So proud of you, mead!

[worlddivides]

My fastest fermentation so far!

1.082 to 0.995 in 6 days.

Currently stabilizing with Campden tablets before I begin the bulk aging phase in a secondary carboy (I have a 5 gallon PET carboy and a 5 gallon glass carboy and, after my last glass carboy was inexplicably destroyed, I'm leaning towards using the PET carboy instead of glass).

I had read that "traditional mead" without any nutrient additions, with just honey, water, and yeast, took 4 months to a year. Hard to imagine, considering that fermentation finished faster than any cider I've brewed and even faster than most beers I brew. Thank goodness for technology.

Now I'm just wondering how many times I'm going to want to rack. Just a secondary or a secondary and a tertiary or even more? Hm...

Anyway, just wanted to share. :fro:

 

[valverij]

From what I understand, PET is not good for long-term aging, as oxygen will gradually permeate the plastic.

 

[rich5665]

From what I understand, PET is not good for long-term aging, as oxygen will gradually permeate the plastic.

That's up for debate as wines are now starting show up in PET Bottles for sale.

 

[worlddivides]

From what I understand, PET is not good for long-term aging, as oxygen will gradually permeate the plastic.

I've heard and read of people using PET and HDPE to bulk age wines, ciders, and meads for as long as 8 months with them claiming zero oxidation and no plastic flavor. Of course these are their claims and I never actually drank any of the results, but I've heard quite a few people saying this. I also find it very believable since PET is used for soda bottles, which need to be made so that the CO2 can't escape. And my PET carboy is about 3-4x thicker than a PET soda bottle.

 

[valverij]

Yep, I've never tried it personally, but I figured I'd throw it out as a precaution, as I've seen that repeated pretty often. Realistically, though I'm sure 6 or 8 months would be perfectly fine, but I definitely wouldn't bulk age for, say, 2 years in a plastic carboy.

 

[worlddivides]

Yep, I've never tried it personally, but I figured I'd throw it out as a precaution, as I've seen that repeated pretty often. Realistically, though I'm sure 6 or 8 months would be perfectly fine, but I definitely wouldn't bulk age for, say, 2 years in a plastic carboy.

Agreed.

If I were to age that long, I would probably do secondary in the PET for 2-7 months, then tertiary in the glass carboy for the remainder of the time.