Mead at 6 weeks

For the last two weeks, the fermentation rate has been falling slowly.  Two days ago, I made the decision to stop the fermentation.  There was a nice layer of lees at the bottom of the carboy.  The bubble rate was down to 2 per minute.  I reckon that the fermentation probably would have continued for a week longer.  It was the specific gravity that tilted the decision to stop.  The initial specific gravity was 1.120, and it had fallen to 1.019.  Yes, with that final specific gravity, there is probably a small amount of fermentable sugars remaining.  However, from the hydrometer scale, the difference between starting and final specific gravities corresponds to an alcohol content of approximately 15%.  I felt that this was more than strong enough.  If there's a little sugar left, so be it.  It will taste sweeter.

So, I siphoned the mead into a sterilized secondary fermenter, and then added 1 tsp. of potassium metabisulfite and 3/4 tsp. of potassium sorbate, with lots of stirring in between.  Two days later, I haven't noticed any activity, and there is a nice layer of lees that has already settled out.

(1) Mead immediately after racking to the secondary.

After racking the mead, there was a small volume remaining in the primary and in the siphon hose.  So, I sampled it.  It was better than the junk I was served at that barbecue many years ago.  However, the unprocessed mead I tasted had some carbon dioxide in it, which made the taste sharp.  That will hopefully disappear with time.

 (2) Sediment two days after racking.

My plan is to let this sit for the next week or so, and then add the finings to make this beverage crystal clear, and ready for bottling!