Mead in secondary, looks to be going well. However, the lighting isn't totally dark. Also, there is a single dog hair in the carboy, but not touching the mead. There seems to be very little oxygen, if any in the carboy. Should I take the hair out? Will the lighting or hair spoil the mead?
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Rodrigo is correct. Look up “competitive inhibition” after the first 24-72 hours, depending on the strain and pitch, the yeast has not only converted nearly all of the simple sugars, but formed an army capable of fending off bacteria introduced in secondary.– mreff555Commented Nov 20, 2019 at 3:43
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Yes, carefully take the hair out, you don't want it to end up in your glass. Introducing oxygen is not a big deal if not for a long period of time.– PhilippeCommented Nov 20, 2019 at 14:17
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2 Answers
Since it's on secondary, contamination risk is low, but for contaminants that have contact with the drink from now on. If the hair is there since the beginning of the fermentation, any possible contamination has already happened. Either way, it's better to remove the hair than to leave it there.
Minor lighting shouldn't be a problem, sanitation is much more critical to the final result of a mead. My main concern is what the dog hair indicates about your sanitation process.
I am 95% confident that everything will turn out well. I wouldn't worry about any of it. Mead is difficult to get wrong assuming the fermentation is moving along and if you just leave it alone. Moving it between vessels is far more likely to cause problems than just leaving it alone.
