First Mead Batch dirty details included...could use advise.

[thedownwardsprl]

Soooo... I started my first mead batch with intent to hit a 13 to 14 percent residual sweetness. For some reason I chose to do a 3 gallon batch(probably price of honey). So I used 3 lbs of orange blossom honey per gallon. I ended up exactly at 3 gallons. My fg was 1.125 and I'm using lalvin d47. I wanted to add a slight tannin solution so I used 2 tea bags, a little water, one orange peeled, and about 25 raisins chopped. I made a tea of this and sifted the tea into my batch. I used 6 teaspoons of yeast nutrient over a weeks time. I began worried with the smell after week one...Stressed yeast? Kinda rubbery smelling. I am thinking this is due to the fact of the D47 fermenting temps being under 68 degrees and I was doing this in 72 degrees. Either way, the fermentation never stopped. It stopped at 1.000 being over 16 percent alcohol. I was wandering about sweetening with natural means aka berries and such after stabilizing. I used potassium sorbate. 1 teaspoon per gallon. I waited 24 hours then used a muslin bag filled with 3.75 lbs of thawed/mashed non-preservative wild blueberries. After 2 weeks, I racked to a new wider bucket on top of the berries and a bag of American oak chips I soaked in bourbon for 2 weeks. The smell started to subside a bit. My gravity after 1 week of using sorbate and berries is 1.010. I'm now 3 weeks in. I have recently aerated the mead 3 times and racked once to get rid of smell and it is finally stopping and I only smell alcohol. The taste is actually great! Being the 3rd weeks now and fermentation has stopped, do I run the risk for too much oxygen? I plan to rack this again at the 4 week mark into smaller 1 gallon carboys to prevent any headspace issue I may have and any extra mead, place in mason jars with holes drilled for grommets/airlocks. Also I want to have a big oak flavor in 4 months, is it bad practice to leave wood chips in for 4 months?

 

[Maylar]

Mead is pretty resistant to oxidizing, but fruit isn't. It's your call whether to rack again or not. My ciders and cysers I'm anal about head space, meads not so much. You should use some k-meta too, it helps control oxidation and prevents the sorbate from making geranium smells.

D47 above 65 degrees is famous for making fusels.

 

[thedownwardsprl]

Well, now I'm curious on why it would be resistant to oxidizing. I will look into the k-meta. I have a cyser I just started too... Well kinda...I did the cider fermentation a week ago. Fresh pressed blend of cameo, pink lady, and Arkansas black. I have right under 4 gallons of it. Wish I would have used pectic enzyme. I didn't think about doing cyser until this morning and went and got 3 more lbs of honey. Wait until it ferments and then mix them... strange idea doing them separately. I came up with this to keep myself in check on splitting the abv between the two...Too much info I know. You don't have to read.
CYSER(HONEY APPLE WINE) CALCULATION
3.75 GALLONS OF CIDER(C)
1 GALLON OF MEAD(M)
1+3.75=4.75
M=%26
C=%74
OG(ORIGINAL GRAVITY) OF C= 1.060
FG(FINAL GRAVITY) OF C=1.000
MEAD THEORETICALLY(HAS NOT FINISHED FERMENTATION)
OG OF M=1.112
THEORETIC FG OF M=1.000
ABV(ALOHOL BY VOLUME) CALCULATIONS
ABV EQUATION: OG-FG*131.25=ABV
C=OG(1.060)-FG(1.00)X131.25=7.875
M=OG(1.122)-FG(1.000)X131.25=16.01
MIXED FINAL SOLUTIONS ABV CALCULATIONS
C(7.875)74=582.75
M(16.01)26=416.26
C(582.75)+M(416.25)/100=%9.99
STABILZED CYSER %9.99 ABV
ABV TARGET=%8
9.99/131.25=1.076
8/131.25=1.061
STABILIZED-SWEETENED ABV= 1.076-1.061=1.015
1.000 IS DRY(NO MORE SUGAR TO FERMENT) 1.010 IS A SEMI SWEET. 1.015-1.020 IS SWEET
1.020+ IS DESERT WINE.
BACK SWEETEN FINAL SOLUTION TO A GRAVITY OF 1.015 TO HAVE SWEET %8 ABV CYSER

 

[Maylar]

All I can say is that I've had 4 gallons of mead in a 5 gallon bucket for over 2 months and never had a problem with oxidation. Stabilized and sweetened. I dunno the technical reason. I'd never do that with cider.