Mead questions

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vikingbrewer70

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I've got my first mead in the fermenter right now at 62 degrees for about 2 weeks now. Should I leave it at that temp through the rest of the time I secondary it? should i bring it up to room temp? as you see in the carboy its clear as a bell then i brought a sample upstairs where its 70 degrees and that's what it looks like in the glass. I that a chill haze problem? Just took a sample it's 10.25% it O.G. was 1.080 went in @ 1.002 smells good and tastes pretty good tew.
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I think that you can get away with storing it at room temp vs 62F. At this point you need to minimize the head space as much as possible (about 2 inches from the airlock) to avoid oxidation. You can add water and/or some sanitized marbles to help displace the level up higher. Or split it up into smaller one gallon batches with airlocks for aging.
 
Mead ferments very well even above 70 degrees. That's not chill haze, it's just that mead takes forever to clear. But I would add sanitized marbles as mentioned earlier.
 
The thing you could do is drink it with a little haze and call it good! :D It really boils down to personal preference and amount of time you want to take to clear your Mead.

I personally think haze can impact / impart some flavors depending upon the reason for the haze. If you want a clear mead and do not have the time to wait you would need to use fining agents. In my opinion will impart / impact flavor slightly as well. With that said see below:

The first thing I would try s to increase the temp to room temp (70 or so) and hold until clear. Rack each time you get 1/8 to 1/4" lees. If not clearing for some reason after 2 - 6 months (Or if you are impatient) try fining agents like Bentonite or KC Super Kleer.

Haze in liquids is generally related to temperature, water or moisture content and some suspended solids. Most often higher temperature is more likely to cause haze. (Our beer brewing friends occasionally see haze when chilling but I believe is a different mechanism.) In Mead it could be caused by any number of things but often suspended solids is the culprit. Most of the suspended solids in your Mead have an electrical charge. Some have a positive charge while others may have a negative charge.

Bentonite has very high water absorption properties that allow it to expand to almost 20 times its original size when hydrated and is negatively charged. Since Bentonite has a negative charge will attract positively-charged suspended solids in your Mead then fall out.

KC Super Kleer - Chitosan and Kieselsol are the active ingredients and are a combination of negative and positive charged particles. Super Kleer tends to work for most haze issues that bentonite does not seem to work well for.

Off topic a bit but related - I used C*st*o cheapo honey for a couple of batches and after 6 months have had to use both Bentonite and Super Kleer and in one case cold crash at fridge temps for 5 days then racked off lee's to get it to be clear at room temp.

The above has worked for everything i have run into. However I have read that some melomels will not clear likely due to pectin haze from the fruit - Then it is recommended to use pectin enzyme. (I have no first hand experience with pectin haze but a lot of folks seem to use a pectin enzyme to clear it.)

Good luck let us know what you did and how / if it works for you.
 
thank you for info. i plan on keeping the mead in the carboy till February i will bring up the temp 2 weeks before.
i spoke with my teacher(im in a certificate program for brewing and distillation) and what i can do.
 
Can u share your recipe? Just honey & water? How much of each? Which yeast did u use?
 
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