Before I bottle?

[Cozmod123]

I have a mead that is around 44 days old and hassle bees racked twice the airlock has not moved in a while like probally a week. I want to bottle it but I don't want them to explode. Is it safe to go ahead and cork them, or should I add something like campden tablets to it first.

 

[Cozmod123]

Have racked it twice*

 

[Maylar]

You need to measure the specific gravity with a hydrometer to answer that question.

hassle bees lol

 

[Cozmod123]

I didn't have a hydrometer when I started the batch. I do now what reading should I be looking for

 

[Maylar]

Look for it to not change for a week. Depending on your recipe and processes it'll likely be in the 1.000 range (same as water) when it's done, maybe lower.

 

[landsknechte]

Based on what you've said, go ahead and bottle this one. However, go get yourself a hydrometer. I didn't think to get one at first but it's proven very useful. It'll take the guess work out of things for you next batch.

 

[Dr_Floyd]

Airlock movement is a terrible indicator of a batches readiness. Is there dissolved CO2 still? Even a clear batch isn't a good indicator of a finished product. If your Yeast is highly flocculant the batch may never finish without you stirring the Yeast back in to solution to finish. After Primary fermentation the Yeast still have a lot of work to do cleaning up its own byproducts. What Yeast did you use?

 

[landsknechte]

I'd have to say that, unless the OP was using oodles of honey, 44 days is enough for there to not be bottle bombs. If he was using a lot of honey and other fermentables and the yeast petered out...then BOOM.