ten days....

[hepcat]

...since I primed and bottled a batch for sparkling mead. Should I be seeing any sediment in the bottles yet? They still look real still and not seeing any sediment or bubbles in the bottles yet when I (gently) agitate them and hold up to the light.

[Nathan K]

Originally Posted by hepcat

...since I primed and bottled a batch for sparkling mead. Should I be seeing any sediment in the bottles yet? They still look real still and not seeing any sediment or bubbles in the bottles yet when I (gently) agitate them and hold up to the light.

How long was it in secondary before you bottled? Did you add new yeast? If not it could take a long time..

[skunkboy]

Yes, you should eventually see some lees form as it bottle conditions, and then the yeasties fall down. 10 days would be a pretty short time.

[HunnyBunz]

Generally it takes about 3 weeks for adequate carbonation - that's assuming that your yeast has not reached it's alcohol tolerance before you bottled.

[hepcat]

Originally Posted by Nathan K

How long was it in secondary before you bottled? Did you add new yeast? If not it could take a long time..

It was in secondary for 27 days. Didn't add any more yeast at bottling. Primed (a gallon) with 2 1/2 T honey. The batch did finish dry @ 1.002(and tasted great). I used D-47 and since it did finish dry, maybe not much viable yeast left in it, idk. Guess it could be a while.

Thanks for the feedback you guys.

Something I forgot to mention, it was racked twice before bottling, at 19 days old, then again at 27 days, bottled at 41 days old. I know some yeast is left behind at each racking, so I guess there may not be any viable yeast left. Only time will tell I guess.

[Nathan K]

Originally Posted by hepcat

I know some yeast is left behind at each racking, so I guess there may not be any viable yeast left. Only time will tell I guess.

There just might not be much yeast left but I would guess there is probably at least a few random cells in there. If the yeast count is really low then you may have to wait a while. Since it finished dry you shouldn't have to worry about alcohol levels being too high for the yeast or anything. I'm curious about the amount of honey that you used for carbonation. How large was your total batch? 2 1/2 T seems really low if it was a 5 gallon batch.

[Robusto]

In my limited experience, it usually takes about a month to 6 weeks- But that is in my kitchen. Depending on the ABV, temperature, number of live yeast cells left in suspension, etc, that time could vary a few weeks.

[Chevette Girl]

2.5 tablespoons is around .16 of a cup, the usual 1 cup per 5-gallon batch would be 1/5 = .20 of a cup so it will be a lighter carbonation, but it's still within the right magnitude. And yeah, if there aren't many viable yeast cells still in suspension, it may take a little longer. But there's a reason we don't assume a clear, racked mead is safe to bottle with residual sugar unless we stabilize or sterile filter it!

A warmer place may speed things up a little. And I used to like to turn each bottle upside-down then reset it back in its nice dark case every few days while it was priming to keep the yeasties in suspension (also so I could see what kind of lees it was dropping). Don't know if that's an actual good idea, the beer brewers will probably just tell you to leave it alone.

[hepcat]

It was originally a 4 gallon batch that I racked into three one gallon carboys and one 3L carboy and only used one gallon for sparkling mead. So I used the amount of priming sugar(honey) recommended by the newbee guide and added 2 1/2 T to one gallon. And I have the bottles stored in this really cool wine rack, upside down. Here's the wine rack http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/prod...p?SKU=13191344, it holds six bottles upside down. Perfect, I thought, for storing/aging sparkling mead. Guess it's going to take longer than I thought it would to carbonate.

[TAKeyser]

Originally Posted by hepcat

And I have the bottles stored in this really cool wine rack, upside down. Here's the wine rack http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/prod...p?SKU=13191344, it holds six bottles upside down. Perfect, I thought, for storing/aging sparkling mead. Guess it's going to take longer than I thought it would to carbonate.

I would rethink the storing upside down. Once you take it off the rack to open one you'll have to flip it over and that will stir all that yeast into suspension and it won't be a pretty presentation when you pour. Store them right side up and the yeast will fall to the bottom and compact down and though you may get a little transfer when you pour most of it will stay behind if you pour smoothly.

[hepcat]

I'll turn them right side up a few weeks before I'm ready to open one. Would like to get a chest freezer one of these days and use that wine rack in the freezer for riddling.

But damn, got all this mead sitting around now, aging in bottles and carboys and it's driving me crazy because I don't want to try any of it til it's aged at least a 3 or 4 more months.

Which is why I'm planning to do a braggot soon... and that grape pyment too. And then may try a batch of beer also, something to do, and drink, until all the mead is ready.

[hepcat]

I have sparkling mead!!!!! 19 days in the bottle. Held them up to a bright light and could see sediment and alot of bubbles!

[fivecats]

Originally Posted by hepcat

I have sparkling mead!!!!! 19 days in the bottle. Held them up to a bright light and could see sediment and alot of bubbles!

alot of bubbles? alot?

:headdesk:

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.co...verything.html

[hepcat]

Yes. Tiny, champagne type bubbles. I could see them when I held the bottles up to a bright light and looked through them. It's def carbonated.

[hepcat]

Decided to open a 15.5oz Grolsch flip-top bottle of the sparkling mead this past Thursday night, 20 days in the bottle, and it wasn't very sparkly,lol. But the consolation prize is: it tasted great! Liked it so much I drank it anyway.
I saw lots of bubbles in the bottle before I opened it but that was deceiving. When I opened it, there was no foaming out the top and not much bubbling, when I poured it into a glass. And I could see really tiny bubbles in it if I held the glass up to the light.
I think I'll prime with 3 T honey/gallon next batch of sparkling mead instead of 2.5 T.

[Nathan K]

Originally Posted by hepcat

Decided to open a 15.5oz Grolsch flip-top bottle of the sparkling mead this past Thursday night, 20 days in the bottle, and it wasn't very sparkly,lol. But the consolation prize is: it tasted great! Liked it so much I drank it anyway.
I saw lots of bubbles in the bottle before I opened it but that was deceiving. When I opened it, there was no foaming out the top and not much bubbling, when I poured it into a glass. And I could see really tiny bubbles in it if I held the glass up to the light.
I think I'll prime with 3 T honey/gallon next batch of sparkling mead instead of 2.5 T.

One idea is to instead use something more easily fermentable than honey, like dextrose/corn sugar. If you are going for something like champagne levels of carbonation you would need to use 1/5 to 1/4 cup of pure corn sugar per gallon.

[hepcat]

Originally Posted by Nathan K

One idea is to instead use something more easily fermentable than honey, like dextrose/corn sugar. If you are going for something like champagne levels of carbonation you would need to use 1/5 to 1/4 cup of pure corn sugar per gallon.

Thanks NathanK, didn't know that....

[huesmann]

I think the yeasties will eat whatever sugar is there, whether sucrose, glucose, dextrose, maltose, whatever.

[Boogaloo]

Originally Posted by hepcat

Which is why I'm planning to do a braggot soon... and that grape pyment too. And then may try a batch of beer also, something to do, and drink, until all the mead is ready.

THIS. I have a bunch of Mead aging and brew beer almost every week now. Started so I can have something to drink while I wait for my Meads to age. The best part is when you get the whole all grain brewing process down. It's very inexpensive and you can brew awesome Bracketts. My last 5 gallon batch of beer cost me 15$ total.

[hepcat]

Sounds good....that's what I'd like to do, now that I've got a few gallons of mead sitting around bulk aging...