How long can mead go in a carboy

I made a mead a couple of years ago and it's still sitting in a 5 Gal. carboy after racking it from a 6.5 Gal. carboy. Is it possible that it's still OK?

Mead can bulk age in the carboy for a long, long time. Did you have an airlock or a solid plug in the top? If an airlock, did it always have liquid in it, or did you let it dry out? Assuming that you had an airlock with liquid in it, or a solid stopper, and you were able to keep air out of the carboy, and you kept it in a cool, dark location, it should be perfect. Give it a taste. See how it is. That's the only real way to know for sure!

Thanks for the info. I've had an airlock on it the whole time and the temperature stays around 60. Also it has a carboy cover on to keep it dark. It was close to dry a couple of times but I filled it up when I noticed. Thanks again.

It will not only be OK....it will be awesome!!!

I agree with the others, as long as your airlock stayed full of water you'll be fine. You should have some mighty fine mead there.

It is possible to over age mead, but I highly doubt you've done that.

CuAllaidh said:

It is possible to over age mead

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Maybe possible for some people, but my meads never seem to make it to their second birthday...

Mischief_Brewing said:

Maybe possible for some people, but my meads never seem to make it to their second birthday...

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I said possible, I didn't say easy

Most meads can survive five years or more of aging, however I've had some that really should have been drunk within six months of brewing (it was an orange mead, and it started to taste like orange peel after about six months of aging).

I am currently working on a chocolate strawberry mead that will probably age a year or more, on the lees no less. So ya mead varies in its ability to stand up to aging as much as wine does.

CuAllaidh said:

Most meads can survive five years or more of aging, however I've had some that really should have been drunk within six months of brewing (it was an orange mead, and it started to taste like orange peel after about six months of aging).

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This worries me. I have an orange mead fermenting currently and intended to age it at least one year in bulk then another 6 months in bottles before drinking. I never would have thought it could start tasting like orange peel after aging it...

Some details:
6 gal, very similar to MAOM but used both 71B and 1118 yeasts. Targeting an ABV around 14%, should be dry. Anticipating it will be hot and even funky when finished fermenting but this is why I plan to degass, clear, then bulk age for a year.

Can you think of any reason why you had the ill-fated orange peel flavoured mead?

What was your reasoning for using two different yeast strains?

So did the OP ever actually taste his mead? Post back and tell us how it was!

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The owner of my local homebrew store said he has mead that's been aging 10 years! I haven't developed that kind of patience yet lol

I have heard of people that have made a batch of mead when there kids were born. And saving it till the kid was 21 and drinking it with them. Mead is a wine after all as long as you don't let the air at it, it should keep for a long time.

huesmann said:

What was your reasoning for using two different yeast strains?

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Basically was just getting rid of it. I have since found out that the 1118 is doing all the work anyways.

It is still fermenting surprisingly. Not great temperature here right now... But still shockingly long compared to my wine making. (37 days later)