JAOM Syrupy

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xilosen

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I'm a mead noob. I've had some local that tasted great so thought I'd start with a batch of JAOM.

I took a sample of 3 month old JAOM from the carboy and I can honestly say it tastes disgusting. I like sweeter drinks, but this stuff is like syrup. I'm pretty disappointed as I've read tons of people say JAOM was great.

Will this get any better? I made 9 gallons of it (original and some recommended variants). I would hate to have to dump it all. :(
 
I'm a mead noob. I've had some local that tasted great so thought I'd start with a batch of JAOM.

I took a sample of 3 month old JAOM from the carboy and I can honestly say it tastes disgusting. I like sweeter drinks, but this stuff is like syrup. I'm pretty disappointed as I've read tons of people say JAOM was great.

Will this get any better? I made 9 gallons of it (original and some recommended variants). I would hate to have to dump it all. :(
Did it finish fermenting ? Had the fruit dropped ?

I know that Joes instructions say it's ready for drinking once the fruit has dropped and it's gone clear, but I've never found it like that. I always age it for at least 6 months.

To start with, the yeast is a US brand, we can't get it here, so I just use a local equivalent.

I also, by accident on my first batch, I just made it up to "a gallon"..... being in the UK, that'd be an imperial gallon or 4.55 litres, not the US gallon or 3.78 litres. So mine don't tend to be quite as sweet, still sweet though.

What I'd suggest, is that you leave it all, until it's definitely finished fermenting etc, then "water it down", but with vodka, or if you can get it, everclear.

Yes, it will make it much stronger, but it will make it taste dryer, it will remove a lot of the "syrupy" texture, etc.

The downside is that it will give it a slightly harsh "alcohol hot" flavour. So you just age it, to allow that to mellow into the flavours.

Remember, that all you need to do, is to add enough to remove the syrupy consistency a bit. Don't keep chucking spirit in it until it's a similar consistency as, say, wine, just dilute it to cut the syrupy apperance by between 1/3 and 1/2.

The end result should be like a "sack" mead, but with some fruit and spice hints to it.

I've done that before and it's worked fine.

Of course, there's other ways. Like blending the whole lot, then making a starter with a robust wine yeast, something like K1V-1116, then following the instructions for restarting a stuck ferment and adding some of the brew to the starter, a bit at a time, doubling the volume each time, until you've got say, 2 or 3 gallons that seem to be fermenting, then adding it to the main batch, as the yeast will have acclimatised to the presence of already existing alcohol (have a search for "proper" instruction how it's done - I've just explained it in a basic way, from memory - but it's another method of sorting this out).

The problem with JAO, especially if made using US measurements is that it can end up quite syrupy, like a "dessert" mead (for drinking after a meal, like a port). There's a number of commercial ones like that available here, and when I've tried them, I've also measured the gravity, and they tend to be about 1.040 - which is way to sweet for my taste. Yes, the actual flavour is fine, but the cloyingly sweet, syrup texture, is something I don't enjoy.

I like my meads as "medium" about 1.010 to 1.015

Dunno if that lot is of any help or use !
 
It's 3 months old and sat in 77F environment. Fruit has dropped. It's finished fermenting. Not sure what the SG is atm as I don't have a thief and tube.
 
What exactly makes the fruit drops anyway? Is it like gas inside that gets released?
 
DISCLAIMER: I am far from an expert. This is the first mead I've made.

I just bottled my JOAM after 2 months in primary at around the same temp as yours. I was planning to age it for 6 months before trying any, but curiosity got the better of me, and I split a bottle with a friend this weekend. I would not have described it as syrupy at all. I used Montrachet instead of bread yeast, so perhaps that has something to do with it.

What were the variants you made? Any with different yeast? Have you tried others, to see if they are also too sweet?
 
DISCLAIMER: I am far from an expert. This is the first mead I've made.

I just bottled my JOAM after 2 months in primary at around the same temp as yours. I was planning to age it for 6 months before trying any, but curiosity got the better of me, and I split a bottle with a friend this weekend. I would not have described it as syrupy at all. I used Montrachet instead of bread yeast, so perhaps that has something to do with it.

What were the variants you made? Any with different yeast? Have you tried others, to see if they are also too sweet?
I made a blackberry and something else forgot off hand. Blackberry is somewhat less syrupy tasting than the original but they are all still syrupy. I used the same bread yeast in all.
 
I made a blackberry and something else forgot off hand. Blackberry is somewhat less syrupy tasting than the original but they are all still syrupy. I used the same bread yeast in all.

If you try this again, take a look at Malkore's version. I used almost this recipe. The only differences were that I put the sectioned oranges (not just the juice) in with the zest, and I used Montrachet yeast. The yeast Malkore recommends is probably a better choice, but I wanted to use up some yeast I had.

Mine was drinkable and not at all syrupy after 2 months.
 
Kinda put off by making mead given how this was supposed to be great and turned out crap. Don't want to waste more money and time for the chance of it turning out crap. Mead isn't cheap to make. :(
 
I have made this mead 3 times so far, so I am no expert, but my current batch tastes amazing after only 2.5 months. I would be interested in hearing your process. After 6 weeks mine cleared and 85% or so of the fruit had dropped. I siphoned into another gallon jug and topped it off with water as the lees and fruit took up space. It tastes syrupy before the top off, but perfect afterwards.
 
Haven't looked at Malkores variation, so can't say, but the issue with using wine yeast for a JAO, is that it will ferment dry, which focuses the flavour on the bitterness that comes from the Orange pith.

Now if Malkores version uses just the zest and segmented flesh, plus wine yeast, there's absolutely no reason why it shouldn't come out brilliant, whereas the original JAO recipe will always finish sweet, as the bread yeast has a lower tolerance and dies off earlier. That said, it needs the sweet part to balance the pithy bitterness, and vice versa......
 
I'm a mead noob. I've had some local that tasted great so thought I'd start with a batch of JAOM.

I took a sample of 3 month old JAOM from the carboy and I can honestly say it tastes disgusting. I like sweeter drinks, but this stuff is like syrup. I'm pretty disappointed as I've read tons of people say JAOM was great.

Will this get any better? I made 9 gallons of it (original and some recommended variants). I would hate to have to dump it all. :(

I will start by saying that I'm drunk and have nothing helpful to add.

But my JAOM is tastes kinda dry, and I put 4 or 5 lbs of honey in it. I lost all of the original readings (yeah, bad living space = bad storage space, rain, blahblahblah). Hell, it still hasn't cleared yet.

Stiill. Stuff. Without reading the thread, I'd assume the posts will be one of 4 things

A) Let it age out

B) re-pitch some yeast

C) a little bit of soft trolling

D) maybe helpful advice, perhaps?
 
Well after 6 months I bottled it and cracked open a bottle for my birthday. Wow, what a difference. It no longer tastes syrupy at all and is pretty smooth. My other variants are pretty much transformed the same. The cherry pineapple I made smelt and tasted really antiseptic/hot for the longest time, now you can definitely smell and taste the fruit.

Time definitely helps.
 
FYI the problem with using bread yeast is sometimes it dies out early leaving it too sweet. It happens. Aging will help though.
 
I'm glad to hear it turned out ok in the end. So do you plan on making some more mead now that JAOM has been vindicated ?
 
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