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How long do you bulk age?

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KevinJ

NewBee
Registered Member
Jul 9, 2009
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How long do you let your mead bulk age before bottling? I've got one that is really clear and has bulk aged for about 5 months now. Should it be safe to bottle? There appears to be no activity in the airlock and now visible bubbles on the side of the carboy.

Thanks
Kevin
 

KevinJ

NewBee
Registered Member
Jul 9, 2009
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Please provide your recipe and process details. This will help you to get better answers.

6 months is about the minimum I age anything.

* 1.75 gallons Orange Blossom honey (Unfiltered unpasteurized, unboiled etc )
* Spring water to fill up to 5 gallons
* D47 yeast
* 1 tsp Super Ferment
* 1/4 tsp Yeast Enerizer
OG around 1.125

Wiped the heck out of it with the drill and wine whip. Added 1/2tsp Superferment on day 3 and day 10. Wiped the heck out of it with the drill and wine whip for the first 3 days.
 

Medsen Fey

Fuselier since 2007
Premium Patron
I'm a little surprised the original gravity was not higher. 1.75 gallons should be close to 20 pounds, and in a 5 gallon batch I would expect that to produce a gravity closer to 1.140-1.150. Was all the honey dissolved when you took your reading?

What is the current gravity?
At what temperature has this been stored?

The answers to these questions will help us determine if it is safe to bottle.

Medsen
 

Dan McFeeley

Lifetime Patron
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Oct 10, 2003
1,899
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Illinois
Anywhere from 9 months to 2 years has been given as a good framework for bulk aging, but much comes from the mead itself, type of varietal honey used, how well the mead finished out, whether oak was used, and many other variables.

One possibility -- rack to a three gallon carboy, if you have one handy, then bottle the rest in small bottles, e.g., 12 ounce beer bottles. This way, you can sample small amounts from time to time and guage how the aging process is progressing.

--
 

Kee

NewBee
Registered Member
Apr 27, 2008
424
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Phoenix, AZ
It gets easier to have patience once you have a small supply of mead on hand. Patience seems to be part of the learning curve.

Don't go with airlock activity. It's unreliable. Instead, buy a hydrometer. They're fairly cheap but a great help. Make sure your hydrometer readings are stable for a few months before you bottle. You might also want to ponder chemical stabilization. Fermentation can restart pretty easily or can go along slowly for months without visible signs.
 
Last edited:

slowbie

NewBee
Registered Member
Nov 16, 2009
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West Michigan
It gets easier to have patience once you have a small supply of mead on hand. Patience seems to be part of the learning curve.

I'm hoping this is the case. I'm considering starting a gallon each of Joe's quick pyment and sweet mead to help me wait longer with my five gallon batch of traditional. I already have JAO that's been going a couple of weeks, so hopefully a few gallons of mead will hold me over.
 

Kee

NewBee
Registered Member
Apr 27, 2008
424
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Phoenix, AZ
I'm hoping this is the case. I'm considering starting a gallon each of Joe's quick pyment and sweet mead to help me wait longer with my five gallon batch of traditional. I already have JAO that's been going a couple of weeks, so hopefully a few gallons of mead will hold me over.

Slowbie, go for it. If you can, put a bottle of each batch away so you can see how they age as well. It does get easier.
 

Pewter_of_Deodar

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Sep 23, 2004
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Cedar Rapids, IA
Quick answer is that I bulk age until I am ready to bottle. While that seems like an obnoxious answer, it is only partially so. Big thing is that I am a procrastinator and so I have batches bulk aging that are going on 4 and 5 years old. I generally have been bottling only when I need something in bottles to take to an SCA event or when I need a carboy cleared out to start a new batch.

As a minimum, absolute minimum, for anything other than a specific quick recipe (like JAO) I age 10 months. I like to age at least 1.5 to 2 years for a normal wine or mead.
 

dogglebe

NewBee
Registered Member
Oct 14, 2003
352
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hbd.org
Generally, I don't bottle until the batch is a year old... and then I age it in the bottles a little. I have a batch of maple-flavored mead in a carboy for seven or eight years now.

Mead is a patient man's (woman's) game.


Phil
 
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