Largish batch for a lot of people.

[bonzombiekitty]

I'm considering making mead for a wedding to be given out as gifts to guests. The wedding is a ways off so I have some time to do this. I figure an 8oz bottle per person, which if I assume 150 people, would make about little over 7 gallons worth of mead.

The problem is the logistics of how to do a single batch of something that size. I have two ~7gal buckets, one bottling bucket, and one 6.5gal glass carboy.

I'm pretty sure my fermentation buckets are over 7gallons. However, I'm not sure if it leaves enough head space for any krauzen to form without making a mess. How much krauzen does mead tend to form during fermentation? Assuming I don't use a glass carboy, am I going to get any odd flavor leaving it in a plastic bucket for a long time?

Assuming the buckets I have will not be large enough does anyone know a good place to get a ~10gallon bucket/carboy? Same thing with 8oz bottles. I found one site that sells them, but they're a bit on the pricey side.

 

[malkore]

a straight mead (no fruit, no herbs/spices, no malt/hops) really won't krausen so you can push the headspace to a bare minimum.

for primary, the bucket's ok (I do ALL my wine primary in buckets, secondary in glass)

 

[bonzombiekitty]

for primary, the bucket's ok (I do ALL my wine primary in buckets, secondary in glass)

Well, the problem being, assuming I have a 7 gallon batch, that won't fit in my carboy. Is a secondary really necessary? I guess I could use the extra bucket for secondary if needed, but that brings me back to the question of whether or not the plastic will impart odd flavors.

 

[Yooper]

Well, the problem being, assuming I have a 7 gallon batch, that won't fit in my carboy. Is a secondary really necessary? I guess I could use the extra bucket for secondary if needed, but that brings me back to the question of whether or not the plastic will impart odd flavors.

Yes, a secondary is crucial. And you want to minimize headspace, so a bucket or a large carboy won't work. You could use your 6.5 gallon carboy, and then a one gallon jug and a growler, though. There isn't any law that says you have to only use one vessel. You want to rack when you have thick lees, so you may have to rack once or twice before aging the mead.

When you rack, you will have racking losses. I often rack from a bigger carboy to a smaller one during the wine/mead making. I usually make more must than the recipe calls for, and keep it in a large (1.5L) wine bottle with a stopper and airlock and use that for topping up each time I rack. Otherwise, you top up with water and that waters down your beverage.

 

[Masticon]

Are you assuming 150 guests at the wedding or 150 mead drinkers? Because if you count in kids, people who don't drink, and people that aren't interested in mead I'd be surprised if you got 100 people that would take a bottle. Probably more like half.

If you're going for the full 150 people I'd just make two batches and keep some for yourself or give a few bottles to the bride and groom. Another couple of buckets will only run you 30 or so bucks.

 

[biochemedic]

Why not just invest in another glass carboy, make two 5 gal batches, and bottle the extras for yourself!!!

 

[PVH]

I brewed a mead for the toast at my wedding and for drinking on anniversaries. It seems your goals are different, and I don't know your level of experience with mead. Anyway, some things to consider in the brewing and presenting categories:

Brewing:
- Allow a year from brewing to consumption. Straight mead usually produces off flavors that mellow or disappear with aging.
- Consider using some kind of fruit/juice instead of straight mead to mask off flavors. As TJOHB says, I think, "you're just out there on your own with your water, honey, and yeast."
- Don't mess with the mead any more than absolutely necessary. Be patient.
- Consider sealing the bottles with wax to facilitate really long-term storage.

Presenting:
- Sparkling has broader appeal than still.
- Be prepared to call off serving/distributing the mead if it's not good enough.
- If you do a toast with sparkling mead, have someone do the pouring who knows how to pour bottle-conditioned brews.

 

[bonzombiekitty]

Are you assuming 150 guests at the wedding or 150 mead drinkers? Because if you count in kids, people who don't drink, and people that aren't interested in mead I'd be surprised if you got 100 people that would take a bottle. Probably more like half.

Well the wedding is more than a year off so I'm not sure of the exact person count. Given the time I'd need to make the mead, I wouldn't know the exact count until it is too late anyways. But given the families involved and their respective ages, 150 people who are 21+ and drink alcohol is a fairly good ballpark figure. And frankly, on one side of the family even the kids under 21 would get some without issue :cross:.

If you're going for the full 150 people I'd just make two batches and keep some for yourself or give a few bottles to the bride and groom. Another couple of buckets will only run you 30 or so bucks.

Yeah, I know, but I'm just trying to keep it cheaper and try to do it with the equipment I have and not block any beer making I may do as well. Plus my goal was not to have to do two full 5 gal batches.

I suppose I can do the initial fermentation in a single bucket in the amounts I need since I don't need much head space. However, I was hoping to be able to do the secondary in one shot since I was considering having a couple vanilla beans soak in there. Doing it all in one batch would make the flavor more even, though I suppose I could fill my carboy up, then use another glass container for the remainder and mix it all together before bottling.

Though it's looking more and more likely that I'm better off just doing two full batches. I could invest in another carboy and steal the carboy my dad has that he used for making wine (I'm betting he won't be using it again).