First brew, vinegar smell in my mead

[purelymead]

So for my first brew I went straight in for a gallon of 100% buckwheat mead. It's been fermenting nicely for one week now but when I remove the airlock I get a vinegary smell. Is this bad or normal? I sanitised everything I've used. I had a starting gravity of 1.115 and I only used honey, water, yeast and a small tsp of DAP. Thanks in advance

 

[FatDad]

I would give it another week or two and see how it smells then. If the vinegar smell has evened out keep going but if it has intensified I would either transfer it into another clean DJ and give it another week or bottle it and put it on your fish and chips.

I did get an acidic smell and aweful taste from my mead right up until it was almost clear and then it dissipated and mellowed out quite a bit. My mead is fairly dry (but not bitter) for mead but I didn't want to backsweeten with honey and run the risk of clouding the crystal clear mead.

Fingers crossed your's is ok too - I have discovered that with home brewing, "Time is a great healer". :)

 

[Cwrw666]

It could well just be the CO2 you're smelling, so it's a bit soon to start panicking.

 

[purelymead]

I've just taken hydrometer reading and tasted it, reading at 1.021 so that makes it just over 12%, tastes not as bad as it smells, still got a nice sweetness to it but still more acidic than I'd like. It's all a learning curve for me. I'm going to rack to a clean DJ later today anyway so i shall keep you posted. I know it's early but just wanted to know if I needed to make any drastic action to save it. Also if I want it to stop fermenting to save the sweetness, what would you suggest?
I thank you for your time

 

[cheapbrew]

A lot of people report vinegary smells during fermentatiom, but it usually turns out ok, just wait and see, if it is infected then there is not much you can do anyway except use it on ya chips as FatDad said!

 

[purelymead]

Mead vinegar???? Sounds intriguing thank you all

 

[FatDad]

Probably not worth racking it yet. If it's infected it is in there now. Give it a little time. Best not disturb it with a racking at this early stage.

I would rack it once it has settled in a week or two but only if the smell is still overly strong then which I suspect it won't be if everything was clean.

 

[NCFCcrazy]

It could well just be the CO2 you're smelling, so it's a bit soon to start panicking.

Sorry to be a smart ar$e, but CO2 is odourless :nono:

 

[purelymead]

Vinegar smell has improved massively, bubbling every 8-10 seconds. Should I rack it now? There is a thick sediment on the bottom now and I don't want it to spoil the flavour.

 

[FatDad]

Vinegar smell has improved massively, bubbling every 8-10 seconds. Should I rack it now? There is a thick sediment on the bottom now and I don't want it to spoil the flavour.

I would say leave for at least 1 month for first racking even of the bubbling has stopped. If it is still bubbling wait for all bubbling to cease, give it a week then rack it.

As for second racking I gave it as long as it takes to clear - about 4 months after 1st racking. I did rack it a couple of times further times, degassed it a couple of times then added Potasium Metabisulfite and a Potasium Sorabate. Waited yet another week and bottled.

 

[purelymead]

You have been most helpful.
My gratitude sir

 

[TartanSpecial]

mead can take a long time to mature. Something that tastes acidic when young can turn into a really good mead after a year.