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matrix4bOk for having several people, I think 6 or so, do a taste test the results are inconclusive.
Many people liked both but It was a general consensus that the non-oaked is sweeter but many thought it had a bit of an alcoholic bite to it. Over all the Oaked was smoother at this green stage. I personally thought the oaked was thinner tasting but smoother, had more of a wine quality. The oaked has a bit more alcohol too. Gravity readings say that it is only a 1-2% diffrence, not much overall but at least one person could definitely taste the diffrence.
No one thought that the oak was too woody tasting and many thought that the non-oaked one was the oaked. I think that oaking will work with some mellower flavor profiles, like spiced batches but not so much with the high fruit flavor profiles.
I used lightly oaked chips for the oaked, 1 oz and put in for 2 weeks. I had someone mention that I should do a trinary batch of the 3 diffrent toast levels to see the diffrence. That being lightly toasted, medium toast, and heavy toast. Each is said to bring a diffrent flavor profile, according to my reading. Maybe next time I need to make more of my standard Show Mead, what I call my rockbitter, I will do a trinary batch. Hmm, I think that for cost reasons I might just do a 5 gal batch and split it up in single gal. Hmm, that would be a non-oaked, lightly oaked, meduim oak, heavy toast oak, and then for the 5th gal maybe try a cubes verses chips, like a Medium toasted oak cubes. I hear that even that is diffrent. It bears some thought.
Over all, I am pleased with both batches. I need to be patient to see the flavor profile in 6 months or another year of aging as once it is past it's "Green" stage and matured a bit I am sure that the non-oaked will loose some of the bite and the oaked will get much smoother. It bears some thought.
I give a thankyou to all my testers on my tuesday night card/board game night over at Annabelle's house.
And to think I haven't even got to the level of blended meads yet.
Overall, I enjoy sharing my mead, That is the best part of making it is sharing it. I also love experimenting with flavors. If that magical winning of the powerball jackpot happens, I would like to have a mead pub where we don't serve beer but mead. Also, would like it to be a sort of D&D style of pub/inn type thing. I even had an Idea to use coins of the realm for it. Get made up some coins, brass, copper silver, gold, and platinum colored coins professionally made to be purchased on entrance and used to buy stuff with once inside. Gimicky I know but fun. Also the coin value would stay, the coins themselves would cost less than the value of them in the pub.
Brass: $1 or $1.50 A tipping coin
Copper: $3-5 A standard coint
Silver: $10 or so
Gold: $20 or $25
Platinum: $50 or $100
Not sure of the values yet but you can regulate the value of the meals by the coin value and keep the same prices on the board. Raise prices once a year at most. But should they buy a coin and keep it and then buy stuff latter after the prices change, then the value of a copper is still a copper. Some people might want to buy coins just to have the momento. When it cost 50 cents to $1 for a coin bought in bulk then it is pure profit when you sell that coin for $20 and they keep the coin. I was thinking a custom print on it too like a dragoon on one side and the name of the in with a mug of mead on the frount. Cool Idea but I need to win the powerball jackpot first. Ah to dream.
I have divulged from the mead, sorry.
So thinking about the binary test, I think that I may oak more meads in the future and know I know what it does exactly I can use that to design the flavor of what I want in future batches. Mead Making for me is another form of art. Just one that is easier to share than my stone sculpture or other forms of art. Sorry for those that have hangovers from it and end up cursing the drink later but I do try to warn people of it's potency and the fact that the potency will hit harder due to the fact that the body loves honey. It is a friendlier sugar than beer or cane sugar based products so it has a more profound impact. This is also why I strive hard to remove the alcoholy taste from my meads and strive for taste over ABV%. But here I am babbling because it's late. Next mead post will prob be when I rack the Orange Vanilla and the Pineapple, Lime, Mint batches as I am lacking $$ for more honey and that is likely to continue until after summer. Ah, well.
Dave "The Mead Maker Dave" Hmm that doesn't sound bad. Or "The Meadier Dave" Naaa. Much like Norm, I am usually just "Dave" nick names rarely stick for me.
Many people liked both but It was a general consensus that the non-oaked is sweeter but many thought it had a bit of an alcoholic bite to it. Over all the Oaked was smoother at this green stage. I personally thought the oaked was thinner tasting but smoother, had more of a wine quality. The oaked has a bit more alcohol too. Gravity readings say that it is only a 1-2% diffrence, not much overall but at least one person could definitely taste the diffrence.
No one thought that the oak was too woody tasting and many thought that the non-oaked one was the oaked. I think that oaking will work with some mellower flavor profiles, like spiced batches but not so much with the high fruit flavor profiles.
I used lightly oaked chips for the oaked, 1 oz and put in for 2 weeks. I had someone mention that I should do a trinary batch of the 3 diffrent toast levels to see the diffrence. That being lightly toasted, medium toast, and heavy toast. Each is said to bring a diffrent flavor profile, according to my reading. Maybe next time I need to make more of my standard Show Mead, what I call my rockbitter, I will do a trinary batch. Hmm, I think that for cost reasons I might just do a 5 gal batch and split it up in single gal. Hmm, that would be a non-oaked, lightly oaked, meduim oak, heavy toast oak, and then for the 5th gal maybe try a cubes verses chips, like a Medium toasted oak cubes. I hear that even that is diffrent. It bears some thought.
Over all, I am pleased with both batches. I need to be patient to see the flavor profile in 6 months or another year of aging as once it is past it's "Green" stage and matured a bit I am sure that the non-oaked will loose some of the bite and the oaked will get much smoother. It bears some thought.
I give a thankyou to all my testers on my tuesday night card/board game night over at Annabelle's house.
And to think I haven't even got to the level of blended meads yet.
Overall, I enjoy sharing my mead, That is the best part of making it is sharing it. I also love experimenting with flavors. If that magical winning of the powerball jackpot happens, I would like to have a mead pub where we don't serve beer but mead. Also, would like it to be a sort of D&D style of pub/inn type thing. I even had an Idea to use coins of the realm for it. Get made up some coins, brass, copper silver, gold, and platinum colored coins professionally made to be purchased on entrance and used to buy stuff with once inside. Gimicky I know but fun. Also the coin value would stay, the coins themselves would cost less than the value of them in the pub.
Brass: $1 or $1.50 A tipping coin
Copper: $3-5 A standard coint
Silver: $10 or so
Gold: $20 or $25
Platinum: $50 or $100
Not sure of the values yet but you can regulate the value of the meals by the coin value and keep the same prices on the board. Raise prices once a year at most. But should they buy a coin and keep it and then buy stuff latter after the prices change, then the value of a copper is still a copper. Some people might want to buy coins just to have the momento. When it cost 50 cents to $1 for a coin bought in bulk then it is pure profit when you sell that coin for $20 and they keep the coin. I was thinking a custom print on it too like a dragoon on one side and the name of the in with a mug of mead on the frount. Cool Idea but I need to win the powerball jackpot first. Ah to dream.
I have divulged from the mead, sorry.
So thinking about the binary test, I think that I may oak more meads in the future and know I know what it does exactly I can use that to design the flavor of what I want in future batches. Mead Making for me is another form of art. Just one that is easier to share than my stone sculpture or other forms of art. Sorry for those that have hangovers from it and end up cursing the drink later but I do try to warn people of it's potency and the fact that the potency will hit harder due to the fact that the body loves honey. It is a friendlier sugar than beer or cane sugar based products so it has a more profound impact. This is also why I strive hard to remove the alcoholy taste from my meads and strive for taste over ABV%. But here I am babbling because it's late. Next mead post will prob be when I rack the Orange Vanilla and the Pineapple, Lime, Mint batches as I am lacking $$ for more honey and that is likely to continue until after summer. Ah, well.
Dave "The Mead Maker Dave" Hmm that doesn't sound bad. Or "The Meadier Dave" Naaa. Much like Norm, I am usually just "Dave" nick names rarely stick for me.