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extra head space in carboy

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beninak

beninak

NewBee
Registered Member
Mar 22, 2007
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Anchorage, AK
I just racked my first attempt at a cyser into a 5 gallon carboy! Now from everything I've read, there should be as little headspace in the carboy as possible to prevent oxidation. How much is too much? I followed a recipe for 5-gal, but i guess due to losses from racking or whatnot I've got about 4 inches of headspace from the top of the cyser to the top of the carboy. Is that acceptable or should I top it off with more apple juice before bulk aging it?
 
From what I have read, until it reaches 10% alcohol the bacteria that causes cider and wines to turn into vinegar can still infect it (though chances decrease with higher alcohol %) When I made my cider I topped it off up to the neck with additional apple juice. It will ferment the additional juice away and generate enough CO2 to push all the potentially contaminated air out. I bottled it a couple weeks ago and so far it is great (especially for being 13% abv)

I am fairly new myself, so if someone with more experience tells you differently, do that instead!
 
Beninak said:
I just racked my first attempt at a cyser into a 5 gallon carboy! Now from everything I've read, there should be as little headspace in the carboy as possible to prevent oxidation. How much is too much? I followed a recipe for 5-gal, but i guess due to losses from racking or whatnot I've got about 4 inches of headspace from the top of the cyser to the top of the carboy. Is that acceptable or should I top it off with more apple juice before bulk aging it?
Click to expand...

i've been searching but can't find the answer...

does anyone now an estimate of the max amount of inches of headspace one should leave in a 5 gallon carboy?
 
I don't think that there's any set amount, but it seems to be considered safer to have as little as possible.

So, if you used apple juice, then you may encounter a re-start of the fermentation. To prevent that, you might think about sorbating the brew, which should stop that.

Or

Just top it up to the bottom of the neck of the jar with water, good quality mineral water or distilled water.

If you did the later, then you can just seal it up and bulk age it, if the former, then the same if you've used sorbate otherwise I'd stick it under airlock for another couple of weeks before sealing. You can check with a hydrometer to ensure it's stopped/finished. 3 identical readings on 3 consecutive days should pretty much confirm that the ferment has finished/stopped.

Maybe that helps some.
 
I believe in leaving no air in carboys. While mead may be less prone to oxidation than wine, leaving O2 in contact with it is an open invitation to acetic acid bacteria. I don't usually top up or add marbles, but instead will use CO2 or inert gas to flush out the air. At your first racking the CO2 dissolved in the mead will probably effectively flush the carboy out as it de-gasses, but after that, taking precautions is wise.

Medsen
 
Beninak said:
I just racked my first attempt at a cyser into a 5 gallon carboy! Now from everything I've read, there should be as little headspace in the carboy as possible to prevent oxidation. How much is too much? I followed a recipe for 5-gal, but i guess due to losses from racking or whatnot I've got about 4 inches of headspace from the top of the cyser to the top of the carboy. Is that acceptable or should I top it off with more apple juice before bulk aging it?
Click to expand...


I think that no more than two inches for a five gallon carboy is the recommended amount.
 
I do not top up or do anything special really to eliminate head space. I use 6 gallon carboys and usually make 5 gallons so I have alot of surface area. But like Medsen said, the mead likely continues to release gasses very slightly for just a while after it is racked, pushing the oxygen out and being airlocked should form a barrier against oxygen. I have yet to have an oxidation problem. My meads typically have about a gallons worth of head space. Currently enjoying a fantastic blackberry mead which went through the same process.

-Benjamin
 
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