First Racking

Hey all! I am working on my first batch of mead and i must say things are looking great! I am just wondering when i should do my first racking? Thanks!

I'd take gravity readings at about 8 and 12 days and see if there is any discernible change. If not, rack away.

depending on yeast selection; I usually wait until its quite clear before racking (71B must be racked quickly following completed fermentation). That is when I stabilize it and age it out.

MarshmallowBlue said:

(71B must be racked quickly following completed fermentation).

Click to expand...

sorry to threadjack, but: is this true about 71-B?

i left my acerglyn on the 71-B cake for 3 or 4 weeks. fermentation was over after 2 weeks, but i let it hang for a while after I backsweetened. in the end my backsweetening didn't kick up any new fermentation since i was already at the yeast's tolerance (slightly over 14% ABV) so in hindsight i could have racked right away but better safe than sorry.

edit: found this that makes me feel better: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f30/racking-mead-303179/#post3775956

@sweetcell

Nothing to worry about, like they mention in the other post. The warning about 71-b is really for those that are prone to leave their mead on a layer of dead/dying yeast for more than a couple months before thinking about racking.

sweetcell said:

sorry to threadjack, but: is this true about 71-B?

i left my acerglyn on the 71-B cake for 3 or 4 weeks. fermentation was over after 2 weeks, but i let it hang for a while after I backsweetened. in the end my backsweetening didn't kick up any new fermentation since i was already at the yeast's tolerance (slightly over 14% ABV) so in hindsight i could have racked right away but better safe than sorry.

edit: found this that makes me feel better: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f30/racking-mead-303179/#post3775956

Click to expand...

The guesstimate is about 2 months after the fermentation has finished, to get the mead off the 71B sediment.

There's nothing scientific about that (though I sure you could find exact timings floating round the web somewhere).

It's to do with nobody, seemingly, having reported any autolysis issues in that time frame.

There does seem to be more info floating about, that explain which yeasts are good for sur lie/batonage aging, than there is about ones that aren't so good.

The adage is, that if in doubt, as long as the ferment has finished, it's safe to rack off the sediment. If something isn't there, it can't damage the brew.......

So as long as sweetcell's brew isn't damaged, if it's racked now, and it tastes OK, then great. Removing the sediment won't harm it, it will reduce the chances of autolysis issues......