Bulk vs Bottle Aging Alcohol
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- Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
- Today we're discussing the major differences between Bulk Aging and Bottle Aging alcohols. We run through the pros and cons of each and I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think. Some people prefer one over the other and I would love to know what you think. There is a lot of testing still to be done with this and I think we can all give some more evidence for each side. Make sure you check out the links down below and thanks for supporting the channel!
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Mead Making is an art that people have enjoyed doing for years. It's something that intermediate to expert people can do and I'm somewhere in between. I've really enjoyed trying to use lots of different flavors in my meads like: Apple, Peach, Mango, Pear, Traditional, Elderberry, Blueberry, Blackberry, Maple Syrup, Apple Pie, Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Cherry, Chocolate, Bochets, Bochet, White Chocolate, Cilantro, Peaches, Melomels, Melomel, Acerglyn, Hydromel, Berries, Berry, Capsicumel, Peppers, Fenugreek. Some of my favorite meads have been the big blueberry mead, apple cinnamon mead, Bochet, OK Bochet, Raspberry Bochet, Mixed Berry Mead, Orange Cream mead, and Peppermint mead. I focus on how to make mead and how to make mead for beginners and hopefully anyone who wants to continue to grow in their mead making.
Was expecting you to open the washing machine and pull out another bottle
Just wanted to give you props! I just ordered my first set of mead making equipment and ingredients, and I am super excited about this. Your channel has really helped me as a resource... thanks man!
Welcome to the best hobby in the world! Let me know how your first mead goes!!
I'm currently making 20ltrs of mead per month.
Primary - 1 month
Secondary - 1 month
Age - 1 month
Bottle
Honestly, if I could bulk age longer I would. I do have shelves to be able to bulk age longer, however we always run out of mead as it is in high demand. We don't use any sulfates in our brews either.
I love how this channel is shot in his laundry room.
I've learned so much from this channel. This is probably the most useful brewing and especially mead channel ever. Mead is all I do too. It's funny, I started making mead because it was "easy" in a big way, and then the more I do it, I realize it's also the easiest thing to screw up.
Got examples/tips for newcomers. Gonna start my first batch next week.
Just going to start off by doing other people's recipes.
I only started making Meads about six months ago, I let my two Demijohns of Mead age in their Container for a little over five months, the 25 litre Fermenter I had I bottle aged as I needed the Container for a Beer :(.
I bought a few more Containers to Ferment in as they are very cheap from my local Brew Shop.
Also there is a huge range of sizes and materials to choose from.
I am vary impressed with a home made Mead so far as it's miles better than the Shop bought version I bought to see what Mead was like.
I am now making a Simple Cyser as well as another Mead as I have many gallons of Fresh Raw Honey spare after each Harvest and since I am trying not to drink the Mead before it reaches a year, I am needing to make a Mead or two every harvest.
A Coffeemel is my next project, once I work out how to do a cold brew, I have a great Bean I grind and use in my Barista Machine, but watched a Video that said a cold brewed Bean is sweeter as well as keeps flavours that may not survive the heat from the machine ?
I enjoy these types of videos as they save me from making mistakes as well as ending up with a better finished product as I look at the Pros and cons, that save me a ton of time doing all those tests myself :)
It's why I subscribed to this channel as well as City Steading, I get far more information and better explanations than most of the others out there :)
Unfortunately, I suffer from the problem of constantly "testing the quality" of the mead before it has a good chance to age. I suppose there are worse problems to have :) . Thanks for these videos. We are are in the exploratory stages of setting up a meadery as part of the honey business and are using your videos for ideas.
That’s awesome! Let me know if you guys start one, I’d love to buy a bottle from you!
Realistically, it will be a few years before we can jump through all the hurdles associated with getting the meadery off the ground, but we will be more than happy to send you a bottle from our sample brews once they are bottled and ready (most likely at least 6 months from now). I will follow up with you once we have something we think is ready for primetime.
How has it turned out?
I’d like to have a Meadery Bar and Apiary too.
Honestly as a home mead/wine maker I 100% agree with everything you said.
I used both methods and found both pros and cons in them. Since I don't have enough bottles and space at home, I prefer to bulk age my wines. That way I get more clarity and less wastage while racking.
Smaller batches have more wastage in racking.
Also I drink mead occasionally, so bottle ageing would make me drink frequently. I would better save my drinks for the winters only.
great video and timing i was just wondering about this myself lately :)
Thanks!
I'd like to learn more about barrel aging. I'm a "handy" person with many many skills, so I'm considering building burning and treating my own barrels, I'm also looking to homestead and learn about beekeeping, and mead lines up with my Nordic heritage so well, and I don't really like beer, unless it's good thick German stuff at room temperature lol
Bottle aging for me has worked better for the simple fact that I'm wanting to make a new mead as often as I can to keep it going. But I do bulk age for as long as I possibly can. But thank you for your take on the pros and cons of both... Extremely helpful as always 🍻 Cheer's
Cheers!
When your aging the mead in the carboys, are you keeping the airlock on the entire time? Or are you putting a cork on after fermenting is done?
So long as you keep water in the airlock it should be fine long term,but you do need to keep an eye on it. The water will dry up over time.
I keep my airlock on the entire time until I bottle! I just make sure and watch to make sure it doesn't dry up like Aaron said!
Keep the airlock, this way the gasses can escape. Offgassed meads smell better when you pour it into a glass.
I'm like you I find that I need to move my project from the carboy into bottles so I can free up the carboy for another project. I currently have four 21 liter carboy, eight 1 gallons and three 1/2 gallon carboy and they are all being used at this time. I think I have some 30 corked bottles of wine or mead aging with another 30 or so waiting to be filled. I have thirty six 1 liter flip tops I use for soon to be drank, I find I'm always needing to order more bottles for corking.
You say that your 6 gallon carboy takes up a lot of space, but consider how much more space you would need if you divided up that 6 gallons into wine or beer bottles. The smaller bottles would take up a lot more room with all of the extra glass as well as the necks making it so they can't stack neatly. Sure you could place smaller bottles in nooks and crannies around the home, but the single large container takes up less room overall.
Bulk aging is superior hands down. Say you cork a bottle and seal it, you store it and when you want to give it away you find that there is sediment at the bottom. Also, when you keep in carboy under airlock you also let gasses to escape.
I have only brewed a handful so far, but I think the convenience of the bottles is what I like the most. I have a few of the flip top that lock in place. From bringing them to social events, to just deciding to try a glass just makes it so much easier. It can also save up space and free up the carbouy's for future use.
I know bulk-aging feels like it takes up more space, since you need all the space in one location, but bottle aging takes up a lot more volume overall since you're adding glass from the bottles to the equation. I age in bulk because I kept running out of wine bottles and kept wondering where I was going to store all the smaller bottles safely. Not saying anything about flavor profiles. I'm not that adept at telling and can't drink a much wine due to headaches.
I bulk age my dry meads in oak barrels and sweet meads I’ll bottle age because the tend to move quicker
I highly prefer to bottle age, mainly so I can free up my fermenters for making more mead!
You just answered many questions I’ve had thank you
I'm glad I could help!
Did you produce a video on your mango mead? Our trees will be producing soon & I definitely want to make a few batches. Thanks 😊
I did! I made it while also doing a review of a piece of equipment! ua-cam.com/video/fO4NJmJ-2b0/v-deo.html
Not necessarily pros or cons but tools in the brewing arsenal. Bulk aging doesn't require stabilization but it's difficult if you stabilize through pasteurization. Think cooking a large roast vs individual steaks.
Currently bulk aging a wild blueberry wine and bottle aging cherry wine and a spiced cyser.
I think both are good depending on your space and the drinkable meads. Some just take longer... and some are great after primary... is it’s good enough, I won’t secondarily ferment. Just bottle drink and give away
New to this world of yours, I find it very fascinating. The joker will be in contact.
Wouldn't a 6 gallon carboy take up less space than 35 bottles at 22floz?
Technically yes it would, but also the area that it is being stored needs to be taken into account. For example, I age my meads in a cubby in my closet. A six gallon carboy is too tall to fit, but it is wide enough to hold the same amount bottled and boxed.
In some ways it does, but nox is right. Putting them in individual bottles and then boxes normally allows for more stacking storage than big carboys does!
Would you be able to add a link in the description or to this post about the type of synthetic corks you use in 750 and 375ML bottles? I wouldn't mind trying some and would prefer using something you recommend as you clearly have experience. :)
Yes I can! They are actually on my amazon store page of my website. www.manmademead.com . But here's a link! www.amazon.com/Nomacorc-Synthetic-Wine-Corks-Bag/dp/B0064GWTS0/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=synthetic+cork&qid=1578627629&sr=8-2
I had never really thought about the difference of bottle aging in a corked wine bottle vs a capped beer bottle. Makes me want to try corking my currently bulk aging blueberry melomel rather than just using beer bottles.
Mark Christenson I cork everything pretty much. #8 cork is rated 2 years and #4 is 4 years. That’s what I’ve seen on the packaging.
With modern corks, there's little to no difference. I wouldn't even try to use a natural cork. They bring a feel of authenticity and only cons otherwise.
i'm bulk aging two gallons of traditional.
not intentionally, I stuck them in the fridge to cold crash them two years ago and just forgot about them...
i.... I uh- really should get around to bottling those...
Thanks for all your hard work.... I just had to laugh when you showed us your shelves with boxes. My first thought was, "but those will fall off in an earth quake." Then I remembered most of the world doesn't shake with regularity .... I live in So Cal 10 miles from the San Andreas and we get a lot of little shakes. Anyway.... thanks again.
“A lot of people are like “oh that’s not good”” 🤣
Noticed your labels!!! Look awesome, where do you get them made at?
I make them myself! I had a friend do the design and I just put in the information I need and then print them at my local print shop.
@@ManMadeMead thank you
You mentioned a sulfate to extend aging. I am brewing my first berry mead. What do I need to do to preserve my mead- if anything- to protect the berries/juices from turning bad? Is this possible given the alcohol content?
Your mead without any sulfites should be good for 5 - 7 years. I would think that after that there is a chance it could start to go bad without sulfites. The higher ABV your mead the longer you can let it age.
Casual brewer here so bulk works effectively.
Seems like boxes and bottles take up more space
Both! Why restrict yourself. Just looking at that amazing decor, do you ever blend your meads? I really hope you never get earthquakes. Just started on your channel so please excuse my ignorance of covered topics.
I definitely blend them! It’s a great way to get some fun flavors!
I'm currently bulk aging a spiced clementine mead and a chamomile/vanilla mead, my plan was to bulk age for the first few months or so then transition to bottle aging eventually. Then I can sample a little bit at 3, 6, 9 months etc!
That's a great idea!
What about combining the two methods? After a year or few in bulk and then bottle age them even further? I used to be a bartender at a fine dining restaurant and how they stored their bottles was in a cardboard wine box on it's side in the cellar. Cheap and effective all you need is a dark cool place. Can also be used with regular cork. Bulk seems better but space is definitely and issue with airlocks on them. I also just wanted to say those big glass carboy's are extremely dangerous. I cut my hand and nearly sliced my wrist moving a 6 gallon carboy full of liquid when it slipped out of my hands. Be careful!
Why are you storing your bottles upright?
Because I'm using synthetic corks!
When does "aging" technically begin? Is it the day the yeast is pitched, when fermentation is complete, or the day it is bottled?
I would say once it’s finished primary fermentation!
Bottle ageing will probably be for me as it has only been a few days and I already want to make another mead after my first
Understandable!
that carboy is taking up less space then 30 50ml bottles though IMO. I would bulk age that batch for sure!
I would love my own personal collection someday too
You didn't talk about oxygen transfer and aging from natural cork vs synthetic
I’ll have to talk about that in the future!
Another great video…ty
Please post more of ur recipes
I do! They’re pretty much all of my videos! Haha
Think might need to join Mead anonymous meeting.
Since you have those bulk aging with airlocks, how often do you find that you have to top off the liquid in the airlock
If I use a spirit it will last for a month or two!
Why don't you use Solid Stoppers for bulk aging once they are stabilized? could save a lot of space in the end.
That’s true! An airlock does the same trick if you make sure it always has water in it though. Also, I generally don’t store my 1 gallon carboys in a tight contained area. That’s a good idea though!
Just bottled 2 gals. that I started 4/7/21. No sign of bubbles in the fermentation locks for a month. I put it up in 16oz brown bottles with plastic screw caps that I got from Amazon. Seemed like a good alternative rather than corks or metal caps. What do you think?
I noticed you have airlocks on your 1 Gal carboys. I pasteurize and cap mine. What's your opinion?
I normally leave airlocks on mine until I bottle them! Just to be sure there is not further fermentation
Synthetic cork doesn’t age the same. Also store upside down. Plus one is cost prohibitive.
good video idea
I understand that a wine must be 14% to store for long periods what about mead?
Mead also needs to age for quite some time (sometimes!)
You should try one of the fast fermenters.
Fast bad. Low and slow.
shouldn't be better to have the liquid be in contact with the cork ? (only if the cork is natural, not too much sense if the cork is plastic)
Yup!
How does bulk vs bottle change if I fortify a wine or mead with liquor like brandy or rum?
I’m honestly not sure about that answer
When you say "bulk aging", do you mean leaving it in the primary fermenter? Or is bulk aging during secondary fermentation? I have my first brew in the primary fermenter and it has ceased fermenting. I don't have a large enough vessel and will probably have to transfer it to several glass jars till I can get a larger jug for secondary fermentation. Can I just leave it in the primary jug and it will age just fine in there?
Generally it would mean leaving it in the secondary. Aging it in the primary would be aging it on the yeast (known as aging sur lies). You can age it in the primary, the yeast will just impart some flavors (normally a nutty note with some yeasts).
@@ManMadeMead Oddly enough after posting this I discovered your video about aging on the lees which was helpful. One thing I've read is to transfer to secondary fermenter ASAP so that it doesn't spoil. If I ultimately decide to age in the primary, is there something I ought to do to keep it from spoiling?
stupid question: does bulk vs bottle aging age at the same rate?
They might age on the same timeline but have some different results
They have done studies on real corks. They are ar 100% humidity so the don't dry out....the less air space between the cork and mead or wine has a greater effect. You want less headspace. On the side of the synthetic cork...you eliminate all changes of cork taint.
What about the head space that increases as bulk containers are gradually consumed?
I would try to avoid consuming from the bulk containers! That headspace is hard to fix.. you can always use some marbles to fill that head space if you really need to.
@@ManMadeMead So wouldn't it then be better to rack into smaller bottles in the first place?
When aging, I'm wondering the best way to check the progress? If bottled, I'm guessing you can't open a wine bottle of mead for a taste and then close it back up to age. So could you bulk age in a container that has a spigot? Then take small samples every few months to taste the progress?
You can definitely do that! I would do that or just bottle lots of little bottles and open them every once in awhile!
What do you think of a mini keg with and faucet spout and Co2 attachment for bulk ageing?
Have you tried the champagne method for shooting out the trub?
I haven’t!
@@ManMadeMead look up how champagne is made and try it out on a mead bottle lol!
Just curious, in the bulk aging 1 gallon containers, you left airlocks on. Could you replace those with screw on caps?
As long as fermentation is done, you definitely can!
Sediments in the wine in a wine bottle. Age , production volume, and time . At 64 for me it’s bulk ageing,!
Maybe a taste test?
Bulk Vs Bottle Aging (14 Month Test!) ua-cam.com/video/2K3gKRH2YPU/v-deo.html
I really wanna start making mead. Is there anything you recomend to make first, and where do you get your bulk supply of honey?
Make a traditional mead first and then start experimenting. Just think of whatever flavors you want to try and go for it! I normally buy my honey in bulk through www.dutchgoldhoney.com
I do both as well if I have a carboy I’ll leave it if not I’ll bottle.
I'm getting to know your pain about space. Luckily I got a storage room which allows me to bulk age. 4 three gallon and one six so far, a couple one gallons foroverflow. 3 six gallon plastic fermenting buckets. Overall if you have space, I think bulk aging is better. Maybe an actual cask could be better?
A cask would be great!
im curious... if you bottled the 6 gallons... wouldnt that take up much more space than that 6 gallon carboy? I get nine 375ml bottles per gallon. Thats 54 bottles for me lol.
It definitely does haha
do you personally like to pasteurize your meads or no?
I don't usually pasteurize my meads! I prefer to stabilize with potassium sorbate & potassium metabisulfite!
Am currently bulk aging but sorta kinda wanting to go ahead and bottle to make room and free up some carboys. I just haven't decided if I want to use synthetic or real corks.
I prefer synthetic!
Bottling my alcohol is not obvious to me. I'm not trying to sell this. I'm trying to get drunk on the cheap, that's it. I would love it if I could just brew 5 gallons in a bucket, then dispense it from the bucket as I drink.
When you go to bulk age - do you rerack to a clean carboy or do you leave it on a small bed of lees? My concern is that oxygen would get into the bottle and oxidize if you're while aging?
Kyle McAnallen if you degas then it’s possible to get oxygen. However there is a argon gas you can spritz into bottle and guarantee it’s safety. How to Drink talks about it. Keep wines as if it wasn’t opened.
"oh, there is a lot of sediment in this".....lol of course because you are bottling to quickly. Bulk aging allows for much more sediment to settle out b4 going into the bottle
I don’t think that’s what was said in this video. I’m pretty sure I said that it could be aging on sediment but I’m not sure. Also - I definitely said that quote about the bulk aged version.
What do you use to make your labels?
I edit my labels in Adobe Illustrator
Can you make a method on how to do test which one is stronger?
Both are the same strength! Just aged differently!
Hello, how do you know if you have good air sealing bottle caps?
I generally try to use caps I get from brew shops or online (and read their reviews). Most caps are good! Look for the rubber seal underneath the cap before you use them. That generally means their good!
Fairly new to this (less than a year), and I am hesitant to move anything from secondary fermentation to bottles. Some still need to clear up more and hesitant to move anything because of possibly catching yeast in the bottles as well. I really want things to be perfect before going to the bottles. Any advice?
How long have you’re meads been in secondary?
@@ManMadeMead i made 3 melomels at once. They have all been in secondary for about 6 weeks now. They have been racked twice and are fairly clear now but there is still noticeable sediment falling out of suspension.
Do you still use an air lock when ageing?
I do! Unless I'm certain it's done fermenting and degassing!
When do you add fruit to your mead I think both
If you can afford to do it, I would do both! If you have to choose one I would say the secondary
Where can I get those big bulk aging bottles for cheap? I'm trying to make my dad a lot of mead for Christmas lol
Search for 1 Gallon Glass Carboy and you'll find them!
@@ManMadeMead Thanks man! Great video!
Without a bigger investment in carboys, I can only bulk age for up to a month.
Interesting retirement you are amassing 😁
If I can wait that long to drink it all!!
I mostly brew in 1gal carboys and, after I’ve racked them off a couple times, there’s a good loss of liquid and consequently a lot of air space. Is it still then ok to bulk age or will the air cause trouble?
Generally speaking, you don’t want oxygen on top of your mead because it will oxygenate it. I would try to rack into a smaller container or fill the air space with marbles or possibly some C02!
@@ManMadeMead Marbles! What a great idea and something I can add easily, thank you!
Can you do this with hard alcohol?
Yup!
You need more subscribers
I should say that you deserve more.
Why thank you!
@@ManMadeMead
Can you break down your basic mead recipe for what would be Meaded (needed) for a 24 oz mason jar? It’s really 26 but would feel comfortable with filling it up to 24.
Oh man, can’t believe I didn’t see this until now!
So that’s about 1/5 of a gallon.
That would be about 2/3 pound of honey, water up to the 24 oz mark and then your yeast! I haven’t made that small of a batch, so you’ll have to let me know how it goes!
Now I just need to figure out how much honey is 2/3 pound!
Should be easy.
I’ll let you know how it goes!
no growlers ?
You could use growlers!
I just came across this vid..i have a question.. Do you room temperature age or can you age it in the frigerator?
I normally rely mine age at room temp but you can age in the fridge if you want to!
@@ManMadeMead i will have my 36oz bottle at room and the 16oz bottle in the fridge...along with the glass jar the honey came in..thanks
Do you like, sell them too?
Not yet! Maybe one day!
Hey I live here in norman, do you know any places that serve/sell good mead?
I wish! Some liquor stores have Redstone meadery or Moonlight meadery bottles (both are not local to OK). The only meadery in Oklahoma is in Tulsa!
@@ManMadeMead might just make a trip to tulsa.
I'm making some mead myself and I'm going to begin the age process and I notice their is natural yeast settling at the bottom and want little to none of it in my aging jars but dont have any fancy draining things. is cyphering my best option? I feel I'd lose a decent amount of mead to it if I cypher
You’ll definitely want to use an auto siphon and move the mead off the yeast!
@@ManMadeMead thank you! I'm very new to mead brewing so I have somewhat no clue what I'm doing. Hahaha, I've watched a ton of your videos and a few others. You're also most recommended by friends of mine
actually bulk aging takes up less space..........
What about using swing top lid bottles?
Those work!
I prefer them. Aldi sells 2 kinds of sparkling lemonade in ≈750 mL swingtops -- about what you'd pay for an empty bottle, or less after you consider shipping
Does bottle aging still happen after pastorising?
Yes it does!
Is there a set time u leave the air lock on when bulk ageing ?
Ryan Sheppard long as fermentation has stopped and degassed or been stopped by adding sorbate and sulfite and degassed you are good to change an airlock for an airtight cap. There is nothing wrong with continued use of an airlock just don’t let it go dry. Checking on theme once a month works ok for me.
Dar is right! I generally leave my airlocks on all the time until bottling. I just make sure and keep them filled! But, if it's completely done fermenting you can actually put a cap on it and let it sit.
I have heard that your mead will actually age faster when bulk aging. I’m not sure if it’s true but the saying is “A year in bulk is equal to 2 years in the bottle”
Hmmm, I haven't heard that before but it would be an interesting test to see! In fact, I have a mead that's been partially bottled (and aged) in about 12 bottles and then left in bulk in another 1 gallon glass carboy. I might be seeing if there is any flavor difference!
@@ManMadeMead Please let us know.