Joe's Quick Grape Mead
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paraordnance
Well-Known Member
You messed something up obviously. I made this twice in past 2 months. One exactly per recipe and second - fortified (16% ABV) version. Both are nice, pleasant and very drinkable after a month only! I can't imagine how good this will be at 6-12 months.
did you not rack it to a secondary, kill fermentation, and then backsweeten? thats what this sounds like
Yep, followed the directions exactly on every step and ingrediant.
I'm not sure what I would have messed up. It was pretty easy to follow the directions exactly.
interceptor
Member
paraordnance
Well-Known Member
may be you just don't like mead? Did you make other recipes? This one was my first one. I tried commercial mead from the store and it was ok. JQGM is really good right after fermentation without any aging. At least to my taste
That's certainly possible.
Alchemy
Well-Known Member
Just started a 5 gallon batch of this and had enough honey and juice left for a gallon experiment with cranberries and extra honey
I couldn't find the buckwheat honey so I used some dark raw honey instead. Both batches are bubbling away in the brew closet!
I couldn't find the buckwheat honey so I used some dark raw honey instead. Both batches are bubbling away in the brew closet!
SandMBrewCo
Member
I have a batch of this o' brewing. I added the potassium sorbate about a week ago and Im still getting activity on the airlock. I used the amount directed on the bottle - 1 Tsp per gallon.
I did not use the campden tablet because dood at my LHBS said that it was not necessary. Any thoughs? Id hate to have bottle bombs.
I did not use the campden tablet because dood at my LHBS said that it was not necessary. Any thoughs? Id hate to have bottle bombs.
interceptor
Member
Did you wait to add the potassium sorbate until the fermentation was completed? Don't take my word to the bank, but I was told to wait to add the sorbate/campden until fermentation was done.
Update: 23 days later. My fermentation has slowed down considerably, but it's still going about once every 20 seconds.
SandMBrewCo
Member
I tested the gravity and it was consistent for a few days. Theres not a ton of airlock activity but enough to move the liquid inside.
I racked it into the secondary yesterday. I wonder if this was my issue. I added the potassium sorbate before racking. I wonder if it was the yeast cake at the bottom. Dunno. Ill keep you guys posted.
SandMBrewCo
Member
Racked it over to secondary. Fermentation seems to have started up again 
The aroma from the air lock smells much better than before though. I guess I kinda screwed this recipe up. Ill add a bit more potassium sorbate to the bottling bucket along with the back sweetening grape juice + honey.
Maybe I should add the potassium sorbate a few days before bottling? any thoughts? Is it bad to add too much potassium sorbate? I already used the directed amount. Thanks in advance.
The aroma from the air lock smells much better than before though. I guess I kinda screwed this recipe up. Ill add a bit more potassium sorbate to the bottling bucket along with the back sweetening grape juice + honey. Maybe I should add the potassium sorbate a few days before bottling? any thoughts? Is it bad to add too much potassium sorbate? I already used the directed amount. Thanks in advance.
Alchemy
Well-Known Member
Racked it over to secondary. Fermentation seems to have started up again
Maybe I should add the potassium sorbate a few days before bottling? any thoughts? Is it bad to add too much potassium sorbate? I already used the directed amount. Thanks in advance.
Potasium sorbate is used as a preservative. It will prevent molds and yeasts From starting but it will not stop fermentation. You need to use potasium metabisulfite to stop the fermentation and sorbate to preserve. I think you can also cold crash the stop the fermentation and add sorbate to keep it from starting again.
interceptor
Member
Update: 27 days after pitching yeast I finally reracked over the honey/welches/sorbate/campden combo. I'm just waiting for it to clear now.
shataway
Well-Known Member
Made a batch and used S-04. It bubbled the airlock for a month. After two months it still had not cleared so I racked it to a keg anyway. It went from 1.092 to 1.032. I am very pleasantly surprised even though it is warm. It does not taste yeasty. More like grape nehi with a kick. Can't wait to see if it will clear in the fridge. If it doesn't, that's ok too.
This is the first time for me making any mead(or any alcoholic beverage) and I went with this recipe because it seemed to have better feedback than Joe's AOM for quick recipes.
Today I just racked it to the secondary after a month, and have to say it isn't half bad. Very similar to wine to my untrained palate. I think I'm gonna try the ancient orange next.
Just as a note I followed the recipe almost exactly. The only thing that didn't happen was racking after 3 weeks, which isn't a big deal. I had to wait because I forgot to order the campden tablets and sorbate with my first order online.
Today I just racked it to the secondary after a month, and have to say it isn't half bad. Very similar to wine to my untrained palate. I think I'm gonna try the ancient orange next.
Just as a note I followed the recipe almost exactly. The only thing that didn't happen was racking after 3 weeks, which isn't a big deal. I had to wait because I forgot to order the campden tablets and sorbate with my first order online.
hbhudy
Well-Known Member
Any reason you could not add about 1# of frozen fruit? I was thinking a fruit "medley" package would be a nice addition.
huesmann
Well-Known Member
I don't see any reason at all not to.
Alchemy
Well-Known Member
hbhudy said:
I added about 3 quarters of a pound of puréed cranberries to a gallon and back sweetened with cranberry juice and honey....amazing
Alchemy
Well-Known Member
Just bottled my batch of this, ended up with about 20 bottles and popped one last night with my girlfriend....one glass in and she was lit up like a Christmas tree....thank you joe!
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Alchemy
Well-Known Member
Making another 5 gallons of this but with 3 lbs of cranberries!
diablodawg
Well-Known Member
I've had mine in primary for about two months, took a gravity reading and it was only 1.064! What are the recommendations for a stuck fermentation? I shook the crap out of it and nothing happened...
Alchemy
Well-Known Member
diablodawg said:
What yeast did you use? You can try repitching
diablodawg
Well-Known Member
Lavlin 118; the recommended yeast. Would too much swing temperature wise kill the yeast? It's in my closet where it goes from maybe 60-70 throughout the day.
Alchemy
Well-Known Member
diablodawg said:
Shouldn't be a problem, I lost power for 8 days while making this and went from 70 to freezing and back a few times. Came out fine
Alchemy
Well-Known Member
diablodawg said:
Have you checked gravity again?
diablodawg
Well-Known Member
Yep, no change. Gonna pitch some Montratchet today and shake the crap out of it.
Q2XL
Well-Known Member
I made a double batch of this a few weeks ago. Stabilized it last week and back-sweetened today with 4 ounces(weight) of honey and 6 ounces of grape juice. Wow, is this good!! Thinking about making a 5 gallon batch soon.
I just made this and have an OG of 1.146 at room tempeture. That seems really high, no?
This is my 1st mead and I couldn't figure out from the receipe if I should boil the juice and honey or not. I ended up heating it to 160 degrees for 15 minutes.
This is my 1st mead and I couldn't figure out from the receipe if I should boil the juice and honey or not. I ended up heating it to 160 degrees for 15 minutes.
Alchemy
Well-Known Member
iamdaph said:
Temperature also plays a big part in hydrometer readings
interceptor
Member
Ooops.
Forgot to update.
So my mead is clear and I've been sipping it the past few weekends.
I'll be sure to post some pics tomorrow.
Pretty dang sweet.
Forgot to update.
So my mead is clear and I've been sipping it the past few weekends.
I'll be sure to post some pics tomorrow.
Pretty dang sweet.
Mine never cleared so I cold crashed and bottled. There is still yeast falling out of suspension in the bottles now that I have them in the fridge again. Looks like ill be decanting the yeast off as I pour or filtering through cheesecloth or something. Might buy a filter with my next yeast order.
How long did you let it age? How many times did you rack this? I did a five gallon batch of this last year and let it sit for 4 months before bottling and still had sediment, I didn't rerack it after I backsweetened it, I am willing to bet if I had, it would have ended up clearer.
So, I made a batch of this a year ago and just got around to bottling it. This is what I did.
1 gal batch,
used bread yeast (was making J.A.O.M. also)
I think I used so yeast nutrient
When I taste it, it has a fake flavor to it. I would almost say a plastic taste. I didn't rack this at all during the year.
Any ideas what might cause this off flavor?
1 gal batch,
used bread yeast (was making J.A.O.M. also)
I think I used so yeast nutrient
When I taste it, it has a fake flavor to it. I would almost say a plastic taste. I didn't rack this at all during the year.
Any ideas what might cause this off flavor?
huesmann
Well-Known Member
Using the wrong yeast?
