# Bottling vs. waiting



## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

I'm at the point where a couple of my meads are at the point where the recipe I was using indicated that it was time to bottle. However, they're not crystal clear and I still have light lees on the bottom of the carboy. I suspect (though I may be wrong) that if I racked one more time and waited I might still get some settling. I thought about cold crashing...then bottling. Or using a clearing agent....then bottling. But I wonder if just waiting longer is just as well. Why not rack now and let it sit in the carboy a lot longer than bottling and waiting. Is there a difference in how it ages / matures? Are the recipes suggesting the "earliest" time I should be able to bottle? Something tells me that unless I need it in bottles I might be just as well off sitting tight.

Advice would be welcome!


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## Vance G (Jan 6, 2011)

I used to hurry my bottling and would get enough lees in my bottles I was reluctant to gift them. Personally I would rack and cold crash the quart in the bottom, pour it off and drink it. I have some gallon jugs of mead made with honey, pollen and KIV THAT i use to top off after racking. This would not work with sweet meads as it will probably start fermenting again. Mead just keeps getting better if you keep oxygen out so patience is good.


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## BadBeeKeeper (Jan 24, 2015)

If you do not have a source of CO2 to pre-charge the receiving container and drive out O2, every racking presents the opportunity for additional oxygenation, which can affect the quality of the finished product. It's a risk/reward scenario. Is the desire for 'perfect' clarity more important than the risk of oxidation (depending on how long it is going to age)?

Clarity is less important to me now. I don't mind if it's a little cloudy, as long as it tastes good.


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## Hops Brewster (Jun 17, 2014)

Patience. The must doesn't read the recipe. It can sometimes take a little longer for things to settle out, especially if it's in a cool environment. Spend a few minutes meditating on your airlock. If you see any bubble activity at all, it still needs more time before bottling. If no lock activity, cold crashing is one possibility I would consider.


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## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

To be honest, I did a lot of recipes in December and January so that when the busy time of the new year hit I wouldn't have to worry about them too much. I really can wait. Maybe I'll just carefully get them off any thick lees that I have and wait for a while before bottling. It'll also give me time to save up some bottles.


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## I'llbeedan (Mar 31, 2013)

After the second Racking the time between racking is not crucial. Lees are the remaining yeast hulls which can impact the flavor of the mead. later on in the process we see sediment from suspended particles of fruit, pollen, and other organics, which are lighter than the yeast hulls. They have less impact on the finished mead so waiting longer between racking allows for more sediment to fall and less risk of oxidation. My mentor taught me to rack every 3 months after the third racking. He does his racking in a vacuum so there is never a risk of oxidation, and the process seems to remove CO2 at the same time. Just sayin.


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## Vance G (Jan 6, 2011)

I don't rack that often but I think that a little 02 from the air being forced out of the carboy just accelerates the necessary maturation/aging. Everyone has a source of C02. Just buy a little bitty chunk of dry ice and drop it in the receiver a few minutes before racking. If I was CDO I might do that myself.


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