HELP! ruined mead?

[MmmBeer]

Ugh! I just racked my mead to the secondary, and took a sip.... Well, I must've read the instructions wrong, instead of 2 tsps of acid blend, i put in like 3 TBSPS.....! Crap, sour, and not wild-infection sour, acid blend sour. Other than that it smells awesome, very floral, man it would taste pretty good too but I goofed on the acid and now it is like undrinkable!
Any suggestions? Please help. Is there anything I can do to balance out the acid/ph levels without destroying the product further? Anything to just take the acid out? anything to balance?
I'm just upset because this is my first batch and if I snarf it I may be dissuaded from trying again. At 30$+ a pop mead is not something that I'd like to screw up.
Thanks guys.

[chris1kanobi]

I would make another 1/2 batch of mead and blend it with this one. Or add some fruit to balance out the sourness, peach, strawberry, cherry, pear something with out too much acid in it already. It would take some time, but the sourness will fade with time. You could always wait a few years and the blend etc. at that time. I personally think that mead needs 3+ years before it is really tasty.

[bierboy]

How old is the mead? If you are just racking to secondary now I would asume that it is pretty young. Try letting it sit for a while, like 9 months to a year. If the mead is older (like over a year), then add potassium sorbate acording to the manufacturers directions and then add a couple cups of honey until you get to the desired sweetness level.

You can also add frozen, sanitized fruit and repitch a yeast, and let the mead age longer.

The thing is that the mead is probably going to be ok, it will just take some time for it to get better.

[MmmBeer]

Yeah but... it's acid blend, so I doubt it's just going to age-out. Most problems with stuff will but acid blend is added to it and not a result of it's fermentation-stage or anything of that character. I guess I'm looking for something to balance out the pH without destroying the mead. I don't know if that's what potassium sorbate does, but if it is then I guess that's what I need.

[chris1kanobi]

In my opinion the only way to make it right, would be to mix this batch of mead with another 1/2 batch without the acid blend. You will have more mead, but the acid content will be correct.

[bierboy]

Originally posted by MmmBeer
Yeah but... it's acid blend, so I doubt it's just going to age-out. Most problems with stuff will but acid blend is added to it and not a result of it's fermentation-stage or anything of that character. I guess I'm looking for something to balance out the pH without destroying the mead. I don't know if that's what potassium sorbate does, but if it is then I guess that's what I need.

Which is why one adds more honey; to add more sweetness to round out the acid. Potassium sorbate will stop fermentation. If you do not add it and then add honey you may start another ferment.

I agree that adding another batch of mead that has no acid will work, but that is going to take a long time. I would rather add honey now and see if that will work. You can always blend after that. Also, potassium sorbate will dissipate out of the mead allowing you to start another ferment at a later date, say if you decide to add fruit.

[mortong]

How about adding a mild (hopeully tasteless) base? Isn't baking soda basic? It should react with the acid, creating H20 and salts. I can't imagine that 1 1/2 tbsp salt would add too much flavor, and I think most of it will precipitate out anyway, given a little time.

I'd go with the longer aging and blending as a first option, but if you don't want to wait that long, what I just said might work. Anyone have any feedback on potential problems?

Geoff

[bierboy]

I don't know about salt, but pickling lime might do the trick.

[mortong]

I don't mean add salt, it's the result of the chemical reaction:

Acid + Base = H2O + (some sort of) Salt (depending on your base and acid)

Example: NaOH (Sodium Hydroxide - a base, baking soda I think) + HCl (Hydrochloric Acid) = H20 (water) + NaCl (Table Salt)

So:

Pickling Lime + Acid = H20 + ??? Salt

Anyone know the chem formula for Pickling Lime?

Sorry to be so much of a geek - I used to be pre-med, and took too many chem classes (now I've got a journalism degree - go figure). Somehow I still remember this stuff. I'm amazed that it might actually have a practical application that I can use.

Geoff

[MmmBeer]

No, I don't know the formula but I like where you're going with it! I wonder if anyone knows---pickling lime or baking soda, any of these regularly used to reduce the acid of pH in beer? maybe something else. I think this might be the best solution, adding more mead might not work-because the acid content is over 3x what I was supposed to put in (yes, I'm a dumbass), and adding enough honey to counter it would produce something so sweet-and-sour that it would be like drinking mike's hard lemonade or some other vile, vile, concoction.

[Beerconnoisseur]

Originally posted by mortong
So:

Pickling Lime + Acid = H20 + ??? Salt

Anyone know the chem formula for Pickling Lime?


Pickling Lime is Calcium Hydroxide.

[MmmBeer]

Hmm.. Baking soda is Sodium Bicarbonate... and it is used for human consumption.... This might be a good solution... Anyone know if it will break down when boiled? or is this a good method for sanitizing for use in brew? Anyone ever heard of it used before?

[sallad]

or another kind of math, which makes LOTS of mead!

since you used 3x too much acid to begin with, get 2 more carboys and siphon off 1/3 of your mead into each carboy. then make 2 more batches of mead, and split it between each of the 3 carboys to top them all up. now you've gone from 1 batch with 3x the acid, to 3 batches with just the right amount!

and if you don't think you can drink 3 batches of mead, well, i'd be glad to help you with that. and i'm sure there are many other out there willing to help too!

[toneyc]

Heeeyyyyy, I like the way you think, Sallad.

:)
Toney.

[mortong]

I did a little research, you should be fine with baking soda (NOT baking POWDER):

Acid blend contains Tartaric, Malic, and Citric acid (all three contain C, H, and O and are combined with Baking Soda to make 'effervescent tablets' - plop plop fizz fizz type stuff).

Tartaric acid is used in a blend with Sodium Bicarbonate to leaven bread - it releases CO2 when it's mixed - not a bad thing for your mead. =)

I just found out that baking POWDER is a mix of Baking Soda and _Tartaric_ acid - the reaction you're trying to create.

Just add a little bit at a time if you do this, to make sure you're not adversely affecting the taste, or adding too much and removing all of the acid blend. I'd hate for you to follow my instructions and ruin the batch

Geoff

[Tweek]

Calcium carbonate is what I use in wine to lower acid. you may want to give that a whirl.

[MmmBeer]

Hmm. I like you guy's idea about making a triple batch, but I am a lowly grad student and $$$ is not flowing. I think I will attempt a baking soda infusion before the next time I rack..... One worry, will I be making one of those middle school vinegar/baking soda volcanoes???? Only time will tell!!!!

[mortong]

Due to the small amount, I think you will be fine. As I said, though, a little at a time. If you take your time with it, it should cut down bubbling.

I'm not sure if switching to calcium carbonate would cut down on the fizzing, but if it does that might be a better solution.

[SLOSHomebrewers]

Interesting delima.

I concur with Tweek, add CaCo3 to lower acidity. This will add salt, so don't over do it.

You can try adding a Malolactic culture and doing a Malolactic fermentation (MLF). This will convert most, if not all, of the Malic acid you added to CO2.
________
Glass Bong (http://glassbongs.org/)

[bierboy]

Originally posted by MmmBeer
Hmm.. Baking soda is Sodium Bicarbonate... and it is used for human consumption.... This might be a good solution... Anyone know if it will break down when boiled? or is this a good method for sanitizing for use in brew? Anyone ever heard of it used before?

Pickling lime is definately for human consumption. I mentioned it because many of us who have reef tanks use it as a calcium additive. It is the essentially the same product as the calcium carbonate that hombrew stores sell. Without getting too much into it, corals, especially the small polyped stoney ones that everyone knows, are made up of primarily calcium carbonate. That dead bleached coral you get for a salt water tank is nothing but a giant hunk of calcium carbonate (it's mineable mineral form is aragonite).

Anyhow, a coral will suck lots of calcium out of the water to continue its growth. Normally, it would get it through old corals that had died and decayed to their molecular form back into the ocean. In a closed environment, the aquarist must add the calcium. The cheapest and most effective method of delivering readily available calcium is by using pickling lime (Ball's or Mrs. Wages.)

Since we are using calcium to buffer the water in much the safe way, a food safe readily available source of calcium is needed. Again, pickling like is food safe (we use it to pickle all sorts of things). A good way to get the pickling lime to react faster/better is through the addition of a tiny bit of vinegar. I am not sure of the chemical reasons, but I do remember doing some reading how spiking your lime/water solution with a little vinegar help make the calcium more usable.

[mortong]

Don't add vinegar when adding it to your mead!

The reason it makes it more usable is because you're trying to get the PURE calcium, and mixing it with an acid will do that - it creates a calcium salt.

Adding vinegar to your calcium carbonate before adding it to the mead will defeat the purpose of adding it (vinegar is an acid) - you'll be adding salt and water, it won't do anything to the acid already in the mead.

The acid present in the mead does what adding vinegar would do - reacts with the Calcium Carbonate in the same way.

Geoff