I bottle age so that I can free up carboys to make more booze. 😃

I was cheering for the bulk aged. Very interesting and thanks for doing these experiment to share with us.

I really enjoy collabs with you both!

Great video! I’d heard about fenugreek adding a maple character but never tried it. It’s definitely easier and cheaper to get for me as I live in Europe, and have plenty of access to good spices. Maple syrup is horribly expensive here. I might try this recipe without the cilantro. Bottle ageing vs bulk ageing: I generally bottle when a brew has cleared because I have limited space in the house. I use swing tops that go in crates designed to hold them and to be stacked. It’s the only way I can store them easily. My fermenters are kept beneath my living room table, hidden by a tablecloth. Again, due to limited space. If I want to brew I need to free up a fermenter. The good (and bad) thing is that this limits my output and my costs. Oh, if I ever win the grand prize at a lottery… bigger house, dedicated brewing space, and a basement/cellar to stash my brews. I’d definitely bulk age at that point. With the frequency at which I buy lottery tickets however, that’ll probably never happen. 🤣

VC is so humble. But definitely love his channel! Edit: BC not VC oops!

Interesting, I like these experiments! I've always wondered if there was really a difference between bottle and bulk aging 🤔

I Reckon that I Bulk Age all of Mine . I'll Bottle 🍾 up a Gallon to put in the Fridge . Then Transfer the Rest of that Batch into 2 and or 1 Gallon , Wide Mouth , Glass Canisters , with Flip Top Lids & Spicket Spouts. Really Enjoyed your Video Thanks . 🐯🤠

I’m mostly bulk aging so I’m glad there isn’t a big difference. And each mead could be different, so we will see how it goes. The ones I’ve tried so far I have really enjoyed. A lot of times homemade mead I’ve got from people just trying it is pretty harsh. I learned a lot from you and BC and others before I got into it so I credit you all for helping me avoid some of the worst mistakes. Although I admit my very first was a very short mead made with bread yeast, we drank it carbonated after just 3-4 weeks and it was “ok”, very much like a light beer mead, still somewhat cloudy. But that was more of an experiment from Tasting History than an attempt to make a good mead. But that’s what got me interested.

Great concept for a video. I have about 35 gallons "bulk aging". I use that term to mean 6-12 months for my purposes though.

Seems like bulk age won. Which is good. Bulk age is a little cheaper in that I don't have to buy cases of bottles I have no place to store. Just got my Xmas labels made. Do yal recommend amber glass over clear glass for bottles? Amber protects from uv rays.

I have been going back and forth on whether to bulk age or bottle age for my wines. My research has led me to bottle age. The reasoning is basically dealing with oxygen exposure. At the beginning of the mead/wine making process, oxygen is your friend during fermentation, but is your enemy after stabilization and aging. To bulk age the mead/wine, it does allow for the entire batch to age together but after it ages you will be exposing it to new oxygen if you bottle it (or have to drink it all at once for fear of oxidation). I would suggest that to take your experiment a step further would be to bottle some/all of your bulk mead and try it again against the previously bottled mead in a year to see if the exposure to new oxygen affected it. Enjoy your videos.

I have read that if you use sulfites along with sorbate that should prevent the dreaded celery flavor.

fenugreek is heavily used in Yemenite cuisine , I've never ever thought of it as a maple syrup aroma, It is interesting tis is showing in a drink as such! Another thing about fenugreek in Yemenite cuisine, it is very much known to be one of these spices that make you leech that smell from your sweat for a week after. Does the same thing in fenugreek that does that while it is used in cooking also apply to mead? will it affect body odor for a period of time? If so, it is definitely a factor to consider when using fenugreek

Fenugreek is good for nursing mothers; it helps maximize milk production. And yes, it can make your sweat and urine smell like maple or curry.

Fenugreek is apparently used in artificial maple candy's/flavoured things

For the bulk-aged meads, do you need to rack the mead every few months even if it has no lees and is clear?

Just out of curiosity, what is the abv? I'm wondering how it rounds out the flavor, You folks didn't mention any heat and I'd expect that it would be smooth after 3 years anyways. I could have probably done the math with the ingredients, but i'm lazy and don't know the final gravity the D47 achieved.

I would love to have the space to bottle bulk age some of my meads for sure. BUT being one of those naturalist types that is using more unconventional methods of increasing the time my meads can last in a bottle the sooner they get into said bottle the better. I do need to invest in some CO2 soon for bottling or Argon/Nitrogen to push the time to the max. It is amazing on how much chemistry takes place without us involved huh. Time stops for no man... or mead...

Could a person pour still mead into Soda Stream machine to carbonate their brew?

Honestly the thing this dispels the most is the BS 'dont age in capped bottles' because the caps leak. Over on /r/mead its pretty prevalent.

How much fenugreek?

The difference between bulk and bottle aging from my understanding has to do with the effects of temperature changes. The larger the vessel the less any temperature swings will affect the mead. This is because the liquid in a larger vessel warms and cools more slowly compared to a smaller vessel. So, the test you should be doing is to have the bulk and bottles in the same location where you have a constant fluctuation in temperatures. If that mead you did the experiment with was stored together in a place that was dark and was at a constant temperature most of the time, then there shouldn't be much if any difference in that mead. Just sayin.

Gotta say I'm disappointed with the outcome lol. Seems like a safe assumption if one has the ability to keep their bottles in the same condition and location that variability would be slim to none.

First Comment lol

SOYJAK