I’ve brewed a couple beers, and would like to have some mead on the side as well.
Something I’ve noticed is that putting meads into secondary seems a bit odd, can’t you simply stabilize in the primary container and let it settle, then maybe right before bottling move to a bottling container?
So, what’s the advantage of putting it into a secondary when you can use your primary to stabilize it, clear it and settle down and everything without using another container?
I’ve had a batch of mead sitting in the secondary since last August and it still doesn’t taste like it’s ready to bottle. But it is improving, slowly but surely. If it were still sitting on the yeast, there’s a good chance it’d be doing the opposite by now.
Right, but if you add an additive to deactivate the yeast, it should have the same effect as removing the mead from primary into secondary, so why rack to secondary when you can achieve the same effect with a cheap additive?
As long as the yeast is in the carboy, there’s a risk of autolysis.
It isn’t a big deal over the course of the first couple months (I believe most meadmakers rack at 6 weeks), but if you’re doing an extended aging then leaving it on the lees could be risking the batch.
[quote=“bunderbunder”]As long as the yeast is in the carboy, there’s a risk of autolysis.
It isn’t a big deal over the course of the first couple months (I believe most meadmakers rack at 6 weeks), but if you’re doing an extended aging then leaving it on the lees could be risking the batch.[/quote]
Foooy, I’ve left a mead on the yeast for over a year with no issues.
[quote=“Nighthawk”][quote=“bunderbunder”]As long as the yeast is in the carboy, there’s a risk of autolysis.
It isn’t a big deal over the course of the first couple months (I believe most meadmakers rack at 6 weeks), but if you’re doing an extended aging then leaving it on the lees could be risking the batch.[/quote]
Foooy, I’ve left a mead on the yeast for over a year with no issues.[/quote]
Yes. I read about a meadmaker of the year who proclaimed that you should leave the must on the yeast at least a year.
The short answer to your question is it depends on the yeast. If you are using a yeast that is good for sur lie aging such as DV10 or KIV-1116, then you can “probably” get away without racking for a year.
If you try that with 71B, it will be undrinkable In 3 months. Yeast choice is extremely important for mead.
The other advantage of racking is that some yeast clear faster after racking. Key word being “some”. Other yeast could care less and clear quickly after ferment (Wyeast 1388).
