Gordon Strong Curt Stock 2002 Mazer Cup winner 2005 Meadmaker of the Year

5 NHC mead medals 7 NHC mead medals

BJCP Mead Judge BJCP Mead Judge

It Ain’t Over ‘til it’s Over Mead Finishing Techniques

Mead is Easy – Except When it Isn’t Making Mead is a Simple Process

Mead isn’t as Predicable as Beer

Significant Money and Time Investment

Recognizing Great Mead

What Can You Do if Your Mead Needs Help?

When are you Done?

Modern Mead Making Sufficient Honey, Fruit, Fermentables

Quality In, Quality Out

No Boil

Staggered Nutrient Additions

Yeast Preparation

Fruit in Primary

Fermentation Management

See BJCP Mead Exam Study Guide for details

Evaluating Your Mead Give it Time before Tasting Basic Triage

Good to Go – Package, Consume Dump – Don’t Waste Your Time Tweak – Here is Where We Focus

Look for Clean, Complete Fermentation Absence of Flaws Balance Issues Can Be Fixed

“Balance” doesn’t mean all components equal Everything in the right amount FOR THE STYLE Pleasant, Harmonious, Enjoyable

Elements of Balance Sweetness, Honey Flavor, Fruit Flavor

Acidity, Tannin, Alcohol

Sweetness:Acid is Most Important

Not Just Proportion, but Intensity

Acid and Tannin Work Together (Structure)

Tannin Adds Dryness and Body

Honey vs. Added Flavor Ingredients

Mouthfeel (Body, Carbonation)

Common Balance Problems Too Dry – Over-attenuated, Not Enough Honey

Too Sweet – Stuck, Stalled Fermentation?

Flabby – Acid not High Enough for Sweetness

Balance Off – Too Much or Not Enough Flavor

Doesn’t Taste Good – Ingredient Quality?

Too Boozy – Could be Young

Corrective Techniques Add, Subtract, Modify, Dilute, Intensify

Be Wary of Side Effects

Back-sweetening with Honey or Fruit

Adding or Neutralizing Acid

Adding Tannin

Oaking, Peppers, Vanilla, Spices, other ingredients

Carbonating

Blending, Repurposing

Back-Sweetening Problem: Mead Too Dry

Solution: Add Sweetness

Honey (raw, solution)

Sugar (why?)

Add Sweet Mead, perhaps Stuck

Add Fruit (if melomel)

Caution: can add acid and tannin too

Acidity May Need Adjusting Afterwards

Example: Blueberry Melomel 3.5 gallon batch, 12 lbs wildflower honey, 12 lbs fresh picked frozen

blueberries, 10 grams Narbonne yeast

OG 1.133 FG 1.003

Dry, tannin/acid astringency

Boozy and very warming

Missing fruit character

Fix: back-sweeten

The Process Use good tasting high quality honey, hydrometer, stir

plate (optional)

Dissolve honey in 250 mls of undiluted mead to

achieve a specific gravity higher than you desire

Make a series of samples back-sweetened to varying

levels (1.050, 1.040, 1.030, 1.020, 1.010)

It’s time to taste and decide what level of sweetness

you want

Enlist the help of trusted tasters to get the best results

possible

Start with the drier samples, proceed to the sweeter

and work your back down again. Yes, your palate will

be crushed when you’re done but this is important

work.

Discuss everyone's favorite and take tasting notes

This mead needed enough sweetness to balance the

tannin and acid, help reduce the booziness and bring

out the fruit flavor.

It was decided to sweeten this mead to 1.037

One pound of honey will raise the gravity of one gallon

approximately 35 to 38 points. Knowing your actual

volume is critical to hitting the proper sweetness level

For this mead we used 2.5 lbs of honey slightly diluted

with 10 ounces of hot water to help with even

dispersion in the mead

Add the honey to the batch and stir

Best to do this in a keg to avoid O2 pickup

The final gravity of this mead is 1.038.

Drawbacks to back-sweetening:

Initially a raw honey flavor, this will become more

integrated with age

Easy to over sweeten, you can’t get the sweet back out

Easy to over sample, but it’s fun!

Adjusting Acid Balance Problem: Mead Fermented Well but Flabby

Mead too Acidic

Solution: Add/Neutralize Acid

(+) Phosphoric acid, lactic acid, citric acid, malic acid, tartaric acid,

acid blend

(+) Add fruit with acidity

(-) KOH, K2CO3, Ca(OH)2, CaCO3, NaHCO3

Can also (-) back-sweeten or (+) blend with a dry mead

(+) Adding tannins can also balance sweetness

Adding Tannin Problem: Mead Too Sweet

Solution: Add Tannin

Grape tannin

Tea

Oak/wood age (can also add flavor)

Fruit with tannin (if melomel)

Raw spices, hops, other more obscure ingredients

If Tannin Too High, Add Sweetness

Adding Other Ingredients Problem: Mead Too Sweet or Lacks Flavor

Solution: Add Other Ingredients

Oak (adds tannin, balances sweet)

Hot peppers (adds heat, balances sweet)

“Warm” spices (cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, cardamom, black

pepper, nutmeg, coriander, cumin) – adds heat and can add tannin

Round/mellow with vanilla

Accent with mint or other aromatic ingredients

Carbonation Problem: Mead Too Sweet or Too Full-Bodied

Solution: Increase Carbonation

Natural or direct with CO2

“Scrubbing bubbles” Offsets Sweetness

Can Add Carbonic Acid

Lightens Body and Finish

Can Be a Very Quick and Easy Solution if you Bulk-Condition or Keg

Blending Problem: Mead Not Right

Solution: Blend with Another Mead

Must have other meads available

Cider (cyser), Wine (pyment), Beer (braggot)

Choose mead to offset problems noted

Can also use to “freshen” an old mead, add complexity

Can’t Fix Bad Meads – GIGO

Trial-and-Error, but That’s Part of the Fun

Example: Cyser 5 gal batch: 3 gal cider, 1 gal water, 1 gal Tupelo honey, 71B yeast, 2010

vintage, bulk-aged.

Balanced acidity, but aged character. FG 1.023 (medium).

Unusual woody character in aroma. Apple, honey a bit subtle.

Solution: Back-sweeten with juice and honey. Raise to sweet. Add

cinnamon character to enhance spiciness and give interest (sweet-hot),

carbonate to increase acidity slightly.

Example: Cyser Transformed mead in 5 steps after racking brilliant mead to keg

Added one can of apple juice concentrate (pure) [1.027, better sweetness]

Added splash of cinnamon oil [red hot candy, very pleasant]

Added some sweet Tupelo honey-water mixture (clarified) [1.029, very good]

Added a splash of vanilla extract and a touch more cinnamon [rounded]

Carbonated to balance added sweetness and body [dangerously drinkable,

bold cinnamon, much more distinctive apple and honey character]

Repurposed to Open Category Mead (Cyser with Cinnamon)

Questions?