Apricot Mead

Raptor99 · Mar 23, 2024

I am working on an Apricot Vanilla mead, started on 2/5/24. I racked it on 2/12 and again on 3/3. As you can see in the picture, the top portion is clearing nicely, but there is a lot of fruit sediment. The dried apricots were in a mesh bag, which I removed at the first racking. The 1.5 L bottle has the mead from the bottom of the container, so it makes sense that it is less clear.

It has now been 20 days since this was last racked. My question is, how long should I leave it like this waiting for the lees to compact? I started with 1.5 gals. total volume, hoping to end up with 1 gal. of mead.

Ohio Bob · Mar 23, 2024

You might try taking that bottle and putting it in the fridge to see if cold temperatures might quicken the sediment dropping out. If it does in a few days then do the same for the bigger jug.

Regardless, I would rack again in a week or so. It’s not looking good for getting a full gallon, looks like a lot of sediment. After racking, filter the sediment through a coffee filter, you might get another cup or two of mead.

Rice_Guy · Mar 24, 2024

You have nice clearing on top. ,,, Just looks slow. My first test would be to see if I could get it to drop faster with bentonite.

Raptor99 · Mar 24, 2024

Rice_Guy said:
You have nice clearing on top. ,,, Just looks slow. My first test would be to see if I could get it to drop faster with bentonite.

Thanks! I think I'll try cold crashing first, but if that doesn't work, I'll try bentonite.

milw · Mar 24, 2024

I had a similar very fluffy sediment from apricot mead, 2.25 gal gave about 1.5 gal clear; the remainder I put in the fridge to see if it would settle, but it only cleared about 1/4” at the top after a week.

Raptor99 · Mar 24, 2024

milw said:
I had a similar very fluffy sediment from apricot mead, 2.25 gal gave about 1.5 gal clear; the remainder I put in the fridge to see if it would settle, but it only cleared about 1/4” at the top after a week.

Did you find a way to compact the lees?