First mead....headspace question.

[lakedawgs]

HI,
Fermenting my first mead and all is going well. I had it in the primary for a month, stirring everyday. This is a blueberry mead.
I have racked to a glass carboy and have about a quart, maybe less of headspace in the carboy. I plan to rack once a month for the next 4 months.

Is the headspace going to be an issue? Anything I can do if it is an issue?
Thank you,
Lakedawgs

[dmtaylor]

Expert meadmakers are going to say, yeah, headspace can be a problem. But I just bottled a small 1.5 gallon batch of mead that's been in a 6 gallon bucket for a good month and a half, and it's tasting sublime. I relax and don't worry.

[Fisher kel Tath]

If ya can, just coat it with some Co2. It could be a problem, but I wouldn't worry about it. If you want to you could always add some ballast (glass aquarium stones are good) and eliminate the airspace.

That being said, stirring every day for a month is a little bit much, usually you should only need to aerate till the 1/3rd sugar break.

[lakedawgs]

Sorry, I stirred for the first 10 days, then moved to the primary.
Help me understand, what is a sugar break, or 1/3 sugar break?
THANKS,
Lakedawgs

[Fisher kel Tath]

Sorry, I stirred for the first 10 days, then moved to the primary.
Help me understand, what is a sugar break, or 1/3 sugar break?
THANKS,
Lakedawgs

1/3rd sugar break is when 1/3rd of the sugar in the must has been consumed by the yeast. So if your must is 1.090, you'd want to aerate and give nutrient till about 1.060 sg. After this point generally yeast begin to become anaerobic in their consumption of sugars.