# Mead is racked - when will it clear?



## AndrewSchwab (Dec 9, 2005)

Some will clear over time, the lower the temp the better chance of it clearing. Also if you could put the carboy in a frig (cold crash) that will help MOST to clear.

If you don't see signs of clearing then a fining agent will need to be used. I personally like sparkaloid, but there are other ones out there.


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## rwlaw (May 4, 2009)

I presume you racked your mead into a carbouy, give it a month and see how much lees you have ( I've had to rack a couple times), give it a taste test, I'll bet you'll see it'll start to improve. If you rack again keep your head space tight and use a CO2 blanket.
Mead is a very stable product and some takes a year or better to get on the right track for nose and mouth feel, never give up on mead it'll only get better!!


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## papa bear (Nov 1, 2005)

Hey. hope this is not to far off topic. talking about racking, made me think, do any of y'all leave the air lock on after one or two rackings? or aging also/


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## Paraplegic Racehorse (Jan 25, 2007)

I take the airlock off only to move mead from bottle to bottle. In this case, a carboy is classified as a bottle, also.

While I have no acetobacter in the air in my area, the exposure to oxygen can do enough damage on its own. If you have acetobacter (makes vinegar) in the air at your location, you need to be double-sure to keep your airlocks airtight.


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## shughes (Jan 17, 2007)

it really depends on a lot of things. in addition to temperature, the actual yeast you used will also play a part in how long it takes to clear. i found that 71b and Wyeast Smack packs take months more to clear then D47 (my choice yeast for traditionals) and K1V (use for my fruit meads). Patience and multiple rackings will make it clear in the long run. yeast that has a high floc rate will clear out faster in my experience. D47 flocs very well and takes more handling to disturb the lees. 

I generally let primary sit 1 month, secondary 3 months and then I let it age in tertiary for 9 months before bottling. Then, let it age 6 months in bottle before opening. Depending on how much sediment is thrown during tertiary, i might rack off to a sanitized bucket before bottling so I don't have to worry about stirring up the very fine lees. I also try to plan it out that my bottling is during January when its cold. In fact I just bottled 5 gallons last night 

I put an airlock on about the 5th day of primary fermentation when fermenting meads with fruit or for high SG levels otherwise I keep a sanitized air lock filled with cheap vodka instead of water for extra insurance. O2 levels are important for the intial fermentation and for the yeasties to get a good start so I make sure the must is aerated well. For violent fermentations the air lock can actually set you up for a fermentation bomb depending how much honey/fruit you have fermenting. I have had a couple cysers (apple mead melomel) literally look likes its boiling and the fermentation bucket is noticeably warmer then ambient temperature.


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