First time brewing mead. Whats my next step? Do I know just wait?

[TeacherBrew]

I've brewed beer before but now I am trying my hand at mead. I have one gallon of blackberry vanilla spiced melomel and one gallon of apple/pear spiced melomel. The top picture is after racking from the fermenter after two weeks and the bottom pic is a month into the whole process. Now my question is, do I keep waiting? I haven't tried it nor tested gravity. Bubbling has pretty much stopped or is so minute that its barely noticeable. I'm open to suggestions.

 

[Vex3521]

Personally I'd sample, run gravity and see how well you can read through it. Literally putting newsprint under and how clear it is. But I do prefer clear myself so I think the 3rd is optional!

If any of the above aren't where I want them I would just age it out in the carboy a bit longer. Lees, I'd re-rack... otherwise if everything looked good I'd bottle.

 

[TeacherBrew]

I plan on racking it this weekend to clear the Lees and I'll test the gravity and give it a taste test.

 

[SerifSansSerif]

Non-beer/grain ferments are really, really easy. Just yeast and fermentables. Mead requires some extra nutrition, but that's about it. If you want higher ABV's, step feed.

As stated above, I'd personally probably rack and then hit it with some sparkolloid. Let it sit a week, rack it again, and bottle. (provided it tastes good).

If you want to carb, you can add a bit of sugar or honey to let it bottle carb.

If you want you can sweeten it if it's dry but you'll probably want to pasteurize it. (if you want sweet and bottle carbed, you'll have to bottle it and then pasteurize in the bottle, which is tricky, but totally doable. just pasteurized some bottle carbed ginger ale a few days ago).

 

[HB_in_Subic]

If you want to carb, you can add a bit of sugar or honey to let it bottle carb.

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How much do you add for a 5 gallon batch? 4-4.5 oz like a batch of beer?

 

[SerifSansSerif]

How much do you add for a 5 gallon batch? 4-4.5 oz like a batch of beer?

Probably. It seems relatively universal. Sugars + live yeast = CO2, provided the yeast aren't already having hit the alcohol barrier where there's very little life left in them (brew is sweet and very alcoholic and bubbles are very sluggish) where stalling is more likely.

 

[TeacherBrew]

Here it is after its second racking. I tasted it and it was really bitter I broke my graduated cylinder so couldn't test the gravity.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Here it is after its second racking. I tasted it and it was really bitter I broke my graduated cylinder so couldn't test the gravity.

Did both have the bitter flavor, or the berry? My first blueberry melomel went through phases of off flavors including cough medicine, adding lemon juice helped... Later on I added more honey because the body was very thin and the flavor swallow, cough medicine was back. Happily after adding green tea, and an oak spiral I have what I think is a pretty good product with complex red wine characteristics and blueberry flavor. So be patient, and do some research about what you taste. As you know the yeast and aging really does take care of many undesirable flavors, and it could be months before it's better.

 

[TeacherBrew]

The berry was smoother than the apple/pear. It also started bubbling about one bubble a minute again.

 

[DungMonster]

Simple as this man.... chill lol. If you want it to keep fermenting and are not into adding all those chemical additives and really want to enhance the flavor just simply puree/finely dice up some of the fruit and about 4 raisins. I say puree/finely dice because this aids in making it have larger surface area for the yeast to munch on. It might not go crazy fast fermenting as with all those powdered nutrients and such but you 100% know what you are putting in your drink. This will only help until the alcohol content has reached max and the yeasties start to overdose on the alcohol. This will help enhance flavor too. My experiments doing this with apple/ginger mead after the 1 gal jug stopped bubbling i racked it to another 2 jugs both crammed full of apples and some ginger. After about 2.5 weeks i racked it again back to same jug and it took a few months to clear up. The key is patience though, if you don't have any try beer as it is ready a lot quicker but less forgiving if you mess up a step. Thats all my opinions and in mead making just like in beekeeping you can have 20 people and 25 different opinions on the ways of doing the same thing. Find what works for you TAKE NOTES and build from experience of your best practices.

 

[TeacherBrew]

Thanks, I'll add the fruit and raisins today.

 

[TeacherBrew]

I followed your advice DungMonster. I puréed some fruit and added five raisins.

 

[TeacherBrew]

How's my head space?

 

[HB_in_Subic]

I would get the level up closer to the bottom of the handle.

 

[DungMonster]

Headspace is fine. Some people go crazy about it and think there is no tolerence. I have not had brew go funky when brewing small batches in larger jugs BUT I do like to fill bottles/jugs with CO2 prior to filling, racking, and capping just to eliminate/flush out any unfriendly issues and help prevent oxidation. I just use my paint ball tanks and a clean remote line to fill'em up. That is again just a preference after seeing a winery doing the same prior to filling bottles with wine and corking.

Keep an eye on them incase they start to ferment again but you should be good for a few weeks of imparting flavors. After racking taste again. If the fruit flavor isnt strong enough you can essentially repeat this process over and over to keep adding a small flavor each time but don't get your hopes super high as the old saying goes you can polish a turd but it is still a turd. Let me know how it tastes next rack.

 

[MarkKF]

So is it better to age 6-9 mos. in the secondary or bottle when clear and let it age in the bottle?

Is it o.k. to dip the bottle/cork in wax to seal it?

 

[CKuhns]

Yes, Yes and Yes

Yes & Yes - It is perfectly OK to bulk age and or in the bottle if bottled after clear. I personally prefer to bulk age. But really only a personal preference. I think if bottled could age and mature a bit differently in each bottle, but if bulk could allow to oxidize. Both are unlikely but are possibilities. (Pro's and Con's to both options)

Yes - You can dip the cork and neck of the bottle in wax to seal. Not required but if you are going to age for more than a couple of years then a good idea. (Mine never seam to last that long,)

 

[DungMonster]

I agree with ck. The reason to bulk age in my view, solidarity! I say this because the longer it stays together the less chance each bottle can vary in flavor. Yes there will always be a very slight difference between bottles unless all are drank in one night due to ages being different and thus flavors building. But if you keep a bottle in your kitchen and 1 in your cellar after a year the flavor profiles will be the same but will taste different. This is also all dependant on your pallet and in all honesty most people will not know the difference, but you will and you are what matters! So it is all up to you wether to bulk ge or bottle (after cleaed) and age.

The only issue you ca run into with wax is if you bottle it and the yeast are still slowly pooping out co2 then it makes it harder to push out the cork and leaves the bottle more susceptible to failure. This and only this (in my opinion) is the only reason I would ever use one of those chemicals people add. I can't recall the name but it stops any and all fermentation. Thus it makes waxing and sealing the bottle for long term aging very safe a feasible. I would not age a fruit mead over a few years though as I have read they don't age well after a certain point but don't take that as certainty. I have only over the past few years started experimenting with fruits in mead. Other than that I have been doing a cinnamon/clove/raisin(yeast food) for quite a while.

 

[TeacherBrew]

The apple/pear started bubbling again. Should I stop it?

 

[CKuhns]

The apple/pear started bubbling again. Should I stop it?

I wouldn't, (but thats just me) sometimes ferments get stuck a bit and a small temperature change or a nudge will kick start the yeasties a bit. I never use the chemicals DM mentioned to inhibit the yeast but many folks do.

I would suggest you let it go until the yeast gives up and rack off the lee's until you can easily read a newspaper through the carboy. Then check SG a few weeks to a month apart and if no change then bottle. To date have not had a bottle bomb or even slight carbonation, however is always a possibility using this approach.

 

[DungMonster]

Agreed do not stop it. Remember you gave the yeast some food and they might have been slacked and going real slow due to being hungry. Now you gave them a protein shot and and they are going back to the weight room. The more they can work the more sugar gets converted to alcohol. Eventually they will OD on the alcohol or convert it all to alcohol and putter out. You can always rack and repeat adding the fruit to keep imparting the flavors you want. I am currently waiting on a pineapple coconut mead to ferment so I can decide what to do upon racking to get the flavor I want.

 

[TeacherBrew]

Ok. I will let it play out.

 

[TeacherBrew]

There's a lot of fruit sediment at the bottom do any of you strain it or filter it to get rid of it?

 

[CKuhns]

Fruit in Primary as long as there is an active ferment then you are OK, rack off it as soon as primary is complete.

Don't leave on fruity gross lees for too long, can create off flavors especially if it's a fruit with seeds!

If fruit is added to secondary.

Fruit with small seeds (Blackberries, Strawberries etc.) Rack off the fruit in 10 - 12 days. The seeds impart harsh tannens after about two weeks that i do not care for.

Fruit with no seeds (Pears, Apples, Peaches etc) Rack at or before 30 days. They pretty much give up all their flavor by then.

Citrus Fruit can go long but be sure to watch the "floaties" they can grow unwanted organisms.

Punch down the fruit cap if in a bucket. Bacteria and spoilage organisms can grow on the surface of fruit if left to the air.

 

[TeacherBrew]

So here we are at the third racking. It taste sour and Gravity is at 1.000. I added more balckberries to the blackberry one and left the apple/pear alone. This mead is two months old.

 

[jc5066]

Is it sour or are you tasting yeast?

Now that you added more fruit it is going to start to ferment again.

When you rack are you leaving the gunk on the bottom? Looks really cloudy to me? Even the Apple has a lot of gunk on the bottom. 3 racks In 2 months? That's a lot. What are you doing when you rack?

 

[TeacherBrew]

It's sour, it may be yeast, but I don't know how yeast tastes like. First racking was to get rid of the fruit, second was to get rid of lees and add more fruit. This last one was to get rid of the previous fruit. I ran it all through a fine mesh hops bag.

When I rack it I siphon it to a sanitized bucket, clean and sanitize the carboy, then back to the carboy. All while running it through a fine mesh bag.

 

[jc5066]

Quit adding fruit. Adding more fruit just keeps fermentation going.

Ditch the bag, it doesn't really do anything. When you rack just leave the stuff at the bottom.

Wait 7 days. Rack. Wait two weeks and rack. This time add potassium nitrate and sorbate. Leave for at least 30 days and bottle. You can leave longer if you like. I would suggest 3 months.

Mead is pretty hardy and many of us don't add nitrates. Being you've already racked a couple times I would suggest it. It could indeed be sour at this point, I'm guessing it may be yeast you are tasting. You may even want to do your nitrate and sorbate at the next racking if you are at all worried.

 

[TeacherBrew]

I'll add the nitrate and sorbate at next racking.Thanks for the help.

 

[DungMonster]

Yes and no about fruit keeping ferment going. If the yeast have died off due to top of thier alcohol tolerance then adding fruit will not continue the ferment, since it is pretty much dead and gone. On top on that if you rack it on to more fruit it will impart a bit more flavor but it is really a diminishing return. If you are racking it as often as it seems you are then you are wasting your time. Calm down a bit let the juice mellow. As for the sour taste that is almost certainly yeast as you have racked it several times from reading this thread and no fruit would have had time to spoil. Not trying to come down on you. It is great you are actively involved but mead is like playing sports games on a PS3 while most other brewing is more like actually playing the sport in real life. Next time you rack it taste it prior to siphoning it if it is clear. If it isn't clear take the sample and put it in you freezer for 30 minutes but do not let it freeze. All the yeast will start dropping to the bottom of the sample. If they dont transfer it to your fridge and check it occasionally and once it clears try it without swigging down the yeast at the bottom. That should somewhat isolate the yeast from your mead flavors ut it is a young mead so aging will help flavors develope. There is really no need at this point to use the chemicals as this batch is young by mead standards.

 

[TeacherBrew]

Picture update.

 

[DungMonster]

Don't let it sit in the mud too long. The left one is about where I would rack majority of the time. If you get concerned for air space buy some kids marbles and sanitize them. Use them for adjusting headspace to your preferred spot.

 

[SerifSansSerif]

The one on the left MIIIIIIGHT have a little too much headspace as is.... It's in questionable territory for me.

 

[TeacherBrew]

Update: I back sweetened with honey and let it sit for two more weeks. After that I racked it and added one camden table. I tasted it and tasted AWESOME!

Now I will let it sit until it clear.