Some newbee questions about my very first batch.

[SirWan]

Hi everybody!

I've started making my very first batch of mead on the 26th of March 2017.

Quick recipe:

1.65 kg (3lb 8.43 oz) of local honey
Nutrient: DAP 3gr
Yeast: Mangrove Jack's Craft series (Mead) D05 2.5gr
First fermentation temperature : 21°C (69.8 °F)
Water : bottled, about 4l (not sure)
Primary fermentation in a glass fermenter of 5L (1.32 US gal)

SG: unknown (didn't buy a hydrometer yet at that point, which I regret)

Gravity on 26th of april : 1.05

At this point I syphoned the mead into another glass bottle of 5 l (1.32 US gal) and transfered it to the garage , which at that time the temperature could drop to about 2°c , but could go up to 12°C during the day. I do not yet have a space to really cold crash a batch of mead in a fridge. Anyway, the airlock at this point is giving a bubble every 3-5 minutes.

I read a lot of stuff about bottling and stopping fermentation but it got me confused, that's why I'm asking it here:

does adding the sulfite and sorbate make it safe to bottle the mead? (also for the future, I like sweet meads more)
Is a whip to get rid of CO2 really important?
Should/can I let it age in this secondary fermenter with an airlock? Should I be worried about oxidation?

I tried to make this post earlier, but somehow it didn't work. Hope it goes okay this time.

Looking forward to some advice from you guys!

Cheers!

(P.S my mother language is not English, excuse me for some spelling mistakes. )

 

[Squatchy]

does adding the sulfite and sorbate make it safe to bottle the mead? (also for the future, I like sweet meads more) It's a crap shoot as to weither you can stop an active ferment. But once it's gone dry you should be able to stabilize it if you add the correct amounts.

Is a whip to get rid of CO2 really important? You can use something else. But it is important to degass as it will become more and more toxic to the yeast over time. You want to keep the yeast stirred into suspension at all times any way.


Should/can I let it age in this secondary fermenter with an airlock? Should I be worried about oxidation? Yes, and don't worry about oxidation. Keep your head space full if you can.

Welcome to the forum. Stick around and learn

 

[SirWan]

Alright, thanks. I'll try to make an update soon.

Also, any advice about keeping the head space full? I tried with marbles, but I think I lost to much space already to fill it up with marbles... A friend of mine told me to fill it up with apple juice.

Any advice on how to fill the head space?

Cheers

 

[bernardsmith]

Hi SirWan - and welcome. You ask about the value of degassing and Squatchy offered one important reason why degassing is important as the yeast ferments the sugars in the honey. I tend to use a long handled spoon to whip the mead while the yeast is actively fermenting.
But there is a different reason why it might be important to degas before you bottle. Bottling with a lot of CO2 dissolved in the mead means that anything that might precipitate and drop out of suspension may cause the CO2 to nucleate and that nucleation can create enough pressure inside the bottle to pop corks or even burst bottles (if the bottles are capped rather than bottled). The neck of bottles will allow the gas to rifle and that gas will push out a column of mead with enough force to paint your ceiling - or walls. Simply allowing the mead to age long enough will allow almost all the gas to slowly be expelled from the carboy, but if your plans include bottling after a few weeks after pitching the yeast then you need to take care of the CO2.