Is there a best practice way of clarifying a meade
Clarifying
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a lot of folks use bentonite
Sparkloid, super kleer, or bentonite if you're impatient. If you have patience, time will do it by itself in most cases.
Yep, I'll say you got clarity
Thanks for the info. Im doing my first batch and am a little impatient but willing to put in the time for a good product
You could always let your liver and kidneys clarify it. If it's still cloudy, call your doctor.
The best product comes with time as the only clarifier.
That looks amazing. I hope i can make something that clean.
giuzep89
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Every time i rack after primary my meads are clear within 1 week. I never needed any other clearing agent or temperature change. And it works both with Lalvin and Mangrove Jack's yeasts. Doesn't it happen to everyone after racking into secondary?
Some yeasts are just bad flocculators. I got a Lutra mead going on atm, clearing since almost two months now. It is getting better, but still needs time.
Why do you rack to secondary? Usually there shouldn't be a reason for that. This one week clearing period would happen in the primary vessel as well and you would not introduce any oxygen.
giuzep89
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To be honest I have a different experience. If I don't rack to a clean vessel the same yeasts (so far Lalvin 71b and Mangrove Jack's M05) take a much, much longer time to clarify. And even though I'm aware that unless you leave them on the yeast cake for a long time there's no risk of it developing off-flavors due to autolysis, I just like to transfer the liquid once the bulk of the yeast has done its work. The really quick clarification is a great bonus (if you like that)!
Maybe it is because of the degassing that is happening when transferring? You could also just manually degas it by swirling the liquid a bit, once fermentation is done.
giuzep89
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Maybe, but I degas frequently so that wouldn't be my first guess. And the thing is, after transferring it still takes a few days to clarify. But it happens, without fail. My hypothesis is that it happens simply because if there's too much yeast in solution it just won't drop, or better it will, but it takes longer.
This doesn't make sense, after racking there's as much yeast in suspension as it was before, if you managed not to disturb the settled yeast at all. If you disturbed it a bit, then there's even more in suspension.
Frequent degassing doesn't help if the yeast is still fermenting. You would need to do it when the yeast has completely stopped. Otherwise there will be more co2 back in solution in no time.
giuzep89
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The degassing In referring to is the one they advice to do during fermentation to reduce yeast stress. Whether that really helps or not I'm not sure, but it's easy to do and I incorporated in my routine nonetheless. Back to what you said, I suppose you're right, but still, every single time I rack off the lees the mead clarifies perfectly. I do wonder why this is!
The most staggering example happened when i held a mead in primary for a month (Lalvin 71B) and it stayed full of yeast in suspension with no sign of change. After racking it clarified in 5 hours. No kidding. Now I do it right after primary and it happens generally within 5-7 days tops.
The most staggering example happened when i held a mead in primary for a month (Lalvin 71B) and it stayed full of yeast in suspension with no sign of change. After racking it clarified in 5 hours. No kidding. Now I do it right after primary and it happens generally within 5-7 days tops.
It's because of the degassing effect of the racking. Big wine makers degass as well for the same reason (at least that's what I've read).
The continuous degassing during fermentation doesn't really help the yeast to reduce stress. The co2 levels are up so quickly again, that the yeast hardly sees any difference. What it actually does is bringing sedimented yeast back into suspension and that is a good thing and worth doing.
giuzep89
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Thanks for the heads-up! Next time i might just try to degas after primary's finished and see if I get a similar result as with racking.
I actually tried exactly that recently, but I think that I probably missed the point. So there was still a bit of fermentation going on. Three weeks later, when there was really nothing going on any more, I could not get myself to disturb the already settled yeast any more by swirling the liquid... So Maybe racking is not too bad after all.
giuzep89
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I think it's worth a shot indeed. Even when I rack near the end of primary, the fermentation finishes and a "new" yeast cake forms, but it's very small compared to the one in primary and the mead still clarifies beautifully on top of it!
Racking 2, 3, or even 4 times will get you a really clear product. But, for me, it's a matter of how much product I'm going to lose in the racking process. You lose a little each time, & unless you're racking to ever smaller vessels, you're creating more headspace, which increases your risk of oxidation. I've learned you can make a drinkable product in about a month, (BOMM yeast & feeding protocols), but, I do not have the ideal setup, so mine typically take longer, especially in the winter months. I have no temperature control, my basement temps fluctuate, but, it still gets the job done...it just takes a little longer. I started to look @ my meads more like a 3-4 month project. One month to drinkable, & depending on temperatures in my office, another 2-3 months to be completely clear.
Clarity isn't that important to me personally, I judge my own by how they taste. I want clarity if I give it away as gifts, or perhaps, someday if I decide to enter some of mine in a competition (I have not done this yet, but, will when I feel my meads can make the cut).
Time is the best clarifier, in my opinion, but, you have to be patient enough to wait it out. My mead table has plenty that is ready to drink for me to choose from that time isn't a big issue anymore. Different story in the beginning though, when i had no patience to wait for a better product.
Clarity isn't that important to me personally, I judge my own by how they taste. I want clarity if I give it away as gifts, or perhaps, someday if I decide to enter some of mine in a competition (I have not done this yet, but, will when I feel my meads can make the cut).
Time is the best clarifier, in my opinion, but, you have to be patient enough to wait it out. My mead table has plenty that is ready to drink for me to choose from that time isn't a big issue anymore. Different story in the beginning though, when i had no patience to wait for a better product.
D.B.Moody
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The mead I bottled last Thursday and pictured in post #8 above was transferred to a secondary after four days in the primary and the gravity was 1.012. (The recipe says to do this at 1.020 or after seven days whichever comes first.) The mead was bottled after six weeks in the secondary, FG .920. I have brewed this recipe only four times, but it was done this way each time. The last batch, brewed in 2007, was good for for 12 years, so I don't fear oxygen exposure. I think this mead (Charlie Papazine's "Barkshack Gingermead") benefits from aging. I could have bottled this batch earlier, but the recipe calls for a month to six weeks in the secondary and I brewed with the bottling date already in mind. If you've been successfully brewing mead using a secondary and have been happy with the results, why give up the clarifying benefit? You could do a test by brewing a couple of batches to compare, one through a secondary and one not. See if you find a difference. (I did this in my beer brewing last year. It involved having a lot more home brew than usual, but I managed to power through. )
)
No doubt some meads clarify much faster than others. Just look @ JAOM or JAOBOMM. They both clear quite nicely by themselves in about a month.The mead I bottled last Thursday and pictured in post #8 above was transferred to a secondary after four days in the primary and the gravity was 1.012. (The recipe says to do this at 1.020 or after seven days whichever comes first.) The mead was bottled after six weeks in the secondary, FG .920. I have brewed this recipe only four times, but it was done this way each time. The last batch, brewed in 2007, was good for for 12 years, so I don't fear oxygen exposure. I think this mead (Charlie Papazine's "Barkshack Gingermead") benefits from aging. I could have bottled this batch earlier, but the recipe calls for a month to six weeks in the secondary and I brewed with the bottling date already in mind. If you've been successfully brewing mead using a secondary and have been happy with the results, why give up the clarifying benefit? You could do a test by brewing a couple of batches to compare, one through a secondary and one not. See if you find a difference. (I did this in my beer brewing last year. It involved having a lot more home brew than usual, but I managed to power through.
My experience, especially in the big fruit melomels that I've come to really enjoy, if there's no pectic haze, I still wind up having a honey haze after backsweetening, but again, clarity, for me, isn't that big a deal to just wait for. Most of the meads I have on my mead table have been bulk aging between 6-10 months & all that have aged have cleared with time.
I bought bentonite & super kleer with the intent on using them, but, haven't felt the need for using them...yet.
These are 2 batches I had a bit of leftovers that wouldn't fit in the carboy. White flesh peach & raspberry/ pomegranate. This was after 24 hrs of cold crashing in the fridge. The difference in clarity can be seen here. These were made the same day. The peach cleared way faster than the raspberry/ pomegranate. So, I'll just sit back & enjoy some of the others that are ready.
Others^^^^^^^^^^^^
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Talking about obsessions....No doubt some meads clarify much faster than others. Just look @ JAOM or JAOBOMM. They both clear quite nicely by themselves in about a month.
My experience, especially in the big fruit melomels that I've come to really enjoy, if there's no pectic haze, I still wind up having a honey haze after backsweetening, but again, clarity, for me, isn't that big a deal to just wait for. Most of the meads I have on my mead table have been bulk aging between 6-10 months & all that have aged have cleared with time.
I bought bentonite & super kleer with the intent on using them, but, haven't felt the need for using them...yet.
These are 2 batches I had a bit of leftovers that wouldn't fit in the carboy. White flesh peach & raspberry/ pomegranate. This was after 24 hrs of cold crashing in the fridge. The difference in clarity can be seen here. These were made the same day. The peach cleared way faster than the raspberry/ pomegranate. So, I'll just sit back & enjoy some of the others that are ready.
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Others^^^^^^^^^^^^
Like I always say, welcome to the most addictive hobby on the planetTalking about obsessions....
I suspect volume plays a roll in how fast it clarifies. I have made a lot of five gallon batches over the years and all have needed months and or racking, cold crash and KC super Kleer to be almost perfectly clear. Melomels tend to be the hardest to clarify.
As well could be my yeast selection. For high ABV I use Cote Des Blanc and for lower I use Omega Hot Head.
Thoughts?
As well could be my yeast selection. For high ABV I use Cote Des Blanc and for lower I use Omega Hot Head.
Thoughts?
I've had terrible results regarding clearing with lutra, so I suspect it's a trade of the kveik. On the other hand, mangrove Jack mead yeast cleared in a matter of one or two weeks, once fermentation finished. I think it's mainly a function of the yeast, in your case.
@Miraculix certainly could be the yeast. Also could be the honey i use as well. (Monarch - Mostly Wildflower and Bakers)
I like the flavors both provide. I do like a crystal clear mead so with these ingredients probably not going to change the practices.
I do find it interesting that our ingredient selections and or differences in them can give each of us differing outcomes. (Kind of makes what we do uniqe in its own way.)
I like the flavors both provide. I do like a crystal clear mead so with these ingredients probably not going to change the practices.
I do find it interesting that our ingredient selections and or differences in them can give each of us differing outcomes. (Kind of makes what we do uniqe in its own way.)
Yes, the honey could also be the reason, that is true.
