
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So I bottled my first batch. my recipe is below. It has only been in the bottle for about 2 weeks, so I know it is extremely young. But man it tasted more like moonshine than wine. Does this flavor go away with age or is that pretty much what I am stuck with? thanks for any advice

12 lbs Honey
5.5 gallon batch
I didnt do an OG
FG .990
Yeast Nutrient
Liquid Dry mead yeast
Corn sugar added at bottling for combination
 
It will get better with age. It won't be the same in a year.

BTW, how old was this before bottling? Did you stabilize before bottling?
 
Well, you used less than 3# per gallon and it went completely dry on you. How long did you ferment it? (ie: when did you pitch this one?) Ageing will help immensly in any case.

The more detail you can give us re: your brewlog and process, the better we'll be able to advise.
 
It is very common for a new mead to taste very "hot" with alcohol giving rise to the common question, "who poured Everclear in my honey water?" Time will do wonders for this - by 1 to 2 years it may become very nice.

Fusel alcohols can also cause a very hot sensation, and they are most prominent when fermentation temp runs high, but other fermentation stress can lead to their production as well. Fusel alcohols will also die down, but may take a very long time. What temperature did you ferment at? When did you start? When was it complete?

The secondary fermentation in bottle also leads to "hot" tasting mead and since this has been in the bottle for all of two weeks, it is not surprising that you are seeing this.

It would probably be a good idea to put this batch away and forget about it until next New Year's celebration.

Medsen, King of the fuseliers