Headspace for mead

[Smburnette]

How violently does mead ferment? I was going to make a cherry berry mead, but my only open carboy is 5gal.. Does mead ferment as violently as beer, or will the 5 gal one work?

 

[Insomniac]

It will vary depending on recipe.

My first traditional was fermented too warm and was bubbling the air lock like crazy but barely foamed at all.
My melon melomel by comparison jumpped out the air lock every 10 mins for the first 4 days and required constant attention.
I would say use the 5gal but put in less water than you plan to start leaving a bit of space, then a couple of days in, once fermentetion has slowed, top up with the remaining water.

 

[fatbloke]

As Insomniac says, it depends on the recipe.

To prevent eruptions, when aerating, or adding nutrient etc, it's often best to start it in a bucket about half as large or even double the volume.

Some yeast cause mega over flows, some don't, there's no real guide.

I've found that invariably, once it's passed the 1/3rd sugar break it's settled enough to not erupt anymore. That's not to say it won't happen though.......

 

[chemman14]

so the consensus is to use a plastic 7.5 gal bucket for primary? then transfer to 5 gal secondary?

 

[ExoticMeadMaker]

yep

 

[HoustonMead]

Yeah, we use the bucket to ferment and do carboy for secondary to avoid dealing with possible overflow issues. Haven't had any problems so far.