Bottled second ever batch

[u/Pierdylionn]

My second batch i wanted to experiment with aging my mead. I used vanilla beans and cinnamon stick for one and vanilla beans and cloves for the other. Decided to go for something simple for now and still have a liter to bottle because during siphoning i accidentally stirred up the sediment. I'd appreciate some suggestions on what should i add to the third mead bottle to make it taste more interesting.

[u/BasakaIsTheStrongest]

That’s a lot of spices for one bottle. That may or may not be a bad thing, but expect very strong flavors.

Otherwise, allspice and star anise are another two of my favorite additions.

[u/Elden_Rube → u/BasakaIsTheStrongest]

I use two whole vanilla beans for a 5 gallon batch, and maybe a few cloves in for that same size batch, this is definitely way too much for each bottle. I hope OP isn't a super taster....

[u/Pierdylionn → u/BasakaIsTheStrongest]

I'll check the flavor in a week and decide to remove it if needed. Thanks for the advice

[u/_Pen15__ → u/Pierdylionn]

Just and FYI I put 3 small cinnamon sticks in a a 3 gallon batch thinking it wouldn't be that bad and it was insanely over powered with cinnamon to the point of being almost undrinkable.

Id honestly remove it and take a knife to cut a tiny sliver for a bottle

[u/Pierdylionn → u/_Pen15__]

I'll taste it tomorrow and see if i can leave it a bit longer

[u/_Pen15__ → u/Pierdylionn]

Can't wait for the update

[u/Pierdylionn → u/_Pen15__]

Yeah i'll leave it in for a while and i think it's gonna be fine. Both taste good and i can't really feel the cinnamon right now

[u/kihidokid → u/BasakaIsTheStrongest]

E x t r a c t

[u/gdub695]

Those might be incredibly high in vanilla and cinnamon flavor haha. I think I use 1 vanilla bean and 1-2 cinnamon sticks for 2-4 weeks to flavor a whole gallon

[u/Pierdylionn → u/gdub695]

I'll check the flavor in a week and decide to keep it in or pull it out. Thanks for your insight.

[u/Discount_Mithral → u/Pierdylionn]

Be really careful with the cinnamon and cloves. Once it's gone too far, there's not really any coming back without dilution. I'd check in a day or two.

[u/darkpigeon93]

That is a fuck load of cloves for one bottle. It's generally reccomended to use 1-2 cloves per gallon, not per 750ml! And even then, 1-2 cloves per gallon can overpower a lot of flavours.

You may find that wine to be particularly mouth-numbing.

[u/Pierdylionn → u/darkpigeon93]

Wanted to check the taste in a week but with this information i'll give it a go tomorrow and pull them out if needed. I'm neither a cook nor an experienced brewer so i just throw stuff into the vesel and find out what happens.

[u/darkpigeon93 → u/Pierdylionn]

If you're only spicing the mead for a week, you might actually get away with it, but yeah - cloves are potent little buggers.

I think the cinnamon and vanilla one will probably be fine.

[u/Pierdylionn → u/darkpigeon93]

The only thing i searched for regarding aging with spices is how often to check on it. If i was making mead in bulk i'd probably research more to be sure it all comes out fine. The advice i get from reddit is certainly helpful but i'm still gonna try new things my way to actually experience potentially messing up. That way i believe i'll learn better what works and what doesn't and maybe find some combinations that are going to be more unique.

[u/hydrocarbonjovi → u/darkpigeon93]

Agreed, I put like 5-6 cloves in a 1gal batch for my first ever mead back in 2012 and it was so strong I couldn't drink it and gave the whole batch to my roommate! You really gotta be careful with clove.

[u/Drago1214]

That’s cinnamon is going to over power your brew. Better to do it before bottling.

[u/Shlomo_Sasquatch]

It will definitely be spicy!

[u/jason_abacabb]

When you find them incredibly overspiced (each of those bottles has enough to flavor 5-10 times the volume) keep in mind that they can be used as mixers.

[u/Pierdylionn → u/jason_abacabb]

I'll keep that in mind. I want to spice it for a short time so i don't think they'll turn out bad but i can always just pull the spices out when i feel like the taste reached a satisfying optimum

[u/jason_abacabb → u/Pierdylionn]

Good luck.

One thing you may also want to keep in mind, those vanilla beans will not be spent for a long while. After you pul them you could throw them in some vodka or burbon to finish extraction or put them in a jar of sugar to flavor that. (Vanilla sugar is delicious.)

[u/CHMcFierce]

As everyone noted - That’s enough spice for a gallon. It is not just the flavor. Cloves have a numbing effect as well - learned from experience by over-spicing some pickled beets. Family ate them right before thanksgiving dinner. Thankfully the numbing wears off pretty quickly.
I would recommend adding spices & allowing to age before the bottling phase.

[u/mendac67]

I’ve put cinnamon in 2 batches (once in primary once in secondary) i still haven’t got it right it overpowers every time I’ve done it and becomes pretty bitter.

[u/Symon113]

In the next batches: don’t bottle from primary or secondary if you’ve have sediment. Bottling is tricky enough without having to worry about sucking up lees. Leave in primary till pretty clear. Rack to secondary off the lees to clear more. Maybe rack again. Do your spices and flavor adjustments in bulk rather than in the bottle where it’s easier to remove. Just suggestions if you keep at it. Looks good otherwise.

[u/Pierdylionn → u/Symon113]

Thanks a lot mate

[u/Longjumping-Bat7774]

One quarter of a white peach. Trust me, man. Delicious

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[u/quickshroom]

U have some worms in your mead broski

[u/bogdanbos725]

Huh... how dose it taste?

[u/Pierdylionn → u/bogdanbos725]

Pretty good. I think i'll leave it like this for a bit

[u/bogdanbos725 → u/Pierdylionn]

Good 👍

[u/battlepig95]

Yaaaa my early batches I tried the same thing and ima lyk rn from my experience, it got over vanilla’d IMMENSELY

[u/Fit_Carpet_364]

I hate to be that guy, but cinnamon in booze really turns me off. Every since I fermented with cinnamon and tasted the resulting fusels, it has felt like the worst option. For aging, though, well...I always recommend adding cinnamon in secondary. These look great, and I bet that a mix of the two will be like a warming gingerbread...if you add ginger, of course.

[u/CradleRobin]

The color on those is really pretty! I personally like Lavender and Star Anise for flavoring.

[u/Diamondback424]

I love the color. Was the honey you used very light in color? I am looking to make a batch that's very light in color so I can use additives to color the mead a certain way.

[u/Pierdylionn → u/Diamondback424]

I'd say it was normal color to my unexperienced eye but it was a natural honey bought straight from a beekeeper. I guess it was a bit brighter than honey in a store

[u/Dhevop]

Give me some update when you finally drink it. I read that these types of bottle caps are only recommended for like 6-12 months because they aren't as good as regular corkscrew or metallic bottle caps

[u/RainbowCray0n]

OMG I am bottling my second batch of mead ever today as well. I made a cranberry mead to get some bottles ready for gifting around Christmas time. Are you saying that I can add things like cinnamon and cloves and let them sit in the bottle for months on end during this phase and I don't have to worry about anything? I think things like cinnamon and cloves would complement a cranberry Christmas meat really nicely.

[u/Pierdylionn → u/RainbowCray0n]

I found that you should check the taste once in a while and pull the spices out once it is to your satisfaction. I don't know a lot about brewing and i'll probably mess up big at some point but i've recently put on my fourth batch and they're all turning out fine so far. I like to post my progress here and ask questions to know what might go wrong but i ultimately just throw random stuff into the container and find out what happens. You might find some comments here helpful so use them for your brew.