How long will bottled mead last

[sonofgrok]

Hello all. First post here. I apologize if this topic has been covered but I have been reading the forums for a couple days now and could not find this info. I just started brewing my first batch of mead. My brother has long made mead of the plastic milk jug with a balloon under the bathroom sink variety and having just finished a long study in organic chemistry, I finally felt comfortable to make my own brew and show him up.

I am currently brewing a 5 gallon mead with EC 1118 yeast in a 6 gallon bucket with 12 pounds honey, lemons, oranges, watermelon, and some green tea for food, flavor, and nutrients. So far the initial fermentation (3 days so far) is going well and I will be transferring to a carboy in another week and a half.

My real question is. I will be bottling my mead in wine bottles after 8 weeks in the carboy. I plan on using potassium sorbate to arrest fermentation before bottling. I have 2 additional 5 gallon carboys and I was thinking of starting another 5 gallon batch in my ferm bucket immediately after transferring to the carboy so that I can get 2 or maybe even 3 carboys fermenting in a staggered state. How long though will my mead last once I bottle it? I am a little worried that I am going to end up with quite the collection of bottled mead and not be able to consume it fast enough.

Thank you for the help!

 

[Revvy]

It will last as long as you take to drink it, or everything but cockroaches and Keith Richards are gone from this planet. People have kept it for decades. Even the basic brewing radio guys have laid mead up for a decade or more and tasted them.

 

[sonofgrok]

That was an insanely quick and very helpful answer. Thanks Revvy! I guess no carboy will go unmolested.

 

[weirdboy]

I tasted a 10+ year old mead that was made from the free honey packets (collected over several months) from a cafeteria. It was FANTASTIC.
My oldest mead is a bit over 3 years and pretty tasty.

 

[Revvy]

! I guess no carboy will go unmolested.

Not evidently by some of our members.

 

[bojacked]

Mead only gets better with time if stores and conditioned properly. The first batch I ever made was a strawberry ginger sparkling mead which tasted like gross dimeatap elixir after a year! I was bummmmmmmmed. I forgot about it and try it every year when I go home (it's still in my parents basement lol. But it's more and more amazing every year. Now when I go home for the holidays everyone can't wait to see what it tastes like. It's about 7 years in now and amazing. Mead is the easiest to make but the hardest to wait for! Also don't hesitate to let it sit on the yeast cake for a while so it can clean up some of the harsh flavors from the ferment, that will cut down your aging times dramatically I've found. Just made a melomel with kiwi and crazins and I let it sit fruit and all for 3 months before racking. I can say it helped tremendously as its drinkable now and almost competition worthy only 6 months in.

 

[Subsailor]

Definitely let it age! I have a mead that is going on its 6th year and it is getting better. Proper storage and patience! I also let mine sit on the fruit for as long as 6 months before racking; so far with no problems.

 

[whitehause]

With a good tight seal, no sunlight, and cool storage(not fridge, but cool) it will last as long or longer than any wine.

 

[sonofgrok]

I don't have a basement but I have an extra walk-in closet off the second master bedroom (converted to a study and gym) that I am going to convert to a racking closet. It is about the closest thing I have to a basement. The plan was 2 week primary, 8 week secondary, then a 1-3 months age but I might just play around with extending that per everyone's advice. Then again I am going to run some more batches and flavors in the meantime so maybe I will experiment further with those as well.

Bojacked and Subsailor, thanks for the advice! All in all I had planned on 10 weeks in the fruit but I might just bump it up a bit now. I opened the ferment yesterday for a check and a stir since it is still early and those were some HAPPY yeasties. They were caked all over the watermelon. Must be a favorite of theirs.

Revvy, that looks like one happy couple! I hope that carboy does indeed end up pregnant and has happy little ports.

 

[iambeer]

mead that was made from the free honey packets (collected over several months) from a cafeteria

Holy cow bro. that's dedication. and ghetto.

 

[ChessRockwell]

I tasted a 10+ year old mead that was made from the free honey packets (collected over several months) from a cafeteria. It was FANTASTIC.

Whoa, were you in prison? That's pretty awesome though. I think we gotta hear a little more about this story!

 

[Revvy]

Holy cow bro. that's dedication. and ghetto.

It was either basic brewing or brewstrong that was doing that. Having people collect packets from Macdonalds and making Meads with that. It's pretty well known in the brewing community, I think we even had a couple threads about it on here. Here's one Mcmead

 

[ChessRockwell]

That's an awesome idea. Now most of them hold the packets behind the counter and make you ask for them, I'd have a eat a LOT of McDonald's.