Question about space at the top of a carboy

[drunkmonkey]

Hey all,

This is my first crack at making mead and so far so good (I hope).

One quick question I would like to throw out there.

The recipe I followed was for a slightly smaller carboy (18litres/5 gallons) but my carboy is 23litres/6 gallons and as you can see from the picture there is a lot of space at the top.

Should I do something to fix this or is this anything to really be worried about?

Thanks in advance for your help, hopefully I will be posting a lot more as I get into this delicious hobby.

 

[jezter6]

I do hope you didn't add those tags to this thread, as they're quite inappropriate.

THat said, if you're in primary ferment - it's not so big a deal. You should ensure that once fermentation is over that you really have minimal headspace. Some fix this by using marbles and the like to take up space, but it really leads to a loss of mead in the end. It'd recommend getting a smaller carboy for long term aging, or adding some honey/water to get yourself up to a decent enough volume.

You could normally just "top up" in secondary, but considering the amount of headspace you have there - that's just going to water down your mead.

 

[drunkmonkey]

Any recommendation for adding honey and water to top it up?

In other words would you add 2 parts honey to one part water till theres little space at the top?

 

[2ndGenBrewer]

"Any recommendation for adding honey and water to top it up?"

It depends on what your S.G. was when you started. Most of the time when I top off the fermentation takes off again for a while. For consistency reasons I make my honey/water mixture to the original S.G. I started with. In the end I still get around S.G. 1.000 and heck you can always back sweeten.

 

[drunkmonkey]

"Any recommendation for adding honey and water to top it up?"

It depends on what your S.G. was when you started. Most of the time when I top off the fermentation takes off again for a while. For consistency reasons I make my honey/water mixture to the original S.G. I started with. In the end I still get around S.G. 1.000 and heck you can always back sweeten.

Sorry for the stupid question but what does S.G. mean?

I just did this batch yesterday so I would assume I would be good to add more water+honey today ...

 

[Yooper]

Sorry for the stupid question but what does S.G. mean?

I just did this batch yesterday so I would assume I would be good to add more water+honey today ...

SG= specific gravity.

I can't tell how much headspace you have, but it's definitely WAY too much. You want your batch size to equal the size of your carboy. When it's actively fermenting, like in the first 7-10 days, it's not an issue. It is a bit later on, when fermentation slows.

Don't just add water and honey, though. You'll have to increase the whole batch size, especially keeping an eye on the nutrients and the amount of yeast you add.

 

[drunkmonkey]

SG= specific gravity.

I can't tell how much headspace you have, but it's definitely WAY too much. You want your batch size to equal the size of your carboy. When it's actively fermenting, like in the first 7-10 days, it's not an issue. It is a bit later on, when fermentation slows.

Don't just add water and honey, though. You'll have to increase the whole batch size, especially keeping an eye on the nutrients and the amount of yeast you add.

My recipe was basically this

4 cans of lemonade concentrate
3kg of honey (6lbs for my american friends)
4tbs of yeast nutrient
2 cups of sugar
1 packet of yeast

The amount of everything I think worked out to 18litres (5 gallons) but my carboy is 23litres (6 gallons).

So now I have to figure out how much more nutrient, honey and water to add, **** ...

Suggestions?

 

[2ndGenBrewer]

Probably the easiest way to adjust your recipe would be to divided it by 5 to get the 1 gallon equivalent then add the ingredients to a gallon of water and top off. If you used a whole package of yeast you're probably O.K. but it would never hurt to add a little of the same strain. Like YooperBrew said it does matter as much right now as during secondary.

 

[drunkmonkey]

Whats the worst case scenerio that I just leave it with that much space at the top?

P.S. does anyone know some recipes that call for a 23 litre (6 gallon) carboy?

 

[Yooper]

Whats the worst case scenerio that I just leave it with that much space at the top?

P.S. does anyone know some recipes that call for a 23 litre (6 gallon) carboy?

Worst case? Oxidized mead. This is actually probable, if there is headspace and it ruins the mead. Not in primary, but in secondary when the active fermentation slows down, in approximately 10 days.

Yes- to make a 6 gallon mead, you just multiply the ingredients. If you find a recipe for a one gallon recipe, multiply by 6 (except for yeast- usually one package is enough for up to 6 gallons). For a 5 gallon recipe, multiply by 1.2 to get a 6 gallon recipe.

 

[Yooper]

These are wines, not meads, but the same principles apply. This is racking day- you can see how much I have in the way of lees in the crabapple wine. I'm racking, and then will top up again.

Here is the amount of headspace in my carboy (and ideally it would be even closer to the bung):

 

[drunkmonkey]

Worst case? Oxidized mead.

Again, probably a stupid question but what does oxidized mead mean to me?

 

[Yooper]

Again, probably a stupid question but what does oxidized mead mean to me?

It'll taste bad and possibly turn brownish in color and taste a bit like sherry or madiera.

 

[drunkmonkey]

It'll taste bad and possibly turn brownish in color and taste a bit like sherry or madiera.

Gotcha ...

I have to figure out how much honey and water to add to this to top it up then ...

 

[drunkmonkey]

On the other side of things, if I add too much water what would happen to the mead?

I know i I add too much honey it just makes it sweeter.

 

[home_bru]

Your SG will drop and you will lose potential alcohol or sweetness.

 

[Yooper]

On the other side of things, if I add too much water what would happen to the mead?

I know i I add too much honey it just makes it sweeter.

More honey will not make it sweeter necessarily. More honey will give it more alcohol.

If you add more water, you'll water it down.

I'd suggest getting a hydrometer and using it- that would probably be the most helpful item in meadmaking.

I'd get a smaller carboy- that would be easier than trying to adjust the mead if you don't just want to scale the recipe up to your carboy size. I have several Carlo Rossi jugs (they are 4L) and a couple of 3 gallon carboys, a couple of 5s, 6s, etc. Each time you rack, you will have some racking losses. Either top up if it's a very small amount, or rack to a smaller carboy.

Your 6 gallon carboy doesn't look like it even has 4 gallons in it but it's hard to tell in the picture. You could get a 3 gallon carboy and a 1 gallon jug.

 

[jezter6]

I agree. If that's a 6g carboy, no WAY there's 5g in there.

 

[drunkmonkey]

Do you have to rack or cant I just ferment and age in the same carboy and just take care when I bottle it, to not disturb the sediment.

 

[BillyGHusk]

Part of the issue is the mead sitting on the sediment. It can impart off flavors if it(the sediment, or trub) is sat on too long. I think the mead will clear faster as well if it is racked.

GL,

Tim