[Romahawk]

In my other post about where did the alcohol go I mentioned that this batch had very little if any flavor to it. These last two batches are the first straight meads I have made using only honey and water. I usually use full strength Wally World juices and honey with no water added.

I saw at the local brew supply shop the other day small bottles of concentrated blackberry flavoring and was wondering if anyone has used these and what kind of results you had with them. If you used these flavorings were they added to the primary or secondary fermenter?

 

[mike haney]

i've used the 1 gallon fruit wine base mixes and they go in the primary. the concentrated flavoring is just that-flavor- and goes in the secondary as it doesnt contibute to the fermentation. works great, but a tad artificial for my taste.

 

[Swobee]

I gotta' ask- are we talking concentrates like Watkins (for example) flavorings? Or is there something out there for wines that I'm not aware of? My wife says the same thing about some of my batches - the flavor is hidden or too subtle for her tastes sometimes.

 

[mike haney]

in my experience there are TWO. a "base mix concentrate" that has the added nutrients and acidifiers, etc and only needs sugar and water(and yeast) to make wine, and "flavor concentrates" that are similar to Watkins in that they only contribute a (mostly artificial) flavor to the finished product.

 

[mike haney]

the base mix concentrates are not marketed for meads, but as a fruit wine.

 

[Romahawk]

The little bottle I picked up is from LD Carlson and it is marked Blackberry Fruit Flavoring for Beer & Wine, it's a 4 oz bottle and it is supposed to be good for a 4 or 5 gallon batch. Since my carboys are 6 gallon I have to go back next week and grab another couple of bottles as it looks like a bottle and a quarter will be needed to do the trick.

Thanks for chipping in here, isn't trying to make a bad batch into a good one a lot of fun.:lpf:

 

[mike haney]

while we are talking about additives here in reference to your thread about low alchohol in a batch, there are additives available to fix that too. wine IS somewhat akin to beekeeping in that we are dealing with a living organism-yeast-and the results cant be guaranteed. good luck,mike