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Reducing air space in carboy

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bhresko

NewBee
Registered Member
Oct 22, 2012
12
0
0
New Jersey
Have a batch of mead in a 5 gallon carboy. Did first racking a few weeks back. The mead level is a tad low. Someone advised me to add food grade glass marbles to the carboy to reduce the amount of air space in the carboy. Problem is trying to find food grade marbles. I did find ceramic pie weights. Has anyone used these pie weights? Can anyone advise other alternatives? After all I went thru to get my final SG set, don't need an oxidation problem.

Thanks
 
Sanitize your pie weights and use them if they will fit. I do not know how one would find food grade marbles! And yes, how do you know that the ones you buy which are undoubtedly made in a third world country could indeed be full of extractable lead or some other chemical. I just don't know how you would test for it myself.
 
Do you know if your pie weights are glazed or porous ceramic? If they're porous, you may well end up with some flavour transfer and you might want to boil them prior to each use. If they're glazed, hey, perfect solution if they fit in the carboy!

Aquarium grade is equivalent to food grade, check the pet store. Fish are pretty sensitive to chemicals.

Other solutions include CO2 injection (I think there are contraptions available that let you use paintball cartridges), inert gas layering (nitrogen or argon or something that won't let oxygen in), or what I do - brew in a bucket and make a little too much so I have enough to cover racking losses, or failing that, top it up with something... apple cider or juice has worked well for me, a finished mead, or honey water to the same SG as the batch started out with.
 
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