first mead - bottling question

[Hoont]

I am gearing up to make my first mead. Researching the process, it sounds like I'll be transferring at least twice: once from the primary to the secondary and then from the secondary to bottles. What is the best way to transfer to bottles? Currently my plan is to ferment in a bucket and then transfer to a glass carboy for the secondary. Do I transfer from the glass carboy to a bottling bucket and then to bottles, or is there a better way (I don't plan on carbonating)?

Thanks in advance!

[spiderwrangler]

While I haven't made mead, bottling bucket sounds easiest to me.

[Stinkfist]

if you can avoid the bottling bucket it will cut down on oxidation..

you can get a spring loaded bottle filler and attach it to an autosiphon to bottle directly from the secondary..since you are not adding priming sugar..

or use a secondary with a spout and and a spring loaded bottle filler...

[Hoont]

Ahhh... I like the auto-siphon attached to a bottle filler idea. I've got a few months to work on that. Thanks!

[spiderwrangler]

Is oxidation any more of a concern with a still mead compared to any other beer that you'd use a bottling bucket for? Or are you against bottling buckets in general?

[Hoont]

Good question.. not sure but I'd guess after the first few days of fermentation, oxidation is the same concern as beer. Since JZ has hammered into us that a secondary vessel should be avoided when possible due to oxidation/contamination, my thinking is to avoid transfers.... So I'll need to transfer the mead from primary to secondary for a few months of aging... no getting around this. Then, I need to bottle it... since I won't be carbonating, I can avoid a transfer by just bottling from the secondary vessel using the auto-siphon/bottle filler idea.

[spiderwrangler]

You won't have to worry about oxidation of hop compounds... and I'm not sure how mead responds compared to beer. My concern with the auto/fill is if you loose your siphon, an auto can put quite a bit of air in there if you are flailing about trying to get it to work just right. Bottling bucket still sounds easier to me. I hit my bottling bucket with CO2, then purge bottles before filling. After I draw the filling wand out, I purge the headspace in the bottle again.

[Hoont]

Spider - I have a crude video surveillance system that gets streamed over the internet so that I can check on my dogs while at work. With your use of the word "flailing", I am convinced you have hacked in to watch me every Sunday where I brew and inevitably screw something up and am flailing to "fix it".

I am definitely in for the simplest solution... I have a got couple months to figure out the best way. I agree.. I've bottled beer many times from a bottling bucket but the siphon/wand contraption could lead to "seat of the pants" decisions.