first mead - when to bottle

[livingoutloud]

I've finished making my first mead, and it turned out pretty okay, though I'm still learning the ropes. I'm trying to figure out when to bottle it. I started it at the start of November, and it has been racked once already. Everything I've read said to wait until the air lock stops bubbling, then give it a few weeks, or your bottles will explode. It stopped bubbling a month ago. I have since taken out the air lock and put the lid back on my carboy. Every morning I open it a little and it lets air out like opening a pop bottle. Does that mean fermentation is not finished yet? Should I rack it again? Do I wait until it completely stops before bottling? Any and all advice would be appreciated.

 

[Titus_Pullo]

I'm no expert as I've only done a couple more batches than you have at this point but here's my 2 pennies: most of the fermentation should be done by now but you may want to consider adding potassium sorbate to it to stop any residual fermentation. Is there a layer of lees (dead yeast) at the bottom of the carboy? If so, I'd rack it again before I bottled. To answer your question, once fermentation has stopped, you can bottle any time you want. Is the taste where you want it? Are you planning on aging it for a significant length of time? As I understand everything, bulk aging in the carboy is generally preferable to letting it age in the bottles just because there's less risk of oxidation that way. Hope this helps.

 

[Maylar]

You need a hydrometer reading to know for sure.

 

[livingoutloud]

Thanks for the advice. I'm still waiting for my hydrometer (shipping to Canada is slow) but in the mean time I will rack again. There is some yeast on the bottom, so I will get it off of that.