Aging Conflict - Advise needed!

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ErinRae

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Hi Everyone,

So here's my conflict:

My husband just got a great job offer that will have us moving by Feb 11. I have 3 -3gallon carboys of mead bulk aging right now though.

Partial Peach bochet - started Oct 19/12
Blueberry Mead - started Nov 22/12
Strawberry Mead - started Nov 22/12

The peach fermented out in 10 days and has been in secondary since. The blueberry and strawberry fermented out 2 weeks ago and I transferred to secondary. I'd really like to take my mead with me but def realize they haven't aged enough to bottle.

If I clear them and bottle them will they age in the bottles okay? What have ppl done in the past? Or should I find a friend to leave them with and come back for one day (really dont want to do this option lol)

Erin
 
How far is the move? You could get a few kegs and just transfer the batches into those, purge the headspace with CO2 and then transport them (in your car). Then they will be safe from oxygen exposure as well as not breaking (if they're in glass carboys). :D

I actually moved several batches of mead back in September. The drive was only about an hour, but I had purged the headspace before transporting them. I age in adapted sanke kegs, so they were sealed up nice and tight. :D I've since bottled one of the batches, and the other two are still in bulk form. I would have zero fear using this method even if the drive took a few days.

IMO/IME, bottling now has more potential for bad things happening than leaving them in bulk form. IF they were closer to bottling time, that would be different. With the batches being so young, I wouldn't risk bottling now.
 
mead ages in bottles just fine

Bottling too soon will lead to significantly more sediment in the bottles and increased potential for bottle bombs. Unless you actually stabilize the batches. Even then, you'll have MUCH more sediment in the bottles than if you waited.

IMO, better to NOT rush to bottle these. I waited to bottle any of the batches I had in process until after I moved. Far less risk (pretty much nil/zero) of a large stainless container breaking than several individual bottles.

I also use 3 gallon kegs for my beers (I get about 6 gallons out from each batch, so I fill two of these kegs each time). For me it would be no issue to fill one (or three) of those for the move. Or get some 1/6 barrel sanke kegs to use. Or a few used corny kegs (5 gallon). No issue with 2-2.5 gallons of headspace when it's filled with CO2. :D
 
Thanks for the suggestion golddiggie! I'll have to think about it. Don't kegs cost close to 100 bucks each? (ill research that). It's about a 24hour drive or so. If I keg can I add more ingredients when I get where I'm going? Like back sweetening and so on?

If I were to bottle I'd clear them chemically, stabilize and bottle and wait till the last possible min
 
Thanks for the suggestion golddiggie! I'll have to think about it. Don't kegs cost close to 100 bucks each? (ill research that). It's about a 24hour drive or so. If I keg can I add more ingredients when I get where I'm going? Like back sweetening and so on?

If I were to bottle I'd clear them chemically, stabilize and bottle and wait till the last possible min

Not sure about the price in Canada, but you can still get 5 gallon corny kegs for ~$60 (sometimes less) each down here. You could also use one of the 'pocket charger' CO2 items to hit the carboy with more CO2 and then install a solid stopper in the top. I would tape it to ensure it doesn't just pop out (make sure it can come out if enough force is applied though). If these are in PET carboys (Better Bottle type) then you don't need to worry about them breaking. Just try not to go over any really nasty roads and you should be fine that way.

Personally, I have enough spare sanke kegs that moving items isn't an issue. With the kegs, I simply put a solid cap over the opening and then hit it with CO2 from my kegging system (or one of the regulators I have). A few PSI, purged a few/several times, will get the CO2 concentration high enough in the keg to keep the batch safe. Bottled the maple mead/wine I did that with when I moved (back in September) in early December. Zero issues with it. I let it go just over a full year between pitching the yeast and bottling it up. Pretty much my minimum time frame for anything 14% and under (for a mead/wine)... :D
 
When I moved, I just capped off my carboys with solid stoppers and a champaign wire. Once I got to my new place, I just put the airlocks back on. Used a little wine preserver spray from Specs in the headspace when I put the stoppers on. I don't know that it did any good but at least it provided peace of mind.
 
When I moved, I just capped off my carboys with solid stoppers and a champaign wire. Once I got to my new place, I just put the airlocks back on. Used a little wine preserver spray from Specs in the headspace when I put the stoppers on. I don't know that it did any good but at least it provided peace of mind.
Seen these "I'm moving, how?" type threads a number of times. Yours is pretty much what I'd do. Yet I don't see any reason not to just leave them as is, and just leave the airlock in place with the fermenter packed with something soft to prevent damage.

It's only really a problem if you are flying. Even using removal companies, a sturdy crate, wooden construction, can be secure in a truck and holded padded fermenters. Just wire down the stopper/airlock and make sure its full. They're not gonna be driving up Mt Everest or across many ploughed fields are they......
 
Seen these "I'm moving, how?" type threads a number of times. Yours is pretty much what I'd do. Yet I don't see any reason not to just leave them as is, and just leave the airlock in place with the fermenter packed with something soft to prevent damage.

It's only really a problem if you are flying. Even using removal companies, a sturdy crate, wooden construction, can be secure in a truck and holded padded fermenters. Just wire down the stopper/airlock and make sure its full. They're not gonna be driving up Mt Everest or across many ploughed fields are they......

If you want to be really paranoid, you could get a pallet large enough to hold all the carboys, make up boxes for them, use high density foam (most fabric stores carry it) to pad them, and have them moved that way. :D Like I said, IF you're REALLY paranoid. If these are PET carboys, then you don't need to pad as heavily, since chances are they won't break. Well, not without also breaking all the glass items the movers are shifting for you.

If you have room in your vehicle, you could take them that way. I would just be sure to bring them into the hotel/motel room at night (if you're taking more than a full day to get where you're going). You might get some funny looks, but who cares? Use milk crates to help carry them, and keep them from tipping in the car/vehicle too.
 

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