Curses!

jim_reaper1066 · 04-11-2010, 09:59 PM

I just took a peak at my blueberry mead today and discovered a nice little colony of mold floating on the surface. It may only be 2-4 mm in diameter but there's a slightly larger raft of white foam surrounding it (1-2 inches square) I had before attributed to the ongoing fermentation.
I had racked it onto 1 lb of honey 4 weeks ago after a month in the primary bucket, and it is due to be racked onto a second 1 lb of honey in 9 days. So what are my options?
Should I simply wait until next week and rack it onto more honey, trying to avoid the mold colony? This batch still has a while to go, 2 more racking onto 1 lb honey, then bulk aging before bottling.

MedsenFey · 04-11-2010, 10:33 PM

If it is mold, and it doesn't smell or taste spoiled, I'd rack underneath and leave the top layer of mead behind. You'll lose some volume, but you don't want to transfer any of the mold. Then give it a big dose of sulfite, and make sure it gets topped up fully. I'm guessing you didn't have this topped up all the way as mold generally can't grow if there is no oxygen around.