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Will mead age better in...

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L

lbaker

NewBee
Registered Member
Jun 24, 2004
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www.moremead.com
Will mead age better in a carboy than it will in bottles?

I have a peach melomel that is completely fermented, and well on the way to clearing, but it's going to need some time to age. Does it hurt it to bottle it (after it finished clearing) and let it age in the bottle, or should I just place the carboy in the back of the closet and let it bulk age?

Thanks

Lyle Baker
 
bulk ageing tends to produce a better, more consistent product in less time with less oxidation. plus if you bottle it before it is clear and has been racked you will have significant sediment in your bottles.
 
When you bulk age it.... do you leave it in a 3-5 gallon carboy and what do you seal the top with? Airlock? or just a rubber cork?
:-* Suzy Q, Brewmistress
 
Depends on how much mead you have Suzy. I used to use the 5 gallon cornelius kegs, now I'm using carboys.

Just take what you have and rack it to a carboy or stainless steel vessel, top it with an airlock and let it ride. That's pretty much it. If you have smaller quantities you may want to consider letting them sit for a time in your carboys and then bottling them. It's really up to you.

Hope that helps,

Oskaar
 
i make all my mead in 6 gallon batched and start it in 6.5 gallon carboys. then once it has finished fermenting and has dropped clear i rack it to a 5 gallon carboy. this allows me to do a number of things. first of all i can fill my 5 gallon carboy completely to the neck without having to worry about sucking up sediment from the bottom of the primary or topping off the secondary. then i can bulk age the 5 gallons without worry of oxidation and i still have somewhere between 1/2 and 1 gallon left over to play with. sometimes i bottle the extra, sometimes i experiment by adding different additives to it (fruits, spices, different acids, etc), and sometimes i just plain drink it! oh and usually i top off my 5 gallon carboy with an airlock...just in case there is some yeast activity going on a solid rubber bung may get blown out of the top! just remember if you are going to age for a number of months you need to check the airlock every so often to make sure there is still water in it.
 
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