Kegging Sweet Mead?

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stappmusic

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I have a sweet mead which is fantastic and has been fermenting for about a year. The SG is still high @ 1.036 but it has clarified nicely. Of course bottling this would be risky..

Is using a keg a viable solution to bottling? Any tips regarding mead and kegs is welcome!!

Thank you,

Will Stapp
 
I'm sort of with Yooper on this.

I don't enjoy "dessert" type meads. Medium is generally Ok.

I'd have thought that as with many sparkling wine types, kegging/carbonation would lend itself to dryer type batches.......

But whatever.......

It should certainly work Ok, just whether you enjoy it like that or not........
 
Generally, I am with you guys on the sweetness issue although I am surprised how much I actually like this. The mistake I think I made adding too much sugar and blueberries and not feeding the yeast with sugar gradually. I also did not use a nutrient. I am surprised it did not get contaminated since I used no sulfite..

If I wait another 6 months or more till all signs of CO2 are gone would it be safe to bottle?? Or at what point could I be sure of not creating bottle bombs..

The next batch will be with less blueberries and a lower starting SG.Any other recommendations?

Will
 
Generally, I am with you guys on the sweetness issue although I am surprised how much I actually like this. The mistake I think I made adding too much sugar and blueberries and not feeding the yeast with sugar gradually. I also did not use a nutrient. I am surprised it did not get contaminated since I used no sulfite..

If I wait another 6 months or more till all signs of CO2 are gone would it be safe to bottle?? Or at what point could I be sure of not creating bottle bombs..

The next batch will be with less blueberries and a lower starting SG.Any other recommendations?

Will

If the mead is totally clear, and no longer dropping any lees, you can rack it onto campden and sorbate and let it sit at least a few days to make sure it's done, and then bottle without any problems. Or you can keg it, of course.

For the next batch, a lower SG would be the ticket. You can always feed incrementally to raise the ABV and not poop out the yeast, as well as use nutrients.
 
Is there a point in time where I could bottle without adding anything to the mead?

Thanks for all of the great info!
 
Is there a point in time where I could bottle without adding anything to the mead?

Thanks for all of the great info!

Probably- but with having a higher FG than .990-.996 I wouldn't chance it. It might be just fine where it is, but if the yeast "wakes up" because it hasn't been stabilized, you'd have a major problem.
 
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