Too much headspace?

I just finished racking my multi berry melomel into a 5 gallon glass carboy for long-term aging. I wanted to squeeze out a bit more of the melomel to get up to the neck of the carboy, but there was not enough to get to that point.

Is this too much headspace for long-term aging? Thanks.

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That amount should be okay.

You'll be fine with that amount. That is where I'd fill mine up for long term storage as well.

My 1-gallon demijons are only filled up to the shoulder; slightly above where it starts to curve in. Perhaps I should be aiming a little higher and accept that I'm going to have to top off with something.

Does anyone else find the idea of wasting mead to be total anathema? Do any of you rack all of the liquid out, just leaving the lees and accepting that you are going to slurp a portion of the sediment up with the good stuff? I imagine this means that you'll have to rack more often, but if you're only losing a tiny amount each time there is less wastage overall.

I suppose if I were using big carboys I would be losing a smaller proportion of the product when racking. The level of the holes on the racking stick mean I lose nearly 10%from a gallon demijon each time.

You're fine, that's about as good as it gets. Regards, GF.

RedCabbage said:

Does anyone else find the idea of wasting mead to be total anathema?

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I don't.
I accept the fact that to get really clear mead, you are going to lose a good quantity in the lees. There are ways to minimize the problem with centrifuges and filters, but that takes more time and effort (and money) than I want to spend. I find my easier solution is to start with larger batches. If I want to end up with a nice clear gallon, I start with 1.5 gallons in my batch.

If I were a commercial operation, I would probably see it more like you do.

Medsen