First attempt at mead: JAOM

Well I followed the directions for a JAOM , only diff I used 4# of local honey, and a blood orange... Just mixed it up 3 min ago... Also I used EC-1118 as that is what I had available.





I will update as it progresses.

Any hints or tricks, lemme know

The EC-1118 will ferment this pretty dry if let to do so. the consensus is that usually JAOM does not end well if let to go dry. thats why bread yeast works ok because it has a much lower alcohol tolerance. You might as well differ from the recipe a bit more since you used that yeast and either add another another .5 - .75lb of honey or cold crash this buddy and stabalize at around a gravity of 1.02. Just my friendly two cents.

Good idea, I will add another .75 in the morning...

Dang, I forgot how dark it is at first. My first batch is just over 6 weeks in, and is beautifully crystal clear.

Waiting is the hardest part . I have made tons of wine before, but never mead...

Yea when I did my 2 gallon JAOM about 7 weeks ago I messed up and accidentally purchased too little honey for it and the Bochet I made and was a pound short. I also was one orange short as well but everything else was just as the recipe dictates. Now giving a test taste I get a lot of spice flavor with a light fruity essence but there is some bitter and hotness from the orange pith and alcohol I think would have been smoothed out with more honey. So learn from our mistakes and make your first great so it keeps you wanting to continue with mead.

I added another 1lb to it... Taking no chances... Going to be following it closely... Tho my hydrometer stops at 1.150 so i can't measure my SG... I am thinking way over 1.200 the way it shot up.

How do I measures SG with high abv meads like this? Refractometer or... ?

I have been estimating with the GotMead.com calculator to figure up high gravities. It has a default as to how much sugar content honey contains but each honey has it's own specific amount so some testing is needed by measuring smaller amounts of honey to water ratios and comparing. The calculator estimates you at a gravity of 1.18 not inluding the orange and raisins. If you did not squeez the orange slices or cut up the raisins then it may not be too much higher. Your yeast will be lucky to get this down to a gravity 1.035, which is pretty sweet. Best of luck to you and your mead. I am sure it will turn out to be a decent sweet mead.

Good to know, thank you

You can dilute your sample with equal amounts must and water. Then double you number.

well i am at 3 days in, and it finally has started showing some signs of life... going at 1 bubble every 7-8 seconds... yay! looking less murky too... very excited...

until the next update

10 days later and I am still only getting 1 bubble every 35 seconds or so, can't check the SG as it is too high for hydrometer still... So... We continue to wait... It is looking better tho, I see small bubbles in it and it is less hazy.

Well, when I do a JAO, I generally get a gravity of 1.120 too start with, so that wouldn't include any sugars from the fruit. Plus I automatically make it to a 4.55 litre sized batch (1 imp gallon).

Now I haven't tested the 2 gallon batch I've got on the go recently, but if it comes down to below 1.030 I'll be happy - and that's with local brand bread yeast.

If your batch, given that you've used EC-1118, does go dry, you'll find what I did with my experiments, that it's not good as a dry recipe, because the bitterness from the orange pith is too prominent - there's little or no sugars to mellow the pith taste, so you may still end up stabilising and back sweetening.