KJB5200
Active Member
Hi Everyone,
The wife and I took our first shot at making mead this past Fall and now we're trying to figure out whether it's time to bottle or not. We made two 2gal batches to start in November 2012; one being turned into cyser and the other remaining a dry mead. After a couple months we racked off the leeds (although there was very little) into fresh kegs where they've sat for the past two months. At that time the cyser (OG: 1.124 | FG: 0.968 | ABV: 20.5% | pH: 4.0) smelled/tasted great and was very clear - the mead (OG: 1.105 | FG: 0.980 | ABV: 16.4% | pH: 3.0) was a bit bland and slightly hazy but otherwise enjoyable. Now both are fairly hazy and smell/taste extremely dull compared to previous samples.
(Note: All my readings have been by refractometer due to the small volume so my FGs might be off a bit as a result of the high alcohol, despite trying to account for that variable in the formula I use to calculate FG/ABV.)
I'd like to get these batches bottled sooner than later if they just need time to sit considering I'm taking up two kegs for less than 5 gal of mead, but I also don't want to find out 6 months down the road that I should've done something to them before bottling. Any suggestions how I should proceed?
The wife and I took our first shot at making mead this past Fall and now we're trying to figure out whether it's time to bottle or not. We made two 2gal batches to start in November 2012; one being turned into cyser and the other remaining a dry mead. After a couple months we racked off the leeds (although there was very little) into fresh kegs where they've sat for the past two months. At that time the cyser (OG: 1.124 | FG: 0.968 | ABV: 20.5% | pH: 4.0) smelled/tasted great and was very clear - the mead (OG: 1.105 | FG: 0.980 | ABV: 16.4% | pH: 3.0) was a bit bland and slightly hazy but otherwise enjoyable. Now both are fairly hazy and smell/taste extremely dull compared to previous samples.
(Note: All my readings have been by refractometer due to the small volume so my FGs might be off a bit as a result of the high alcohol, despite trying to account for that variable in the formula I use to calculate FG/ABV.)
I'd like to get these batches bottled sooner than later if they just need time to sit considering I'm taking up two kegs for less than 5 gal of mead, but I also don't want to find out 6 months down the road that I should've done something to them before bottling. Any suggestions how I should proceed?