Many say that your mead is clear when you can read a newspaper through it. What volume are you using to check clarity? A gallon jug, a glass of mead or what? My grape pyment ala Joe's is still quite dark. Is it supposed to clear that much too?
Read newspaper?
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Generally that guideline is for traditional meads, or for light-color fruit melomels. Obviously with a lot of Concord color in the must you'll have a much harder time determining clarity. My trick for moderately dark colored meads is to shine a focused flashlight through the carboy, and to look at how much light is scattered by the liquid. If the beam is fairly intact on the other side, then the mead is about as clear as it will likely get.
Of course even this technique fails when the mead is super-dark. My last two batches of "uber-fruit" reds, one with black currants and the other with elderberries, let absolutely no light through the carboy. In those cases I took a small sample of the liquid with a wine thief, poured that into a small wine glass, and judged clarity through the glass.
Of course even this technique fails when the mead is super-dark. My last two batches of "uber-fruit" reds, one with black currants and the other with elderberries, let absolutely no light through the carboy. In those cases I took a small sample of the liquid with a wine thief, poured that into a small wine glass, and judged clarity through the glass.
The same with my Red, White, and Blue. It's too dark in the carboy to see light through it, but it's beautifuly clear--albeit dark--in the glass.
A bit tart, but gorgeous.
A bit tart, but gorgeous.
