strantor

Recipes 

I was just looking at these mead recipes and saw this:
Is there something special about mead that makes it incompatible with a food grade plastic bucket fermenter?

coinhall09

Recipes 

I don't know where you got that recipe but no , I hope not I've already asked that ? And I got a batch right now in a BB .

bdkelly

Recipes 

From my understanding, you don't want to age something in plastic longer than three months because there is a risk of oxygen penetration. Given that you need to store mead for at least a year, it could be that this is what they meant, and you're better off in glass for long-term storage.

rowsdower44

Recipes 

I tend towards glass because it is non-porous. Being non-porous, glass does not scratch easily and there are less crevices for bacteria to hide. Glass and other non-porous materials are easy to sanitize as well.

I don't know if the author of those recipes is partial towards glass for fermentation or sanitation purposes.

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The Rowsdower Brewing Company
Currently Brewing
Primary: Nothing
Secondary: Apple Clove Mead #2, Creamsicle Mead, Limoncello
Bottled: Chipotle Capsicumel, Lemonade Mead #2, Impatient Mead, Caramel Apple Hard Cider, Cinnamon Peach Mead, Apple Clove Mead #1, American Pale Ale

Homercidal

Recipes 

Others may have a different opinion, but I prefer to use glass and minimize headspace when aging. Not from worry about scratches or infection, but just trying to minimize Oxidation. I basically only use buckets for primary though.

nedvalton

Recipes 

Better bottles are fine for ageing long term. I have aged for over 2 years in them as well as regular water jugs with no problem. Every mead i have sent to competition was done this way and all have placed 2nd or 1st. With no oxidation comments

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"i never colored in the lines, i guess thats why i dont follow recipes"

biochemedic

Recipes 

Both are fine...I plan on eventually replacing all my glass carboys with Better Bottles...they are just more convenient given their lighter weight and unbreakableness. I have primaried in buckets if I'm planning on adding a significant quantity of fruit or something...

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Packaged: Vienna Simcoe SMaSH, Mayan Stout, Caramel Quad, Basic Spiced Cider, Spur of the Moment Graff
Recent Meads: Cherry Melomel, Belgeglin, Bochet
Primary: Fresh Simple Cyser
Secondary: Why do I keep this line here...?
Bulk Aging: Mead Day '11 Ginger Metheglin, Cocobochet, Mead Day '12 Traditional (orange blossom) Mead
Planned: Hop Metheglin #3 (NZ hops), Trad. Gesho T'ej

SagamoreAle

Recipes 

Hard to tell from reading http://www.stormthecastle.com/mead/mead-recipes.htm if the "don't use plastic EVER" guy is rendering that opinion based on data or is repeating something he read on somebody else's web site.

I'd age in glass but I wouldn't worry about fermenting in plastic.

AND KEEP IN MIND THAT PEOPLE WHO POST THEIR OPINIONS IN CAPITAL LETTERS ARE GENERALLY F.O.S.

__________________
Ex fermentum, scientia.

LeverTime

Recipes 

As others have said, I think Better Bottles are fine for long term aging. I've never bulk aged a mead this long (I normally age mead in the bottle after ~3 months), but I just tasted a beer I've been fermenting for 8 months in a BB, and it does not taste oxidized.