# Head room and beer?



## BernardSmith (Apr 28, 2014)

I am making my first braggot (and my first beer) and will be adding 3 gallons of clover mead (started in October) to the ale (just started). I find myself with about 2 gallons of ale* (made from DME and specialty grains) in a 3 gallon carboy. The krausen has just about disappeared (pitched the yeast Wed 23rd ) and I am wondering the best way to go. Should I allow the ale to age on the trub for another week or so with about 4 inches of headroom or should I rack the ale off the trub into two one gallon carboys and then add the trub to each and allow the beer to stand but with no head room? OR should I simply rack the beer off the trub and mix it with the clover mead in a 5 gallon carboy (there would be no headroom)

*used 3 lbs of DME and 2 lbs of specialty grains. Soaked the bag of grains in 2 gallons of water (about 150 degrees) for 30 minutes, removed the bag and added one more gallon of water and the DME mixed then boiled for 60 minutes with 1 oz of EKG hops cooled then racked and then pitched Nottingham yeast. I thought I would have close to 3 gallons of ale but it looks like all that boiling and soaking removed close to 1 gallon of liquor. (OG was about 1.090 - the same as the must for the mead. Have not measured the gravity since pitching the yeast but by calculation it should not drop much below 1.035. The mead is about 1.000). 
Thoughts on the danger of oxidation (given the large amount of headroom vs the benefits of allowing the beer to stand on the trub a week or so after fermentation has ended? 
Thanks


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## LoveTheWine (Apr 30, 2014)

How is this turning out?


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## BernardSmith (Apr 30, 2014)

spoke with the owner of my LHBS and he suggested that I leave the beer another week and then rack this into a clean 3 gallon carboy. He then suggested that I rack the mead and fill the carboy but do so with the racking tube held close to the floor of the carboy so a) reducing the exposure to air and b) helping the mead mix through the beer (the beer being heavier than the mead so it should slowly rise through the ale. 
If all goes well and it tastes OK after a couple of weeks I will allow the braggot to age a couple of months or three and then prime and bottle and let age some more. At this time, though I have not yet tasted the beer as I am nervous about exposing it unnecessarily to air. The airlock indicates that there is a good blanket of CO2 protecting the beer (high on the far side, low on the near side) although fermentation seems to have concluded as there seems to be no perceptible bubbling action.


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