Head space question/idea

[micah8719]

I'm a relatively new brewer (been at it a few months) and my wife and I make ciders, meads, and wines. Recently, I purchased a 6.5 gallon glass Big Mouth Bubbler with the spigot from Northern Brewer. We typically make 1 gallon batches, but my idea was to use the 6.5 gallon fermenter to make a large traditional mead batch (just honey, water, black tea for tannins, yeast, and yeast nutrient) and then rack off 1 gallon batches from it after primary is finished to flavor it in secondary.

The idea is that what's left in the large mead batch will hold and age while being racked off to smaller batches for flavoring along the way, if that makes sense.

Since I bought the 6.5 gallon with the spigot and wouldn't need to open the lid after primary, I'd not only have the safety of the alcohol content being around 15%, but also retain the blanket of CO2 on top since I'd be racking from the spigot, thus preventing oxidation and acetobacters from turning my brew to vinegar.

Is this theory sound?

 

[DBhomebrew]

1) CO2 doesn't blanket
2) As you runoff mead through the spigot, air will replace that volume through the airlock. If you have replaced the airlock with a solid cap or bung, the mead will cease flowing.

 

[MightyMosin]

Agreed with above for the most part.

I flow CO2 into both vessels before starting transfers and then add some at the end of it all.