When and Why to Rack

[Samedii]

According to the Newbee Guide:

"The purpose of racking is fourfold:

To stop fermentation by removing the Mead from the yeast and adding Sulfites and Sorbates.
To remove the Mead from the Lees (layer of yeast on the bottom of the fermenter) so as to avoid a yeasty flavor imparted by the breakdown of yeast cells before bulk aging.
To add additional ingredients for flavor during secondary fermentation.
To help clarification by removing the Mead from the Lees before bottling."

Points one and three seem to be at odds. Maybe I'm taking this too literally?

In any event, I'm trying to get a full understanding of the entire process before I attempt another mead. What exactly is secondary fermentation? Do I even need to have a secondary fermentation phase if I'm not adding any further ingredients?

If I missed or misunderstood something in the Newbee guide I'm happy to go back and read it again but I could use a finger point in the right direction.

Thanks!

-Sam

 

[Squatchy]

Go here and start on 9/5/17. Once you listen to the podcast you will be miles and miles ahead of where you are now. http://gotmead.com/blog/gotmead-live-radio-show/

 

[Samedii]

Thank you, sir. I will do so.

-Sam

 

[Valcarion]

Thank you, sir. I will do so.

-Sam

Squatchy is Ryan, from the podcast. He’s also a judge for some of the biggest mead competitions in the world, and has made hundreds and hundreds of gallons of awesome mead.

Listen to all of those Making Modern Mead podcasts. I view it as the equivalent of taking fighting lessons from Bruce Lee.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Devin Petry-Johnson]

What exactly is secondary fermentation?
Do I even need to have a secondary fermentation phase if I'm not adding any further ingredients?

-Sam

Yes, listen to those podcasts. There is so much information.

In the meantime, I will try to provide some quick answers. But again, you will get a better understanding by listening.

You do not need a "secondary fermentation". That term is actually pretty misleading, since there is really only one fermentation. But it usually refers to the "secondary container" or "secondary fermentation vessel" where your mead goes after the primary phase. Some ingredients can interfere with the yeast doing their job, or the yeast will eat up all the flavor, so sometimes it's best to put those in a "secondary fermentation vessel" after you've racked off the majority of the yeast. The yeast are still there, and fermentation can still be taking place, but it's just greatly reduced.

Some ingredients will give you different flavors if put in the "primary" or the "secondary". Think of the difference between grape flavor and wine that happens when grapes are fermented. Knowing what to add when is sometimes a personal decision. But often there is a "best practice" that you should learn. The best way is to listen to the podcast, because even researching on the internet will get you some bad (or old) info.

Good luck on your next batch!

 

[Squatchy]

So "real secondary fermentation" is most likely a term that comes from winemaking. For certain wines the do a malolactic fermentation once the primary is over. They do this to lessen the acidic profile of reds mostly. And perhaps a few fruit wines. We don't do this. So generally when someone speaks of secondary. They are referring to the time after it has been racked over from the primary vessel to a new vessel in order to remove the must from the gross lees on the bottom of the primary vessel. Lots of winemakers still rack before the gravity has dropped to zero. They do this because they are afraid of off flavors happening when all the lees pile up on the bottom of the vessel. Wine generally has more particulates in the must from all of the grape parts and pieces. Than does most meads. However certain meads can also have a good bit of detritus as well. When the yeast gets buried alive at the bottom of your vessel they get sick and eventually die. This can cause stress and make off flavors. The wine people are so afraid of this they rack too soon in my estimation.I hear of stalled fermentations every day over in the wine forums and FB groups. This will usually happen because they are removing the must from the biomass that is needed to finish the job. Imagine if you sent all of your soldiers home close to the last stages of the war and left no one there to finish fighting.

So this is why I advocate rousing the yeast up until it's time to stop stirring your yeast into suspension. When we do this. We are allowing the yeast access to the sugars and to the YAN and O2 in the must. They will continue on as happy campers because they are not being buried alive at the bottom of a bucket or a conical fermenter. By allowing the yeast more time they can go to a place where there are no more sugars to assimilate into alcohol. Leave them in even longer and it is believed that they act as sponges and absorb some of the things we used to age our stuff to get rid of. And I believe they also consume other fractions of what gets made during fermentation. I call this the cleanup zone. Much like cleaning up a construction site once most of the rough stuff has been takin care of.

I am a fan of allowing the yeast an even longer time frame to stay in my meads to create more mouthfeel, more volume, sometimes depending on the strain. And it will also help to control oxidative issues in the must for a while. And if left long enough. The yeast will eventually explode due to enzymes they produce. In doing so they spill their guts into the mead creating even more tactile nuances in one's mead. Along with adding to the flavor profile as well.

Now in order to be able, you need to be aware of a few things. First and formost. If your must has had any problems with reduction. Or if you have had issues with H2S, or any other smells or off flavors. You will do good to get the mead off the lees as soon as you get to zero, or they tap out to an ABV level that makes them dormant. Those types of issues can actually bind molecularly and become permanently fixed if left unaddressed for very long. Your best bet is to stir the hell out of your must to push away the problems as soon as you start to get them.

If you have had a clean ferment. You can take advantage of the extended time with the yeast if you do a few things. First off you won't want to sit on fruit particulates for very long as they can become spoiled and give off vegetal notes. The lower the temps the longer you can sit on the fruit. Most of the time 2 weeks is plenty to extract all the fruit goodies if added after the fermentation has been stabilized. This next piece holds true in any category of mead but I will speak to it in a trad for this purpose of explanation.

Once you stop stirring the very heaviest particulates fall out of suspension first. This is what is referred to as rough lees. I would suggest to rack off the rough lees for sure if you want to extend your time on the fine lees. The fine lees are much cleaner than all the heavier particulates in the rough lees. They (the rough) will be more inclined to get putrid at a much sooner point than will the fine lees. So get rid of them within a couple weeks of when the ferment is finished. Remember though. We want to keep everything roused in suspension so they won't get rotten on the bottom.

Some strains have a long history of extended time in a must. The first thing that comes to mind is Chapagne. And some white wine styles. Cy3079 is the fastest one to autolyze and starts to happen around 4 months. Whereas all the other strains start around the 8-9 month timeline. I have had great success when I barrel age trads with fine lees in the barrel for many months. The texture is very lush and creamy smooth. And often times has more volume. But keep in mind. The biggest contributor to mouthfeel comes as a byproduct of certain yeast strains. Some add mid-palate volume. Some add it at the foremouth.

This is somewhat sparse in specifics. But should help to explain a good bit about racking. Never ever is it a time issue controlled by a clock or calender. But instead. It is dictated to us by the particulates of every batch. No two batches are ever the same. Even if we are doing our very best to duplicate things. After all. We are dealing with a living biomass.

 

[Samedii]

Thank you all for the answers and feedback! I'm taking all of this to heart.

Thanks for taking the time for the detailed explanation, Squatchy, it clears up a lot for me. Maybe it should be pinned somewhere?

In any event, I began listening to the first podcast yesterday afternoon and it has been informative as well as entertaining. I look forward to absorbing more.

In any event, this community is pretty badass and I'm grateful that I found it. I was a little demoralized after my last two attempts, but you guys are helping me to get excited about making mead again.

-Sam

 

[Toxxyc]

I felt the same after my first attempt, trust me, but I'm now slowly building up the courage again. Got a guy at the office interested and he'll be funding most of my next batch, so I'll be brewing primarily for him (since the beer thing alongside this one and a love for single malts produces more alcohol than I will attempt to consume). My next attempt will be the tried-and-trusted BOMM, with a single change - the yeast. Can't wait, to be honest!