Fermentation Done: Aging/Sparkling Question

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aeonderdonk

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So I made my mead on March 14th and it is now at a FG of 1.01. The sample had a strong alcohol taste to it and I know it needs some time to mellow.

My questions are now:
- Should it be bulk aged or aged in bottles?
- What is a good duration for aging (3 mo, 6mo, longer)?
- If wanting to carbonate should I just bottle it and prime with 3/4 cup honey like I would a beer?
- Should it age as sparkling or age then try to carbonate?

Sorry for the newbness.
 
Well, if it's at 1.010, are you sure it's done? Depending on the OG, the ingredients, and the yeast strain, that seems pretty high for a FG.

I'm a fan of dry wines and meads, so I don't have much experience with sweet ones. I don't think you'll have much luck with a sweet sparkling mead, though. The reason is that if the yeast is finished, it doesn't have anything left in it to eat the priming sugar to carbonate. If the yeast isn't finished, you can get bottle bombs.

I'd age it in a carboy (topped up to avoid oxidation) for at least 6 months before bottling. It should be clear enough to read a newspaper through, and then you won't have any sediment in the bottle.
 

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