Bad Mead? Here's a fix!

[@mycrazylifewfawnlisette3582]

This video is to encourage you to try and fix it! Love that! And I like that you showed that not everything works. I've wanted to cry because people dumped a gallon because it "seemed" off, and didn't try anything to try and fix anything.

[@texaslonghousemead1327]

So you made an oaked mead extract. Easy to add to other meads you want oaked now. 😁

[@ManMadeMead]

Very true!! Haha

[@randod1683]

​@@ManMadeMeadyou ever had a bile taste? I know it's not infected. It finished in 1.5 weeks, I froze it by accident in a dodgy fridge

[@randod1683]

Heather honey, water and nutrient was what I used

[@gainesandrews1030]

I backsweetened with honey and added a gallon of 92 proof spiced rum to 4 gallons of 14.44% abv mead

[@derikjbrandt]

As you speak the oak spiral is still in the mead! Gotta get a lil' more oak flavour.

[@BeardofHoneySoul]

“Suckin on a baseball bat”. lol

[@clagius7486]

I’ve done the same thing with an orange and elderberry mead because I didn’t know what I was doing with the oak spiral. I fixed it by adding some orange juice, cold brewing some sweet lychee tea in it, and adding some warming spices. Turned into a nice warm sort of holiday mead.

[@phxJohn2010]

This is helpful. Ivegot 5 gallons going that is slightly over oaked, but no where like yours.

[@ManMadeMead]

I'm happy it helped!

[@conryykrobertson]

Cool! I was worried my last batch may have been bad. I just ran a 3 gal batch of blackberry molasses, may have been too much on the nutrient. First taste was like pure grain alcohol, hardly any taste just a bit of blackberry. Maybe the yeast left nothing of the honey or molasses. I let it sit about a month and retested. Much better but still very strong. Added another 5 lbs yesterday to hopefully level it out. But otherwise the 1 gal batch I did earlier this year of the same recipe has been the best I've ever made! 5lbs to a gallon, 2 lbs molasses and several handfuls of blackberries.

[@ELJeje7051]

I had a dragonfruit one I tried and make and now it has that peppery seed flavor any ideas on what to add to help with that flavor or just toss it

[@davidmcdonald4771]

Thank you for the heads up. Just thought about trying to oak a mead. Never tried so a new adventure. Going to get a sampler from Barrel char Products. My little brother has tried to oak a mead before and apparently left it in too long. Like drinking sawdust and honey. Have sent him your video. Might help him out.

[@jsaun6684]

I'm curious if in an over wood aged situation, if adding honey and restarting a fermentation would push out some of that woodyness

[@ManMadeMead]

I'm not sure! That's a good question!

[@dawghousefishing5359]

Had to stop at 3min to comment - It taste like wood, that made me laugh so hard! Love it!!!

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

This reminds me of the difference between people who strictly cook following set recipes, and people who tend to cook ‘by feel’. When switching brands for certain ingredients, this can throw off the ‘recipe cook’ who might either serve the end result with a side serving of multiple apologies or chuck out the dish, whereas the ‘by feel cook’ might dive in the pantry and start improvising in an attempt to ‘fix’ the dish. Being more of a ‘by feel’ cook, I’ve always figured “If the mead hasn’t been infected, why chuck it?” Either I keep throwing stuff at it, or I blend it with another mead… and if needed, start throwing stuff at it. I’ve only thrown out a brew once. Technically it wasn’t even a brew yet. I’d set aside a bucket of fruit for a melomel and it went sour and I thought I’d seen the beginnings of mold on it too. It went straight to the compost heap where the chickens had a feast over it. I consoled myself with the knowledge that the fruit had been donated. At least no money was lost. It still irked me no end. Mold and the smell of vinegar are things I won’t pussyfoot around with in my meads. If I suspect a brew got infected with those, they’re out instantly and vast quantities of various forms of sanitising and disinfecting come out. Over extraction? That’s a challenge, but it can be a fun one.

[@hanginwithhodge]

Good job. I have one here that I was going to pitch (too much jalapeno last year) but will try to fix it, first. Thanks for the ideas.

[@ManMadeMead]

That's a little tough! I bet you can fix it though!

[@mycrazylifewfawnlisette3582]

You made a Grapefruit Vanilla Mead. I found that interesting and made it. I hopped your recipe and it was AMAZING!!

[@ManMadeMead]

I wish I had back sweetened mine a little more! I'd like to revisit it one day!

[@mycrazylifewfawnlisette3582]

@@ManMadeMead I back-sweetened mine, but I'm telling you the hops did something magical! I only lightly hopped but hops are like backsweetening, it's to personal taste.

[@deamonsoul1]

Refermentation also works, just mix it into a new large batch and drop your abv below your tolerance and remove the issue, in this case oak.

[@anglo-saxon9182]

My apple lavender ginger mead burns it has a really strong alcohol taste like whiskey I've added some water and more apple juice to backsweenten any ideas what the acidic taste is about it's sour.

[@Xuzzas]

My first batch i wouldn't call it exactly bad. I stabilised it and backsweetened threw in 3 cinnamon sticks which was 2 too many i gues but it still does taste nice, the problem i have with it is the smell, its the sour fermentation smell is it supposed to be like this? Did i not degas enough or something?

[@barautpierre669]

Thks for sharing your experiment. Do you get off-flavours from the yeast by killing it with potassium sorbate ? cheers

[@ManMadeMead]

Nope! It doesn’t add any odd flavors. It’s nice!

[@AedanBlackheart]

Mine tasted very sour, I remember him saying to rack/bottle if there's too much air in carboy so I did but my God this shit is sour

[@keithmcauslan943]

I made a Watermelon-Cranberry mead earlier this year for the start of summer. It went dry to 0.998. I tried to pasteurize, then back sweeten. It refermented the back sweetening. Now when I taste it it has an odd flavor in it. I was calling it vegetal. But I think my wife hit it, it has a taste of the rind. Watermelon is interesting I learned, What you taste when you eat watermelon is not what you get when you remove the water and sugars. It gets a spicy "Jolly Rancher" like flavor. I also have that with the taste of the rind. I have added 2 teaspoons of sugar to each glass to help it taste more like watermelon.

[@GreenWitch1]

Ok! Working now. Just came to say erythritol will ruin a brew! Bought it & tried it last night to sweeten a mead. Completely ruined the flavor! If I’d put that in my 5 gallon carboy instead of the glass, I’d be mad as hell!!!

[@ManMadeMead]

Oh really? That's interesting!!

[@liamh2001]

I've been thinking you could use caramelised honey as an unfermentable sweetener. I was thinking back to all the bochets I cooked for too long haha. I haven't tried it yet myself but the Belgians use candied sugar to sweeten their beers so it could be quite delightful.

[@FaewoodMead]

I've never tried blending! This is a great idea honestly lol

[@ManMadeMead]

It works really well!

[@gtg-inspections]

Could you have freezer distilled to drop out the tannins?

[@ManMadeMead]

I don’t think it would have worked very well!

[@danielwilson3981]

How long did you leave the oak in for? And how long should you leave it for?

[@ManMadeMead]

I can't recall now... really you just leave it on and taste test to see how long you want it on. I've had some oak that was done in 3 days!

[@Troscoman]

Nice to see this video. I am with a beetroot mead, that the beetroot is blowing (my fault). Any suggestion, how can I fix it?

[@ManMadeMead]

I'm not sure what you mean!

[@Troscoman]

@@ManMadeMead Sorry. English is not my first language. I made a mead and put some beetroot to ferment together, but the taste of the beetroot stayed too strong in the end. I thought the yeast would eat the sugar from the beetroot and minimize de flavor, but it didn't happen. It's taste like a beetroot soup. XD

[@mikegabourie6884]

My mead tastes great on the front end, but when you swallow it, it has a bitter taste. What can I do? Do I just have to back sweeten? Please reply with a fix if there is one. Thanks in advance.

[@martharetallick204]

Pretty high ABV after primary. Did you try back sweetening? Or, if you didn't over-oak it, would you have tried back sweetening.?

[@ManMadeMead]

Backsweetening definitely helps some brews and their problems!

[@martharetallick204]

@@ManMadeMead Trying that right now.

[@shasboom5807]

So, did you add the 4 glasses together and try it that way?

[@ManMadeMead]

I didn’t but that would have been interesting!

[@edvichot4707]

So how long was too long? did I miss that part? over 2 1/2 months for sure. I love 5 to 6 weeks with french oak. accidentally did this and 3 weeks became 5 weeks. and it was such a pleasant surprise. so I look forward to 5 weeks of oaking and want to try 6.

[@ManMadeMead]

So I think the main problem was that I left too much oak (for it only being 1 gallon) in for too long. The amount of time would have been fine had I used the appropriate amount of oak!

[@edvichot4707]

@@ManMadeMead made a Blueberry mead left one french oak Spiral for 5 1/2 weeks maybe almost 6 weeks and it was such a pleasant surprise when compared to the one previously made with no oak used.

[@timorre3971]

i oaked for weeks and its just starting to get oak-y. ill be removing the spiral tomorow. it carbonated the heck out of it tho!!

[@loganturner7131]

I have been having a problem with my finished meads tasting off and im not sure what im doing wrong. I know you have probably answered this question before but how long can I leave a mead in a carboy before I should consider bottling? I feel like I may be bottling to early, it seems like when I taste my mead straight out of the carboy its fine but after its been in the bottle for a couple months, it has a much less appealing taste. is this a degassing issue?

[@ManMadeMead]

You can bulk age for as long as you want as long as there isn’t a lot of oxygen on it! I have a mead bulk aging for the past 2 years now!

[@chaserevstuning9271]

Very helpful video, my cyser is overwhelming cinnamon and hasn't aged out.

[@ManMadeMead]

A little apple juice might help (or more honey).

[@neongrau]

I just had a German commercial mead that was so insanely overoaked. And the maker is somehow advertising they’re from „around“ Hedeby. If you remember Vikings Season 3. That place is actually „Haithabu“ in modern day Germany. Oh shit the stuff was so below amateur level. Nobody told em to age for couple of weeks apparently when adding oak. „A day or two must be fine“. Yuck!

[@jamesdearman3699]

Have you considered distilling your mead instead of just tossing it when you’re not happy with the end results?

[@Backroad_Junkie]

Distillation is completely illegal where he lives. (And were I live, lol. In all of the US, distillation is illegal unless you get the license and pay the tax man...)

[@ManMadeMead]

I prefer to not get in trouble, so I haven’t done that before!

[@jamesdearman3699]

@@ManMadeMead I understand. Definitely don’t want you getting into trouble! Thanks for the video and response😁

[@HariJhanaarthana]

So a question not really related to this video. It's often suggested that you leave your ferments in a cool, DARK place. But I notice you've got a lot of backlight for your meads, and the room seems generally bright. Does this affect the fermentation process in any way?

[@ManMadeMead]

My room stays dark about 80% of the time. I just use the lights when I’m recording! I haven’t noticed any problems with my meads!

[@HariJhanaarthana]

@@ManMadeMead cool! The thing I'm taking away from this is keep it in a dark place as much as possible, but if it's exposed to a bit of light temporarily, don't stress out about it! Thanks!

[@GreenWitch1]

I’ve had some funky brews. We did a tasting last night of all my meads & wines. The lychee is goin down the drain 🤮

[@texaslonghousemead1327]

Oh no. What is wrong with it that makes you want to dump it.

[@GreenWitch1]

@@texaslonghousemead1327 It just tasted like butt. It’s not worth trying to fix. It was a small batch. I am trying lychee next. Have high hopes for that one!!

[@ManMadeMead]

That's super interesting! I'd be curious to try and make that one day!

[@GreenWitch1]

@@ManMadeMead I read the post again after your comment. I never explained why I’m making it again. The first was an experiment with a can of lychee back in the early days. May have even used bread yeast. This time Im using fresh lychee with better brewing chops. Lychee is wildly popular here. You have to get up with the chickens to find them at a market. They have a hard shell & a big seed you have to get through to get the tiny little fruit. But, it’s divine. It’s delicate with a distinct floral flavor. So….It’s expensive & tedious. I’m making a gallon to start. Wish me luck 🍀

[@VladVassiliouk]

if all fails don't dump your mead, throw it in a still and make some shine!

[@MisterZ1P]

Question on the oaking: What is the sweet spot time range for oaking a one gallon batch? And does that differ between wood chips and spirals?

[@ManMadeMead]

It really depends on the wood and quantity. It also depends on the batch size and everything! I highly suggest to just taste test a lot!

[@skeleon246]

Have you ever made a mead that ended up tasting like beer? I have a batch that I made and it has a very high floral/earthy note, almost like an ipa beer. I'm hoping it calms down over time, but it's kinda interesting right now.

[@ManMadeMead]

I can’t say I have frankly!

[@leonardovidal8029]

Moldy mead could be fixable with potassium metabisulfite, couldn't it?

[@ManMadeMead]

Nope! It helps to prevent further mold but won’t fix mold already there!

[@Backroad_Junkie]

NO! Some molds produce mycotoxins which can cause sever allergenic reactions, and in the worst case, WILL KILL YOU. It's not worth messing around with. It's not like a cheese where you can cut off the bad parts and make it okay.

[@paul.phillips]

Couldn't you just turn that 1 gallon into 3? Add 6 pounds more honey, and 2 gallons of water and ferment it out further, and end up with ~3 gallons of better mead instead, reducing the oaking profile?

[@ManMadeMead]

You definitely could!

[@JheeeBz]

My first thought definitely went to blending. It'd be interesting to make this intentionally for that very purpose.

[@GreenWitch1]

Trying to comment. Not working

[@jamesbrisendine]

My brain just went to thinking "why not make it kinda like a Highball? But instead of scotch and soda water, use the oak mead you made carbonate it."

[@ManMadeMead]

That might work!

[@jamesbrisendine]

@@ManMadeMead if you test it let me know how it goes!

[@julietardos5044]

r/prisonhooch FTW!

[@JennaandJustinsReactions]

like....Bark HAHA!!

[@thomasblackwell9507]

Just add bourbon or everclear.

[@ManMadeMead]

That's definitely an option! Haha

[@PacesIII]

Blueberry mead or blueberry blossom honey mead? Blueberry mead would be a bilbemel. Blueberry blossom honey mead would just be a mead.

[@Backroad_Junkie]

How does he know what it tastes l like to suck on a baseball bat? TMI, lol...

[@siddall6]

Chunky oak taste