Back Sweetening Mead

[Amonratut]

Hello fellow mead makers!! I was wondering if you warm the honey then pour it directly into the mead or is there a different method to add the honey for back sweetening?

 

[bernardsmith]

If I am back sweetening I might be dissolving the warmed (not hot) honey in a little water to make the dispersal easier and I normally add anything I am using to back sweeten directly into the bottling bucket - or at the very least a carboy that I just have or am about to rack into. No need to stir up any lees when back sweetening.

 

[Amonratut]

Do you clear with bentonite clay before you back sweeten?

 

[Brett_Bellmore]

Hello fellow mead makers!! I was wondering if you warm the honey then pour it directly into the mead or is there a different method to add the honey for back sweetening?

I generally pour some of the mead into one of my mixing bowls, run the warmed honey into that while stirring with a whisk, and then mix that back into the fermenter, again stirring with the whisk. I don't back sweeten until I've stabilized and clarified with Sparkloid, and given it several weeks to all drop out.

I use Fastferment conical fermenters, so the lees drop into the jar at the bottom for removal. No risk of stirring them up that way.

 

[Amonratut]

Thanks, Brett!!!

 

[Amonratut]

Question. You know how during the racking process you lose some volume. Do you have to fill the carboy's empty space or leave it as is?

 

[bernardsmith]

Air is the number one enemy of any mead or wine. At best air will oxidize the contents and make it taste - if you are lucky - more like a sherry. At worst, wine in the presence of air AND aceto bacteria will transform your mead into vinegar. The best approach is to always fill a carboy (a narrow necked container) right up to the narrow mouth. This means that the surface area exposed to air is small. Small is good.

 

[Amonratut]

What's should I fill it with? Water or honey water mix?

 

[Amonratut]

Oh and thanks for your reply, Bernard!! I topped it off last night.

 

[JimRausch]

What's should I fill it with? Water or honey water mix?

When you mix up your must, overdo it a bit. At first racking, after you have filled your secondary to the neck, save the rest in a mason jar in the fridge. Use that to top off at future rackings.