Confused about what's clear

Ok, I prepared a one gallon batch of mead (Un-boiled) back in March. I used three pounds of honey with the remainder being water and champagne yeast. It fermented actively the first couple of days and I racked it to a secondary after 3 weeks. It has been kept at a constant 68 degrees.

It still has small carbonation bubbles rising up and is still a light honey color. The fermentation lock seems to be dormant (at least for 5-7 minute periods). It has lightened in color a great deal since the beginning and is clear but colored.

Now the question: will it ever go clear (Colorless) or is the clear referenced by everyone meant to indicate no crud floating around in the liquid?

In other words, is a basic mead colorless when ready to bottle? Or any other time.

TIA

 

Mead can be in primary for a very long time. What is your OG/FG? What is your recipe? If you are around 2-3# of honey per gallon, it should be fairly dry (ie 1.000 or less). If you had more honey, it may still be semi or fully sweet.

The general sense for "clear" is "can you read a newspaper through the carboy". Now, there are situations where it won't be possible - such as a bochet, or other meads. But, for the most part, if you can read a newspaper through it, it's clear. Regardless of the color. It shouldn't look like water, after all - it should look like a white wine (for a sack mead) or what ever you put in it (melomel, etc)

So, again, what's your recipe?

 

As Daedolon said, if you can read a newspaper through it, it's considered clear. Most meads will turn out a pale or dark honey colour depending on the type of honey used. The term clear is used for the cloudiness that is caused by suspended yeast.

 

From above:
I used three pounds of honey with the remainder being water and champagne yeast. It fermented actively the first couple of days and I racked it to a secondary after 3 weeks. It has been kept at a constant 68 degrees.

Honey, water, yeast.

 

Basically "clear" means not opaque, no suspended particulates, no "crud floating in it."
"Clear" in this case, does not mean "colorless." Maybe "translucent" is a better adjective. As deadolon & oldmate (and countless others at some point) have said: It's not clear till you can read a newspaper thru it...
Even then sometimes you'll get a thin layer of sediment on the bottom of the bottles after a couple years. I've never heard of a mead losing all it's color & looking like water, but I'd guess under just the right conditions there might be a recipe that could do so.
I'd also guess that most of the flavour would be lost along with the color.
Hope that answers you question. Regards, GF.

 

Um, I think we're going to be needing to alter the old "it is clear when you can read a newspaper through it" analogy. Very few folks read newpapers anymore. I think we should start saying, it is clear when you can read the screen on your ipad or smart phone through it.

 

+1

 

Very much so, Thank You.