First mead

[GreatNorthernLlama]

Alright alright alright. My SG for my cider sitting right at 1.000. My mead is still 1.023. First question then, can I had off racking this till tomorrow? 4 month old has me gassed tonight.

The second question, I've got so much "foam" or whatever technical term floating on top. To try to get a clear rack am I just trying to thread the needle here between this floating stuff at the top and the sediment at the bottom? If I'm okay to rack tomorrow is there anything I can do now to help my future self like skim some off the top layer?

I've got apple peels in here. Maybe even just skin these guys out and let it settle again overnight before racking?

 

[winemaker81]

First question then, can I had off racking this till tomorrow?

Absolutely. At 1.000 the wine is not done fermenting, and wine will continue outgassing for weeks afterward. Although I personally wouldn't wait that long, you could wait a few weeks.

The second question, I've got so much "foam" or whatever technical term floating on top. To try to get a clear rack am I just trying to thread the needle here between this floating stuff at the top and the sediment at the bottom? If I'm okay to rack tomorrow is there anything I can do now to help my future self like skim some off the top layer?

A while back I created a very high-tech tool for racking, one that keeps chunks out of the racking cane.

Ok, maybe it's not such high-tech ... it's a 2' piece of 4" PVC with a bunch of 1/4" holes drilled in one end. I wrap it in a fine mess bag and drop the racking cane in the middle.

 

[GreatNorthernLlama]

Absolutely. At 1.000 the wine is not done fermenting, and wine will continue outgassing for weeks afterward. Although I personally wouldn't wait that long, you could wait a few weeks.


A while back I created a very high-tech tool for racking, one that keeps chunks out of the racking cane.

Ok, maybe it's not such high-tech ... it's a 2' piece of 4" PVC with a bunch of 1/4" holes drilled in one end. I wrap it in a fine mess bag and drop the racking cane in the middle.

View attachment 116506

Music to my ears that it's not super urgent.
Re: offgassing, I've got a confession. After learning my lesson I still opted to leave the lids on my buckets with a valve. The fruit flies in my house are just terrible. Each valve has about 5 in the trap alone. I know yeast needs o2 so I make sure to open them up for a few min at least a few times a day. Is this sufficient? I notice a strong smell of course if I stick my head in the bucket. Not quite sulfer. Maybe that's just how strong the yeast smells since it gives me memories of my sourdough but absolutely kicks the nostrils.

That PVC hack is perfect. I've got some 5 gallon paint strainer bags I got as brewbags. Will use one of these to surround it. And racking from a bucket I assume I just do my best to avoid the lees but hard to see. Usually a second rack will help clear me up? I've got a ton of pulp haze right now so I am sure it will take the extra effort to clariy

 

[winemaker81]

I know yeast needs o2 so I make sure to open them up for a few min at least a few times a day. Is this sufficient?

Stir the wine each time. That is sufficient O2.

I notice a strong smell of course if I stick my head in the bucket. Not quite sulfer. Maybe that's just how strong the yeast smells since it gives me memories of my sourdough but absolutely kicks the nostrils.

Are we talking swamp gas / dog farts? If so, that's H2S. In this case, add a dose of K-meta and stir well, several minutes. That may be sufficient to address it.

That PVC hack is perfect. I've got some 5 gallon paint strainer bags I got as brewbags. Will use one of these to surround it. And racking from a bucket I assume I just do my best to avoid the lees but hard to see. Usually a second rack will help clear me up? I've got a ton of pulp haze right now so I am sure it will take the extra effort to clariy

I documented things I do to reduce wine loss in the following post. My first rackings are "dirty", some sediment is sucked up. Remember that if it dropped once, it will drop again.

https://wine.bkfazekas.com/reducing-wine-loss/