Aging

[Deafmeadmaker]

The advice I've gathered recommends aging mead for two years. The best I've been able to do is wait one year. Some batches taste so good they are great after only a few months. Now my question:
'When you say, this mead has been aging 6 months...' Is that from when you bottled it or from when you pitched the yeast or when you racked it?
I've always written the date of when I put the cork in the bottle, but am I shorting myself a few months? Does leaving it in the carboy after racking to bulk age count?
I'm just wondering if I have to take a sharpie to all my labels now.
No matter how long I've taken to go through all the steps (Racking, clearing, filtering.) When the cork goes in, that's day 1 for me. What does everyone else do?

 

[JJack887]

From bottling date. I don't personally age in secondary for more than 2-3 months. I bottle when it's clear.

 

[Deafmeadmaker]

From bottling date. I don't personally age in secondary for more than 2-3 months. I bottle when it's clear.

Thanks. I wasn't sure.

 

[bob1852]

For me, it begins at that first racking when fermentation is done and most of the yeast has dropped.

But, that's also because I'm lazy and will often bulk age for many months or year(s), and when I drink one a week after it's bottled, it hardly a mead that's been "aging" for a week (when it's been bulk aging awhile).

 

[CKuhns]

"When the cork goes in, that's day 1 for me. What does everyone else do?"

I kind of do the same with a little twist. On the label I record the date yeast was pitched and the date bottled. It gives me an idea of how long i bulk age and how long in the bottle. My recipe has defaulted to the following protocols but kind of depends on primary. (Can go long)

30 days primary
30 days secondary (Usually do Melomels and keep it on the fruit for 10 - 12 days.)
60 - 90 days before Cold Crash and KC super Kleer to clarify. (Sometimes longer.)

Some of my Mead tastes very good at 6 months after pitch and others take up to 2 years. I found it mostly depends upon temperature of primary (A little cooler and longer ferment reduces time to age out) and the kind of fruit used makes a difference as well.

Totally agree - 2 years or more before "Awesome" but certainly drinkable and good to very good before then. Thus the need to do 5+ gallon batches and multiple runs a year to keep the mead train going.

With all that said. - We all have differing pallets and expectations and not sure in the grand scheme of things it really matters. Most important piece for me is that if I like it then I will drink it. If I don't like it or think it can get better with age then I wait a bit and try it in another few months.

 

[Dr_Floyd]

Aging times can be heavily dependent on the yeast you are using. For example Lalvin 1122 is used for young red wines and as such can be ready to drink at 6 months easily. Other factors are type of Mead, ingredients, mistakes you've made and clouding/clearing from ingredients added after primary.

I have only used 1122 due to its high temperature range and have had it ready to drink at 4 months from inoculation but I like to let it sit and clear for another few months before bottling because I don't like the volume loss from clarifying agents and because why not? It's not a big deal to wait a little longer.