I think I filled the carboy too full with must. I have a very vigorous fermentation and the must is bubbling into the airlock. Can I remove the airlock and remove a bit?
Merci.
Merci.
Carboy too full?
- Thread starter Kelle
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You sure can. Having head room for your mead to brew is a good idea. One suggestion is to remove a bit under a gallon of must (depending on how big your carboy is) and put it into a separate 1 gallon glass jug. When when the primary is done, you can rack both the big batch, and top off with the stuff from the 1 gallon.
Hmm. Won't the bit that I remove to a smaller container continue to ferment? Will it need an airlock on it as well? What is the result of adding it to the secondary fermentation?
Thanks
Thanks
Yes it will. No mead will be wasted!
Yes
It will be a good thing to top off with. There are many methods of topping off for secondary/tershery/aging. One of the methods is brewing a bit extra to top off with. There are lots of threads out there that cover what you can do. If you are interested in more info about topping off and why you should do it, try using the search feature in the forums and you'll find lots of good info out there.
For short-term "storage" of overflow, I've been known to use a 1-litre mason jar with plastic wrap and an elastic band (or the metal rjar ring put on loosely over the plastic)... it's loose enough to let pressure out but won't let contaminants or much oxygen in. I wouldn't do this for terribly long if the mead/wine is going to be in secondary, but when you're out of airlocks...
The mason jar can also be reused later if you have a yeast that has poor flocculation and really feel like it left a lot of mead in the carboy. Pour the whole thing over into the jar and put it into the fridge for a cold crash, I've saved whole pints this way!
So have I! I always pour the cloudy dregs into a bottle and let it sit in the fridge for a while.
Secondary fermenter can be too full as well.
Also be mindful of having the secondary carboy too full. Recommended headspace to prevent oxidation is less than 2". However, if the temperature varies widely during the mead making process, too little headspace can be a small problem.
All matter expands as it is heated. If you rack to the secondary at 60 degrees F (in winter) and leave only about 1/4" of headspace, the must may be forced through the air lock when the temp (in the spring) warms to above 70 degrees. This results from the larger volume mead expanding more than the expansion of the carboy's volume. It happened to me with some cherry melomel.
Just keep an eye on the mead and remove samples before before you get a mess in the airlock.
Also be mindful of having the secondary carboy too full. Recommended headspace to prevent oxidation is less than 2". However, if the temperature varies widely during the mead making process, too little headspace can be a small problem.
All matter expands as it is heated. If you rack to the secondary at 60 degrees F (in winter) and leave only about 1/4" of headspace, the must may be forced through the air lock when the temp (in the spring) warms to above 70 degrees. This results from the larger volume mead expanding more than the expansion of the carboy's volume. It happened to me with some cherry melomel.
Just keep an eye on the mead and remove samples before before you get a mess in the airlock.
