degass?

Hi. I'm making my first batch of mead. Do I need to degass like wine? I'm doing a 3 step nutrient addition and stirring when adding, but do I need to do any degassing other than that throughout fermentation?

gwaugh said:

Hi. I'm making my first batch of mead. Do I need to degass like wine? I'm doing a 3 step nutrient addition and stirring when adding, but do I need to do any degassing other than that throughout fermentation?

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At the early stages, it's not degassing. It's aerating for yeast health, which does indeed have the side effect of getting rid of the dissolved CO2 (carbonic acid).

Generally, it's carried out for the first 1/3rd of the ferment (as measured with a hydrometer), then if, as it seems, you're doing staggered nutrition addition, make the last addition after the aeration and measurement that confirms it's hit the 1/3rd break.

If you try and add nutrients etc, before aerating, you're asking for a mead eruption, especially if you're using a carboy type fermenter.

In any case, wines aren't generally degassed. Stirred maybe but that would generally be to punch down any cap that may form of the surface (did that twice daily last year with my fresh grape pyments). It's done to prevent the upper most fruit debris/skins etc, from drying out as well as having it forced up and out through an airlock by trapped CO2......