Top off the secondary?

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jpuf

jpuf

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Wadaya think? Should I top off the secondary to try and stave off the negative effects of too much head space? Or Would I be putting the batch in harms way. I would of course use boiled/cooled water.

Thanks,

John

:tank:
 
You should top off- but what are you making? If it's wine, you can top off with a similar type of commercial wine, so you don't water down your wine. For example, for my dandelion wine, I topped off with a little pinot grigio.
 
jpuf said:
Should I top off the secondary to try and stave off the negative effects of too much head space? Or Would I be putting the batch in harms way. I would of course use boiled/cooled water
Click to expand...
It really depends on how long you intend to store the mead (and what type it is - ABV, Style etc) in secondary and how much head space you have. Any more clues?
 
Yooper Chick said:
You should top off- but what are you making? If it's wine, you can top off with a similar type of commercial wine, so you don't water down your wine. For example, for my dandelion wine, I topped off with a little pinot grigio.
Click to expand...
What would you use to top off apple wine? I've been thinking about this and I don't mind watering it down a little but I think too much would ruin it.
 
Do you have any commerical white wine? You could top off with just about any of those. Or, you could do my "marble trick" that's been kind of disparaged around here. I sanitize kid's glass marbles, and use them in the wine to raise the level of the wine. That way, the headspace is reduced, and I don't have to top off.

In fact, I have to top off my apple wine today- some friends came over last night to drink beer, and we had a sample of my wine first. They really liked it, and already asked for the recipe.
 
This is a simple semi sweet mead. 15# honey, nutrients, water and yeast. I intend to leave it in the secondary 4 - 6 months before carbonating and bottling. I've been brewing beer for 6 or 7 years, but this is my first crack at mead. I pitched the yeast (wyeast 4632) on 1/21. As of this morning, a steady one bubble per second. I did oxygenate before pitching, looks like it paid off. Any advise on how to carbonate down the road? Corn sugar? Honey? Will I need addl. yeast?
Thanks, you folks are the best.
 
Yooper Chick said:
Do you have any commerical white wine? You could top off with just about any of those. Or, you could do my "marble trick" that's been kind of disparaged around here. I sanitize kid's glass marbles, and use them in the wine to raise the level of the wine. That way, the headspace is reduced, and I don't have to top off.

In fact, I have to top off my apple wine today- some friends came over last night to drink beer, and we had a sample of my wine first. They really liked it, and already asked for the recipe.
Click to expand...
I might go buy a white wine. I could use the bottle any way. :mug:
 
I've topped with a pound or so of honey dissolved in water, lends to honey flavor and might even bump up your abv a tad.

mike
 

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