Degassing Mead: When, Why and How
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- Опубликовано: 21 апр 2018
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If you've ever wondered what it means to degas your mead here's your answer! The link above will take you to the notes I've done. Here are the links to the products that I mentioned in the video:
Agitator Rod:
www.amazon.com/Midwest-Brewin...
Wine Saver:
www.amazon.com/Vacu-Vin-Vacuu...
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I love how many wholesome small channels there are about mead making.
I love that the Harvard course "Food Fermentation: The Science of Cooking with Microbes" led me to this channel.
not to nitpick, but twice you said that the yeast take oxygen and convert it to carbon dioxide. This fundamentally misrepresents what fermentation does. The C02 from fermentation comes from pyruvate. Glucose to pyruvate ( C6 to 2 X C3, glycolysis) and then the decarboxylation of pyruvate ( C3 to C2 + C02, pyruvate decarboxylase) to make acetaldehyde followed by its reduction to ethanol. The stuff on degassing however was good.
Awesome video once again. I am a complete greenhorn and appreciate the info
If anyone's new to this, and just got one of those drill bits, DO NOT put that into your mead 48 hours into pitch and fire that drill up! Ever seen that little kid science fair project with the baking soda volcano? Yeah, that.
Instead, before you put the bit into the drill, just use the bit like a spoon and GENTLY give it a LITTLE swirl. See how that foams up, wait for it to die down, then give it a little MORE of a stir. Like MMM says here, you're not trying to oxygenate, so you really don't need to make some kind of Whirlpool Charybdis scenario in the carboy. Work your way up in stages. And if you can, do it in the bathtub juuuust in case.
Great Channel with great info! My first batches were made a week and a day ago and are just simple mead they are under air lock with a light swirl every couple of days as a matter of fact I degassed yesterday and it was letting a wonderful and slightly alcoholic smell thru the airlock! Once I hit a month then if the air lock activity has settled mostly and the gravity normalizes I'll rack into secondary and go from there. Hope to be as natural as I can with the whole process.
This is exactly what my mead is doing. I've racked it twice for secondary, and it's still bubbling. I think it just needs degassing. It slowed down to a standstill, but then when I took it out it picked up so I realize that CO2 is still present in the mead and needs to escape. I'd rather not use tablets to stabilize it, but let it degass naturally if I can. Thanks for the tip!
hey man been here since like 200 subs really enjoy your content and i always look forward to watching the new stuff it's nice to see you growing so much and i'm very glad to see more people coming into the homebrewing kinda thing and making mead anyways keep up the great work my dude
Bro Killer Hey! I remember you from those days and I’m glad you’ve stuck around! Thank you for your kind words!
I use a cocktail spoon for my 1/2 and 1 gal batches, it fits in the mouth of the carboy, reaches to the bottom and is easy to sanitize
making my first Cyser, and Melomel also
thanks for the great tips
Happy to help!
Super helpful.
Good Information. Thank you.
Thanks for watching!!
A couple of quick comments. Half the weight of the sugar in your mead is transformed into CO2 so that is a lot of gas. There are a couple or three good reasons to degas DURING primary fermentation and not after the active fermentation has ended.
1. That amount of gas (if you are fermenting 3 lbs of honey 1.5 lbs of gas is produced at normal pressure) dissolved in the mead puts great pressure on the yeast cells (think what it feels like to dive 100 meters under water), That pressure can stress the yeast and stressed yeast will produce all kinds of compounds most of which do not enhance the flavor of your mead.
2. CO2 when dissolved in the mead produces carbonic acid and carbonic acid is an acid and that will drop the pH of the mead. Honey at the best of times has no chemical buffers to control pH so with the addition of carbonic acid you can find that the pH of your mead will drop below about 3.0 and at that level fermentation CAN stall.
3. The presence of CO2 in the mead will enable all kinds of particles to remain in suspension and their presence in suspension means that your mead will be cloudy. Not a major problem unless you are looking for a bright clear mead but if that is indeed what you are looking for then allowing CO2 to remain in solution (and the CO2 will saturate your mead depending on ambient air pressure and temperature) will make obtaining a non hazy mead a real challenge.
Glad to see someone else from the gotmead website chiming in here :-)
I love this! Thank you for sharing this info.
Man Made Mead so do we degas during or after fermintation
James Howlett during primary fermentation for the first several days to a week.
Would the above rational also apply to beer and wine? Asking for a friend. :o)
What about using the vacuum line from my foodsaver that is designed to draw a vacuum on mason jars? I bet that would do it quick!!! Lol
Get a MityVac brake bleeder from auto parts store. Cheap and works great!
I just realized I could use my vacuumed sealer.
Cool info 😉👍💯🍺🇺🇲
I love your videos, you’re straight to the point. I appreciate that, I think it’s a lost art.
I have a 5 gallon batch thats about 4 weeks in. I used a drill stirring tool when I first started the the fermentation but I haven't touched it in about 4 weeks. The Bubbling has slowed down but it still bubbles every couple minutes. I was planning on transferring it into a big mouth 5 gallon carboy at week 6. Do I need to stir it again before I start the secondary? It's in a Fermenting bucket now and I haven't opened it in 4 weeks. What would you do? I really enjoy the videos and go to them daily for tips. Thanks for sharing you knowledge.
I wouldn't stir it up after the primary! You don't want to add more oxygen at that point. Generally you don't need to do a ton of degassing after the first like 7 days of it's life.
I'm surprised no one brought up MEA's (mead explosion/explosive accidents). I've had this happen more than once in the past and it isn't any fun, both do to the clean up and to the now wasted mead/must. You absolutely need to be gentle when using a wine whip to degas!! Start slow and build speed after a few minutes or it can foam over and create one heck of a mess. The bubbles start out large but will get smaller and smaller as you whip; this process could potentially take 15-20 minutes depending on how much it bubbles. Just takes practice but be sure to take your time. Also, as for what can be used: I work in a hospital and have even used a 60cc syringe to degas (press the tip into the rubber bung to seal, pull the plunger all the way out slowly, watch it bubble, then repeat over and over). I've also watched videos of people converting air pumps into degassers, or FoodSavers.
You definitely have to be careful. It all comes back to the important idea of having patience when making mead haha.
Foodsaver is what I’m thinking. We already have one that has a vacuum line. It wouldn’t take much to adapt it to a bung and vacuum that sucker (no pun intended) down flat.
thank for your video. I will ask the reason why in some recipes to make mead they bring to the boil honey and water?
People used to do that do mix the honey easier. You don’t really need to. It was also used to pasteurize (kill off) and wild yeast.
First, thanks again for your great channel. Question: When you say to let the mead recover 8-12 weeks after de- gassing and not to do anything else, does this mean you should not bottle right after after de-gassing? I had planned on de-gassing a mead right before I bottle and then let it recover before bottling. I assume de-gassing is like "bottle shock" so why not do it right before bottling? FYI, this mead is a Mango-Habanero I adapted from the Mead Challenge you guys did and the sip I had is awesome. On the same subject, I am thinking of not de-gassing to allow for a little light carbonation. Have you made a carbonated Mango-Habanero? Might be good but this just seems like it should be a warm, still mead. Thanks again.J
You can bottle after degassing! You just want to make sure that it's fully degassed otherwise you will get some carbonation/excess CO2 in the brew.
Have you done a video on clarification? I’m new and so bought some bentonite. Is that the right choice?
I haven't! But that's a good idea. Bentonite works well! Follow the directions on the packet or from a youtube video and that should definitely help your mead!
Great video!
Do you degas before or after racking?
I normally do it after racking
It seems that the nutrient additions degass it plenty lol. The co2 releases like crazy when adding, I've learned to add it very slowly haha
GrowYourOwn They do some! You definitely want to add it into a small amount of mead and mix it well then add that to your main mead. Otherwise, like you said, the yeast freak out and it releases a bunch of co2
@@ManMadeMead co2 is not released due to "yeast freaking out" it is because the granules are causing a nucleation point that is pushing out dissolved co2
GrowYourOwn Very true! That’s the more scientific way to explain it, I’ve found that the general masses learn more from the simpler definition though. So I stick to the simple definitions other wise people might think I’m trying to talk way over their head.
I just made my first batch of mead the other day. It just started fermenting. I am planning on making a melomel, so should I degas after primary fermentation, and add the fruit in the secondary right after primary, or do I need to wait a little bit before adding the fruit? Also, is it bad to do a little bit of degassing during primary fermentation during the off days of staggered nutrient supply?
It’s totally okay (and preferred) to degas mostly in the primary. If you do it later than the primary you just want to be sure to not introduce oxygen into the mead because that will ruin in. I would degas during the primary and add your fruit into the secondary as soon as you move it over!
I have seen many tips and videos of using the wine degasser you mentioned (power drill attachment) in the oxygenation process. Does this actually oxygenate the mead or does it instead release all the oxygen already in the mead?
Btw I really enjoy your videos and, as a beginner mead-maker, I find them very helpful.
It definitely helps to oxygenate the mead. Generally any stirring will give the mead some oxygen. The more vigorous the better before the fermentation starts!
Man Made Mead I’m confused I thought the aim was to degas not oxygenate?
@@Hadrada. You want to oxygenate before fermentation and degas after, I believe.
Serg Ivash thanks
Have you considered making an oak flavored mead, using chips or whatever else is on the market... drinking some again now from the Mazer cup, this stuff is soooo damn good!
Randomness I haven’t! I’ll have to check that out, it sounds delicious!
Ooh I have some oak chips for the bbq that would be interesting!
Rack into a oak barrel and barrel age it!
@@native_earth916I would enjoy charring my own barrels, and racking mead into them!! Im picturing little mini oak barrels…someone should start making them!
i am 2 weeks into making mead and have never drank mead before so i am all kinds of excited and wanting to experiment with the 2 gallons that i have in production. thanks for the vid on anti carbonation. end game for storing the mead i want to go the whole 9 yards of putting it into regular corked 750ml wine bottles. would you recommend the vacuum wine seals over corking? 2nd question. i want to make it with carbonation like beer too. should i force carbonate it latter on or would it be fine to natural carbonate it like a craft beer. i understand natural carbonation leaves a sediment at the bottom that should not be drank, but what i don't understand is the longevity of it? mead gets better over a period of time very much like wine. would that carbonation and sediment be a problem?
i understand that you are not carbonating your mead, but wanted your opinion anyways. totally cool if you don't as-well.
I don’t think carbonating your mead will impact the flavor over time. You can absolutely force carbonate later on or just let it naturally go through the process. It seems like you want a lot of carbonation and generally the natural carbonation process will not give you a huge amount (atleast not as much as a beer or a soda). The vacuum seal over wine bottles is great and I would highly recommend doing it! Don’t be able to rack your mead to get rid of that sediment, while carbonation can be nice the overall flavor of the mead is more important and leaving a lot of sediment can cause issues with that.
Just know, that regular wine bottles should NOT be used when you are bottle carbing. You need to use beer bottles or champagne bottles, which are thick enough to withstand the pressure from carbonation.
thanks... i took that into consideration but might not have as a novice.
Should degassing be done after it gets down to the final gravity? Or during the fermentation?
I do it mostly during the fermentation! Maybe a little after but you don’t want to go too crazy and introduce a lot of oxygen!
If I’m putting strawberries and banana pieces in my secondary, should I degas and then ad my fruit. If so, how long should I leave fruit in please.
Thank you,
Bill B
I’d leave it in for 2 - 3 weeks!
Have you done a video on how to tell when your Mead has spoiled or something of that nature?
Myles Mejia I haven’t ever done one over that, but that’s a good video idea!
It’s actually pretty hard to ruin mead. Most times time is your answer-just let it age. Even If a bacteria has infected your mead it might not be a complete loss depending on the type.
With that said, I did end up having to throw away a cyzer because I had failed to wash my apples and it got infected. I tried aging it out but after a year it tasted horrible and since it was only a gallon I figured I had sunk enough time into it and poured it down the drain.
I have to say that I am surprised. Fruit ain't grains and mead ain't beer and it can be incredibly difficult to spoil a mead. Once you pitch the yeast the yeast will dominate any volunteer bacteria or indigenous yeast and the cultured yeast will create an environment that prefers the cultured yeast and dis-prefers any other organism. It's possible that the cyser tasted bad for other reasons but it is hard to imagine that spoilage would be a cause. Of course, stressed yeast and poor choice of honey (East Coast buckwheat) can create problems but it's hard to infect a mead, in my opinion.
I have two questions. My first is that I racked my orange mead a few weeks ago, it is still cloudy and has more sediment at the bottom, it also has a big headspace in the carboy, which I thought was okay because I'm planning to bottle it in June anyway, but should I rack it again and stir/degas it or just rack it again and leave it til I rack it next month? My second query is that I racked my blackberry mead today and I see very little to no bubbling at all occuring, it had a huge headspace though, do I need to stir it, or am I safe to just leave it be and then bottle it next month?
I wouldn't worry about degassing it, it should be doing that on its own. I would definitely rack it off the sediment (this will also degas it a little). I wouldn't leave any mead with a ton of headspace on it for a long time but I think 1 month will be fine. You should taste it along the way and see if the oxygen is doing anything to it!
@@ManMadeMead thank you so much for helpful reply! Okay great I will rack the orange again tomorrow, taste test it, and then leave it again for 3 weeks until I bottle and hope for the best!!
When you oxygenate mead in the beginning of the fermentation, can you just do it by shaking? And if you do it like that, do you keep the airlock on?
I normally just lightly swirl the mead around. Shaking can be too vigorous!
You want at least 8 to 12ppm of oxygen in the first 3 to 5 days
Would you say letting it breath would be good,at the beginning few day?
When you degas you’re not really letting it breathe. You are just getting rid of CO2
Hello there, would I be correct in saying that the degassing is done after you rake it first? Cheers
You can do it before you rack!
Thankyou sir, it’s a done deal👍🏻
Can you use the wine save on your bottles right before you cap?
Yes you can!
@Man Made Mead Hey there!! So I am quite confused on what to do regarding Degassing. I intend to do a primary fermentation without degassing, but would like to complete this process during the racking phase from primary to secondary fermentation (in-between). Though, what I am confused about regarding Degassing is: Wouldn't you introduce oxygen if you racked your mead into an open bucket or container and, wouldn't you add oxygen to your mead by stirring it up?....which, from what I know, is bad? just confused on the proper way to Degass without worrying I messed up and allowed the mead to be exposed to the elements and or oxygen.
So you can degas at any time if you lightly stir. Just opening your fermenter won’t introduce a ton of oxygen. The only way to add too much oxygen is by violently stirring your mead after the primary.
@@ManMadeMead Thanks a bunch for the reply and informative answer! Will do just that! Thanks!
Is it necessary to degas mead if you are making a sparkling mead?
Yup! Generally you’re just getting the C02 out so the yeast don’t create any off flavors. You can still make a sparkling mead after you degas!
so when degassing is it after the racking of the mead or before
?
Cameron Henley-Fridmanis just before bottling usually or after you remove it off the less.
Pniko what di you mean off the less? Thabks
@@Hadrada. he meant lees, or sediment from fermentation consisting mostly of dead yeast
@@tutie69soldier_slayer91 thanks mate
Do you degas before or after backsweatening it
mikei86 Generally you do that before during the primary fermentation stages. The backsweetening comes after it’s gone through all the fermentation.
I have shaked my mead (in bottle) allot after primary is that bad? Too much oxygen?
That’s totally okay! Just don’t do it 3 or 4 days after the primary has started!
i got question , i set 15l batch 3l honey rest water up to maybe 13-14l .so i leat it it start active for 2 days then slow down ,,i miss degas.. after third day it all stop ... ec1118 yeast ... i let ferment for week but nothing ,,, so i degas it by swirling bottle it show huge bubbling ..seccond time too third time not so ..so i pinch a bit more yeast ..now question will yeast continue fermentation or i fup all ?
MrCcfly It sounds like your fermentation happened, it just happened quickly. Have you tried taking a gravity reading?
@@ManMadeMead i did today still 1034 and co2 with new yeast started but slooooow
Use a long stick to stir your bottle after 24 hours and use the next hour cleaning up your livingroom from honeywater all over the place.
Do you no longer have your mead list on Google drive?
I guess the link expired before, here’s a new one!
drive.google.com/file/d/12VUKiCcRV6n2bz413bxT3QG2HqfxOk8Z/view?usp=drivesdk
If I do not have an airlock, would it work just as well to degas it every night or so?
Also, I have a metal gallon-jug with a corkscrew and airtight seal, but it broke. Would it still work the same as with a normal seal or would it work less well?
You absolutely need an airlock or something to keep stuff from getting in your mead. I would suggest to either buy an airlock or to use a balloon and poke a hole in it so the air can escape.
Without that airtight seal you will more than likely lose air out of the sides of the mead. I would try to get something with an air tight seal!
@@ManMadeMead All righty, thank you!
Just wondering but I’m getting ready to make a 2 gallon batch with lalvin ec 1118 yeast. I don’t want it to be dry, how much sugar should I add so it won’t be dry?
Aaron Shreve Well, are you back sweetening it or just wondering how much honey to add? It depends on how much honey you are starting with.
Man Made Mead I was going to start out with 3 pounds per gallon but found out that it would probably be a dry mead. Can I add more honey for first fermentation?
Aaron Shreve So you can’t add any more sugar or honey until after the fermentation is done otherwise the yeast will just pick up where they left off. If you want it to be lower alcohol volume and sweeter then you will have to either wait for the fermentation to stop or stop it yourself. Follow this link for more info, it’s a great source: www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/how-to-backsweeten-mead-and-cider/
Man Made Mead right on! Thank you!
Man Made Mead is there a link that you recommend to get bentonite? I’m seeing a lot of different types of it. Or is it even necessary, or recommend.?
Does degassing help clear mead too?
It can help speed up the process!
Once I learned about degassing mead, I started doing it and still do so, but I'm reading more these days that it may not be as important as some believe. Part of the reason is the mead is already degassing itself (all that bubbling going on in the airlock) also that it may have more to do with staggered nutrient additions than anything else. If you're following a SNA protocol (or adding fining agents for that matter), then you should degas, otherwise it may not be necessary (or so I've read). I'm still degassing as I typically follow a TOSNA 2.0 and I use fining agents to clear my mead, but it seems it might not be the critical step once thought. I used a paddle in my drill to degas the mead, running it slower than if I was aerating it.
RuggedHomestead Yeah the airlock does let it naturally aerate so I feel like degassing really just has to be done if the mead itself is still pretty carbonated. Also if you’re trying to speed up the process of bottling and aging. It just all depends on how much carbonation you want, some people want some and other don’t! I’ve never heard of the TOSNA 2.0 stuff so I’ll have to check that out.
Man Made Mead here’s a handy calculator for TOSNA 2.0 www.meadmakr.com/tosna-2-0/
The TOSNA (and iTOSNA) website is Meadmaderight.com
Perfect! Thank you!
Wouldn't a magnetic stirrer be much better? Or am I thinking too much like a lab setting lol
On the third day, i degass yesterday with no activity, today theres much more activity, should i degass as all that action going in there?
You can Degas every couple days!
@@ManMadeMead love the reply !!!
sorry for bugging again but… is removing the lid safe from oxygen getting in there while degassin😬🧐
Wouldn't that introduce aceto-bacteria and more air/oxygen into the wine/mead and turn into vinegar in the 8-12 weeks after that?
Why is everyone so scare of bubbles if that's not the case? I'm having problem understanding degassing for co2, I know you can degas sulfur too but seems pretty risky.
Am I wrong?
Also, when I go and carbonate my mead before bottling.. what's the difference?
Am I reducing the storage lifespan ?
If you stir lightly you will not add a significant amount of oxygen to a brew. So you don't risk it going bad. Degassing is really only necessary in the middle of fermentation because the yeast get stressed out when there is excess CO2 in the solution. While they do expel it, they can be overwhelmed by it at the same time. When you force Carbonate with CO2 you are good! CO2 doesn't hurt the mead, but straight up oxygen will!
Trying to degas a 6gal bucket that’s filled to the tippy-top, I’m gonna try putting a vibrating pad sander on the side. I’ll let you know if it explodes…….
Hmm, that was anticlimactic. I thought it would really agitate and excite the yeast, but it didn’t do much.
How did your mead turn out?
The link isn't working for me.
What are your thoughts on taking an electric sander and vibrating the bucket with it until all the cO2 is out?
Interesting idea! I’m gonna try this! I think if I strap the sander to the side of a carboy I’ll be in business....or it’ll paint the ceiling with mead, we’ll see....
From what you have said in your videos I get the impression that you are not aware that yeast will not start to convert sugar to alcohol if they have plenty of oxygen. The fermentation process is something that yeast does to stay alive when no oxygen is available. I assume that oxygen is introduced in the first place to help out the yeast a little before they get to work. A lot of the tips I have seen seem to have the same goal, increasing the odds of a successful batch by making the yeast comfortable.
If you did know this, oops my bad.
Erik Hoevenberg You’re definitely right! I already knew this and have a whole video about preparing yeast for the must and giving them everything they need including oxygen. But you’re definitely right.
Does anyone know the name of the intro song?
It’s something I wrote!
@@ManMadeMead dude that effin sick! Keep up the good mead and music lol
I'm confused isn't having an airlock taking care of degassing?
Not exactly. There is still CO2 that gets trapped in the mead itself. That’s why we stir the mead. When you do this you’ll notice a bunch of bubbling. The airlock only really degassing 50% of the yeast CO2 production
@@ManMadeMead I have been making 5L demijohns of mead for few months now. I only stir them a couple times a day for the first three days and then completely leave them and let the airlock do the rest until I rack it and then leave it again and then bottle it. Is this right? I want to buy a 25L demijohn next (yup going for the big boy!) and the description strongly suggests a degasser... I am still confused however why i need it and when would I use it if I did get one? could you advise me friend?
As far as i know it's to rid the mead of the residual gases that for one reason or another could not be left out through the airlock. It can lead to a certain number of situations that culminate with the mead tasting a bit off. Not a game changer but somewhat noticeable.
Uh oh, i might have bottles waiting to explode, good thing i already planned to unbottle them and sulfite treat it.
If you put a bunch of sugar in them before you bottled you might have issues!
@@ManMadeMead I use potassium metabisulfite to end fermentation before bottling
I like to hook my trusty Electrolux and vacuum it out.
Yeast doesn't use oxygen for fermentation, that's purely an anaerobic process.
The oxygen in the mead is not used in fermentation! Oxygen is not turned into CO2! We don't want oxygen all throughout the primary!
Yeast can respirate (breath/eat) in two ways: 1) aerobic respiration, where oxygen and sugars are turned into carbon dioxide and water, and 2) anaerobic respiration, where sugars are turned into carbon dioxide and alcohol. This anaerobic respiration is alcoholic fermentation. Given the presence of oxygen, yeast will prefer aerobic respiration because it is easier for them and more efficient.
The reason we want oxygen in the beginning of a fermentation is so that the yeast can eat, multiply, and build solid, healthy colonies before getting into the alcoholic fermentation. In the primary fermentation we want to generate alcohol, so we don't want to oxigenate the brew throughout the primary like you said, but instead we should just oxigenate at the very beginning.
The presence of oxygen throughout the entire primary would be dangerous because it would also allow for other things like bacteria.
I shouldn't give recommendations or advice yet, but, I would think that if you ferment on a surface with an incredibly mild vibration (like from a fan or desktop computer running or something like that), then that would help to de-gas during fermentation. I'm not talking about something that creates visible turbulence on the surface of the mead. If you are fermenting under your computer desk, maybe put your computer on a piece of wood and have that wood extend over to where your mead is, so that it gives is super gentle insignificant vibration. If it shakes loose 0.1% to 50% (random numbers, not based on any data) of the bubbles, that's still something more than nothing. I'm not recommending running power to something to achieve this, but if you can recycle vibration that you are creating as a bi-product of something you always run anyway, it may be worth experimenting with.
Also, I recommend you DO NOT put a fan near your fermentors in a way that will possibly blow air into your fermentors.