2nd racking

I had read that the 2nd rack isn't done until the fruit settles to the bottom. Correct?

Nope. 2nd racking is done when the yeast is done frementing and has or at least started to settle.

It depends on the mead though. With a JAOM I wait until the fruit drops. But as Drewed said, the mead is already started to clear by then.

Of course, if you don't have fruit, you wait for the SG to stabilize and then rack.

If you do have fruit in primary, your SG may stabilize before your fruit drops. All depends on when you put your fruit in, what fruit you're using, and how long it took to ferment. I've racked a couple of weeks after the SG has stabilized.

I look more at how much the fruit has blanched. If it's lost a significant amount of color I'll rack even if half is on top and half is on the bottom, especially if the the SG has been stable for a couple of weeks.

So when is the first rack?

MarkKF said:

So when is the first rack?

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Ah, is see what you mean there. OP wanted to know about the 2nd rack and we all started talking about primary, which would be 1st rack. My apologies for reading but not comprehending.

Depends on fruit. you want to get little seeds like strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, out around 10 days so the tannins from the seeds don't have time to impart an off flavor. Some like blueberries and sour cherries (which you can leave with pits) can stay for 30 days. I still go by how much color is gone, and not necessarily if everything has dropped.

I have a document that suggests dwell times and amounts per gallon that I'll post for you when I get home.

Sorry again for the earlier confusion. :smack:

MarkKF said:

So when is the first rack?

Click to expand...

Ah, I see what you mean there. OP wanted to know about the 2nd rack and we all started talking about primary, which would be 1st rack. My apologies for reading but not comprehending.

Depends on fruit. you want to get little seeds like strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, out around 10 days so the tanins from the seeds don't have time to impart an off flavor. Some like blueberries and sour cherries (which you can leave with pits) can stay for 30 days. I still go by how much color is gone, and not necessarily if everything has dropped.

I have a document that suggests dwell times and amounts per gallon that I'll post for you when I get home.

Sorry again for the earlier confusion. :smack:

MarkKF said:

So when is the first rack?

Click to expand...

DOH!!! My bad.

Yeah, follow what fossilcat said, or go by taste. Like the way it tastes? Then rack it off the fruit. Want more fruit flavor, then leave it on longer. This is where making only 1 gallon batches can be a bad thing. I'm going to only have about 3 beer bottles left by the time I ready to bottle one of my batches from all the "tastings..."

Ok, here's the table I use as a guideline. But really, I use it just to get an idea of what to expect, I usually go by taste in secondary (something you really can't do in primary, btw):

Rule of thumb if small seeds no more than 14 days, everything else but Citrus at about 30 days kind of give up all their flavor, Citrus can go longer.

All of these Fruit additions would take place in Secondary and all are for 5 gallons of mead.

24 – 30 Days
Blueberries, Cherries (Sweet)
Mild Fruit Character – 5 lbs in secondary
Medium Fruit Character – 7 lbs in secondary
Strong Fruit Character – 11 lbs or more in secondary

Citrus Fruits
Mild Fruit Character – 5 lbs in secondary
Medium Fruit Character – 7 lbs in secondary
Strong Fruit Character – 9 lbs or more in secondary

Pears, Apples
Mild Fruit Character – 5 lbs to 7 lbs in secondary
Medium Fruit Character – 9 lbs in secondary
Strong Fruit Character – 11 lbs or more in secondary

Plums (use skins as well)
Mild Fruit Character – 4 lbs to 6 lbs in secondary
Medium Fruit Character – 8 lbs in secondary
Strong Fruit Character – 10 lbs or more in secondary

8 – 10 Days
Raspberries - Blackberries
Mild Fruit Character – 2 lbs to 4 lbs in secondary
Medium Fruit Character – 6 lbs in secondary
Strong Fruit Character – 8 lbs or more in secondary

Strawberries
Mild Fruit Character – 5 lbs to 7 lbs in secondary
Medium Fruit Character – 11 lbs in secondary
Strong Fruit Character – 13 lbs or more in secondary

Also, this link is pretty helpful too: http://www.winning-homebrew.com/melomels.html

Raspberries dropped so I bottled it tonight. The mead had a sour taste to it, will that change as it ages? I had 12 lbs of honey in 5 gallons of water

Found this guide: secondary fruit addition guide to the amount of fruit to add.