6 replies to this topic

[Bigeasy]

Hey all.I've got two finished meads cleared and ready to....bottle or bulk age?One is a lighter summer honey and the other a much darker fall honey.Both local "wildflower".Is there a benefit to bulk aging?Anecdotal or scientific?How much time is necessary?In my limited mead tasting,I think the lighter is going to be very good. Thanks for your input.

[cbbrown40]

I say bottle and then let age.

[ScottS]

I wouldn't bottle until it is at least 1-2 years spent in secondary/tertiary/quaternary/etc.

I agree with this. I bulk age as long as possible, simply because even after it's clear, you still get it throwing sediment. I'd rather that sediment not be in the bottles.

[Jeff]

Bottling early could mean every 3rd bottle is different. Bulk aging keeps the whole batch good or bad. :)I bulk age. Then I keg so it really doesn't matter! I don't bottle until the keg is almost empty and then it goes into a growler for that last half gallon.

[japh]

Has anyone figured out how long is the minimum to keep it in the bottle to avoid bottling shock?

[Bigeasy]

Thanks for the input guys.My primary was a month then racked.Secondary for 3 months.I got little to no clearing in secondary (no heat prep) so fined with Sparkoloid.It's cleared beautifully in 10 days and ready to move.Damn.....I knew it was a longshot but I was hoping for a chorus of "Start Drinking!!!"Year,huh?I can live with that.If I've learned anything from brewing,it's patience.I'd like to know more about bottle shock if anybody's inclined?

[strangebrewer]

Thanks for the input guys.My primary was a month then racked.Secondary for 3 months.I got little to no clearing in secondary (no heat prep) so fined with Sparkoloid.It's cleared beautifully in 10 days and ready to move.Damn.....I knew it was a longshot but I was hoping for a chorus of "Start Drinking!!!"Year,huh?I can live with that.If I've learned anything from brewing,it's patience.I'd like to know more about bottle shock if anybody's inclined?

If you fined with Sparkoloid I'd leave it in secondary for months as it cleared beautifully in 10 days but it will continue to throw very fine lees for a couple more months. Bottle shock occurs when you cork bottles. If you are capping or kegging it's not an issue. There is a lot that goes into exactly what bottle shock is but the big one is macro oxygenation. That's why when you cork wine you leave the bottles upright for the first week so pressure inside the bottle and outside can equalize. When you cork wine you create a positive pressure environment inside the bottle so some of whatever atmostphere is in the bottle gets forced into solution be it O2 or CO2. This often shows up as astringency in the flavor. Bottle shock usually subsides after 4-6 weeks especially in reds but there are people out there who claim to be able to detect it for much longer. My corked meads are years old so I've never experienced it personally in mead.