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Fine sediment layer after bottling

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M

Meadaroo

NewBee
Registered Member
Apr 12, 2011
45
0
0
South Africa
Hey you Guys :)

About a week ago I bottled some mead and have since noticed that there's a fine layer of sediment on the bottom.

My question is, will this sediment cause any off flavours?

Should I rack again or leave it for the duration of ageing?

Help??
 
Hey Guys,

This was one of my very first attempts at making mead & it was a recipe I found on the net b4 i discovered "Gotmead". Here's the recipe details exactly as I found it...

1 Gallon Water
2 1/2 lbs Honey
2 Lemons
3 nutmegs, chopped (or 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg)
1 pkg Ale or Champagne yeast

"Add the honey to one gallon of water and bring it to a boil. Skim off the foam that boils up, and keep boiling until it stops foaming, approximately 30 minutes. Slice or juice the lemons and add along with the nutmeg. Mix well, turn off the heat and let stand covered until cool. Pour into a gallon jug and add the yeast. Champagne yeast or ale yeast works best.

Let it ferment for two weeks, and then siphon into bottles. (Siphoning off the good liquid and leaving the dregs is called 'racking') Seal or cap the bottles and let sit at room temperature for two weeks, then put in the refrigerator. If you let it sit out longer, the bottles may start to explode. You can drink it at any point now, and should have a frothy, pleasant drink."


It didn't work out as described in the recipe. I allowed it to ferment longer than the recipe called for & i also used normal bread yeast bcos i couldn't get the yeast required by the recipe. It took longer to clear up as well but when it did i was able to read newsprint through the bottle so i assumed i could bottle it.

Also, i didn't hve a hydrometer at the time (actually, i had never heard of such a thing when i made this recipe) and i still don't have one cos the one i ordered through the post arrived broken>:(

I didn't mention this mead in any of my previous post cos i didn't think it was goin to work out.

now that's its cleared i figured it could turn out nicely

What should i do with the sediment??
 
Hey,

Nope, no carbonation & no fizziness. Flavour is a little 'hot' bt after what i've learnt here, it needs a bit of agieng.

i've been giving it some thought & i perhaps wonder if i didn't suck up a little lees when i racked it

What do you guys think? Should I rack again & when? Or will this very small amount of lees affect the final ou5tcome?
 
OK. That sediment probably doesn't represent new fermentation in the bottle, though you might still see that at some point especially if it isn't dry. You may have sucked up some lees prior to bottling, or you may just be seeing more sediment drop from what appeared to be a clear mead. Even if you can read newsprint through a mead, it may still have the potential to drop a little sediment if it hasn't been fined. If it developed within a day or 2 of bottling, it may just be old lees that got sucked in which tend to quickly drop out. If it took longer, it is probably new sediment forming.

You probably don't need to do anything now.
(Except maybe get a hydrometer. :) )
 
As far as flavor, over time lees contact can provide a bready, yeasty, doughy flavor to the mead and a creaminess to the overall flavor & mouthfeel. If you've had Champagne which has been aged in the bottles on the lees, you'll recognize that flavor.
 
Thx Guys,

This has been super helpfull.

Am I correct then in assuming that that "bready, yeasty, doughy" flavour is not really something you want in your mead??

If tht's the case, wud it be wise 4 me to rack a month from now??
 
It's not necessarily a bad thing, some people love it and go to great lengths to impart it in their wines/meads. I don't love it myself.
 
I love the yeast flavor in Champagne, now I know how they get that. Thanks for the tip. Not sure I want that in my mead, though...
 
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