Hey all! I'm new to the forum, though hopefully now that I've got more time and getting more into making my mead I'll be active.
I've got an issue (I think) with a batch of mead I've made. I've made three batches before this with different recipes and haven't had any trouble with it clarifying or it having a pleasant scent/taste, but this one is just refusing to go as planned.
It's a Lychee Rose Mead, based on a recipe I've used before:
3lbs of wildflower honey
8 cups of water
Juice of 2 oranges per gallon
One cup of rose black tea
One cup of Lychee Juice (not from concentrate) added once the vigorous fermentation stopped
A few drops of Rose Water to finish each bottle
It's been fermenting for probably 3 weeks now, vigorously at first, and still produces bubbles in the air lock. There was a significant amount of sediment (like an inch or more in a two gallon carboy), so I moved it into a clean one to get it off lest it produce anything odd and noticed there was a problem.
While having cleared up some, you still can't see through it well. More concerning than than is the scent that's somewhere between vinegar and paint thinner. I've looked into it and I've read it can be a sign of an infection that will turn it, but I tasted it and honestly it tastes fine and almost exactly as I intended it (slightly sweet with a gentle lychee note). Is this something I need to worry about and is it something I can fix, either by aging or using an additive? Thanks!
I've got an issue (I think) with a batch of mead I've made. I've made three batches before this with different recipes and haven't had any trouble with it clarifying or it having a pleasant scent/taste, but this one is just refusing to go as planned.
It's a Lychee Rose Mead, based on a recipe I've used before:
3lbs of wildflower honey
8 cups of water
Juice of 2 oranges per gallon
One cup of rose black tea
One cup of Lychee Juice (not from concentrate) added once the vigorous fermentation stopped
A few drops of Rose Water to finish each bottle
It's been fermenting for probably 3 weeks now, vigorously at first, and still produces bubbles in the air lock. There was a significant amount of sediment (like an inch or more in a two gallon carboy), so I moved it into a clean one to get it off lest it produce anything odd and noticed there was a problem.
While having cleared up some, you still can't see through it well. More concerning than than is the scent that's somewhere between vinegar and paint thinner. I've looked into it and I've read it can be a sign of an infection that will turn it, but I tasted it and honestly it tastes fine and almost exactly as I intended it (slightly sweet with a gentle lychee note). Is this something I need to worry about and is it something I can fix, either by aging or using an additive? Thanks!
