JAO Bottling question

[The Mad Hatter]

I have two gallos of JAO that will be at the end of their two month time next weekend. What have you guys done at the end of the two months? Do you rack to another carboy for bulk aging, or do you rack directly to bottles? I was thinking that it may be better to rack to another carboy and bulk age for a few months just because the bread yeast looks weird, then going to bottles. If you rack to another carboy, do you still need to use the airlocks, or is it OK to just put on a screw on cap? Thanks in advance, I appreciate the advice!

 

[Yooper]

I racked and let it sit for a while, because the bread yeast really caused tons of fine lees. I always use an airlock when I age anything.

 

[summersolstice]

I've made quite a few batches of AO over the past few years (I have people begging for the stuff) and some I bottled directly from the primary. The lees in AO are extrememly fine and will even be disturbed by a change in atmospheric pressure. Lately I've been racking to avoid prolonged exposure to the bittering effects of the orange peels and also to get it off most of the gross lees. As Yooper does, I put an airlock on everything I have in carboys. I use the bubble locks and if I think fermentation has stopped I use the red plastic caps over vodka to keep it from evaporating.

 

[BigKahuna]

I like to airlock also. If you cap and bulk age, you may end up with unintended carbonation.

 

[summersolstice]

I like to airlock also. If you cap and bulk age, you may end up with unintended carbonation.

I agree there's a risk in unintended carbonation (usually only a very slight fizziness) but I don't cap for the first couple of months after racking and stabilizing. The only reason I would even recommend capping (they're usually fairly loose caps) is to avoid losing the protective vodka in the airlock, which can dissipate after 2-3 months. It's better to deal with a little fizz than with totally oxidized mead.

Speaking of fizz, I use a Vacuvin on meads I bottle when I discover a little residual fizziness. It works great but I wouldn't want to do it on six gallons worth of bottles.

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Cool thanks guys. I will rack to secondary for a few months then either bottle or rack again.