Hello all, I am planning on bottling a few different 1 gallon batches of mead here in a few days. I do not want to carbonate the mead. And, I want to bottle the mead in standard beer bottles with crown caps. With this in mind, will the remaining oxygen in the head space give me any problems? Is there any other concerns that I should keep in mind. Any advice you guys have would be greatly appreciated!
Mead in beer bottles, no carb.
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Get the slighty more expensive o2 removing caps and you'll be fine. I do it all the time.
bubbachunk
Well-Known Member
Or purge with CO2 if that option is available, that is what I do.
I have to be honest, I don't think purging with CO2 before filling is going to make a difference.
The issue is that once you fill up the bottle with the bottle filler, you are, if you are doing things correctly, filling the bottle all the way to the top with the bottling wand in there. There is literally no room for O2 or CO2 left in the bottle at that point. So, once you pull out the bottling wand, the air rushes in to fill that volume.
So, maybe if you purge the tops of the bottles AFTER filling them, I can see the CO2 making a difference. Or, maybe if you fill the bottles in a completely CO2-only environment like a commercial bottle filler.
The issue is that once you fill up the bottle with the bottle filler, you are, if you are doing things correctly, filling the bottle all the way to the top with the bottling wand in there. There is literally no room for O2 or CO2 left in the bottle at that point. So, once you pull out the bottling wand, the air rushes in to fill that volume.
So, maybe if you purge the tops of the bottles AFTER filling them, I can see the CO2 making a difference. Or, maybe if you fill the bottles in a completely CO2-only environment like a commercial bottle filler.
Hinermad
Well-Known Member
I've used beer bottles for mead many times and not done anything special to purge oxygen before capping. It's never been a problem.
Dave
Dave
Dave, so your saying clean/sanitize the bottles, rack the mead into individual beer bottles, and squeeze on some crown caps?Simple as that? How long do you usually keep your mead in the bottles before drinking all of them?
Thanks guys for your input by the way...
Thanks guys for your input by the way...
Hinermad
Well-Known Member
Yes, that's pretty much a bottling day at my house. I use 12 oz. amber longneck bottles and fill them to the top with a bottling wand. When I pull the wand out it leaves a bit over an inch of airspace, but it's still in the narrow neck. A gallon fills about half a case more or less; I fill all the bottles I can before capping them. I haven't noticed any off flavors in the result, although someone with a more refined palate might be able to tell the difference.
I'm not suggesting this is the best way to treat mead, but it works for my purposes.
That's the hitch - I've never kept one longer than a year. I need to start making larger batches. (grin) Actually I just bottled up six gallons of ginger mead in full sized wine bottles and a half dozen beer bottles, so with a little luck that'll last past next year's batch.
Dave
I do about the same, I also age my mead in the bottle for 6 months to a year. Turns out fine. I have some bottles that are 3-4 years old and when I open up them, I get nothing but complements.
Matrix
Fathand
Well-Known Member
I bottle like Hinermad and Matrix4b do in 12 oz beer bottles.
The only thing I would add is to make sure your mead is done fermenting or that you add sulfate and sorbate to arrest fermentation.
I recently popped a mead that showed mild carbonation that wasn't supposed to be carbonated.
The only thing I would add is to make sure your mead is done fermenting or that you add sulfate and sorbate to arrest fermentation.
I recently popped a mead that showed mild carbonation that wasn't supposed to be carbonated.
+1
I've had this happen even in corked bottles, and I'm not convinced it isn't just due to dissolved CO2 presenting itself...
Hinermad
Well-Known Member
Amen. My stuff spends 3 or more months in the secondary. I haven't had any carbonate in the bottle yet.
Did you degas it before you bottled it? I've had that happen before. I was a little worried it was carbonated until someone on the forum mentioned degassing.
I found a little handheld vacuum pump on eBay that was used to evacuate zip-top food storage bags. It has a conical nose that fits nicely into the hole in my rubber stoppers. I pull the airlock from the stopper while it's still in the carboy, and push the pump's nose onto the hole and pull the trigger. Usually the mead doesn't do anything, but on a couple of batches it started fizzing like champagne. I run the pump for about 5 seconds, remove it from the stopper to equalize pressure inside, then do it again until the mead quits fizzing.
Dave
