Topping off Mead

[StevenD55]

What do you use to top off a carboy after racking your mead?

 

[Loghousewines]

A couple of bottles of your recent bottling, or some bottles of something similar, or if you have an All in one vac pump use a head space eliminator.

 

[BernardSmith]

I think a better approach is to begin with a larger volume than you need to fill your secondary. That means using a food grade bucket as your primary and aiming for a specific starting gravity rather than a specific volume. If you begin with say 1.125 - 1.25 gallons then you don't have to worry about how to fill the headroom when it comes time to rack (for some melomels you anticipate a great deal of sediment and so your starting volume is even larger). If you use a bucket as your primary then there is no problem of creating volcanos if you need to add nutrient, and assuming you simply loosely cover the top with a cloth or even the lid (loosely placed) there is no problem stirring daily either.

 

[StevenD55]

First time with mead. So nothing from prior runs.

I did start in a bucket. I was a bit surprised at how thick the yeast layer was after fermentation. I lost more than expected.

Live and learn I guess.

At least it tastes ok for as young as it is.

Thanks.

 

[Arne]

Go with a smaller sec ondary vessel. Anything left over you can use for the next racking top off or quality taste control. Arne.