To re-rack, keg or stay put?

[hman0217]

Hello friends

This is my session mead started on June 27th with an SG of 1.048 and current gravity of 1.002

I racked it to the secondary at exactly two weeks at a gravity of roughly 1.010

As a beginner, I'm learning i could have invoked a more vigorous fermentation with better starter methods but, noentheless, after reading the majority opinion, getting it off the lees after two weeks is a popular practice so that's what I did.

But alas, it has fermented down enough to leave me another inch of lees at the bottom. As you can see, it's clearing although it could clear further. But i fear leaving it on the lees for more than a few more days would be bad for flavor. (It has a very slight yeast flavor now. Which i am hoping is more about yeast precipitation than yeast decomposition.)

So as i see it, my options are:

1. Leave it on the lees for an extra couple weeks (for a total of six weeks) and then keg.

2. Transfer to keg at the four-week mark and let it finish clearing in the keg.

Or

3. Re-rack and age longer before kegging

My fear with #3 is further introduction of oxygen and i only currently own the one carboy so it's be back into the plastic again.

So i WANT to do #2 but i want to hear the thought of my wise elders


This is my first batch of mead ever and I'm not expecting a masterpiece but I'm still fond of it In the way one gets about firsts in life.

Thanks

 

[CKuhns]

Once off the gross Lee's, you should be ok for a month or two.

With that said I would rack and keg it.

Kind of up to you either will work just fine.

 

[pvtpublic]

I agree with CKuhns. If you have the means, purge the keg with CO2 before filling, it will reduce the risk of oxidizing quite a bit. In the future, let your mead finish on the lees. I know that sounds like blasphemy, but you're not going to get autolysis in a month. When you hit FG, rack it into your keg. Age it and serve it from that same keg, so you have less chance of things going wrong. This advice will cost you a bottle btw.

 

[hman0217]

I agree with CKuhns. If you have the means, purge the keg with CO2 before filling, it will reduce the risk of oxidizing quite a bit. In the future, let your mead finish on the lees. I know that sounds like blasphemy, but you're not going to get autolysis in a month. When you hit FG, rack it into your keg. Age it and serve it from that same keg, so you have less chance of things going wrong. This advice will cost you a bottle btw.

Thanks. I ended up doing just that. What I did to purge was fill it, close it, charge it up and then pull the pin a few times, assuming the CO2 displaces O2 from the bottom up.

I'm not sure you want a bottle off this first batch though!

Thanks

 

[pvtpublic]

Thanks. I ended up doing just that. What I did to purge was fill it, close it, charge it up and then pull the pin a few times, assuming the CO2 displaces O2 from the bottom up.

That's the best way to do it.

I'm not sure you want a bottle off this first batch though!

Thanks

It's going to turn out better than you think, just give it a lot of patience. I do 3 years minimum on all my meads.

 

[hman0217]

That's the best way to do it.

It's going to turn out better than you think, just give it a lot of patience. I do 3 years minimum on all my meads.

three years for a roughly 6% abv session mead? I figured like beer it was a function of SG

 

[pvtpublic]

three years for a roughly 6% abv session mead? I figured like beer it was a function of SG

I don't typically do meads that low. But at that abv you shouldn't have to worry about that amount of time. Things that speed up aging include back sweetening, bottle aging, and completely disregarding the aging process. The best part of having it in the keg is being able to draw small samples whenever you want.