Filtering vs Siphoning

[Déantóir]

Howdy,

I've made a batch of mead with bananas as an ingredient. I didn't bag them or anything and now there's an awful lot of sediment in the demijohn, maybe a third of the bottle. This stuff is pretty loose and I'd expect it to pack down a bit left to it's own devices but I was wondering if I wouldn't get more mead out by putting the whole lot through a coffee filter or a few layers of muslin cloth.

I guess siphoning is more commonly used as there's overall less exposure to air. I am likely to do much harm in the process of filtering?

Does anyone have any tips on how to go about filtering it?

Thanks

 

[McJeff]

Howdy,

I've made a batch of mead with bananas as an ingredient. I didn't bag them or anything and now there's an awful lot of sediment in the demijohn, maybe a third of the bottle. This stuff is pretty loose and I'd expect it to pack down a bit left to it's own devices but I was wondering if I wouldn't get more mead out by putting the whole lot through a coffee filter or a few layers of muslin cloth.

I guess siphoning is more commonly used as there's overall less exposure to air. I am likely to do much harm in the process of filtering?

Does anyone have any tips on how to go about filtering it?

Thanks

How old is it? Is it done fermenting?

 

[mannye]

Regardless of how long it's been, assuming it's done fermenting a coffee filter will clog up instantly.

Muslin or cheesecloth (same thing?) will work much better. Also your funnel isn't big enough. Trust me. Put the cloth over a bucket and go there. Then wash out the demijohn and put it back. Don't splash too much and you will be OK with oxidation.


Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now. G

 

[McJeff]

Regardless of how long it's been, assuming it's done fermenting a coffee filter will clog up instantly.

Muslin or cheesecloth (same thing?) will work much better. Also your funnel isn't big enough. Trust me. Put the cloth over a bucket and go there. Then wash out the demijohn and put it back. Don't splash too much and you will be OK with oxidation.


Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now. G

Well i only ask because if its still young, it might not look like its still fermeneting but there still could be enough co2 in the mead to suspend the particles. Letting things settle for 3-4 months first would be the best option and then filtering would be that much easier.

 

[PitBull]

You likely want to get the mead off of the lees. If you're sure the fermentation is done, you should rack and fine the mead.

I made a banana mead last year. It was allowed to clear and then fined. After four months, I filtered with a 1.0 micron nominal filter. A few months after bottling, the banana mead still dropped some sediment, much more than my traditional meads.

 

[bernardsmith]

Buchner funnel might be useful...

I would siphon the bulk of the mead off the lees and then perhaps funnel the lees into a tall and narrow container and store that container in a fridge to allow the mead to separate from the lees. I would then siphon the liquid off the lees and add this to the bulk of the mead. What I have also done is to pour the lees through a buchner funnel (basically a funnel through which you draw a vacuum powerful enough to force the liquid through a filter and the particulates). For this you need an erlenmeyer flask with a side arm, a funnel and some filter papers and a vacuum pump.

 

[Déantóir]

How old is it? Is it done fermenting?

It's coming up on a couple of months old. I was step-feeding it and I think it's gone past the alcohol tolerance of the yeast. Will be checking to see if the SG is stable tomorrow.

 

[McJeff]

Rack it off the lees, and let it set for 3-4 months.

 

[fatbloke]

I'd be inclined to strain the larger fruit debris out with some sanitised muslin (clean and the soaked in sulphite solution), then cold crash it.......

then it can be racked normally.

some research by the OP would have shown a few different ways of dealing with banana.

the easiest is to top and tail the banana, then slice them up and simmer the lot i.e. dont peel them just slice whole. Simmer for 10 mins or so. Let it all cool. Strain off the pulp and ferment the liquor only.

if its not bananery enough once the ferment is completed, you can rack onto some fresh sliced fruit (stabilised and racked off the sediment of course) then leave it until the fruit has all sunk......

 

[bernardsmith]

I'd be inclined to strain the larger fruit debris out with some sanitised muslin (clean and the soaked in sulphite solution), then cold crash it.......

then it can be racked normally.

some research by the OP would have shown a few different ways of dealing with banana.

the easiest is to top and tail the banana, then slice them up and simmer the lot i.e. dont peel them just slice whole. Simmer for 10 mins or so. Let it all cool. Strain off the pulp and ferment the liquor only.

if its not bananery enough once the ferment is completed, you can rack onto some fresh sliced fruit (stabilised and racked off the sediment of course) then leave it until the fruit has all sunk......

I believe that if you use the skins the wine takes on a very banana-like flavor (Not necessarily a good thing). If you avoid using the peel the wine is far more subtle...

 

[fatbloke]

I believe that if you use the skins the wine takes on a very banana-like flavor (Not necessarily a good thing). If you avoid using the peel the wine is far more subtle...

Flavour and aroma......... lots of it.......

yum yum !

Not big into subtle Bernard......

More seriously, the first one I tried was with the boiled/simmered method. That works well.

The other batches have been done on the pulp, skins and all and I wouldn't have bothered trying a batch with just the flesh as pretty much all of the recipes I found said skin and all.

I'd presume it might be like orange though with so much of the better aroma being in the skin.

Would more subtle be an idea ? I know that sticking a banana into a country wine can help with clearing it, but it can leave some hint of residual flavour - which the national judges here consider a minor fault - if its not supposed to be part of the recipe........

Hence I think I'd rather have the banana flavour as blatant.......

 

[bernardsmith]

Flavour and aroma......... lots of it.......

yum yum !

Not big into subtle Bernard......

More seriously, the first one I tried was with the boiled/simmered method. That works well.

The other batches have been done on the pulp, skins and all and I wouldn't have bothered trying a batch with just the flesh as pretty much all of the recipes I found said skin and all.

I'd presume it might be like orange though with so much of the better aroma being in the skin.

Would more subtle be an idea ? I know that sticking a banana into a country wine can help with clearing it, but it can leave some hint of residual flavour - which the national judges here consider a minor fault - if its not supposed to be part of the recipe........

Hence I think I'd rather have the banana flavour as blatant.......

I just bottled some banana wine (no honey) and I made this with no skins and with very, very ripe bananas (heated - not boiled ) in water for about 45 minutes. The wine tastes really quite delicious - a little like a sauterne. Nice straw color.

 

[mannye]

Well i only ask because if its still young, it might not look like its still fermeneting but there still could be enough co2 in the mead to suspend the particles. Letting things settle for 3-4 months first would be the best option and then filtering would be that much easier.

Absolutely. Filtering shouldn't even be thought about until it's clear. Putting cloudy mead in a filter is a sure fire way to waste filter media. Filtering is only for a final polish to get that brilliant look.