Mazer's Log - 1.0006
10/20/08:
It's been about 2 weeks since racking. Fermentation wasn't quite done when I racked, as both carboys have settled out at around 1.012. Airlock activity is all but nonexistent at this point, though if I look hard I can still see a few bubbles coming up the sides of the carboy - like a glass of soda that's not quite flat, but close.
10/21/08:
Racked both batches. Lost a decent amount from the raspberry mel, due to heavy sediment on the bottom and the mass of berries on the top. Realizing that I still suck at racking, as I still managed to pick up a good bit of yeast that settled out to the bottom by today. Ah well. The only real issue I see is that I had a fair amount of headspace left due to loss. mixed a little honey and water and topped it off, but it's still got some space left. Hopefully this will be alright, otherwise I'll have to get creative to fill the extra space. I did it on the fly, so took some warm water, added some honey, shook it up to mix, and gently poured it in. Left a layer of bubbles/foam that has settled around the edges of the mel, and haven't seemed to go away after 12 hours or so. Hopefully that's not a bad sign.
Racking the straight mead was much better and easier. Mead is almost to the neck of the carboy. That should be fine, and I'm not gonna worry bout that one.
Now I let it sit, and sit, and sit ...
11/10/08:
Took a sample of each today. Both have settled out to a SG of ~1.010 which is on the low end of where I was aiming, but still in the ballpark. The mel is already clearing nicely, with a rich raspberry color. The traditional is still not clear, with sediment forming on every curve and niche of the carboy. I may rack this one again, since it's clearly throwing off a lot of sediment nonstop.
The melomel has a strong raspberry nose, with a touch of alcohol burn in the nostrils, and a hint of honey behind. The berry taste is not as apparent as the smell, but still there, along with a good hit of hot burn. Not a sweet mead, per se, but definitely somewhere between semi sweet and off dry.
The traditional mead has an odd smell. can't quite place it, although it's no longer a 'yeast' smell, more like something organic. Not unpleasant, just odd. I'll pay more attention next time I take a sample, to see if it's still there and if I can put a name to it. On the tongue it's sweeter than the mel, with a little more body to it. Then again, it hasn't cleared yet, so it's possible that the presence of yeast and such still in solution adds to the mouthfeel. We'll see how that plays out as it finally clears. Taste is honey, with alcohol. That's perhaps obvious and redundant, but I don't know how else to describe it.
Neither is 'amazing' - but neither is unpleasant, so I'll count that as a positive at this early stage in my meadmaking. I think both need a good while of bulk aging, and then perhaps I'll consider backsweetening if it doesn't balance out sweet enough for my tastes.