d.j.
Much thanks. That puts my mind at ease. One of the best things about a forum is that people know quite a bit about things other than mead. But that knowledge is sometimes applicable to the mead making process.
Reducing headspace-marbles or stones?
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Much thanks. That puts my mind at ease. One of the best things about a forum is that people know quite a bit about things other than mead. But that knowledge is sometimes applicable to the mead making process.
I wonder about using broken bits of ceramic tile, pottery, etc. Folks that makes a lot of pie crusts often have ceramic beads that they put on the crusts to keep them from bubbling up and deforming. Why couldn't you visit a tile store and often to help them get rid of broken ceramic tiles? 
Btw, I think those ceramic beads made for pie crusts are more expensive than aquarium beads.
Btw, I think those ceramic beads made for pie crusts are more expensive than aquarium beads.
I wonder about using broken bits of ceramic tile, pottery, etc. Folks that makes a lot of pie crusts often have ceramic beads that they put on the crusts to keep them from bubbling up and deforming. Why couldn't you visit a tile store and often to help them get rid of broken ceramic tiles?
As a ceramist, I can tell you this is a clever idea, albeit somewhat of a gamble and I can't recommend it. Most clays, with the exception of some high-fired porcelains, have some degree of porosity. Even if it's minor, you'd still be running the risk of introducing spoilage organisms into your mead unless the alcohol content was sufficient enough to kill them, and sanitizing them would be a pain. Commercially produced tile you'd find at a hardware store isn't designed to be food-safe, so you most certainly wouldn't want to put that in your mead. Microorganisms aside, some of those glazes could potentially leach heavy metals like cobalt, chromium, manganese, etc. If you had clay "beads" which were entirely covered in a proper glaze, that would be a different story, but you might be hard-pressed to find something like that. Just my two cents . . .
Just to play devil's advocate - even given the porous natue, you could sanitize with heat, which would penitrate well.
I'd imagine the baking beads aren't glazed (my mom was a potter, there are always imperfections because the glazed object has to rest upon SOMETHING while it's being fired), and like my boiling stone (unglazed ceramic "pot watcher") they'd end up discoloured and probably absorbing flavours even if they're technically sanitary, but what if you coated them with beeswax? That would seal the porosity, shouldn't have enough temperature shrinkage to crack, if you're gentle they shouldn't make like crayons and get wax all over everything and I don't think the alcohol would incorporate the wax the same way it can absorb oils... or am I way off base here? I've used beeswax to seal drinking vessels before... On that note, would "marbles" of beeswax work if you didn't mind floating ballast? You could probably get them roughly round with judicious use of a candle flame or hair dryer and cold water?
You're exactly right; the glazed bead, platter, or whatever has to sit on the kiln shelf while firing, and if it's completely covered in glaze it will fuse to the shelf. Commercial dinnerware is completely covered in glaze because factories have elaborate systems of doing multiple glazings and firings with slightly different temperatures that the average studio potter doesn't have access to. They can afford to pay engineers and materials-scientists to come up fancy-pants systems like that. I also agree with your second concern - even though the beads could be sanitized with heat (like you sanitize a porous aeration stone), if they're sitting around in multiple batches of mead for extended time, I think it's inevitable they'll pick up flavors. Finally, a safety concern is that some clay bodies have poor thermal shock resistance, and could potentially shatter or explode if they were quickly removed from boiling water. Ceramic bakeware is made of very specific clay bodies to prevent that.
As for the wax idea, I really have no experience with anything like that, but it seems plausible. Perhaps some of the more experienced mead making rockstars who have more chemistry experience can chime in with how wax would react with alcohol or other sanitizers?
Since I don't have kegging equipment to bulk age and am fairly cheap and lazy, I've been using glass beads. They seem to do the trick, and with my relative lack of experience I like the low-tech approach - for now.
As for the wax idea, I really have no experience with anything like that, but it seems plausible. Perhaps some of the more experienced mead making rockstars who have more chemistry experience can chime in with how wax would react with alcohol or other sanitizers?
Since I don't have kegging equipment to bulk age and am fairly cheap and lazy, I've been using glass beads. They seem to do the trick, and with my relative lack of experience I like the low-tech approach - for now.
I never concern myself with headspace, just do what I do.
Start with a 6.5 gallon batch of mead in a brew bucket.
After 3 days of fermentation use a funnel and pour it in a 6.5 gallon carboy.
At the first racking, rack into a 6 gallon carboy.
At the 2nd racking, rack into a 5 gallon carboy and let bulk age.
No need to fill headspace using this method, and no need to introduce potential problems. Spend your money on proper sized carboys instead of marbles or corks. Hit up the local brew clubs, chances are you'll find someone willing to part with a few carboys cheap.
Cheers,
Wrathwilde
Start with a 6.5 gallon batch of mead in a brew bucket.
After 3 days of fermentation use a funnel and pour it in a 6.5 gallon carboy.
At the first racking, rack into a 6 gallon carboy.
At the 2nd racking, rack into a 5 gallon carboy and let bulk age.
No need to fill headspace using this method, and no need to introduce potential problems. Spend your money on proper sized carboys instead of marbles or corks. Hit up the local brew clubs, chances are you'll find someone willing to part with a few carboys cheap.
Cheers,
Wrathwilde
But losing that much mead makes me want to cry! That's a gallon and a half of lost mead, when in a traditional there would probably have only been a max of a 1/4 gal or so of lees, and maybe 3/4-1 gal of lees in a melomel.I can see the apeal of that method though. What I've been doing is just leaving everything in primary until ferment is finished (starting with an extra 1/4 gal for something with less lees, and an extra 1/2 gal for something with more lees), then rack to secondary. Generally works out for me, and I usually get a little extra (1/4-3/4 gal) than I was expecting, which gives me top up fluid for when I rack into tertiary for bulk aging (and I just keep the extra in a smaller jug with some glass beads until that time).
Is using an inert gas not cheaper and easier? Dumping CO2 into a carboy prior to filling it, then filling any heads pace again once more (being thorough) has always worked for me, and I've left some head space that makes anybody cringe. No oxygen in the head space, no problem...
And I've still not ever tasted the liquid cardboard...
And I've still not ever tasted the liquid cardboard...
I guess it depends on how many marbles you're buying... you can get a brand new tank and guage from micromatic for around $100. Filling it will cost you another $10 or $15.
Two benefits:
- With CO2, there's always enough to fill the head space, unless you run out of CO2 ;D (which happens rather rarely considering just how much CO2 it takes to weigh 5lbs)
- You don't have to sanitize CO2 or worry about contamination. This point is the true salesman for me; attempting to keep large volumes of small objects clean and sanitized just sounds painful.
Negatives:
- up-front cost. $100 will buy a lot of marbles.
- storage. You can store marbles just about anywhere, whereas a CO2 tank should be stored in an upright position, and if you're lazy like me, with guages attached. Meaning, don't knock it over!
And, think of all the fun uses you can put to a tank. Forget about those air cans for dusting the computer. But the most important use of all: dispensing some awesome homebrew from your corny keg. Yeah yeah, corny keg sold separately.
Two benefits:
- With CO2, there's always enough to fill the head space, unless you run out of CO2 ;D (which happens rather rarely considering just how much CO2 it takes to weigh 5lbs)
- You don't have to sanitize CO2 or worry about contamination. This point is the true salesman for me; attempting to keep large volumes of small objects clean and sanitized just sounds painful.
Negatives:
- up-front cost. $100 will buy a lot of marbles.
- storage. You can store marbles just about anywhere, whereas a CO2 tank should be stored in an upright position, and if you're lazy like me, with guages attached. Meaning, don't knock it over!
And, think of all the fun uses you can put to a tank. Forget about those air cans for dusting the computer. But the most important use of all: dispensing some awesome homebrew from your corny keg. Yeah yeah, corny keg sold separately.
I use the same system that Wrathwilde mentioned. 6.5 to 6 to 5 gallon carboys. I have active fermentations going in the 6.5 and 6's so headpsace is not an issue. When I do a final racking from the 6 to 5 I usually end up with no headspace in the carboy and a couple bottles worth of spillage to share and enjoy.
I did marbles for a while but it seemed like it took a 1 gallon can of marbles to fill in a quart or so of headspace. Then there was a lot of waste with the mead down amongst the marbles when I did a final racking to bottle.
I am in the process of getting set up for CO2 and will likely use that to aid my process in the future.
I did marbles for a while but it seemed like it took a 1 gallon can of marbles to fill in a quart or so of headspace. Then there was a lot of waste with the mead down amongst the marbles when I did a final racking to bottle.
I am in the process of getting set up for CO2 and will likely use that to aid my process in the future.
CO2 for headspace
I strongly concur with icemetal. I put a 2-holed stopper on top of my carboys with one hole used for a ferm. lock and the other containing a disconnect valve that can be flushed with CO2. I use corny kegs for my last racking and then I can either store the mead for drinking or to top off other meads, or I can bottle them using a Blichmann Beer Gun. You can also carbonate your mead to make it sparkling. I'm also considering getting a tank of argon, which is less soluble than CO2, to more effectively blanket headspace- I admit I'm a bit compulsive!
I strongly concur with icemetal. I put a 2-holed stopper on top of my carboys with one hole used for a ferm. lock and the other containing a disconnect valve that can be flushed with CO2. I use corny kegs for my last racking and then I can either store the mead for drinking or to top off other meads, or I can bottle them using a Blichmann Beer Gun. You can also carbonate your mead to make it sparkling. I'm also considering getting a tank of argon, which is less soluble than CO2, to more effectively blanket headspace- I admit I'm a bit compulsive!
I recently measured the volume that the marbles displace. A 12-ounce package of "Top Fin" (Petsmart brand) aquarium marbles displaces about 4 1/2 to 5 ounces of mead. At $1.99/package, your typical one quart loss during racking will use 7 packages, or about $14 worth. Not a bad price to pay unless you have several batches going at once, then it can really start to add up.
I'm hoping an inert gas set-up is in my near future.
That is likely the key. With 20 or so carboys going, that just ended up being WAY too many marbles... and racking out from amongst marbles was not a good thing.
On the bright side, you can use a couple of the marbles to weigh down the grain sock with the oak cubes in it... You do use oak, right? ;D
Yes I use them for oak cubes, and to weigh down spice bags as well. So they will not go to waste when I finally get an inert gas system.
