Young Mead

[cincinnatifermenter]

How long is a recommended length for primary fermentation of mead. My first batch I let ferment for ten days and drank young. How long can it sit before it would need to be airlocked for secondary fermentation? Any other tips would be greatly appreciated.

[Tim Hall]

If you plan to make a mead that will age, it's probably best to use an airlock even during the primary, 2-3 days (roughly) after the fermentation is noticeably underway. Acetic acid bacteria will start working as soon as there's alcohol and oxygen present.

It probably doesn't make itself as apparent in young/green mead because you have more sugars to offset it. But in aged mead, especially if it's fermented dry, it can be prominent. Vinegar doesn't go away with age.

Some people make wine and mead on the lees, sitting on the the yeast sediment the entire time. This may work for you, but some yeasts have a tendency to make nasty flavors when they sit too long. 2-3 weeks, maybe 4 is generally a good time to rack to a secondary. If at two weeks it's still bubbling a decent amount, give it time to play out before racking.

Mead has a tendency to ferment slow, and might just go ahead wait at least three weeks. This amount of time definitely won't hurt anything. But do use an airlock - in this amount of time you can start to develop sour or solventy flavors.