Here is a picture of my 1st batch Bottled

Strix_Varia · #1 09-18-2006, 04:41 PM

[img width=300 height=400]http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d21/Strix_Varia/P1010003.jpg[/img]

Cargirl · #2 09-18-2006, 08:02 PM

Lovely!

lostnbronx · #3 09-18-2006, 10:20 PM

Very pretty color, and a nice presentation with the bottle.

Great job!

-David

Pewter_of_Deodar · #4 09-19-2006, 09:04 AM

Wow, I love the clear glass and the way you can see through the bottle into the background. Very nice!

Oskaar · #5 09-19-2006, 10:05 AM

Hey Stix,

Very nice color, I use clear bottles as well (generally 375 ml sized) and I like that the color is there for everyone to see when they first see the bottle.

Also, going forward you'll want to fill your bottles to about 1/2 inch from the bottom of the cork. This will help to minimize any chance of oxidation and reduce the chance for atmospheric pressure to build and move your cork in or out as the temperature changes up/down.

Keep up the great work!

Cheers,

Oskaar

Dan McFeeley · #6 09-19-2006, 12:27 PM

Really good picture -- nice foreground, nice background.

Any label ideas yet?

kace069 · #7 09-19-2006, 12:56 PM

Spring loaded bottle filler- defenition a cheap and effective torture device, used as punishment for any crime and/or interrogation needs.

This will get you a perfect and uniform level in each bottle. Choose a good victim to use it on.

Strix_Varia · #8 09-19-2006, 01:25 PM

I had one of those auto-stopping spring loaded bottle fillers. Supposed to be fool proof. Just goes to show you that nothing is fool proof for a sufficiently talented fool

!

I think I need to adjust it or something.

JephSullivan · #9 10-06-2006, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Strix_Varia

I had one of those auto-stopping spring loaded bottle fillers. Supposed to be fool proof. Just goes to show you that nothing is fool proof for a sufficiently talented fool

!

I think I need to adjust it or something.

I just bottled my very first batch of JAO on September 27th, and I ran into the exact same problem. I couldn't get the bottles filled as high as I wanted because pulling the filler out leaves more than a half an inch of airspace below the cork. Any advice from the pros?

Here's a photo of my first batch. There's nothing like the feeling of pride you get after bottling your very first mead!

[img width=300 height=403]http://home.comcast.net/~jephsullivan/mead/bottled.jpg[/img]

insanity · #10 10-07-2006, 12:38 AM

One can top them off close via a turkey baster or by filling through a funnel.

Arg!

Note: (hence forth and forever more I've stopped signing off using "Cheers" and replaced with term with "Arg!")

kace069 · #11 10-07-2006, 12:56 AM

You need to fill the bottle all the way to the top of the bottle, to the point that you are about to over flow, this should get you at the right level. I don't know how to post pics or I would post a pic of last weeks bottling effort.

Also, it is kind of hard to see in your pics but it looks like your corks need to be seated deeper. The top of your corks should be sitting at about a 1/16 of an inch from the top of the bottle. I have thought about getting a 6 inch scale and getting really anal about my cork depth but I guess I am not that anal about it yet. I like my corks to sit deep enough so I can see through the glass at the top of the bottle. If you buy a bottle of commercial wine you will see that is about where those corks are seated.
Your last pic looks a lot better. Your mead looks great!

JephSullivan · #12 10-11-2006, 03:07 PM

Alright, thanks for the advice! Hopefully I can get the corks in further next time. Next time I'm in a wine shop, I'll pay attention to the fill level, and the cork depth.

Tsuchi · #13 10-11-2006, 05:38 PM

I have a plastic gravity style bottle filler tip and i fill to just about over flowing then i bring it up to the top of the neck and press against the side there(as opposed to the bottom of the bottle) to top it up.

but wow do those bottles look lovely just sitting there in all thier golden meady glory.

Sigh, so much pretier than my re-used ghrolsh bottles.

Tsuchi

JephSullivan · #14 10-12-2006, 11:00 AM

Ahh, that's a good tip about pressing the filler against the inside of the neck.

And thanks for the compliment.

I had the used Grolsch bottles standing by, but the mead looked so pretty and golden that I just had to go out to the homebrew shop and get bottles, corks, and a corker. Now that I have a box of extra empty bottles and a bag of corks, it's official; I'll have to make more mead!

Strix_Varia · #15 10-15-2006, 07:45 PM

My second batch is looking evern more golden. Keep in mind its really not mead but Cyser.

archimedesbathtub · #16 10-16-2006, 08:47 PM

From the world of beer brewing...

There is a bottle filler out there that has the valve at the top of the tube. (Phil's bottle filler) Also, it has a little hole in the side of the tube that is only exposed when the valve is shut (ie no flow). The result is the legenth of the bottle filler is emptied into the bottle, and the height in the bottle ends up being almost exactly the level at which you released the valve. A very precise way to fill bottles, much less bottle-to-bottle variation. I use it to fill wine and beer bottles, and soon mead.

I've used both types of fillers, and I may never go back to the valve on the bottom style. The only down side is it cost 20 bucks, but if you do a lot of bottling, I think it's worth it.

ucflumberjack · #17 10-29-2006, 08:11 PM

i bottled my stout this weekend(48 bottles of home made stout hooray!!!) and it was a bit of a hassle. the bottle filler kinda sucks, well i guess thats the only part of the whole experience that was a hassle... mine is just one that you push down on teh bottom of teh bottle to let teh mead/beer/whatever out, and when you pick it back up its stuposed to stop, but it only stops half of the time, so i had to pour some stout out of about half of them so i probably could have gotten 49 or 50 bottles instead.....

ps. i used the excess to cook some sausage so it wasnt a complete loss....