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A Hefeweizen. Thanks for asking!

Yeah, well, I wasn’t thinking I’d have to even consider it. I’m sure you’re right tho. The caps would have to be removed first (or I’d get more bottles exploding in the pot,) which would negate the point since the carbonation would be lost. Salvageable, but not a successful result. I’m not a...

Yeah, I’ve noticed that too. And pretty much every mead maker I’ve read says the same. But I’ve only been able to wait for a little over a year until I have nothing left to drink and share. The longest a mead I made lasted was about 18 months… and it was my best yet. Though I did set aside one...

I see. Well, I always want carbonation. Not a fan of still mead. Different strokes I guess… So how long do you age in the bottle before drinking? I try to wait 5 months, though this is after 3-5 months in a secondary. Ideally, I find a year of waiting is best, but I can’t always go that long...

So when you go straight from the primary to bottles, do you do anything to the mead besides the packaging? I imagine the fermentation might not be quite completely finished yet, certainly there are live yeast in suspension and I’d guess there’s some residual sugar left, so maybe don’t use...

Ah, I realized that later. That's why I never use a carboy as a primary. I always start with some amount more than a gallon so I can fill my secondary to the neck. In this case Miraculix is right for simplicity and safety, just bottle. And for future batches, have a plan to move into a...

Where is the head space? In the primary? Because there is none to negligible in the secondary. That's the main reason not to split the batch. The key to good mead, imo, is aging. And bottle aging is not the same as bulk aging. Each phase contributes subtle but desirable effects on the finished...

You can let it sit in the primary for that long, but I would then rack as soon as you get back and let it age some before bottling. Or if you have the time, rack it before you leave. 4-8 weeks is my usual time in the primary so either way would be fine. The advantage to moving it sooner is...

To the in-laws. My wife's brother is the biggest fan of my fermentations.

20+ gallons of 13 varieties. Final quantity depends on loss after second racking. But here's a pic!

Not sure why you're waiting to pitch your yeast. I always do so after 24 hours of adding camped tabs. But if you're waiting until you can get a juice with a higher pH to blend before fermentation, I'd suggest starting fermentation now, then blending with other finished ciders later, once they're...

I don't dismiss a cider as a failure until at least 6 months have passed. I find it takes that long for ciders to fully mature. Just fyi

A couple more points: Hydrometers are unfortunately notoriously inaccurate. They could be off by as much as .005 degrees for a variety of reasons, including temperature. So again, I wouldn't worry too much about low gravity at the start of your ferment. Assuming you don't need to get super...

Or top off the carboy with a finished cider. Just an option. I always ferment my ciders to complete dryness. I like them unsweetened as do most of my friends who enjoy the ciders I make. But if I want a little sweetness for a change, I only sweeten in the glass. A tablespoon or two of simple...

Seems good so far. You really can't judge how well a cider will turn out until 6-9 months have passed, in my experience. If 1.043 was your starting gravity, that's a bit low, but it's close enough to the minimum I shoot for that I wouldn't worry about it. De-gassing isn't as critical a...