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Who thinks I should rack?

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Kieran

NewBee
Registered Member
Sep 25, 2016
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I've got a banana-coffee mead going at the moment. It's a recipe from Make Mead Like a Viking. It said that when transferring to secondary, either rack it or strain it; I chose to strain because I wanted to keep the lees with it.

Problem is that lots of tiny banana particles hitched a ride, and the mead now has a new cap of banana sludge. It's not thick, but I don't want it to stay there for the several months that I plan on leaving it.

Unless anyone who knows what they're doing (i.e. not me) thinks that it won't be a problem. I'd rather not rack it yet if I can help it because, again, I want the lees to stay with it for a while.

So, who thinks I should rack and who thinks I should leave it?

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shoes said:
I've got a banana-coffee mead going at the moment. It's a recipe from Make Mead Like a Viking. It said that when transferring to secondary, either rack it or strain it; I chose to strain because I wanted to keep the lees with it.

Problem is that lots of tiny banana particles hitched a ride, and the mead now has a new cap of banana sludge. It's not thick, but I don't want it to stay there for the several months that I plan on leaving it.

Unless anyone who knows what they're doing (i.e. not me) thinks that it won't be a problem. I'd rather not rack it yet if I can help it because, again, I want the lees to stay with it for a while.

So, who thinks I should rack and who thinks I should leave it?

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Click to expand...

1) Whether or not to rack depends on how long since pitch and how long since ferment stopping as far as whether to rack.
2) I have heard from other makers that any mead made with real bananas takes years if it ever clears
 
caduseus said:
1) Whether or not to rack depends on how long since pitch and how long since ferment stopping as far as whether to rack.
2) I have heard from other makers that any mead made with real bananas takes years if it ever clears
Click to expand...
1) It's still fermenting strongly. I put it secondary early to get it off the bananas. Pitch was about a week ago.
2) I'm not really concerned about it clearing since I knew going into it that it probably won't. I'm just concerned that letting the banana cap sit there for months is a bad idea because banana isn't really a 'let it sit there' kind of fruit. Not to mention potential for mold growth.

Are these real concerns or should I just relax?

It may or may not help to know that this is a wild ferment. I pitched a honey-ginger bug that I started a couple of weeks ago.

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Part of the answer lies in what your temps are. Cooler would be less immediate but I would say regardless to get rid if that crap before it gives you brown banana flavor unless that's what you want.

You could just use a strainer and dip/drag it across the surface to get it out. If it's in a carboy then that won't work. You could use a turkey baster and suck it off the top in a carboy. But ya. Get rid of it.
 
Squatchy said:
Part of the answer lies in what your temps are. Cooler would be less immediate but I would say regardless to get rid if that crap before it gives you brown banana flavor unless that's what you want.

You could just use a strainer and dip/drag it across the surface to get it out. If it's in a carboy then that won't work. You could use a turkey baster and suck it off the top in a carboy. But ya. Get rid of it.
Click to expand...
Ah, turkey baster is a good idea. I'll give that a shot tomorrow. I could maybe even try to suck it up with a siphon hose with my mouth since sanitation on my end wouldn't be an issue.

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Careful about caps. It's easy for mold to grow on them. If you leave and mold grows for several months on/in your mead you will probably have to toss the batch. but never throw anything before you taste it, say yuck, age extensively, and say yuck again because there has been no improvement at all. If there was improvement you might be able to age it even further and someday it becomes drinkable. Anyway, moldy caps in your mead for months is bad!
 
I'd rack. If you decide not to, give the carboy a swirl every day to break up and agitate the cap. If you don't mild can grown on the fruit exposed to air on the surface.
 
I racked it. Worked pretty well, I just sucked up as much lees as I could with it. Very interesting taste. I bet it'll get really good with age. The banana is very pronounced, but that should recead with age, and I'm hoping the coffee will come out a bit more. Still pretty sweet, but I think it works.

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