Maybe I shouldn't of Bottled It

njnear76 · 07-21-2009, 03:43 PM

I recently bottled a mead that was in the carboy for 2 months. It was my first mead and I figured it was pretty clear and it looked like fermentation was slowing down. I probably should have used a hyrdrometer, but I didn't. I'm thinking I might crack open a bottle and check the gravity.

Since I did not know what I was doing, I did not use any yeast nutrient or energizer. How likely am I going to wakeup to bottle bombs?

Anyways this is the recipe:

3 gallons of Motts Apple Juice
5lb of honey
Montrachet Yeast
3 cinnamon sticks
orange zest
3 cloves
raisins

bubbachunk · 07-21-2009, 04:03 PM

Really hard to tell without gravity readings. Did you taste it when you bottled? Was it sweet? What was your starting gravity?

njnear76 · 07-21-2009, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bubbachunk

Really hard to tell without gravity readings. Did you taste it when you bottled? Was it sweet? What was your starting gravity?

It was rocket fuel at the bottling stage so hopefully most of the honey fermented out.

I didn't measure the starting gravity, but I'm thinking I will crack open a bottle and do a gravity check tonight.

wayneb · 07-21-2009, 04:16 PM

As you pop open the bottle, listen carefully for any hissing sounds. Also, note if there is any carbonation in the liquid. Finally, look for evidence of any solid lees on the bottom of the bottle. If you have none of the above, then the mead is "probably" stable even if it has a little residual sweetness. From your earlier description ("rocket fuel") I suspect that it is dry, and not likely to cause you any pressure related problems in the future.

njnear76 · 07-21-2009, 04:19 PM

What do solid lees look like?

wayneb · 07-21-2009, 04:38 PM

Solid in the sense that there is something "not clear" in the bottom of the bottle. Just as with bottle conditioned beer, you'll get a layer of spent yeast in the bottle -- and depending on the flocculation characteristics of your particular yeast strain, it will appear to be more solid, or more loose and "cloudy." I should've just said "lees" to avoid the confusion!

TipsyDragon · 07-21-2009, 05:12 PM

im a little worried you bottled about 10 months to soon. typically you rack off the yeast after about a month. then rack every 3 months till its clear enough to read through.

njnear76 · 07-21-2009, 05:15 PM

In hindsight, it was a bit early, but I figured I just would have a bit of sediment. Wouldn't fermentation pretty much be done after 2 months? Yes, I'm now aware that could be a dangerous assumption.

BBBF · 07-21-2009, 05:52 PM

Two months is enough time to ferment everything, but there are cases when it isn't. I had a batch that I sulfite/sulfated and backsweetened and after a few months it started fermenting again. I'd say just start drinking them regularly and as long as they aren't becoming carbonated, you have nothing to worry about.

**david_42** · 07-21-2009, 06:34 PM

In OBC's mead experiment, none of the meads reached the final gravity in less than 10 months. At 3 months, they all had enough unfermented sugar to explode a champagne bottle.

I would open a bottle and check the gravity. If it is over 1.010, it would be a good idea to loosen the caps on all of them.