Peach Melomel...very dry and not much flavor, yet.

[Q2XL]

I started a peach melomel on August 5th, 2010. Here is the recipe

12lbs raw wildflower honey
17lbs blanched-quarted peaches(in secondary)
The usual SNA's
Lalvin D-47
I used the no-heat method.

Measured OG before peaches is 1.093.
12 days into fermentation and my gravity is down to 1.000
15 days in, I add 17lbs of peaches and 1/2 ounce ginger root.

I left the fruit on the mead for 14 days, punching the cap down at least once a day.
I check the gravity and taste after removing fruit and my gravity is now 1.003. Understandably it tastes VERY dry and thin in the mouthfeel with very little peach flavor. It tastes somewhat like watered down peach juice.

I was hoping for a sweeter peachier taste to the mead. I know it is way too early to know what the final outcome will be in at least a year.

What would be a good route to go?
1) Stabilize the yeast now and add more fruit(10lbs?) and more honey or
2) Wait at least 6 months and taste it and possibly add the above fruit and honey?

One more thing. Do you think the peach flavor that I have now will increase over time?

 

[akueck]

One month is much too early to get a sense of the final flavor. I'd wait a bit before deciding if you want more peaches or more sweetness. You'll probably find the peach flavor comes out with a little residual sugar, and both the honey and peach flavor will return with time.

 

[Q2XL]

Thanks Akueck.

Any other thoughts on this?

 

[Medsen Fey]

Mouthfeel and body will improve as it ages.
Sweetness you can adjust later.
For more "peachy-ness" add more fruit (17 pounds isn't that much).

 

[Q2XL]

For more "peachy-ness" add more fruit (17 pounds isn't that much).

Thanks. The mead is now in a 6 gallon glass carboy. Should I add more peaches now or wait until next year?

If I should add them soon, I can rack the mead off to either a fermenting bucket or transfer to a 6 gallon Better Bottle(easier to add the peaches to a better bottle-wider mouth).

If I add the peaches soon should I stabilize the yeast before adding the peaches? If so, how long after stabilising the yeast should I add the peaches?

A lot of questions, I know. Thanks.

 

[akueck]

After you add more fruit, you'll need to wait some time for the fruit to do its thing, then probably a few more months for any added solids to fall out again. You can do that a year from now if you want, but it's probably better to do it sooner.

Do you want an opportunity for the new peaches to be fermented? If not, I'd stabilize the mead, then rack onto the peaches maybe a few days to a week later. Usually when I add sulfite a bunch of yeast falls out, better for that to happen before it's sitting on peaches. If yours is still clearing after a week, you can wait longer before racking it. You might also consider sulfiting the peaches before you add the mead, and adding some pectinase to help break them up.

If you don't mind a little extra fermentation, then just rack whenever you like. I would try to keep the mead cold (low 60s, even down to about 58, is good) so any new fermentation is slower and you keep the peachy flavors.

 

[Q2XL]

Do you want an opportunity for the new peaches to be fermented? No, I do not want the peaches to ferment.

If not, I'd stabilize the mead, then rack onto the peaches maybe a few days to a week later. Usually when I add sulfite a bunch of yeast falls out, better for that to happen before it's sitting on peaches. If yours is still clearing after a week, you can wait longer before racking it.

You might also consider sulfiting the peaches before you add the mead, and adding some pectinase to help break them up.

Right now the melomel is in a 5 gallon carboy. I added K-meta 2 days ago to stabilize the mead. I was planning on letting it sit for a week then transfer it to a XL fermenting bucket and adding the next +-10lbs of peaches. I have never sulfited or added pectinase to anything. So, how to I go about this? Is the sulfite and pectinase a powder or liquid? Do I just add the peaches to the mead and then add the sulfite and pectinase to mead in the bucket? As you can tell, I am a bit lost on the process. The Newbee guide doesn't get into adding chemicals too much and Schrams book doesn't either. Thanks for the help.

 

[wayneb]

Sulphites are most commonly added in the form of Potassium or Sodium Metabisulphite, which is a dry chemical that you can get either as a powder or compressed into tablet form (then they're called Campden tablets). Pectinase (pectic enzyme) can be either powder or liquid form, depending on where you get it.

The proper amount of sulphite to add is dependent on several factors, including pH and the amount of other chemicals in the mead that would otherwise bind the free sulphite. If you search the forums here, you can find lots of info on sulphite (or sulfite) additions. Here's a thread that contains a post where I discussed a generic "rule of thumb" about sulphite additions, which I posted about a month ago, and which I just found again by using the forum search tool on the keywords "adding sulfite." http://www.gotmead.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16474

Generally the amount of pectinase to add depends on the source of the enzymes, but usually you will get instructions on the proper dosage to use when you purchase the pectinase, so that shouldn't be a problem. Since Pectinases are most effective before alcohol is produced, you might want to add a bit more than is recommended for an initial addition prior to any fermentation. You can safely add 25 to 50% more than is generally called for in unfermented musts, without worrying about any impacts to the flavor profile.

 

[akueck]

For the sulfites & pectinase, you can also add those to the peaches (in the bucket you'll be using) up to about 24 hours before racking the mead onto the fruit. The sulfite will help knock out anything that is living on the peaches, and the pectinase will start breaking them down. Often sulfite packages will give a oz/lb of fruit indication for adding to fresh grapes. Not sure if that works for peaches too, but I'd guess it's close.

 

[Q2XL]

Thanks again guys for helping a beginner out. I have the beer brewing nailed down, but the mead stuff is new to me.