F-ed up my Mead! Thoughts

[GweedoeBrew]

So... Like a total jackass... I was making my first mead and I wasn't thinking and I mixed my 15lbs of honey with 5 gallons of water... DUH... so i ended up with a mead of 1.084....

What do you think? i put it in and it started fermenting ok...still going... so it will definately be some soft of kick to it... But... will it be drinkable is the real question.

[DannyW]

Uh, so what exactly is the problem? It all sounds good so far!

That sounds like a fine 11% ABV mead when you are done. Let it age for a year or so and let us know how it is!

Were you expecting to make it stronger, like 15# + water to 5 gallons total rather than the 6+ that you have now? If so, you could always get some more honey and feed it to the fermentation. Depending on what yeast you used, that might be a better way to get it to ferment all the way out anyway.

[yabodie]

What yeast did you use and if possible could you supply your whole recipe. This will help out quite a bit in giving you some feedback.

[yeast_slurry_speech]

It'll be just fine... Drink it up...

[bigwave]

I just tried JZs Eisbock.... I wonder what would happen if you tried to ice a lower gravity mead.... anyone tried this??

[macgruffus]

I wonder what would happen if you tried to ice a lower gravity mead.... anyone tried this??

((legal disclaimer)) Before embarking on this process you should check with your local authorities about freeze distilling. It is illegal in many States.

That being said ...

I know a guy who freeze distills cider to make apple jack and of course we all know people who make eisbocks so this should definitely work. The only issue is that freeze distilling does nothing to remove fusel alcohols so if you have those in your mead (or beer or cider) they will still be there in whatever you've concentrated. Just make sure you start with a good clean base.

This guy I know took a gallon of cider and put it in a plastic extract bucket in the freezer covered with Saran wrap. After five or six hours he pulled the bucket out and gently squeezed the sides to break up any ice. He then pulled out the ice using a slotted spoon. He repeated this process a couple times until he got down to about 12 ounces of liquid left and then just saved this off in an old pint bottle. Not bad stuff (so I've heard.)

I know he's never tried it with mead but I'll mention it to him.

David

[Lars]

I wonder what would happen if you tried to ice a lower gravity mead.... anyone tried this??

I know a guy who freeze distills cider to make apple jack and of course we all know people who make eisbocks so this should definitely work. The only issue is that freeze distilling does nothing to remove fusel alcohols so if you have those in your mead (or beer or cider) they will still be there in whatever you've concentrated. Just make sure you start with a good clean base.

Considering how wicked mead hangovers can be, and the in-ability to remove the fusels... I wouldn't recommend freeze distilling mead.