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Rack off sediment/lees -- and how long to age?

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mediaguru

NewBee
Registered Member
Jun 19, 2012
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St. Helena, California
So, I just racked my very first mead (a wildflower/amber bochet) and it seems pretty dang good... a little hot on the alcohol flavor, but otherwise pretty delicious. I had to restrain myself from pouring a full cup (or two) right then and there...

So, since it's already so enticing (but could definitely use some mellowing of the alcohol flavor; it's not that it's completely dry, though the hydrometer reads about 1.005, but there's definite sweetness in it), the question is... how long should I age it for? I was planning on bulk aging for about 10 months. Should I go for a shorter time and then bottle it and just bottle age it from there, and try some as I go to see how they are faring?


Also, regarding lees...

I split the 5 gal batch into a 3 gal carboy and two 1 gal jugs, to experiment with some different things (medium toast french oak in one, bacon-infusion in the other)

My question is this: I filled the big 3 gallon carboy first, and was able to keep it off the sediment and keep it clear, no lees. However, I wasn't able to do this for the next batches... I got a bit of sediment transferred. Should I let it settle and then rack off the sediment again? How clear should I aim to get it? (seems impossible to get it completely clear)
 
We often bulk age because we don't have climate controlled storage, for optimum ageing temps (mid-50's F). So the coolest location you have in bulk is the best compromise.

As for time ? It's a natural process which makes it unpredictable. Your 10 month time frame is a good start, but its still no guaranteed to be ready - if it is then great.

As for clearing, or possibly leaving the 2 smaller ones, "clear" is normally defined as being able to read a newspaper through it (even if you have to light the paper because it a very dark colour).

And generally I rack every couple of months, though if you used finings and it drops clear ok, then you'd probably rack it the once.
 
What kind of yeast did you use? Most of the time if you've got just a little lees, you can leave it in there for a good long time. Some yeasts don't work like that though (71B being the most-often cited in that category).

Bulk vs. bottle, there's no one answer. Bulk aging will give you better consistency bottle-to-bottle, but in a gallon you're only looking at 10-ish small bottles anyway. I say do your thing to the small jugs and bottle when you're done and they're clear.
 
akueck said:
What kind of yeast did you use? Most of the time if you've got just a little lees, you can leave it in there for a good long time. Some yeasts don't work like that though (71B being the most-often cited in that category).

Bulk vs. bottle, there's no one answer. Bulk aging will give you better consistency bottle-to-bottle, but in a gallon you're only looking at 10-ish small bottles anyway. I say do your thing to the small jugs and bottle when you're done and they're clear.
Click to expand...

Sounds good... I have a climate-controlled wine cellar room to age these in, so my primary purposes for bulk aging were for flavoring with oak cubes in one and bacon-infusion in the other jug.

I am using D-47 yeast, and IIRC, some people have said that one is better than average for going sur lie. In any case, I will probably rack off the lees in the smaller jugs before too long and go straight to bottles with them (do you think it is wise to use sorbate/sulfite combo to prevent bottle bombs, or should they be okay if they seem to be done fermenting and are down to about 1.000 SG?)
 
Being around 1.000 SG is no guarantee that things won't pick up for a few extra points and overcarbonate on you. Depends a lot on how much alcohol is in there. A 14% mead with D47 at SG 1.000 is a lot less likely to restart than a 10% one. If you're controlling the temperature of the bottles (at a low temperature), that will help a lot too in making sure nothing funny happens.
 
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