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Rahahb · 03-04-2011, 04:35 PM

I just started brewing beer in January. And for a long time I've wanted to see what mead was like. So I started browsing around for information and saw how easy it was. I wanted a quick and easy fix so I decided on this one:

Quote:

SMoY Mead
This recipe is one I got from Sir Michael of York (SMoY, hence the name) and has become one of my favourites. Syr Michael, raised in the East Kingdom, wrote the original article on brewing in the Knowne World Handbook. He has won East Kingdom brewing competitions several times with this recipe.

Ingredients
1 Gallon Water 2 1/2 lbs Honey
2 Lemons 3 nutmegs, chopped (or 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg)
1 pkg Ale or Champagne yeast

Add the honey to one gallon of water and bring it to a boil. Skim off the foam that boils up, and keep boiling until it stops foaming, approximately 30 minutes. Slice or juice the lemons and add along with the nutmeg. Mix well, turn off the heat and let stand covered until cool. Pour into a gallon jug and add the yeast. Champagne yeast or ale yeast works best.

Let it ferment for two weeks, and then siphon into bottles. (Siphoning off the good liquid and leaving the dregs is called 'racking') Seal or cap the bottles and let sit at room temperature for two weeks, then put in the refrigerator. If you let it sit out longer, the bottles may start to explode. You can drink it at any point now, and should have a frothy, pleasant drink.

http://www.greydragon.org/library/basic_mead.html

Says drinkable in 4 weeks. I peeled the lemons, squeezed, and put them in. Saw some people getting a nasty pith taste from rinds in the JAOM thread so I wanted to eliminate that possibility. I might get the ingredients for that mead tonight and compare these 2 down the road. OG was 1.097. Pitched @ 12:05. Hope I see activity soon.

Beebe · 03-05-2011, 01:55 AM

Woot Woot!

Congrats! You will have to tell us how it turned out!

I had a buddy that made a ginger mead and thats how I got hooked!

Now I have a traditional and a prickly pear bottled with a blackberry mead in works. All were 5gal batches!

Rahahb · 03-05-2011, 04:50 AM

I'll try to remember to check back in when it turns out. I don't know how they are supposed to taste though. :/ I guess if it's drinkable, that's how.

I got the ingredients for the JAOM tonight. Bought one of those Carlos Rossi wines. :/ (for the bottle!) So in a couple of days I'll have my second mead going. If these turn out, I'll probably go with a bigger, longer aging mead and see how I like it.

Note: Noticed airlock activity when I got home tonight. 3-4/minute.

commonsenseman · 03-05-2011, 05:00 AM

Looks good!

Did you use any yeast nutrient?

Rahahb · 03-05-2011, 05:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by commonsenseman

Looks good!

Did you use any yeast nutrient?

Nope. Just followed the instructions. Uh oh.

**Golddiggie** · 03-05-2011, 06:24 AM

If it doesn't start fermenting, or seems to be going real slow, add 1-2g of DAP to the batch...

Rahahb · 03-05-2011, 06:34 AM

Thanks for the tip. It's @ 6-7 bubbles/minute now. Up from 3-4 from about 3 hours ago.

**fatbloke** · 03-05-2011, 09:39 AM

Don't forget, that while you can get some bitterness/pithy taste when making the JAO recipe, I suspect it's deliberate.

Why ? Well if you think about it, it uses ingredients available from a grocery store and while the ferment poops out earlier than you might expect, given that bread yeast will leave quite a bit of residual sweetness, then the bitterness that is imparted from the orange pith counteracts some of the sweetness, a little like adding tannin and/or acid to other recipes.......

Make the JAO as per the recipe as it normally comes out good, and very easy to make...... as Joe says, just follow the recipe and don't deviate.....

regards

fatbloke

Rahahb · 03-05-2011, 01:48 PM

Point taken. Guess it's like adding bittering hops to an otherwise non hoppy beer. Just enough to counteract the sweetness. I'll consider adding the whole thing.

It's safe to say fermentation has started. 18 bubbles/min. That's at 60 degrees too!

K5MOW · 03-05-2011, 08:25 PM

Congrats on the Mead.