Toggle sidebar

new guy here

  • PATRONS: Did you know we've a chat function for you now? Look to the bottom of the screen, you can chat, set up rooms, talk to each other individually or in groups! Click 'Chat' at the right side of the chat window to open the chat up.
  • Love Gotmead and want to see it grow? Then consider supporting the site and becoming a Patron! If you're logged in, click on your username to the right of the menu to see how as little as $30/year can get you access to the patron areas and the patron Facebook group and to support Gotmead!
  • We now have a Patron-exclusive Facebook group! Patrons my join at The Gotmead Patron Group. You MUST answer the questions, providing your Patron membership, when you request to join so I can verify your Patron membership. If the questions aren't answered, the request will be turned down.
Barrel Char Wood Products
L

longshot38

NewBee
Registered Member
Feb 23, 2013
37
0
0
Newfoundland, by choice and the Grace of God
i was referred to here by a member over at Homesteading today, not sure if she is a member here but i do have an interest in making mead. ever since i read books on medieval times.

i have a couple of 1 gallon glass jugs and an airlock i bought a couple of years ago because the price was right lol gotta love sales.

the rest of the gear shouldn't be hard to get but i do have a question; when it comes to bottling, i have read here that people use beer bottles but most of the bottles have twist off tops that, i understand, that getting an air tight seal is difficult leading to off tastes etc. so do you use corks (and what size do you use) or how do u get a good seal?

sorry so long to start off.

thanks
dean
 
Beer bottles are definitely good for us one gallon batch folks, so we don't have to drink a whole 750 ml bottle in a couple days. To seal the beer bottles, I haven't heard about using corks, but you can use regular crown bottle caps. But the screw off cap bottles don't really handle the force of the bottle capper very well and may break on you. If you can get non screw off beer bottles, those are a much better option.

And, welcome to got mead!
 
  • Like
Reactions: kudapucat
You can bottle in wine bottles if you like. If you drink micro brew, or small scale brew beer, go out and get a few bottles, most will be pry off, get some caps for a few bucks, and a capper for $10-$15.
If your not a huge beer drinker, go out and get some fullers beers, someone will drink it.
Have you chosen a recipe yet?

Oh, and welcome to the hobby! You might want to start saving money now, it'll be gone in no time! ;D
 
thanks for the welcome guys i had a recipe that i printed off years ago for a cyser but i'll be danged if i can find it. so i figured i'd start with simple and work from there. the recipe for joes orange ancient mead looks like a place to start. so i guess i need to get some stuff together and get started over the next few weeks.


dean
 
Welcome, Dean!

I've found that the screw-top beer bottles aren't built as thick as the non-screw top type so every now and then when bottling with a lever-capper, there's a sickening "crunch" and I have to dig the cap (with broken glass attached) out of my capper.

A bench capper might reduce this problem because it doesn't pull the bottle into the cap, but realistically I've only broken a couple of twist-off beer bottles out of maybe eighty or a hundred bottles I've capped so far... it's only been screw-top cooler bottles (Mike's Hard Lemonade) where I have a 1 in 3 chance of "crunch" with the capper (then I pour the stuff through a coffee filter and into a fresh bottle it goes).

I've stuck a cork in a beer bottle from time to time when I get half a bottle of something I'm not carbonating but don't want to drink while I'm bottling, but with the shape of the bottle it's not really ideal, won't make a good seal because it's only going to be tight at the top, not all the length of the cork, and you can't push it in too far or you'll never get it out again.

I do a lot of 1-gallon batches, I like to bottle in a combination of 750 ml bottles and 375 ml bottles, I can usually get three of each plus a little bit to taste right then, and purchasing a case of 375 ml bottles isn't expensive and at three per gallon the case will last a while, just make sure people give them back if you give them mead! :)
 
Marshmallow, it was 5 gallons last time I saw your signature, what was the extra gallon?
NewBee guide is a great place to start reading, Ken Schramn's book is also pretty good (serious understatement), and JAO is always a good start, and even some of the more experienced people still brew a batch now and then.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Barrel Char Wood Products

Viking Brew Vessels - Authentic Drinking Horns

Top Bottom