Cap management

[sgt-teaspoon]

Hello, I am brewing my first mead and I decided to use some dried fruits as additional sugar content. I've read about fruits being on the surface can cause mold to grow. How can I combat this if my fruits wont sink? Should I just gently shake the vessel few times a day without removing the airlock, or should I get a spoon and stir it? Or is cap management not a big deal and I can just let it be? I am worried about introducing oxygen, so I dont know which one would be better. What are risks?

 

[Raptor99]

Fruit can mold if it is floating on the surface. I usually do primary fermentation in a food grade bucket covered by a towel. I would put the fruit in a nylon mesh bag, and stir the bucket twice a day. In the first stages of fermentation the yeast need some oxygen. Then when fermentation is mostly finished (SG around 1.010), take out the fruit bag and rack the mead into a carboy with airlock.

If you want to do primary, you could shake it up twice a day for the first few days. I would still want to rack it and remove the fruit when fermentation is mostly finished.

 

[Ren06]

In my experience with melomels and fruit in bags I just make sure to wet the bag completely once a day by pushing it into the must, whether active or fermentation is done. Oxygen exposure is not a big deal unless you're extremely agitating the mead so a gentle stir with the fruit bag daily will not cause any harm. I've done several melomels and haven't had any issues.

 

[MightyMosin]

My general experience has been that stirring or shaking once a day is usually enough to keep it moist and prevent issues.

 

[bonerjamz]

Just get a spray bottle of sanitizer, spray a brewing spoon, and punch the cap down. This is done in winemaking all the time.