Egg whites any good for clearing mead?

[Peppers16]

I'm guessing this is a stupid question, but I've heard about egg whites being used to clear wines (albumen is positively charged or something like that) does anyone still do this and does it apply to meads?
Just asking for no better reason than I have eggs hanging around, whereas I'd need to order bentonite. I plan on clearing via aging anyway so I guess I'm just curious.

 

[kingboomer]

I'm curious about this myself. I'd like to know how it works, and how to use them, if it's still being used.


-Kingboomer

 

[Golddiggie]

You won't find me doing that with any of my batches of mead. I use time as my clearing agent. I'm more than patient enough to let them go as long as needed to become great.

If anything, the thought of dropping egg whites into my mead is revolting.

 

[Walshy87]

I tried this recently with a peach mead. Took one egg white mixed it with water and lightly stirred. Didn't really do much. First picture is before second is like a week later.

 

[Peppers16]

I tried this recently with a peach mead. Took one egg white mixed it with water and lightly stirred. Didn't really do much. First picture is before second is like a week later.

Thanks for the pics!
I read from google that they're best used with some salt and fairly well stirred (but not to the point of 'whipping' it)
But to be honest I wasn't expecting a miracle fining anyway. You'd think everyone would use eggs otherwise!

 

[Yooper]

Those pictures show a LOT of headspace! If it's still in primary, that much headspace is ok, but I assume not since you're adding finings to clear it.

I'd rack immediately to a smaller vessel so that the mead is topped up.

 

[Walshy87]

It's in secondary. I lost a lot racking it. I don't have any thing smaller. Is it really that bad if there's that much head space?

 

[Golddiggie]

You want as little headspace in the vessel, post fermentation, as possible. IF you cannot move it into something smaller, then get CO2 in the carboy to cover the mead and protect it. I would make sure you keep the airlock full too.

You can use one of the keg pocket chargers, and cartridges to push some CO2 into the carboy. Since it won't be under pressure, the carboy should be safe.

Personally, I'm using 1/6 bbl sanke kegs for my meads. I ferment in them and transfer into them to get off the lees, and such. With my setup, I can also purge the headspace of air, keeping a low pressure level of CO2 in the keg. I can then seal it up tight for long term aging.

 

[weirdboy]

I am going to keep repeating this until I am blue in the face, but it's not so much about the headspace, as it is about the surface area you're exposing. You want the mead up to the neck in secondary so as to avoid that huge area of gas exchange.


I don't know what's going on with the carboy next to it, either...but you probably want to take care of that one, too.

 

[bottlebomber]

The carboy on the left looks nice and clear. What did you do different for that one?

 

[Peppers16]

If it's just secondary isn't the mead probably still slowly releasing CO2 and purging its own headspace?
I've heard mead is somewhat resistant to oxygenation, and it's worth keeping a sense of perspective when shooting for perfect method. I've seen a post from a beginner who diluted his wine with water by 25% (AKA ruined it) because he'd been made to fear oxygenation that much!
If Walshy is fining, I'd assume he's going to bottle soon. And if he's going to bottle soon, the headspace isn't a big deal.
I'm not trying to contradict experienced wisdom, I just think it's worth drawing a line between what will actually ruin a batch and what's really just best practice for the more discerning brewer.

(P.S. )

 

[Yooper]

If it's just secondary isn't the mead probably still slowly releasing CO2 and purging its own headspace?
I've heard mead is somewhat resistant to oxygenation, and it's worth keeping a sense of perspective when shooting for perfect method. I've seen a post from a beginner who diluted his wine with water by 25% (AKA ruined it) because he'd been made to fear oxygenation that much!
If Walshy is fining, I'd assume he's going to bottle soon. And if he's going to bottle soon, the headspace isn't a big deal.
I'm not trying to contradict experienced wisdom, I just think it's worth drawing a line between what will actually ruin a batch and what's really just best practice for the more discerning brewer.

(P.S. )

No, it's not releasing co2 anymore- at least not in any meaningful amount. And opening it up and stirring in finings would cause any residual c02 to dissipate anyway.

Mead is more resistant to oxidation than some white wines, but it's definitely at risk especially with that much of a wide contact area with air.

 

[Walshy87]

These are my first mead/homebrew. The one on the right is an apple cinnamon mead and it cleared within two weeks of being in primary. I'm still trying ti figure out what I want to do with them because the peach dried out and I need to back sweeten it. I'm afraid if I add more honey it won't help the clearing process. Although I don't really see it clearing anytime soon. So maybe I should get a smaller carboy to let it clear in. The other one I want to bottle, but it's still gassy so I'm afraid to bottle it yet.

Sorry I didn't intend to high jack your thread.

 

[Illuveatar]

I've heard the bit about egg whites before but I'd never try something like that. If it's an aversion to the more processed commercial fining agents then I guess I understand, using special chemicals does tend to steal some of the romance away from making mead. But tossing egg innards in a batch just sounds nasty to me.

From the pictures posted I would steer clear of egg whites and go buy a bottle of Bentonite or Sparkolloid. If you want to avoid those you could use something that is free and 100% natural it's what I use and what I recommend. I use time. Add 6 to 8 months and it should be plenty clear.

Oh and if you're going to continue making mead in the future you should work on building up a collection of different sized carboys. I've got a 6 gallon, 5.5 gallon and a 5 gallon among other small jugs. I start in the 6 and rack into the 5.5, the smaller size makes up for the fluid loss on racking, then I use the 5 as my tertiary and don't have to top up or add those glass marbles you hear folks talking about. It's a bit more difficult when I'm making single gallon test batches but I've just acquired an Imperial Gallon jug which is larger than my US gallon jugs and this should help significantly.

 

[kingboomer]

Thanks for the egg white replies. I've got plenty of time and carboys to let mine sit for quite a while, so time it is for the clearing agent.



-Kingboomer

 

[fun4stuff]

When I first started making mead I too had problems with too much headspace due to losses from racking. Now I overcome this by always making 5.5-6 gal of must (adding more honey and/or water and/or juice). I found my "5 gallon" primary bucket actually holds 6.5 gal. I also have a couple old 1 gal glass wine jugs that work well as 1 gal carboys. Now, I always start by making 5.5-6 gal of must and just rack to the 5 gal (which actually holds 5.25 gal if you fill to the very top). If I have a lot left over, I either transfer the extra to a 2L soda bottle or 1 gal glass carboy above.

 

[shelly_belly]

Egg-whites are used to polish clarified red wines to give added brilliance. They are not beneficial when used in cloudy wines. They also contain lysozyme which is a naturally occurring protein used to control activity of lactic bacteria.

 

[saramc]

If using egg whites I would opt for the pasteurized egg whites sold in carton or egg white powder. But do not forget a temp drop of 10F for about two weeks will typically clear wines that are degassed.

I borrowed from Jack Keller:
"Egg white is an excellent fining agent for removing haze caused by excessive tannin. Separate an egg and gently beat the white in a small amount of the unclarified wine. C.J.J. Berry insists that one must add a pinch of salt to the white before beating it. I will certainly not argue with him. Use half the beaten white per 5-gallon carboy. Simply pour the beaten egg white into the wine and stir well with a long sterilized rod. Refit the airlock and set aside for ten days. The wine should clarify. Rack and bottle it at once.

A slightly misty or off-color white wine can often be clarified and decolored using egg shells. Egg shells are first cleaned and then dried in an oven. This makes them brittle. They are then easily crushed into very small pieces and these are stirred into the wine. They will slowly sink and over time collect carbon dioxide bubbles absorbed in the wine. These will cause the egg shell particles to rise and eventually leave the captured bubbles at the surface, thereby allowing them to sink again. This process may go on for some time. These tiny bits of agitated calcium slowly absorb off-colors and drag suspended particles to the bottom. I have found they are better at correcting the color than at clarifying the wine, but they do have an effect and don't seem to change the taste."