How long will it take to age?

[xC0000005]

After talking fellow club members I've gotten some conflicting reports.

"The mead will be drinkable in about two weeks."
"The mead will be drinkable in about six months."
"The mead will be drinkable in about two years."

So which is it? I currently have a metheglin bubbling in the carboy, smelling of ginger and cinamon and clove. With any luck in a few weeks it will have been converted to a mead. Note my definition of drinkable is not "One can consume and not die." It's "One is not adverse to consuming." It should be a high alcohol drink. I'm aiming for something that practically violates the geneva convention.

We shall see.

[Chef Isaac]

same concept as wine. Longer, the more mellow and sometimes more full bodied and sweeter, less harsh.

Miss talking with ya J. How is the family?

[digdan]

I find it much depends on your nutrient stagerring and yeast profile that you used.

Most my meads wait for a full year, but I've had successes that made a very drinkable mead in just a couple weeks.

They key is the fermentation. Honey is not a very viable host for yeast, so you need create accomidations. This is done by yeast nutrients... added over time. Adding raisins, or apple juice helps a lot as well.

But really, the mead is done when you like the taste :)

[xC0000005]

I added yeast nutrients and it's currently out-gassing like a fat man on a cabbage and bean diet, so I'm hoping that it does well. I can be patient. If I am forced to be. If I must. Ok, so really I'm not that patient, but I'm hoping it comes out decent.

[nursebee]

Nutrition (as mentioned) will help fermentation to complete, but once completed does not help it to be drinkable. THink of a big red wine, grapes have plenty of nutrition but the big reds still benefit with aging.

In order to "own" the answer for yourself you will need to sample it along the way. I hope you made a big batch and have few friends. Drink some at all steps of fermentation, racking, bottling. 2 weeks in the bottle will not do much for a 1.000 mead, careful if it is much higher. After months there might be some improvements, years if the original was harsh tasting.

Right now I am enjoying some from 2004. Fruit meads seem to not age as well, straight meads I rarely touch for 2 years.

[ScadsOBees]

Higher alcohol also usually will mean longer aging times to be drinkable. I'd guess that you are on the longer edge of those times listed.

[kwest]

i made some pretty stout mead. started about march. bottled it about 21/2 months ago. i taste tested all the way through the process. it was very stout with a good kick. ( take a gulp get a head rush. whew) i was wanting to sweeten it. but right before i bottled it i racked it and it really mellowed out nicely. found it was very strong on the top so when i racked it it mixed a bit and didn't need sweetened. i have drank one bottle. waitin on the rest for the holidays. then i will try it again.

[raosmun]

I have had little experence with MEAD! However; I have been making WINE & BEER for over 30 yrs. Mead is some-were inbetween the two ART'S!
I say "art"; because there is a lot of science, knowledge & experence involved!!
READ,READ,READ If you want to make some GOOD stuff!!!!

Early MEAD, MELOMEl (whatever flavor-s added to basic Mead), can be very good (within a year), otherwise: let it ferment out fully (maybe another year or so)!!
Remember; the stuff that keeps honey good over the long hall: retards fermentation!!!!!!!! In most cases (if done corrrectly), MEAD or MELOME will not be fit to drink fore 3 to 5 years!!!!
If done properly you will have some real GOOOOOOOD STUFF!!
To the point I am now drinking 4yr old MEAD,& MELOME(cherry & red rasbery)!
O, 22>28 brix seams to be a good start point! Read and learn!!

[nursebee]

Mead is not between beer and wine, it is closely akin to wine.

Honey is kept good over the long haul by having low moisture content, that is what inhibits fermentation.

I would like to hear more on this correct vs incorrect way of making meads. I like mine well aged, do not enjoy yearlings at all.

[digdan]

I like to use the no heat method to making mead. Pasteurizing honey makes it loose flavor, and is rarely needed since honey has sterile properties to itself.

I just dilute the honey, add my nutrients and energizers, shake it for 5 minutes, pitch the yeast and put the airlock on. Plain and simple no heat method to making flavorful meads.
I then wait a couple weeks to a month and add more nutrient. I rack it off its yeast bed after a couple years.

Mead is not like beer at all, its much simpler and takes a lot more time to age. Its closer to wine in the realm of the yeasts you use and the time it takes to age. I think that meads need more time than wines becuase of the slow fermentation.

Even making the best conditions for yeast to grow, it just doesn't grow very fast in honey/water because of its sterile characteristics.

[Bodhi]

Like the others have said: it depends. Some of my earlier meads sat for two years or more. More recent ones, with better techniques, are drinkable much sooner.

I've found that taking care of the yeast through rehydration, aeration, nutrition, temperature control and daily degassing make for an earlier, and better, drinking mead.

[digdan]

Like the others have said: it depends. Some of my earlier meads sat for two years or more. More recent ones, with better techniques, are drinkable much sooner.

I've found that taking care of the yeast through rehydration, aeration, nutrition, temperature control and daily degassing make for an earlier, and better, drinking mead.

How do you do your degassing?

[Bodhi]

How do you do your degassing?

While actively fermenting, I just stir it with a long-handled spoon. Slowly at first, because it can get very foamy.

[Ben Brewcat]

Racking degasses, but also adds O2. Before bottling a still mead, I use a degasser (like a paint paddle, chucked into a drill) but routinely I don't degass.

[Bodhi]

While actively fermenting, I just stir it with a long-handled spoon. Slowly at first, because it can get very foamy.

Just to clarify, during the first few days of fermentation I stir it well to get the CO2 out and the O2 in as well as mix if any fruit I may have added. When the gravity has fallen by ~50%, I stir gently to avoid adding more O2, but to get the CO2 out and get the fruit mixed in.

I also degas at every racking, by stirring. My cellar is cold, letting the CO2 come out on it's own takes a very long time.

[shughes]

i kind of sum it up like this based on your question/statement:

2 weeks = might tolerate a sip but will be jet fuel
6 months = drinkable
2 years = enjoyable

your yeast selection will also contribute to 'drinkable'. 71b-1122 tends to mature more quickly by not extracting a lot of the phenols from your must if you need a mead that ages quickly.

when i started making mead i originally did primary fermentation in my crawl space but found that the lower temperatures make the primary fermentation extend too long and also affected the taste. i had to rack 4-5 times to get rid of most of the lees. i now do primary fermentation inside the house around 70 degrees as well as secondary. then i rack to tertiary in my garage where its cooler and assists in making the fine lees drop quicker. I can usually get away with 3 rackings before bottling.