So, I am having this issue with my still mead were the corks go flying out of the bottle and it is not still… I seem to have every other process down in making it and this is my last problem. My friend told me right before I bottle I should stir the crap out of it to release all the CO2. He makes good wines, not a beer guy, but wanted to know if anyone has made still mead and resolved this issue. I am having a hard time finding a “this is what you do” on the internet for some reason and any suggestions would be helpful.
PROST!
what is your gravity reading before bottling? is it stable over the course of several weeks?
what’s your bottling process? are you transferring from a secondary to a bottling bucket? or bottling directly from the primary fermenter?
your friends advice is probably sound. mead is more like a wine than a beer. I don’t know the advisability of de-gassing a finished mead but I know you do that early on in the fermentation.
You do want to de-gas your mead with a “mix-stir” available @ most homebrew shops. If you haven’t - look into adding potassium sorbate to stop the yeast action.
I usually ferment my meads to dry, add the potassium sorbate, then add a little honey back for sweetness, before corking.
I can’t say that I have had your problem although I don’t make much mead, much less still mead. I always transfer my mead to secondary after the fermentation is complete before bottling. The transfer to secondary, aging and the bottling seems to dissipate enough of the carbon dioxide for me.
yes you need to degass the bejeebus out of the mead pior to bottling. I use a vacuum pump for all my transfers so that degasses for me… but a wine whip or something similar is what is needed otherwise. Making sure fermentation is done and stable is also good advice.
I’ve rigged a shop vac to degas mead in a glass carboy. I’m not sure this is recommended for safety’s sake, but I have done it with fine results. Definitely not recommended in a plastic carboy.
What kind of mead is it? I have had a lot of trouble with blueberry melomel getting gassy in the bottles. Other experienced mead/winemakers I know have had this same issue with blueberries. Only blueberries. Not sure why.
I do it in glass carboys all the time. I use the All in One Wine Pump http://allinonewinepump.com/. Steve is an awesome guy and makes these out of his house by hand.
I make mead very seldom, maybe once a year, so I don’t remember the FG too well but I remember it being in the limits of still semi-sweet mead of the BJCP guidelines. I usually let it sit for 3 months at 60 F, Rack, let it sit for another 2 weeks at 60F then bottle. I borrowed my friend’s mix-stir when he told me to use it right before bottling for about 3 minutes. I don’t have the money right now for new equipment, getting married and marry me-ad will be making an appearance ;D, so I will give that a chance and go from there. Thanks Everyone!