General Category > Other Fermentables
Mead shelf life
saintsbrew:
I am going to try and have better will power when it comes to aging.
--- Quote from: morticaixavier on August 02, 2012, 03:43:42 PM ---
--- Quote from: ryang on August 02, 2012, 03:06:36 PM ---
--- Quote from: The Professor on August 02, 2012, 07:31:20 AM ---I recently opened a 15 year old bottle of mead, and it was beyond fantastic.
That said, in general I never open a bottle of mead until it is 5 years old.
10 years is even better.
--- End quote ---
What kind of corks do you use for aging that long?
--- End quote ---
If you store the bottles so the liquid touches the cork and keep it cool it shouldn't be a problem. wine is aged that long often
--- End quote ---
You could also wax the ends that helps. But, IMO the best way would be to bottle and cap as normal.
realbeerguy:
--- Quote from: The Professor on August 02, 2012, 07:31:20 AM ---I recently opened a 15 year old bottle of mead, and it was beyond fantastic.
That said, in general I never open a bottle of mead until it is 5 years old.
10 years is even better.
--- End quote ---
If you follow Staggered Nutrient Additons and control temperature you will not have to age the mead 3-5 years to mellow out the fusal alcohols. That said, laying down a mead for years is one of the benefits of the hobby.
nateo:
--- Quote from: realbeerguy on August 03, 2012, 08:43:54 PM ---If you follow Staggered Nutrient Additons and control temperature you will not have to age the mead 3-5 years to mellow out the fusal alcohols. That said, laying down a mead for years is one of the benefits of the hobby.
--- End quote ---
Yeah, to paraphrase Kris England and Curt Stock "Off-flavors smooth with time. So do mountains. Do it right from the start." Don't expect every mead to improve with age. Meads, like wines, will peak at different times. Maybe it's 10 years, maybe it's two years, maybe it's 6 months. If you wait 10 years for a mead that peaked in two years, you'll be disappointed.
corkybstewart:
I'm the only person I know that likes mead so I don't brew it often. So I have about 6 bottles of my 1994 left, about 6 of my 1996, and a bunch of the batches I made in 2002,2004 and 2006. All of these meads are still very good, none have peaked and deteriorated yet.
I'm gonna make a batch of prickly pear mead tomorrow.
nateo:
I don't care much for still meads, but I love sparkling meads. My best so far was a braggot, a blend of a saison and a grapefruit mead.
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