I've used bentonite to clarify 1 gallon batches but does anyone know of a way to clear 5 gallon batches and above? I tried benonite with a 5 gallon batch but it has not clarified after a few weeks and some of the bentonite has even just stayed floating on the top of the mead.
Quickly clarifying larger quantities of mead
- Thread starter Cor
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There are tons of clarifying agents out there, keiselsol, chitosan, sparkloid, isinglass, the list goes on, lots for you to try.
Try searching for "fining" in the title of threads, that should get you plenty to read for a while.
Also, with the bentonite - 2 questions. Firstly, was the bigger batch that you failed to clear something different than what you'd ever cleared before? Might not be the fining agent's fault, some particles are positively charged, some negatively, bentonite can only grab one of them (can't remember which honestly). Question #2, how much bentonite do you use in 1 gallon batches, and how much did you use in the bigger batch?
My personal method for clearing mead is time. I wait. Then I wait more. Then more. Then the mead is perfectly clear, and well aged.
Try searching for "fining" in the title of threads, that should get you plenty to read for a while.
Also, with the bentonite - 2 questions. Firstly, was the bigger batch that you failed to clear something different than what you'd ever cleared before? Might not be the fining agent's fault, some particles are positively charged, some negatively, bentonite can only grab one of them (can't remember which honestly). Question #2, how much bentonite do you use in 1 gallon batches, and how much did you use in the bigger batch?
My personal method for clearing mead is time. I wait. Then I wait more. Then more. Then the mead is perfectly clear, and well aged.
as per above. but one thing i have had is adding tannin which made the bentonite drop very quickly.
That's odd then that the larger batch didn't clear, I don't have an answer for that, or even a guess, other than the guess that maybe the larger batch just needs more than a few weeks.
Every mead can be different. Variations in temperature, acidity, sweetness and so forth means they not react in the same way, even when using the same honey. The change in volume should not alter whether the fining works or not, though it may take a few days longer for things to settle to the bottle as they have farther to travel.
Cor, what recipe did you use, and was it any different from your 1 gallon batches?
Cor, what recipe did you use, and was it any different from your 1 gallon batches?
I could be wrong, but it sounds to me like he's saying he (sorry if you're a she!) that this was a 6 gallon batch, split into a 1gal and 5gal, equal amounts of bentonite added per gallon in each - the 1gal cleared, 5gal didn't.
Cor, please correct me if I have that wrong.
It was all from the same batch split into 1 gallon and 4 gallons. The Bentonite I used from Brewcraft says it is to be mixed in with a "small quantity of wine" so I guess it wasn't meant for anything much over a gallon.
I left the 4 gallons sitting for a couple weeks but it wasn't even starting to clarify.
I'm going to try some other methods and see what works. I'll let you all know how it turns out.
I left the 4 gallons sitting for a couple weeks but it wasn't even starting to clarify.
I'm going to try some other methods and see what works. I'll let you all know how it turns out.
Yeah, the bentonite I recently purchased says to mix it with water or wine and then let it sit overnight before mixing into the must.
I had problems with a 5 gallon peach mead clearing untill the owner of the local HBS suggested that I use some pectin enzyme. It only took 3-4 drops and about five days to get the mead nice and clear. It also worked on a lemon mead last year after 3-4 clarifier trys. If the clarifier isn't working try pectin enzyme.
