I've been making mead for a while and there's something I can't quite resolve. Some batches are said to have a strange, solvent-like or "turpentiney" after-taste. Most people don't seem to notice it or care and I've only ever noticed anything once or twice (I myself have noticed a slightly odd after-taste a few times but I wouldn't have called it "turpentiney", it was very faint), but a couple people seem sensitive to it and notice it more often.
I use different honeys, from pasteurized Billy Bee to unpasteurized wildflower honey I buy at farmer's markets. For yeast, I use champagne yeast. I almost never use the same recipe twice, yet the 2 or 3 people that are particularly sensitive claim that they can detect this taste in almost every batch I make, and that it varies from batch to batch.
Is this common in mead? What might be causing it? Is there something that can be done to mitigate it or prevent it? It's hard for me to know for sure how bad it is since I don't seem very sensitive to it.
