Kegs for bulk aging?

Can I bulk age my mead in corny kegs for long periods of time? Like say a couple years or so? I'm interested in aging in these because the 5 gallon ones look like they would take up a lot less space than a 5 gallon glass carboy. Plus I think it would be nice to have mead on tap~:rockin:

I'm planning on doing this myself. I see a lot of added bonuses.

1) less space
2) can always be flushed with co2 so oxygenation is less of an issue.
3) Mead on tap = win
4) Easy racking between kegs

Just make sure it's DONE and doesn't build up pressure, otherwise you'll end up with a carbed mead even though you didn't want one.

Even if it carbed, you could just degas it!

Cool, thanks guys. I found some 5 gallon carny kegs for $129 each online. Anyone know of a better price on em?

129~!!!!! holly crap! 25 is reasonable.....

I'm super thankful I asked!!! Thanks buddy. Another good thing about using 5 gallon kegs is I can take 5 gals with me to gatherings, get togethers or whatever without worrying about a bunch of bottles. I'm going to order me a 4 pack of these things for sure!

I plan on doing this also, so I was wondering if there were any tips such as special precautions or pressure levels?

Well, I usually use them for a year bulk ageing, then I bottle. A quick rundown on my still evolving process.
All I do is normal cleaning and sanitation, then I pressurize the keg, let it rest, then bleed of the o2 rising to the top. I do this until I feel cold co2 escaping from the top when I release the pressure.
Then I rack as normal.
I seal the keg with around 25 lbs of pressure, check for any bubbles as the top is still wet from the sanitizer.
Then I bleed off some of the pressure and get it to just around 10 lbs.
Throw it into my closet and forget about for around a month.
Check it for pressure, bleed it out and re-pressurize to 10 lbs.
Two days before I bottle I de-gas, throw in some Camden tablets, reseal, then de-gas in the morning and evening for the next two days.
Bottle and hopefully don't mess things up.

What is the benefit of leaving the mead carbonated while aging? Couldn't you just purge it and leave it all sealed up? Are you thinking that you will get a better seal on the lid if the keg is pressurized?

Also, what is the point of adding campden before bottling? Does it prevent the pickup of O2 while bottling? I haven't done a lot of mead/winemaking so I am just curious about that part.

The campden tablets are used to prevent oxidation and spoilage.

nealf said:

What is the benefit of leaving the mead carbonated while aging? Couldn't you just purge it and leave it all sealed up? Are you thinking that you will get a better seal on the lid if the keg is pressurized?

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It's all part of a better seal.

Once you take it off the gas, some of the co2 might go into carbing a little - but probably not very much will actually absorb into the mead for carbing. It should just sit there in equilibrium and live happy ever after.

nealf said:

Are you thinking that you will get a better seal on the lid if the keg is pressurized?

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Yes, positive pressure will maintain a good seal, that keeps everything in place. There is nothing worst than finding a dry airlock, or a broken keg seal in this case. You go into panic mode until the last bottle is consumed. I like to sleep well.

nealf said:

Also, what is the point of adding campden before bottling? Does it prevent the pickup of O2 while bottling? I haven't done a lot of mead/winemaking so I am just curious about that part.

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As pointed out above, it helps to prevent oxidization, if I bulk age a mead for a year, I want the bottles to last decades if I can keep them from being "stolen" by friends and family.
Is it required? No.
Does it help? Thats what they tell me. :rockin:

Kauai_Kahuna said:

As pointed out above, it helps to prevent oxidization, if I bulk age a mead for a year, I want the bottles to last decades if I can keep them from being "stolen" by friends and family.

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Do you still bottle? I'm considering only bottling from the tap using a counter-pressure filler for the occasional bottle for a friend. Is there a benefit to bottle aging after aging in the keg?