Gravity and end result

[Rintrah]

How much gravity should a batch have in the end to minimize the chance for the batch to start fermenting while bottled? would 1010/+10 be an ok amount?

[SteveT]

How much gravity should a batch have in the end to minimize the chance for the batch to start fermenting while bottled? would 1010/+10 be an ok amount?


Maybe. I prefer to make that judgement after there has been no change in SG for at least 2 months in the secondary.

I once had a mead go active that had been in the secondary for 4 weeks, no change in SG -- bottled it and the yeast started working again!

Steve

[Lugh]

Yup, gravity is not a good test by itself. Lots of time with no change in gravity, cold-clearing to put the yeast to sleep, then racking it off, or using potassium sorbate and meta-bisulphite to kill the yeast and prevent renewed fermentation.

[Rintrah]

I have gotten into a real bad habit of not racking my mead, just putting it out in the cold after a couple of weeks. If I were to rack inside, what temperature should I use?

[SteveT]

I have gotten into a real bad habit of not racking my mead, just putting it out in the cold after a couple of weeks. If I were to rack inside, what temperature should I use?


If you mean cold stabilization, about 40F would work.

Steve

[Pewter_of_Deodar]

How much gravity should a batch have in the end to minimize the chance for the batch to start fermenting while bottled? would 1010/+10 be an ok amount?

If you really want SG to be the measure of a batch not starting to ferment again, then it has to be really dry with an SG of less than 0.996 or so. Since I've had a batch of Peasant Wine ferement all the way down to 0.992, there really is no good way to tell how low is low enough.

I like the suggestion of no change in SG for a month or so while aging. But realize that even inactivity, cold storage (40F or so), or careful racking are not guarantees that fermentation will not start up if a bottle is subjected to warm temperatures or agitation.

It seems like the only sure methods to stop fermentation other than a bone dry SG are sterile filtering (0.5 micron, which will take out some of the taste) or sulfite/sulfate treatment, which some people are allergic to.

Good luck,
Pewter