Topping up Mead

[Mr_S_Jerusalem]

Hello,

So recently I have a started a Lapsang Souchong mead, which has been bubbling away for about 3 days now and is a sort of murky dark brown colour.
I found the recipe on the internet somewhere, basically around 15g tea stewed, 3 jars of honey , I’ve added 100g Demerara sugar to boost the alcohol a wee bit. The rest is the usual list of chemicals.

So for my previous mead I’ve topped up with a mixture of honey and lemon ginger tea, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Does anyone have any suggestions what I should top up this Lapsang mead with when it comes to racking it? These recipes never seem to mention this part lol

 

[MrRook]

What's the purpose of topping up?
I once used lapsang souchong to make a smoked porter.

 

[Mr_S_Jerusalem]

Well to make up for lost booze after racking innit.

Was the porter any good? My mead smells like a sweet bonfire at the moment lol

 

[MrRook]

Well to make up for lost booze after racking innit.

Was the porter any good? My mead smells like a sweet bonfire at the moment lol

I like to start out with enough over the final amount I'm shooting for to end up right where I want to be after racking.
The porter was okay. I used the tea because the smoked malt I used was old and lost most of its smokiness. I will make sure in future to use fresh smoked grain.

 

[Mr_S_Jerusalem]

Ah yes that would have been ideal but because I started in a demijohn and was hoping for 6 bottles this can only happen with topping up.

It is quite an intriguing smell, hopefully I didn’t put too much in lol

 

[johncrobinson]

Dont top it up would be my advice.It wont hurt to be bottled when clear.(you dont need to count the bottles)
Quality rather than quantity is a good thing when it comes to wine.Or mead.

Sounds nice BTW.