Mead finings?

[Níl_fhios_agam]

I am about just about to start to make my first ever mead, hopefully it'll be ready for Christmas. Anyway, I have one question. Should I expect mead to be as clear as wine? Do people usually add any fining agent to mead? Also, when bottling, does the yeast settle down like beer, meaning you have to be careful pouring, or does it end up more like wine?

 

[hubba]

with time it settles out and clears just like wine.

 

[Nurmey]

Because it sits for months or years before bottling, it's pretty clear. I have carbonated one batch it does have a small yeast layer on the bottom but since it also aged for a year in the bottle, the yeast is very compacted.

 

[tooomanycolors]

by christmas, clear may be difficult. But if you keep to just the basics, honey, water and yeast, as well as pick a good packing yeast it may be possible. But still 3mo is pushing it.

 

[k1v1116]

some meads clear very well on there own, anything with fruit as long as you add pectic enzyme. most plain (honey water yeast) meads take a lot longer to clear. but if you need to clear it quickly I havent found anything better than sparkolloid for clearing mead.

 

[BigKahuna]

I am about just about to start to make my first ever mead, hopefully it'll be ready for Christmas.

Christmas 2009?
You are right on track.
If you're looking for Christmas of this year, you might want to try a very little fruit mead. Maybe...2# of honey per gallon, and a TON of fruit to mask the overpowering burn and young flavor it'll have.

**Edit...
+1 on Sparkolloid.

Just remember...clear does NOT = Ready to drink.

 

[Ecnerwal]

Yeah - 2009, 2010, 2015, 2020 you're good for - 2008, not likely. Even 2009 is debatable.

 

[Yooper]

Unless you're doing a Joe's Ancient Orange Mead, I agree with the others. Wine is slow, but mead is notably slower. It's slower to ferment, slower to clear, and slower to age into a nice drink. Once it's finished, though, it's amazing. It's well worth it!

 

[will_cbe]

Ok, I just opened my 2nd to last bottle of my first batch of mead. This stuff is nearly 2 years old. I was astonished by how much better this stuff is than the other bottles were. Make your mead. Leave it alone. Make something else if you want it ready for Christmas.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

I am about just about to start to make my first ever mead, hopefully it'll be ready for Christmas.

I seriously doubt you'll have a drinkable mead in 3 months. I have some mead that's been bulk aging for the last 2 years, and I'll consider myself lucky if it's ready to drink by Dec '09. But then the sooner you start a batch, the sooner it'll be done, even if it takes significantly longer than 3 months. Regards, GF.

 

[Thurz]

When I make a batch of mead that's going to be stored for a while before consumption, I like to experiment with it a little, add some oak chips, blend in a little dry cider etc. I had a mead earlier which I wasn't entirely satisfied with, so I did some dry hopping and experimented with additives of various kinds and it ended up as my best batch to date!