Do coffee filters work well?

[Dorkusmalorkus]

My mead has been sitting untouched since November 2016 and is still slightly clouded, almost as clear as white wine and with a similar coloration.

I was able to remove most of the sediment which sank to the bottom but there is still enough very fine residue causing slight murkiness.

Would coffee filters work to remove it? I'm planning to put the filter in a funnel and slowly siphon the mead through it into a clean jug.

 

[dmarc85]

That may oxidize your mead. You might want to do some research before you do it.

 

[BeeDeeEff]

Better to let it settle and siphon off the clear again.

 

[bernardsmith]

Is it possible that the lack of clarity is being caused by CO2 in the mead keeping particles in suspension? Have you degassed? But that said, what might the source of such particles? In my experience, honey itself usually clears very clear very quickly. You don't list any ingredients that might have caused this "murkiness". Did you simply ferment honey and water with yeast? Did you add any nutrients? Fruit? Spices? Did you heat the honey?

 

[loveofrose]

Nope. Yeast are smaller than the pore size of coffee filters. Cold crashing for month generally does the trick.

 

[bernardsmith]

Nope. Yeast are smaller than the pore size of coffee filters. Cold crashing for month generally does the trick.

You think the lack of clarity is simply caused by yeast that has flocculated but has not dropped to the bottom?

 

[loveofrose]

You think the lack of clarity is simply caused by yeast that has flocculated but has not dropped to the bottom?

Yep.

 

[Dorkusmalorkus]

The mead contains nothing more than springwater, raw honey and about a dozen small raisins.

I simply mixed everything together with the yeast and let it sit in a dark closet since last November. Allowing the gas to escape made most of the murkiness settle, but it is still not as clear as I see in all the pictures of delicious looking meads online. The taste was decent and good enough to share.

Following the advices here, I give up the coffee filter idea. If it does clear by itself, how long should I expect it to take? It has been sitting a few months with the bubble trap cap to let the gas out. Should I consider adding a fining agent such as baked eggshells?

 

[FatDragon]

I've found that trying to filter almost anything brewing related with a single layer filter like that (as opposed to some kind of canister filter), you inevitably get clogged. Some of the yeast may go through the filter, but a lot will get trapped, and after racking whatever amount of a hazy mead you're likely to have a buildup of particulate that will slow your flow down to a trickle at best. It's just anecdotal, but I'd say a cold crash or gelatin treatment (do mazers do that?) would be a much better option than trying to filter the mead.

 

[Dorkusmalorkus]

How well does cold crashing work if the mead is no longer fermenting? I suspect it has stopped as there are no more bubbles appearing in the bubble trap cap. The murkiness is very slight an the particles are very fine. The mead looks about as clear as the homemade type lemonades. It isn't crystal clear but close.

 

[FatDragon]

How well does cold crashing work if the mead is no longer fermenting? I suspect it has stopped as there are no more bubbles appearing in the bubble trap cap. The murkiness is very slight an the particles are very fine. The mead looks about as clear as the homemade type lemonades. It isn't crystal clear but close.

Cold crashing works best after active fermentation is finished. The cold temperatures help the suspended yeast to flocculate out of the mead and collect at the bottom of the fermenter where you can rack off of them. If you cold crash before fermentation is finished, when the mead warms back up the yeast that are still in suspension will start working again and you'll end up with more suspended yeast and potentially bottle bombs or a carbonated mead if you bottle between cold crashing and fermentation starting up again.

 

[bernardsmith]

Just to piggyback on FatDragon: Over time, as the yeast cells go through their life cycle and as they go through all the sugars in your must, the cells flocculate. Many people think that that means that they drop out of suspension and drop to the bottom, but I think that flocculation really means that they clump together. Sometimes those "clumps" drop to the bottom - and so your wine or mead becomes more clear, but sometimes they remain in suspension. Cold crashing tends to force the clumps of yeast to drop to the bottom. If you put your carboy in a fridge you should see the mead begin to clear from the top down and in a few days if the haziness is caused by clumps of yeast your mead should be very much clearer. .

 

[Dorkusmalorkus]

Does mead have an ideal temperature range for cold crashing or will it do to just leave it in a refrigerator until it clears?

 

[Kody_Wulfe]

I have a mead that I bottled.. it has cleared many times.. has no sediment in the bottom... but appears to have a wisp of smoke in it.. it is a simple mead.. just water honey and yeast... not sure what it is....

I would also like to ask about cold crashing... how long does it usually take??? I know every mead is different.. but once fermentation is complete.. I have cold crashed on for almost 10 days and it is still murky...

Kody

 

[Dorkusmalorkus]

The wispy, fine stuff you describe is exactly what I have in my mead. The only sediments that could be effectively removed through racking was the heavier stuff that sank to the bottom. The wispy smoky residue somehow refused to sink deeper than one or two inches above the bottom which is what made the mead look like semi-clear lemonade. Hopefully leaving it in the fridge a while will work to get that crystal clearness I keep seeing in finished mead photos.

 

[Maylar]

FWIW I bought a commercial mead that had a wisp of something suspended in it. Didn't show up in the glass.

 

[Dorkusmalorkus]

The type of yeast used seems to be a determining factor in how much sediment will be produced, its texture and how easy it will be to remove. After reading about commonly used yeasts, I found out(too late) that some like bread yeasts turn out sediment that is powdery and very fine.

This makes it lighter and more difficult to thoroughly remove because it stays suspended longer and takes much longer to settle to the bottom. Other yeast make very compact and heavy lees that sink quickly.

 

[Maylar]

And flocculation isn't usually specified in wine yeasts, which is too bad.

 

[Dorkusmalorkus]

The only sure way to get an idea of how a given type of yeast will turn out as far as sediment or lees is asking an experienced brewer or just plain old trial and error.

 

[Kody_Wulfe]

I have learned that COLD crashing is my friend.. since I brew basic meads.. then decide what to do with them.. I add Bentonite and cold crash.. ....

Not sure if it is right or not.. but works for me..

Kody