First Mead, so far so good. Help me keep it that way

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66Fox

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Last Oct (2011) I made my first mead. It was half of a cyser from page 168 of K Schramm's The Compleat Meadmaker:

4lb honey (heated only enough to dissolve in the cider)
.5lb brown sugar
.5lb raisins
2.5 gal fresh cider (unpasteurized)
Lalvin EC-118 yeast

OG: 1.102
FG: 1.004 mar '12

I did degassing and nutrient additions for the next 3 mornings as per the author's description from a podcast he was in (One of Jamil's I think)

I racked it off the yeast in Nov and topped the carboy (glass) to the neck with more cider. It's been in my basement fermentation area since then @ 54-59*F. I sneak a taste now and then with my wine thief, and it tastes good, maybe a little "hot" but not bad.

So, do I bottle now; should I have bottled already? Any other guidance? I'd like my carboy for something else. Maybe a braggot if I can find a good recipe (I had a braggot last summer in Maine--Atlantic Brewing--that was really good)

Is using the .5 litre "flippy" beer bottles a bad idea? (my guess is not to do it)

Thanks!
 
Since november? Probably fine to bottle it then (of course assuming that the FG has been steady for a while). Definitely not too long, some people bulk age meads for up to (and over) a year before bottling.

By flippy bottles, do you mean the Grolsch style ones? If so then they are fine :)
 
I would probably stabalise it first with camden and sorbate just in case, but after that if its clear id say go ahead and bottle.
 
Thanks, it's good to know I'm on the right track.

Machalel: Yep, that's exactly the type of bottle I have on hand. My son is US Air Force in Germany and he sent me a few boxes of his empties.

Insomniac: I used camden tabs with my first couple of batches of cider (my wife's new favorite drink :) ) and I have two words--Head Ache! The last couple of batches have been made without it and there's no problem. So, with that in mind, I'm leery of using of using it. Sorbate though I have no problems with. Is it really needed with mead if the FG is stable? I have more experience brewing beer than making mead so just asking. And if it's not totally still and has a little residual carbonation, that's ok with me.

I guess I just need to borrow a corker from a friend at work and get busy.
 
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