Bottled mead still, carbonation

Hey guys, I just bottled my first mead about a week ago, delicious by the way, but I didn't add any yeast or bottling sugars when I bottled it, so I assumed it wouldn't carbonate, but when I popped one open it was, I enjoy it but did I make bottle bombs? If so, how can I stop the fermentation?

You did potentially depending on how much sugar was left when you bottled. It's important to be sure that fermentation is complete before bottling as some bottles are name made to hold carbonation. You have a couple options I believe. You can carefully move all your mead to the fridge and continue to drink it -OR- Open them all up and move them back to a carboy to finish fermenting before re-bottling -And/OR- stabalize with sulfate and sorbate when it's back in the carboy.

How Old was the mead before you bottled it? Just curious.

I had it in secondary for about 3 months over the winter

If I cold crash the bottles for a while like a week can they be stored back in the cellar or do they need to be kept cold?

When you cold crash, you're not killing the yeast, you're simply putting them in sort of hibernation. Once the temps get back where they like, they will resume fermentation. Don't forget that yeast survived when the dinosaurs didn't.

Hmm, I'll open the bottles and add some potassium sorbate over the weekend then close them back up then.

That outta stop the little beasties

gibiore said:

Hmm, I'll open the bottles and add some potassium sorbate over the weekend then close them back up then.

That outta stop the little beasties

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Wrong. Sorbate will not kill the yeast nor halt a ferment. Sorbate is added only when your mead is at its lowest gravity and then if you choose to backsweeten, but not carbonate. Where sorbate goes, k-meta goes. Adding sorbate now will have no impact.

What was the SG before you bottled, and what was the temperature when you took that reading?

I would simply keep them all cold and consume sooner rather than later UNLESS you see if the bottle would tolerate pasteurization--but if the pressure is too high you run a huge risk by pasteurizing since the bottles could explode. Is your bottle suitable to carbonation?

If you choose to open them all and return to carboy under airlock you will want to ensure that there is no sugar left to be fermented before you bottle again.

Would pouring the mead back in a carboy taint the flavor?

I used some swing top bottles, I don't think they'd handle pasteurization but I'll research it

No, just be careful to not introduce a ton of oxygen by splashing it in there.

gibiore said:

Would pouring the mead back in a carboy taint the flavor?

I used some swing top bottles, I don't think they'd handle pasteurization but I'll research it

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Swing tips are designed for carbonated beverages. You have to be careful not to overheat though because of the rubber rings. If the pressure is too high pasteurization can push the rubber rings out as well. I just pasteurized a bunch of cider in swing tops with no problems.

I know they're designed for carbonation I'm just worried they'll overcarbonate and burst

gibiore said:

I know they're designed for carbonation I'm just worried they'll overcarbonate and burst

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The interesting thing about swing tops is that the rings actually will act like a safety valve. If the pressure built up enough it will push out the rings. You'd lose your carbonation, but no glass shrapnel is really possible.

None of this is to say they are ideal for bottle conditioning or to encourage you to use them for such.

Um, I have had a swing top explode. It was during pasteurization, but the ring did not slip and it turned into a grenade.

I read about lifting the o ring with a nail to vent them, worst case I'll do that