Possibly a Spoiled Batch??

[PDonn63]

I bottled a one gallon batch back in December that I started in August. Today, I was looking for one to drink, and noticed there was a heavy amount of sediment looking material swirling around. I figured the batch somehow got contaminated, even though I was very careful with my sanitation. However, upon opening, there was no oder, it tasted fine (I took a sip against my better judgement), and none of the sediment was present anymore. It was previously in a green bottle, and I put it into a clear bottle so I could look at it more. After a few hours, the sediment looking material still hasn't come back.

I was trying to upload pictures from before I opened the bottle, and from after I put it into the clear one; but I was told the file was too large (even though it was under the max. requirements). I can send them via email if needed. I had a bottle from this batch two months ago, and liked how it tasted so far (no sediment); I would hate to lose the other four bottles. Does anybody have an idea as to what is going on? Below is the log. Thank you!

Start Date: 8/24/10

Ingredients
• 3lbs organic wildflower honey
• 2 sticks of cinnamon
• 2 vanilla beans (chopped)
• 3 six inch mint stems with leaves (from garden)
• Yeast energizer
• Yeast nutrient
• ½ package of Premier Cuvee Wine Yeast

Must Preparation
• Boiled mint stems and leaves in one cup of water
• Added cinnamon and vanilla to the primary fermenter
• Poured the mint, and the water it was in, into the primary fermenter
• Added honey
• Added tap water to fill to one gallon
• Added yeast energizer and yeast nutrient
• Hydrated yeast according to instructions
• Aerated
• Pitched yeast

SG:1.108

• Racked after 2 weeks

Bottling
• Added K-meta and sorbate per package instructions
• Bottled 12/20/2010

FG: 1.04

 

[wayneb]

I don't know what could account for your mysteriously disappearing sediment, but if the mead doesn't smell funny and does taste good, then you don't have a spoilage organism present in it.

Strange - I'd like to see the pictures. I'll send you a PM with my email address (that I will be able to access tomorrow). Once I look at what you've seen, I might have some more suggestions.

 

[Medsen Fey]

You might put a bottle in the fridge to see if it drops a bunch of sediment when you do. You didn't add any acid blend or tartaric acid did you? That's the one thing I know can easily drop out (when cold) and go back into solution when warmer that is commonly found in wines (and some meads).

If you didn't fine this batch, it is quite common for meads to drop some sediment over a period of a couple of years (or more). However, when stirred back in they usually drop back out within a matter of hours.

 

[wayneb]

PDonn63 sent me his pics, and based on what I see, the crud is very likely just yeast residue. Transferring from one bottle to the other simply stirred the residue back into the mead and it re-suspended. I would expect that if the new bottle is left undisturbed for another week or two, the sediment will form again. It is almost certainly not an infection issue.

 

[PDonn63]

I didn't use any acid blend, but now that I think about it, I only racked this batch once (twice if you count racking it to a bottling bucket). It's very likely that some of the yeast residue got siphoned in and mixed around, then settled out once the process was complete. I decided to have a glass last night, and it everything seems OK.