Oxidation - left my carboy uncorked

[Oski]

So I have a 6 month old, complete mead maker, basic orange blossom mead in my carboy. I'm waiting for it to clear before I rack it.

6 days ago I decided to give it a taste and stupidly forgot to put the lock back in. So it's been sitting there open for almost a week. It has a nice film it didn't have 6 days ago and doesn't taste as good. Basically tastes like it did 3 months ago. That isn't to say it tastes horrible.

I imagine there is nothing I can do, but should I rack it immediately? Is there any prayer it might turn into a decent mead or be recoverable? This is my first go around, so bear with me.

Thanks for any opinions.

 

[Medsen Fey]

I'd give a good dose of KMeta (1.5 Campden tablets per gallon), make sure it is topped up, and keep it airlocked. Traditional meads don't get damaged by oxidation easily.

 

[Oski]

Thank you sir

 

[Chevette Girl]

If the film concerns you, you can try to siphon the surface off before you add the campden tablets/k-meta. But chances are, once you hit it with campden tablets it'll sink to the bottom anyway.

Six days if the level was up to the neck of the carboy shouldn't have damaged it that much.

If it turns out in a couple months that the flavour's not improving back to where it was, you could always try oaking it or backsweetening a little. Good luck!

 

[Oski]

Thanks. I thought about backsweetening, but i worry it will give it a cough syrup flavor. Does that mellow out over time?