Bulk aging procedure

After approx 2months my mead is done fermenting ( og 1.118, fg .990) I plan on bulk aging for about a year . Should I rack of lees ( I used kv-1116) stabilize and age, or should I just leave it alone for the year , than rack and stabilize?

S'up to you......

The reason for the usually recommended method of racking off the "gross" lees is to prevent the chance of autolysis or the breaking down or rotting of the yeast debris/sediments.

Generally, you'd find that the likelihood of that varies from yeast to yeast though a lot of yeasts will impart a nutty sort of flavour if the batch has been racked off the main lees i.e. the gross lees. So that only a thin layer remains.

So its gonna depend on whether you want to try this as a newer mead maker or whether it might be better to either to wait and let it clear naturally or to hit it with finings to clear it quicker, then get it off the lees that way.

If you do decide to clear it with finings and then age it, you are one small step closer to getting it in a bottle and ready to drink.

Oh and as far as I'm aware, the one yeast that isn't good for aging like this is 71B. Other strains have varying levels of benefit.......

I've bulk aged on K-1116 and wasn't happy with the results when compared to D-47 or ec-1118. But yes, you can do it. I like to stir the lees up every 3-4 days to keep them in suspension and blowoff any produced sulphur.

Do you bulk age in the secondary with a lock?

I do.

-J-

One benefit of short term leaving on the lees is that yeast will clean up after themselves.
The downside of longer was mentioned before and I have nothing further to add.

As mentioned, once you get it off the gross lees and get clear the sooner you'll have a drinkable product.

You don't have to wait years to have a fine product unless you use bad and outdated protocols, with modern techniques you can have a very good/award winning mead in 3 months give or take.

I personally use sparkolloid hot mix fining agent for stubborn meads.
I use pectic enzyme for fruit upfront 24 hours before pitch and on the backend of secondary I'll hit it with sparkolloid to help drop sediments out to have a clearer and drinkable product sooner than later.

Don't let the lees sit too long, for me it's no longer than 2-3 weeks. Sometimes I rack 4-5 times before I bulk age and it's worked out well so far.