First Mead, Headspace Questions

[jguy898]

Hey Guys!

I'm new here, and working on my first mead (traditional) and I have a question about my headspace.

I have just racked my mead from the primary fermenter over to the Secondary Fermenter, 5 gallon Carboy, and I have WAAAY too much head space. Either the gallon increments on the primary fermenter are off, or the carboy holds 5 1/2 gallons. I don't want my mead to oxidize, but I don't have any more to top off with. The airlock is still bubbling at the, approximate, rate of once every 40 - 45 seconds which leads me to believe that the continued fermentation is still active enough to replace all the oxygen in the headspace with C02, therefore saving the meads integrity until the next racking. Is this safe to assume? And if not, I can buy some argon in a can from my LHBS, but they are closed until the 4th, will the mead be fine for 3 days? (I can't imagine it going bad in three days, but you never know)
The mead is currently at 14.9% ABV and the yeast manufacturer states, (Lalvin, 71B-1122) that the ABV tolerance is only 14% so my guess is any remaining active yeast will be dead or dormant within the next few days.

What do you guys think? Am I ok? Use the Argon?

Thanks,
Jonas

 

[fatbloke]

Hey Guys!

I'm new here, and working on my first mead (traditional) and I have a question about my headspace.

I have just racked my mead from the primary fermenter over to the Secondary Fermenter, 5 gallon Carboy, and I have WAAAY too much head space. Either the gallon increments on the primary fermenter are off, or the carboy holds 5 1/2 gallons. I don't want my mead to oxidize, but I don't have any more to top off with. The airlock is still bubbling at the, approximate, rate of once every 40 - 45 seconds which leads me to believe that the continued fermentation is still active enough to replace all the oxygen in the headspace with C02, therefore saving the meads integrity until the next racking. Is this safe to assume? And if not, I can buy some argon in a can from my LHBS, but they are closed until the 4th, will the mead be fine for 3 days? (I can't imagine it going bad in three days, but you never know)
The mead is currently at 14.9% ABV and the yeast manufacturer states, (Lalvin, 71B-1122) that the ABV tolerance is only 14% so my guess is any remaining active yeast will be dead or dormant within the next few days.

What do you guys think? Am I ok? Use the Argon?

Thanks,
Jonas

While it's fermenting etc, there's little chance of oxidation, because with the CO2 being heavier than air, it forms a blanket atop the ferment.

Once it's finished and you start doing stuff i.e. racking etc, then you might want to think about reducing the airspace to the minimum practical. Some people top up, though what with ? Any appreciable amount of water will dilute, so some will use a similar wine if available.

Some people like to use sanitised marbles or glass chips (as long as they fit in the neck of the fermenter). Which is also feasible but remember that you'd need to get the glass to the bottom very carefully as it's vvv easy to break/smash the bottom out of a glass carboy/Demi-john/jar fermenter.

Less often, people will use inert gasses. CO2 has been known to work well, but you have to remember that, because it can become absorbed into the mead, then can require a fair amount of de-gassing before bottling. Argon and also Nitrogen, I've read about being used successfully.

So I guess it's up to you what method you want to adopt.

regards

fatbloke

p.s. myself, if I don't need too much of a top up, I've also used vodka before now, because once my meads are cleared/racked etc, I just bulk store them to age... any "alcohol hotness" is aged out...... but don't forget, topping up with anything other than a similar wine/mead, can reduce body and introduce a "thin-ness" about the brew....

 

[jguy898]

Once it's finished and you start doing stuff i.e. racking etc, then you might want to think about reducing the airspace to the minimum practical. Some people top up, though what with ? Any appreciable amount of water will dilute, so some will use a similar wine if available.

Wait, I'm confused. I 'did' rack it, although there is a slight fermentation still going on. Are you saying that since I have racked it into a secondary fermenter I need to top off or add co2 now?, or that because there is a slight fermentation going on it is fine until I rack it a 2nd time? (next racking will be 2nd)

I siphoned a little off into a glass and smelled and tasted it. It smells a little 'doughy', tasted like yeast and straight alcohol as I expected. I picked up some honey notes at very first, and the Strong honey I used is going to come through overpoweringly in about six months. Which is Good Though the ABV is currently 14.9% there is no 'hotness' at all, it is surprisingly smooth.

My real Question is this, I have transferred my mead from the primary fermenter into the secondary fermenter, though there is about 1/2 a gallon of headspace in the carboy. There is a slight fermentation still happening so will that continued fermentation be enough to fill the headspace with sufficient levels of C02? Am I going to be ok until the fermentation has Completely ceased?

Jonas

 

[jguy898]

Once it's finished and you start doing stuff i.e. racking etc,

If by "finished" you mean finished fermenting, Then I get it!
It just took me a minute. that makes sense, but just to double check, it should be ok for a little while in it's secondary fermenter, correct?

 

[fatbloke]

If by "finished" you mean finished fermenting, Then I get it!
It just took me a minute. that makes sense, but just to double check, it should be ok for a little while in it's secondary fermenter, correct?

3 identical gravity readings over a period of a week will tell you it's finished i.e. finished fermenting.

Yes, it'll be fine in the secondary for a while (that's where a lot of mine say for a long time i.e. months). Depending on what yeast you've used depends on whether you need to get the mead off the yeast sooner rather than later (something else for you to learn about i.e. autolysis and off flavours to the mead from the yeast).

If you just let it settle and throw a sediment (as you say you've already racked it - lots do when moving from primary to secondary), then just put it in a container that is close to the size of the batch, then use one of the methods suggested earlier.

One of the things I do, is because I like my meads at about 1.005 to 1.010, I check the gravity of the finished mead (I aim to ferment dry) then I top up with either honey/water syrup or something like Chenin Blanc grape concentrate. then I leave it to clear.

regards

fatbloke