is mead supposed to finish clear?

[RinTheHuman]

I've had one gallon fermenting for almost a month and it's still very cloudy. It's my first attempt so I don't really know what I'm supposed to be looking for.

 

[alane1]

I'm kind of in the same boat as I'm doing my 1st mead also but from what I've read it can take months to clear. Was the must cloudy prior to pitching?

 

[RinTheHuman]

A little but not really. It got pretty cloudy after the first week.

 

[RinTheHuman]

The airlock is only bubbling once every few minutes now, so I was thinking of letting it clear in secondary.

 

[Yooper]

Yes, mead will be clear in the end, just like wine and cider.

I rack whenever I have lees 1/4" thick, or after 60 days if there are any lees at all. Sometimes, the mead clears quickly and sometimes it takes a while. It depends on the honey and other ingredients.

 

[alane1]

Yes, mead will be clear in the end, just like wine and cider.

I rack whenever I have lees 1/4" thick, or after 60 days if there are any lees at all. Sometimes, the mead clears quickly and sometimes it takes a while. It depends on the honey and other ingredients.

Is this a general rule of thumb with the lees or do you wait until it reaches final gravity first? My mead is 1.010 but still slowly fermenting and has a 1/4in of lees. Would this be the time to rack?

 

[Yooper]

Is this a general rule of thumb with the lees or do you wait until it reaches final gravity first? My mead is 1.010 but still slowly fermenting and has a 1/4in of lees. Would this be the time to rack?

I rack- but many people feel that can stall the fermentation. I generally rack when I reach 1.020-1.010 because I tend to do primary fermentation in a bucket and when fermentation slows down I like to protect the mead or wine from oxidation as well as top up and let it finish in a carboy.

 

[RinTheHuman]

Thanks Yooper, you ended up answering two of my questions. I'm going to check my gravity today, then decide whether to transfer or not.