[Ponte Alto] Mead question

[Þórormr Dávíðsson]

On Wed, Mar 17, 2010 at 09:16,  <neacalban1 at aol.com> wrote:
> Porormr,

It's a latin thorn character Þ, which sounds like th, as in Thor.  Old
norse names just don't transcribe perfectly :)

>            Oh...  :-)      my supplier isn't maybe the best salesman.....
> sounds good, as restarting the siphon stirs up sediment,correct?  what about
> filling?(not having seen one way or the other,I was assuming that one wanted
> as little air in the bottle as possible,to decrease oxidation? the volume of
> the siphon tube in the bottle will leave a void once removed,or is that not
> a concern? I await your most excellent advice. I'm using the wire-flip-top
> stopper type bottles.
>
> The Blessing of Eternal Blue Heaven Be Upon You
>
> Tselmeg the Mongol
> Guard to the Embassy from Karakorum

Well, I use a racking cane in the carboy which is a rigid length of
clear acrylic tubing with a bend at the top and a cap on the bottom
designed such that you can use it to skim right at the top of the
lees.  Think upside down mushroom.  The bottle filler is another,
shorter length of rigid tubing with the check valve on the end, and
the two are connected with clear vinyl tubing.  If you go to
www.brewsupplies.com, and go to the first drop down menu "Select
Equipment for Making Beer and Wine" and select the option "Bottling
and Siphoning Equipment" it will take you to a catalog page with good
clear views of the bottle filler and the racking cane as well as the
replacement cap so you can see how it works.  None of which cost more
than a couple bucks.

If you are truly worried about filling your bottles to the absolute
top, you can fill them to the brim with a measuring cup.  You do want
them as full as possible, but you'd find the displaced volume of the
bottle filler should provide just the right amount of headspace.  Get
a bottle too full and have a warm day and corks fly, liquid expands
when heated, not much but it is something to be aware of.  If you have
maybe an inch or so of air at the top of the bottle for the Grolsch
type you have, or closer to two inches if corked it wouldn't be a bad
thing.

The less you disturb the lees the clearer you can get things without
resorting to filtering or adding clarifiers.  Otherwise we'd all just
put a funnel in the bottle and turn the carboy up, eh?

Þórormr Dávíðsson