View Full Version : Lost treasure?
outdoorgirl
27-09-2006, 20:04
Ok, so I'm clearing the loft as we're moving house... Most of the stuff up there is complete junk, but as I move boxes and bags, I look inside one box to find - 12 bottles of mead... I made it about 10 years ago, and must have just boxed it up and put it in the loft when I moved last time... There's another half dozen or so bottles lurking around loose as well...
So, I've opened a bottle to check it - if it's no good, I may as well just dump it all down the sink as I have to pay to have all my stuff stored for a while...
It fizzes... It seems to taste OK, but as I recall, mead is suppsed to be still, not sparkling... ?
Should I tip the lot, or save it? :confused:
ODG
Wellll...y'know, sometimes it just gets better and better :D
I found three very old elderflower wines that had gotten left tucked away in a shed, and they had a little fizz but they were sooooo smooth, just lovely :cool:
I'm probably not the one to answer this with any authority, my brewing can be a bit idiosyncratic.....maybe British Red?
Cheers,
Toddy
My Dad gave me a 1953 bottle of port when they moved to the States. It was sealed up but the wax top was cracked with age, though the cork was still in fine. I thought I would save it for a special occasion, so the next day I opened it, it smelt like vinegar and came out in lumps, such a shame............ :(
If the fermentation hadn't completely finished then you may end up with a fizz (I do this with beer).... also its a well known fact in wine making that brews made from flowers can go through a secondary fermentation in the bottle.... usually around the time the plants flower again. Its happend a couple of times to me with flower wines and produces an excellent sparkling wine. As mead is from honey.... which is from bees collecting pollen from flowers it could be that.
:)
Ed
... I thought I would save it for a special occasion, so the next day I opened it.........
My kind of drink discipline! :lmao:
Did it taste ok ? no funny after tastes or strange smell then keep it . The loft is possibly the worst place to keep wine tho as in summer the temperatures can get very high giving the wine a cooked taste . I would drink it sooner than later as it will not keep indefinatly
bloodline
28-09-2006, 16:04
I think it will be okay the fizz is just the result of a secondary fermentation in the bottle if in doubt I will drink it for you :beerchug: :beerchug: :beerchug:
It should be fine as bloodline has said it is just secondary fermintation in the bottle. This is how champagne is made, you will probably find some yeast sediment in the bottles but this is normal.
Geoff
Fizzing is just caused by secondary fermentation. You may have a tiny bit of sediment in the bottom of the bottle but not much I guess.
It will be slightly stronger but the greatest risk is that if left, the presure may grow too much for the bottles the bottles. This is why Champagne bottles are thicker.
There's only one thing to do in this situation, send it all to me and I'll drink it for you before the corks blow out..... ;)
Mead? you jammy bugger.
I love mead (and cider, Im very conservative in drinks, none of this new fangled grape juice for me)
Ive got about 10lb of honey in the coupboard waiting to be turned into mead.
British Red
28-09-2006, 21:05
ODG,
I'm always reluctant to say "yeah it'll be fine" based on not seeing, smelling or tasting. As the guys say though, secondary fermentation is likely the casue of the fizzing. The complex sugars in honey are a pig to ferment out completely - my last batch was a year in the carboy fermenting - hence why there may have been a little left to ferment.
Honey stays good forever nearly (thousands of years for sure - honey from the pyramids is still edible) and alcohol is a natural preservative. Since you've opened a bottle, I would try a glass only to start with - if that has no ill effects the next day, you're probably fine
Red
FeralSheryl
29-09-2006, 15:00
I've just learned today - oddly enough - that Mead should really be kept for between 3 to 5 years before drinking. Boots Chemist used to be able to analyse a sample of a brew (do you call it a brew when it comes to mead *shrug*) for you, to check for safety. I don't know if they still offer the service. It would be a shame to waste it all for no reason, but I fully understand your caution.
Just donate it to the local tramps i'm sure there'll be happy to take it off your hands.
outdoorgirl
29-09-2006, 18:50
Thanks for the suggestions all! I suspect it is just secondary fermentation as there were no ill effects from my taster the other day.
I'm still undecided as to what to do with it - I had originally made it when I was heavily into Live Role Play, Re-creation and suchlike and had intended to take it to events to share. I'm much less involved these days and have no plans to use the mead in the way it was intended.
We move out of here in three days (although we don't complete for a week - I want time to clean!) and it will have to go into storage (if there's room). I suspect I'll have to just see if there's enough room in storage, and if not, it will end up down the drain, which would be a shame.
Bisamratte
29-09-2006, 20:47
Thanks for the suggestions all! I suspect it is just secondary fermentation as there were no ill effects from my taster the other day.
I'm still undecided as to what to do with it - I had originally made it when I was heavily into Live Role Play, Re-creation and suchlike and had intended to take it to events to share. I'm much less involved these days and have no plans to use the mead in the way it was intended.
We move out of here in three days (although we don't complete for a week - I want time to clean!) and it will have to go into storage (if there's room). I suspect I'll have to just see if there's enough room in storage, and if not, it will end up down the drain, which would be a shame.
You could always have a moving out party :D :beerchug:
Porcupine
30-09-2006, 10:00
heh,or put it up in the swap shop with all necesary disclaimers.
judging from the reactions there are enough people interested
Three days is plenty of time to drink that lot. I would be a crime to throw it away, just think of all the work those been put into it.... ;)
BorderReiver
30-09-2006, 13:37
Thanks for the suggestions all! I suspect it is just secondary fermentation as there were no ill effects from my taster the other day.
I'm still undecided as to what to do with it - I had originally made it when I was heavily into Live Role Play, Re-creation and suchlike and had intended to take it to events to share. I'm much less involved these days and have no plans to use the mead in the way it was intended.
We move out of here in three days (although we don't complete for a week - I want time to clean!) and it will have to go into storage (if there's room). I suspect I'll have to just see if there's enough room in storage, and if not, it will end up down the drain, which would be a shame.
It was intended to be drunk. :rolleyes:
Don't waste it. :)
Thanks for the suggestions all! I suspect it is just secondary fermentation as there were no ill effects from my taster the other day.
I'm still undecided as to what to do with it - I had originally made it when I was heavily into Live Role Play, Re-creation and suchlike and had intended to take it to events to share. I'm much less involved these days and have no plans to use the mead in the way it was intended.
We move out of here in three days (although we don't complete for a week - I want time to clean!) and it will have to go into storage (if there's room). I suspect I'll have to just see if there's enough room in storage, and if not, it will end up down the drain, which would be a shame.
The tramps won't be happy. :(
Ben Trout
02-10-2006, 22:59
Location: Wiltshire.
Well if you need it taken off your hands...
i say drink it and hope for the best. my beer usealy comes out at (what i would guess) 10-15% not ideal but it does tast good. :beerchug:
Bushman_Brett
18-10-2006, 13:46
Im a bit of a brewer and distiller myself :P ,,, as everyone has said itll be fine, honey is a real slow fermenter so id say it was bottled before it had fully fermented and the little bit left caused the CO2 build up and fizz, If done in sanitary conditions homebrew will last for a real long time and if it should go off you will know by the bad smell and taste,, Depending on the strength of the bottles you might want to gas off the bottles (just release the tops a little till the hiss stops then tighten)... Take it to the new house and drink it for the moving in party :D