Filtering mead?

[Hilltop Honey Farms Mead]

I know I’ve read plenty of conflicting articles about filtering mead. Who filters, who doesn’t, and what are your reasons for doing so (or not)?

 

[Steveruch]

I've never filtered. All the meads that I've made aged for long periods of time and cleared very well without filtering.

 

[SKBugs]

Wouldn't filtering add a lot of oxygen to the mead? After the fermentation has finished? Not sure if that's a good idea

 

[Hilltop Honey Farms Mead]

Wouldn't filtering add a lot of oxygen to the mead? After the fermentation has finished? Not sure if that's a good idea

I'm not saying I disagree. I've just seen some people filter for clarity (if it will be drank within a reasonable amount of time), and some people let either naturally clear or use Bentonite.

Just asking practices and opinions!

 

[Maylar]

Filtering does not add any air if done under vacuum in a closed system like the all-in-one wine pump. I haven't done it myself, as I don't own a filter setup, but I've read that it makes a big difference in a mead. Not just in clarity but in taste. I want to try one sometime to see if I can get faster clearing of a finished mead without fining agents but I make small batches (one gallon) and I worry that I'd lose too much in the filter and hoses.

 

[piojo]

I don't filter, but I understand that for most systems you need to clarify by traditional means before filtering. Otherwise you would clog the filter quickly.

@Maylar I've read that periodically agitating the lees (don't remember how often) helps them flocculate better when they're finished fermenting. I've also read that cold crashing yeast at a strain-specific temperature will clear it faster than crashing at 2°C (depending on the strain, of course). Finally, some yeast are high flocculating. I made some batches with 71B, US-05, and Belle Saison alongside each other. Surprisingly, the Belle Saison was the clearest after a month, with 71B as a close second (I wasn't positive I could tell the difference). The US-05 batches needed a clearing agent, and still aren't quite as clear.

 

[laughing jack]

I do not filter my meads. I have always been successful with cold crashing for a week or two. On the rare occasion that doesn’t work, I use plain gelatin and let it sit another week. Never had a cloudy glass.

-J-