Meads
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Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
cosmicevan
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Speaking which, can you enjoy a mead over several opens and closes of the bottle?
MordorMongo
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Yes, to an extent. Basically just treat like wine in that regard.
I will say from experience that anything fruited or spiced will lose some of that of course, but any traditional, *plain* mead will be fine for a few days minimum. They never make it around here long enough to speak beyond that.
jtmartino1
Well-Known Member
While oxidation occurs on corked bottles at a slow rate (due to gas exchange through the cork), the minute you pop the bottle, accelerated oxidation and spoiling starts. Same principle applies to all beverages (wine, mead, spirits, etc.)
Your best bet for preservation is to use one of those vacuum sealer things to try and remove as much air from the bottle as possible after serving. You can also use purge kits to purge the headspace before closing the bottle. Or, if you have the cash ($300), one of these are pretty sweet - they allow you to extract wine from a bottle without actually removing the cork, backfilling the head space with argon (inert gas.)
https://www.coravin.com/
Your best bet for preservation is to use one of those vacuum sealer things to try and remove as much air from the bottle as possible after serving. You can also use purge kits to purge the headspace before closing the bottle. Or, if you have the cash ($300), one of these are pretty sweet - they allow you to extract wine from a bottle without actually removing the cork, backfilling the head space with argon (inert gas.)
https://www.coravin.com/
cosmicevan
Well-Known Member
Wow, that is badass. Anyone ever use one? Anyone try with a loon? Would be great to sip on the same corked beer over a few daysWhile oxidation occurs on corked bottles at a slow rate (due to gas exchange through the cork), the minute you pop the bottle, accelerated oxidation and spoiling starts. Same principle applies to all beverages (wine, mead, spirits, etc.)
Your best bet for preservation is to use one of those vacuum sealer things to try and remove as much air from the bottle as possible after serving. You can also use purge kits to purge the headspace before closing the bottle. Or, if you have the cash ($300), one of these are pretty sweet - they allow you to extract wine from a bottle without actually removing the cork, backfilling the head space with argon (inert gas.)
https://www.coravin.com/
I know someone with one of those, and unfortunately there are big warnings on it not to use it with carbonated beverages.
I have access to one, and am working on trying to figure out a way to test it with a carb'd bottle without breaking it, the bottle, or my face. Will report back if that ever happens... maybe I can figure out a way to remotely operate one inside of a pressurized corny keg?
That's a possibly dangerous idea, but at a minimum it seems you'll ruin the beer (if you like carbonation, at least).
A quick Google search turned up these two reports from someone who tried using a Coravin on some champagne:
First Attempt: So I tried the Coravin on a bottle of Champagne, and lived to tell the story.
Removed the foil and cage, removed the metal cap, and replaced the cage.
Inserted the Coravin needle as with any still bottle. It took much more pressure to insert the needle. A very brief hiss of gas lasting a fraction of a second as the needle went in - presumably as it passed through the gas in the headspace... then... nothing. No wine came gushing out.
Tilted the bottle into pouring position, no wine came out.
Gave a quick burst of argon by briefly depressing the lever. Then out came about an ounce of foam followed by about 5 ounces of wine. Removed the Coravin needle. No leakage.
The wine that came out, however, was devoid of bubbles. Presumably the CO2 "de-gassed" from the wine as it came out.
What about the rest of the bottle? Was it depressurized?
I next removed the cork. Almost no "pop" at all - indicating that pressure inside the bottle was not much above atmospheric. But the remaining wine in the bottle still had a normal mousse when poured out.
So the Coravin appears to have reduced the pressure in the bottle to about atmospheric and removed the bulk of the dissolved CO2 from the wine that passed through the device, but without affecting the rest of the wine in the bottle. Not sure what the reduced pressure in the bottle might mean for the rest of the wine in the bottle if the cork had been left in.
I guess the next bottle will be a decent Champagne, and I'll leave the cork in and go back for another sample a week later.
The other issue is that the wine comes out of the Coravin "still." The taste was unaffected but obviously the mouthfeel was significantly altered. That might be a bigger deal for some than for others.
Second Attempt: Tried it again on another bottle, waited a week and popped the cork. Didn't seem to have changed much over the course of the week, so the decreased pressure didn't seem to ve much of an issue short term. But the problem of the wine passing through the Coravin coming out "still" (without bubbles) remains.
pjl44
Well-Known Member
While oxidation occurs on corked bottles at a slow rate (due to gas exchange through the cork), the minute you pop the bottle, accelerated oxidation and spoiling starts. Same principle applies to all beverages (wine, mead, spirits, etc.)
Your best bet for preservation is to use one of those vacuum sealer things to try and remove as much air from the bottle as possible after serving. You can also use purge kits to purge the headspace before closing the bottle. Or, if you have the cash ($300), one of these are pretty sweet - they allow you to extract wine from a bottle without actually removing the cork, backfilling the head space with argon (inert gas.)
https://www.coravin.com/
You know what doesn't cost $300? Markintiharing.
DanzBorin
Well-Known Member
Depends on the bottle...
