Racked The Mead

Never you mind that I was supposed to do this 2 weeks ago. I read somewhere that mead actually benefits from a longer time on the lees. So this batch should be fabulous. Right?

I assembled all my needed tools and sanitized them. I was excited to use the easy siphon that the husbeast got me for Christmas. It didn't work very well when we used it to siphon beer, the last racking, so I was looking forward to giving it a chance to redeem itself. Unfortunately it was a massive FAIL. It couldn't fit into the jug. Oh well, maybe when I get my first wine kit going it will prove itself useful. Or not. I had to resort to my old method of priming the siphon, which is not my strongest suit. But, after 2 attempts, here is my newly racked Apple Cyser Mead.


Of course, in my haste to sample some, I completely forgot to check the specific gravity. However, I can assure you there is some alcohol in there.


And for those of you wondering why wine needs to be racked, here is a picture of the lees left behind after this initial racking (along with the raisins I added for tannin and yeast nutrient). That sludge is what dead yeast carcasses look like.


You don't want to drink that. It'll give you the runs, and besides, it's yucky.