1st mead - Skipping Secondary & bottling in 22oz beer bottles - Bad idea?

[ghpeel]

Greetings all;

I have my first batch of mead finishing up primary fermentation now (10 days in the fermenter so far), and I'm thinking that rather than rack it to a secondary, I'd just bottle it straight from the primary fermenter at around the 30-40 day old mark. Is this advisable? Or does secondary aging before bottling do something to the mead that wouldn't just happen with bottle conditioning? Also, just due to my past experience brewing beer, I'm planning on bottling this batch (5gal) into 22oz bomber bottles capped with an oxygen scrubbing bottlecap. The mead will be still, so no priming and I'll probably pour them really close to the top of the cap to minimize oxygen unless something thinks that's a bad idea.

So is this a terrible idea or will bottling mead like its beer work for me? This is my first mead, its OK to assume this will get consumed pretty young so if this plan isn't perfect for long term aging, that's not the end of the world to me.

Thanks!

 

[MajorJC]

Or does secondary aging before bottling do something to the mead that wouldn't just happen with bottle conditioning?

Mead does not require bottle conditioning because is is not a carbonated product.
In my experience, the secondary is mostly a clarification step. When racked off the fruits and such that you have in the bucket during primary fermentation the mead is still quite cloudy. Sometimes it takes several months, maybe even over a year for the mead to become crystal clear. I wait for this clarity to bottle mine.

Look at this picture I took of a previous batch.

 

[DBhomebrew]

Best to let the mead clear and settle in the fermenter or secondary vessel. Time will most likely clear it. Finings such as bentonite, Sparkoloid, etc can help shorten the wait.

Do you need to wait? No. But time and clarification will improve the mead whether done in bulk or bottle. In bulk, you get to leave the yuck behind.

Go ahead and drink a few bottles young. Do your best to hold on to the rest for 6, 9, 12 months. It's really remarkable what time does to a mead.

 

[Maylar]

Also consider whether or not you'll be back sweetening your mead. Unlike beer, most wine and mead yeasts leave near zero residual sugars behind. If you end up stabilizing and sweetening your mead, I much prefer to do that off the lees.

 

[bernardsmith]

One of the things about bulk aging is that quite besides the fact that a good mead (or wine) improves with age (a poor wine simply gets older), lots of particulates drop out of solution even when the mead or wine is apparently bright and clear. I think those particulates affect the flavor and the mouthfeel, but even if you don't, their presence in a bottle detracts from the elegance of the wine AND it almost certainly means that the last glass needs to remain in the bottle. Your call, of course, but if you ask me, bulk aging has no downside and only benefits...

 

[ghpeel]

OK thanks for the input guys. I've decided to follow the advice here and do a secondary for 1-3 months before bottling.

 

[CKuhns]

One additional thought. Check your gravity prior to bottling. Even if clear and there is residual sugar the suspended yeast could still cause CO2 to be produced. Thus bottle carbonating or over carbonating your mead.

 

[ghpeel]

One additional thought. Check your gravity prior to bottling. Even if clear and there is residual sugar the suspended yeast could still cause CO2 to be produced. Thus bottle carbonating or over carbonating your mead.

Yep will do!

I have to admit surprise at how long the primary fermentation is/was taking with this first mead. Coming from beer, I assumed that the yeast would go crazy in all this simple sugar and blast through it like a volcano in a day or two but its slowly jugging along. The airlock has been steadily burping for easily 2 weeks now. I don't think its C02 coming out of suspension either. I added nutrients in 2 batches and have degassed with a whip/drill and also by shaking several times.

 

[T Murph]

IMO your mead is just getting started at two weeks. Unlike beer mead takes several months to finish out. I age meads in kegs up to a year for clarity and maturity. I currently have a Mandarin Orange Melomel that is just over a month old and still bubbling away under 15 psi of pressure. It was in primary fermentation 14 days then transferred to secondary on top of fresh mandarin orange juice. Will leave it in secondary another month or so then transfer to an aging keg for up to a year. While most people keep meads still I enjoy semi dry sparkling meads.

 

[madscientist451]

This is my first mead, its OK to assume this will get consumed pretty young so if this plan isn't perfect for long term aging, that's not the end of the world to me.

Thanks!

So you are making an assumption that your mead will taste good "young". If you are making a low ABV mead, that may be the case, however, if its a full strength mead, you may or may not have a drinkable beverage in 6 weeks or even 6 months. Taking care of your yeast, using the proper yeast nutrients and taking some other steps can provide you with a decent tasting mead in a few months. If you skip those steps, you may be looking at aging the mead for a year or two before it becomes drinkable. There are too many variables to make any prediction beyond that.
If you haven't seen it yet, I would suggest the Mead made Right website for tips on yeast handling and nutrient additions.

 

[ghpeel]

So you are making an assumption that your mead will taste good "young". If you are making a low ABV mead, that may be the case, however, if its a full strength mead, you may or may not have a drinkable beverage in 6 weeks or even 6 months. Taking care of your yeast, using the proper yeast nutrients and taking some other steps can provide you with a decent tasting mead in a few months. If you skip those steps, you may be looking at aging the mead for a year or two before it becomes drinkable. There are too many variables to make any prediction beyond that.
If you haven't seen it yet, I would suggest the Mead made Right website for tips on yeast handling and nutrient additions.

We accidentally forgot to have a hydrometer on hand when we made the mead, it was done at the start of a hectic day, so I didn't capture the original gravity (dumb mistake I know), but we used 15lbs honey with 4gal water for a 5gal batch so we were shooting for like 1.120 OG to ferment out at around 15% ABV in the end. I split the nutrient additions (10ml Fermaid O and 5ml yeast energizer) into 2 additions, half when we pitched and the other half a few days later. I whipped the must with a drill attachment when pitching and also whipped it again a couple times over the next 10-14 days.

Question, should I drill whip the mead any more at this stage? Its been about 3.5 weeks.

 

[CKuhns]

No, you will add oxygen to the yeast that are in their anaerobic phase. Not a good practice. Gently stir it or swirl it daily to suspend the yeast from here on in.

 

[ghpeel]

No, you will add oxygen to the yeast that are in their anaerobic phase. Not a good practice. Gently stir it or swirl it daily to suspend the yeast from here on in.

Ok thanks for the info. How much longer do I need to keep swirling? Til the final gravity is reached?

 

[CKuhns]

No not really necessary until complete just for a few weeks into the process. Some on the forum would suggest its not needed at all. I find it beneficial.

Edited for clarification.

 

[ghpeel]

I took a gravity ready today and the mead is at about 1.030. Its not terrible tasting either!

 

[T Murph]

Be patient, it is not finished yet.

 

[dwhite60]

Time is meads best friend. Set some bottles aside and try one every three months taking notes as you do. You'll be surprised.