Pretty sure i already know

[simplegreen]

Just need some insight/advice. Im not the kind of brewer that strives for exact consistency of every brew. I follow solid/sound processes and i leave a lot up to nature to dictate where the finished product goes.

That said, i was gifted a few gallons of local honey and decided to make my first mead. I made three different batches, one vanilla/cinnamon, one melomel (strawberry/blueberry/raspberry/blackberry) and one ginger. The vanilla and ginger ones turned out great and are very drinkable already. The melomel is pretty hot and a little dryer than the other two, finishes almost like a merlot.

My question really is:
1) the mead has been bulk aging on 12 pounds of berries for quite some time, maybe 2 months now. I figure i should probably remove the berries sometime soon? or let it ride

2) do i "REALLY" need to continue to bulk age its taking up one of my caboys i'd like back

3) with #2 in mind, again its a little hot wish it was smoother. Anything i can do to round her out sans time? and while not bulk ageing it? I may back sweeten it a tad as well.

 

[bmwr75]

I'd go ahead and get it off the berries. You can oak it to try and smooth it out.

 

[simplegreen]

any preference between spirals, chips or oak staves? i have a burbon barrel but i think that would just add to the heat.

is the assumption that time will also mellow it out? I dont care about waiting, its a matter of getting it out of the carboy. So would age in single bottles lets say over 6-12 months also mellow. (never really understood the declared exponential aging qualities of bulk aging over individual)

 

[fossilcat]

Bottling creates a closed environment whereas bulk storage allows that rare unobserved bubble to pass. You can also swirl the carboy occasionally to help release any CO2 in suspension. If you don't stabilize before bottling those changes may occur in a slightly more acidic environment due to unreleased CO2. Then again, your mead might be stable as is, and bottle aging might yield excellent results. However, I had a melomel in 5 gal carboy, clear, for 5 months. Tasted great. I finally got around to bottling it. Less than 2 months latter l popped a bottle and it was more tart and carbonated. I didn't stabilize, and I never swirled the carboy to release any CO2. So, poor "gas" management on my part, probably throughout the ferment.

I've used cubes and chips. Cubes are far and away the better choice in my opinion. They impart a more pleasing and complex taste. It takes longer, but affords more time to taste test - you're more in control of the process. Take a look at loveofrose's oaking study here. I can't speak on spirals.

 

[bmwr75]

Time mellows most meads in various ways. I use American medium toast oak cubes all the time......cause that is what I bought a big bag of months ago.

 

[simplegreen]

great advice guys i appreciate it. I'll pull the ferment bucket out of retirement if i need it. I'll just leave it in the carboy for a few more months. I degassed it very much the same way as wine. For the honey i put in, the SG i got and the FG im at now, i really dont see it fermenting and carbing up. Im more concerned about the heat. I'll dump in some cubes.

loveofrose talks about 1 cube per cup. Im sure that will not scale, i think i'd have to much oak in if i put in 80 cubes. Any recommendations on amount of cubes for a nice smooth medium oak flavor? I figure i'll leave it another 2-3 months.

 

[wildmazer]

it should scale fine (each cube doesn't do much). i tend to do 3/4 of that (so ~12 cubes/gallon). if you're planning on leaving it on for a while (especially without testing as you go), that may be closer to the rate you'll want...but you might be surprised by wanting more.

 

[fossilcat]

I've used his recommended portion amount scaled to 1 gal (16 cubes) and his time frames corresponded to my taste quite nicely. I've got 3 gals coming up shortly though (48 cubes), and have been wondering the same thing. I can only say that should you deviate, maintain a "healthy" amount of oak (use your judgement) so that your oak infusion remains consistent throughout the oaking period, test a couple of times a week (I use an eyedropper), and be prepared to age longer than loveofrose's recommendations.

By the way, I'm pealing off a gallon to try layering with oak. I'll first oak with medium toasted American to taste (3 to 4 weeks). Wait a month to assimilate then oak with heavy toasted American to taste (time period unknown...ooooo!......). I'll use less heavy toast than medium.

 

[Maylar]

Is it OK for oak cubes to float or do you guys weigh them down somehow?

 

[fossilcat]

I just let them float in the 1 gal carboy, but with so many needed in a 3 gal carboy I'll weigh them down with marbles. I'm afraid with so many cubes it'll push some above and out of the must.