Can I remove carbonation from mead in bottles?

[Ultryx]

I have bottles of mead I have not finished from my first batch I ever brewed. I did 3 gallons and split it into different flavored gallons. There must have been residual sugars from the additions left in the bottles or - because I did not add anything to stop yeast - they became carbonated. Not that there's anything wrong with a sparking mead, I just would prefer flat mead. Additionally, all the bottles have some yeast and sediment on the bottom of them - my fault for not transferring into a secondary and allowing it to clear more before bottling.

Can I open these bottles and let them sit until the CO2 gasses off? They are all in glass swing-top bottles.

The good news is that they're all tasty!

 

[Dan O]

Not sure if I'd feel safe leaving the lid open, because I'd be worried about oxidation. For me, because I bottle in swing tops, too, I just burp them, to make sure I have no bottle bombs in my basement.
I would say suffer through the bottles you have left that have carbonated & make sure your meads from now forward are done or stabilized..... OR ....you can stir the heck out of it when you pour it & make it flat, then you avoid the risk of oxidizing the rest of your mead altogether.
I hope this helps.
Happy meading

 

[Ultryx]

Not sure if I'd feel safe leaving the lid open, because I'd be worried about oxidation. For me, because I bottle in swing tops, too, I just burp them, to make sure I have no bottle bombs in my basement.
I would say suffer through the bottles you have left that have carbonated & make sure your meads from now forward are done or stabilized.....or....you can stir the heck out of it when you pour it &make it flat, then you avoid the risk of oxidizing the rest of your mead.
I hope this helps.
Happy meading

I suspected this would be the case. Well, live and learn I guess! I can be happy that my mead turned out tasty for a first attempt. My favorite is the apple and cinnamon one. Absolutely delicious!

 

[Dan O]

Some of the other members who've been @ this a lot longer than I have may have some other way that I'm not aware of. I have seen handheld small vacuum pumps for degassing, but, I think you would only use one of those if your mead is either stabilized or your yeast has reached tolerance.