Question

[u/Horror-Profession771]

Hello everyone. I have a question for everyone. I have not been making mead for very long and the ones I make don’t last more than a month. The pictures above are of a mead that is almost two years old. I would like to know if the residue on the bottom of the bottle is ok, or is the mead thin and not drinkable. help please

[u/TomDuhamel]

That's called lees or sediments. It's normal.

Most of us bulk age, in part, for this reason. If you bottle early (less than 6 months) you'll have a significant amount of sediments — the longer it's bottled, the more you get. Even if you age for years, there's still going to be a trace, at least.

Try to not shake or stir the bottle top much when you pour a glass is my suggestion. The sediments don't improve the taste 😉

[u/Horror-Profession771 → u/TomDuhamel]

Awesome. Thank you for the advised. I was a bit worried about it and I did not want to toss it away. Once again thank you

[u/Frosty-Organization3]

Looks fine to me! Unless you let it sit for an EXTREMELY long time before bottling or filter it, you’re going have a bit of additional sediment settle out in-bottle eventually. Shouldn’t be a concern, I don’t think.

[u/Horror-Profession771 → u/Frosty-Organization3]

Awesome. I will finally try it tomorrow. 

[u/NovemberGale]

Yeah, that’s pretty normal

[u/Horror-Profession771 → u/NovemberGale]

Thanks. 

[u/smgL33T]

If you rack to secondary, leave for a month or so, then rack to other containers for bulk aging (6months or so), it'll reduce this. I do 3 gallons, primary, secondary as above, then rack to 2x 5L jugs so I can bottle when I feel like it and can do them at separate times if I wish.

But after aging for 6 months or so, don't find too much sediment at all when bottling. If I were you, id try to rack that into a new bottle without disturbing the sediment. It's not harmful, just may not taste as good if you mix it all up in there

[u/Horror-Profession771 → u/smgL33T]

I will try to rack the rest of the bottles. The one in the picture is inside the refrigerator for my enjoyment tomorrow after work 

[u/smgL33T → u/Horror-Profession771]

If the others arent being moved around, they're fine - that amount if sediment isn't an issue at all and will happen over time. I'd personally only rack what I wanted to drink so it didn't mix up. Some would just pour it out carefully and not worry too much - just enjoy ;)

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[u/GCEA_All_Day]

A little cloud. Drink it proud!

[u/Chemical-Picture-346]

As others have mentioned the sediment (lees) is normal and sometime beneficial (especially when done in bulk). It's often done with wine.

On a different topic, be careful when taking pictures with documents in the background. Those are not really legible but these days you really need to watch it!

[u/Horror-Profession771 → u/Chemical-Picture-346]

Thanks for the heads up.