Bottling Mead Questions

I'm getting ready to bottle my first batch of mead (its actually 3 5g batches) and I had questions concerning bottling. I realize that that ideally you would want to cork the mead but I'm going to have to bottle & cap it. I have 2 batches of dry mead and batch of sweet, all still (no carbing). Am I right to assume that bottling in 12oz and 22oz bottles will be fine?

Also, what about bottling in 1g glass wine jugs? I have several that I usually use to make yeast starters and they have screw caps. Would I be right in assuming that using those along with the screw caps should be fine, as the mead isn't carbed?

Advice greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!

I bottle all of my mead with crown, non-twist off caps. In 12 oz bottles. So you should be fine. Just as long as you are not bottle carbing you don't need to worry. Not sure about the 1 gal jugs. If you do bottle in those make sure to clean throughly AND sanitize them. Bottling with a Cork does have it's perks but I have found that it is not truely neccessary and it is easier for me to just cap it. I have also found that for one person a 12 oz bottle is a great size. Keep in mind that most mead is 3 times the alcohol content of beer. I had one strawberry mead that went to 18% with Lavin D47 and a friend drank a six pack and didn't understand why he was smashed. Yeah, I warn people now.

Matrix

cool, thanks. I just have a ton of 12 oz bottles so that's just easier. I'm not sure about the gallon either. May just try one to see what happens...

antony said:

cool, thanks. I just have a ton of 12 oz bottles so that's just easier. I'm not sure about the gallon either. May just try one to see what happens...

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Just remember that a gallon of mead is a LOT to drink at one sitting, and you'd better have a big crowd or risk someone ready to beat you up when they get over the hangover! I wouldn't go any bigger than a wine bottle size (750 ml) and even that's quite a lot of mead for one sitting.

oh yes, I know a gallon is a ton. Taking it camping late this fall with a group of a dozen friends or so. I was really just curious if there was something I was missing. I figure one gallon over the course of a very very long day for everyone may be feasible.

yeah...it really is a lot. maybe not....

How about a growler? I have a few growlers from my favorite microbrewery's (KBC, H&H, Hinterland, Titletown) that I use for bottling sometimes. I am going to a wedding this coming weekend and a growler is a perfect sharing size for bringing a couple different flavors. Of course the aesthetics aren't quite as fashionable as a nice looking bottle, so you have to bring at least one of those too

12oz'ers are good, but I have also found that the pint size bottles like Hinterland uses are great for two to share. Although, some nice looking clear 12'ers would look nicer than the brown pints that I use.

Is there any reason you couldn't bulk age in the 1 gallon jugs, then bottle later if you found you would never use such a volume in one uncapping?

I use regular crown cap bottles.... If you have clear or green glass bottles, even better.

I also drip each bottle top in wax... adds a touch of class.

What about reusing a commercial mead screwtop bottle.That ok? I saved one.Other than another small clear cooking wine bottle Im thinking of using them because they are clear. Bad idea? Other than those im just going to cap reused 12 oz beer bottles.

I plan on using 1-liter Grolsch type flip-top bottles to bottle my first batch.

Would there be any problems with using swing top bottles?

My favorite commercial meadery, Redstone, uses swing tops for every mead I've tried.
Should work for.you.

I'd recommend using the oxygen barrier caps at least if you're going to just cap. Swingtops and wax dipping are also a decent way to go. My personal choice is using the zorks- easy to use and nice looking.

Mind you, if you're expecting everything to be drank relatively quickly, it doesn't really matter too much. I just recently have some up to around 2.5 years and I'm having fun seeing how the mead changes over time.

JuneHawk said:

I plan on using 1-liter Grolsch type flip-top bottles to bottle my first batch.

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I use 1 liter flip top (swing top, grolch...) or re-use corked rum bottles (750ml) both work just fine.

Handy for me too because the locals here use the old rum bottles to bottle their honey so I get more bottles with every batch or honey.

UPDATE: tried the mead last weekend (drank a 1/3 with friends) & it was a giant hit. I'm looking forward to aging the oxygen barrier cap batch til next fall & the flip tops until 2015. good times indeed.

* we polished off the 3- gallon wine jugs in about 36 hours *