Sludge mead

[greenmage]

So in his book Steve Piatz mentioned a sludge mead which is just combining the cloudy bottoms of a few batches, that you might discard otherwise. I'm wondering if anyone has tried this, and what your results were.

I have a bottle from my last few batches setting. Pretty good layer on the bottom now, but it looks like it should be alright at least...

 

[ellijayman]

interesting that's for sure. I might have to try this as well. Keep us posted on how it went.

 

[kristofaaah]

what a cool idea. I'll have to try this out.

 

[wildmazer]

i kinda do this. the end of most batches go into a jar in the fridge to re-clear, then get poured together into a bigger jar. i'll sip on the mix if i want a little something but don't want to open a bottle. it sometimes leads me to new realizations about flavor combinations; will be trying a fir tip/wild blueberry mead next year, since a mixture of mostly those two was so tasty.

 

[Maylar]

Are you talking about drinking lees? Yuck.

 

[Miraculix]

So in his book Steve Piatz mentioned a sludge mead which is just combining the cloudy bottoms of a few batches, that you might discard otherwise. I'm wondering if anyone has tried this, and what your results were.

I have a bottle from my last few batches setting. Pretty good layer on the bottom now, but it looks like it should be alright at least...View attachment 598252

I read about it in a German mead and wine forum and the guys there were doing this a lot. Sounds like fun to me!

 

[greenmage]

Are you talking about drinking lees? Yuck.

Not at all, you just save the post racking sludge from a few batches that you might discard, combine them wait for the lees to drop out and you have some sweet nectar left over... He does recommend combining similar meads, most melomels mix well, but don't necessarily mix well with metheglins...

 

[Maylar]

Not at all, you just save the post racking sludge from a few batches that you might discard, combine them wait for the lees to drop out and you have some sweet nectar left over... He does recommend combining similar meads, most melomels mix well, but don't necessarily mix well with metheglins...

I don'y get enough to save. Maybe 1/2" above the lees. Is this what you're talking about?

 

[Miraculix]

I don'y get enough to save. Maybe 1/2" above the lees. Is this what you're talking about?

Mate just throw everything in this glass into a new glass and keep topping it up with all the remains of future batches. That's what we talk about.

 

[greenmage]

I don'y get enough to save. Maybe 1/2" above the lees. Is this what you're talking about?

Yeah if you save it from a few batches it starts to add up. I have about 5 batches mixed together to get about a gallon with about 1.5-2" lees on the bottom

 

[Brett_Bellmore]

Personally, I run the lees through a coffee filter, and that usually clears it up enough for "testing". Mind, it takes a good long while to drip through under gravity, the filter packs up pretty fast. I just sit it in the corner of the kitchen, and come back in a few hours to try it.

 

[madscientist451]

I've heard it discussed on the Meadhouse podcast. Some "dregs blends" come out good, some not so good. I only make an occasional batch of mead , so I don't have much dregs to save. I usually do pour off the liquid part of the dregs into a jar, label it and put it in the back of the fridge and eventually drink it. But you could keep saving dregs from all your mead batches, just keep adding more and more to a jar, then a jug or whatever, trying to minimize headspace.

 

[GeneDaniels1963]

i kinda do this. the end of most batches go into a jar in the fridge to re-clear...

I usually have a qt jar leftover. It sits until a very clear head emerges, then I drink the clear part and chunk the rest. If I am doing more than one batch, I mix them.

This can be really good ;-) and of course it can be bad too ;-( But more often than not it is very nice and more than simply "drinkable."

 

[Blacksmith1]

Personally, I run the lees through a coffee filter, and that usually clears it up enough for "testing". Mind, it takes a good long while to drip through under gravity, the filter packs up pretty fast. I just sit it in the corner of the kitchen, and come back in a few hours to try it.

I tried this the other day and it stopped draining almost immediately. not enough room in the filter to finish. what filters are you using? I used standard store brand filters and the basket filter from a coffee maker. both of them seemed to not want to do this.

 

[Brett_Bellmore]

I tried this the other day and it stopped draining almost immediately. not enough room in the filter to finish. what filters are you using? I used standard store brand filters and the basket filter from a coffee maker. both of them seemed to not want to do this.

I just use the ordinary coffee maker filters. It does take hours, the filters pack up almost instantly.

 

[Blacksmith1]

so again patience is needed. [sarcasm] Welcome to the exiting, fast paced, hobby of wine making![/sarcasm]
I have also tried cheesecloth but it too clogs quickly. I'll have to setup a drip feed like a hospital IV and see if that works.