Set up?

[elijah young]

Mead! I'm fairly new to this and haven't made any huge batches yet, mostly 1 gal and smaller. I'm moving into a house and i was wondering if anyone had any pictures or can describe there whole set up. should i get an old fridge and store my mead in it, do i need to build something, or is there a better place?

 

[bernardsmith]

Hi elijah - and welcome. For storing mead all you really need is some means to store bottles on their side. After you bottle you allow the bottles to stand upright for about three days and then to keep the corks moist you store them on their sides. You don't need a refrigerator, just shelving.
The one other condition you want to ensure is that the mead does not get too hot. I store all my wines and meads in my basement and that does not get much above about 65 F in the hottest day. Certainly during fermentation the critical factor is a more or less constant temperature. It drives yeast crazy when they have to acclimatize themselves one day to 60 F and the next to 75F then 90 F and then 62F. So if you have a good way to maintain a temperature you have selected for the strain of yeast you have chosen then you are 90 % home and dry. Storage temperatures are less critical but you should not be storing your meads warm.
And mead ain't beer - Unless you are adding hops, diffuse daylight is not an issue although storing bottles in direct sunlight can allow the color of fruit to fade.