Joe's Ancient Orange Mead

It is still very sweet, the booze heat has gone away almost completely. Color remains very nice as you can see. It have a very clean taste with a very noticeable orange flavor

The rose hip batch, unfortunately, was the one with the fruit flies. We finally opened the other one; it tasted good, but we drank it after drinking wine, and the alcohol crept up on us. When I have forgotten my, uh, gastric upset, I'll open another bottle, drink less of it, and report.

If you follow the recipe verbatim, as intended, the sweetness counters the bitterness from the orange pith. Straight from the fermentor it's all orange and clove. After a couple months the spices fade a bit and it's quite drinkable. At 8 months however, the flavors meld and the mead develops a wonderful orange perfume. Deviate from the recipe and all bets are off.

Enjoy.

I made JAOM as described last night in a plastic water bottle (jerry can type) as my very first attempt making any alcoholic beaverage. The only change made was using instant dry yeast instead of bread yeast due to local availability. I checked up on it this morning, and the plastic bottle has completely deformed due to expansion. Is it okay to let off some pressure every now and again? or is it prefered to leave it pressurized?

Thanks!

Are you using some type of airlock? That should relieve the pressure.

It's just a sealed container with a tap at the top

Zander Meiring said:

It's just a sealed container with a tap at the top

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I am definitely no expert, but if the tap doesn't automatically let gas vent (and I'm assuming it doesn't since you had container expansion), you might want to consider changing it out for an airlock. Airlocks are cheap and may save you from having to clean up a fairly nasty mess.

Zander Meiring said:

It's just a sealed container with a tap at the top

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you definitely need an airlock to let off CO2 or you will have a small explosion when the container burst. If an airlock is not available a rubber glove or condom with a small hole stretched over the container filler will let gas escape and be fairly good at keeping out the unwanted stuff

rlmiller10 said:

you definitely need an airlock to let off CO2 or you will have a small explosion when the container burst. If an airlock is not available a rubber glove or condom with a small hole stretched over the container filler will let gas escape and be fairly good at keeping out the unwanted stuff

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I'll be looking at getting an airlock today, but will opt for the rubber glove as a secondary. Very sharp idea!
Thanks to both of you for pointing out my ignorance

Zander Meiring said:

I'll be looking at getting an airlock today, but will opt for the rubber glove as a secondary. Very sharp idea!
Thanks to both of you for pointing out my ignorance

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This isn’t ignorance. It’s learning. I’ve already had to toss a batch I made because it got infected. Every batch brings new lessons.
A balloon will also work.

I like the idea of using a condom. been with my wife forever yet each new Dr asks " Do you use condoms?" this way I can say yes, they never ask what you use them for...

Zander Meiring said:

I made JAOM as described last night in a plastic water bottle (jerry can type) as my very first attempt making any alcoholic beaverage. The only change made was using instant dry yeast instead of bread yeast due to local availability. I checked up on it this morning, and the plastic bottle has completely deformed due to expansion. Is it okay to let off some pressure every now and again? or is it prefered to leave it pressurized?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

You need an airlock. That thing will explode if you don't let the gas out.

Are there any commercial vendors of of already bottled JAOM?

NeverDie said:

Are there any commercial vendors of of already bottled JAOM?

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I wouldn't think so, but I can't say for sure. As it said in the beginning, this breaks a lot of rules.

So I tried to bottle mine yesterday and realized it had not fermented at all in 4 months, the brix and hydrometer readings were still off the charts. The yeast is good, I use it for bread all the time. Not sure where it went wrong, but I am saving my bottles of orange-flavored honey water to use as adjunct sugar for my beer.

People keep asking me why I make anything other than IPA’s, which apparently are really good. Guess I need to play to my strengths.

I went back to the original recipe to see if I did something different other than leave out the cinnamon and clove which my wife doesn’t like; and yes I made a mistake-I put in 1 tablespoon of yeast, not one teaspoon.

None of which should have kept it from fermenting.

I used perfectly good Red Star yeast (because that’s what I had) and it did nothing for days! Nothing at all. I added more from a different package. Nothing. I bought some fleishmans rapid rise (all the nearby store had) and added it. It did begin to work then, but not especially strong at first.
This go’round I used regular fleishmans and it began chugging along at a very nice rate within hours.
Red star shouldn’t have made a difference. It was fresh, and fine for bread. But maybe it did.

JAReeves said:

it had not fermented at all in 4 months, the brix and hydrometer readings were still off the charts. The yeast is good, I use it for bread all the time.

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If there was enough sugar in it that might have stoped the yeast.

Holy cow. Broke out the first bottle tonight. It is amazing. Not sure I’ll need to bother with any other recipes....

Hey Everyone,

So... quick question.

I followed the recipe on page 1 for JAOM (about 7 months ago) and have 2-5 gallon jugs sitting under a sink. The fermentation bubbles stopped a while ago (of course) and I was thinking that leaving it to sit there would help it continue to get flavor or taste better or I don't know what... It seemed like a good idea, but was that a stupid move on my part? Should I have moved the mead into a separate container away from the stuff that has settled at the bottom? Does it matter? I know very little about what I'm doing and I'm hoping I didn't ruin the whole batch... But if I need to do it again, so be it.

Thanks

First-Time-Brewer said:

Hey Everyone,

So... quick question.

I followed the recipe on page 1 for JAOM (about 7 months ago) and have 2-5 gallon jugs sitting under a sink. The fermentation bubbles stopped a while ago (of course) and I was thinking that leaving it to sit there would help it continue to get flavor or taste better or I don't know what... It seemed like a good idea, but was that a stupid move on my part? Should I have moved the mead into a separate container away from the stuff that has settled at the bottom? Does it matter? I know very little about what I'm doing and I'm hoping I didn't ruin the whole batch... But if I need to do it again, so be it.

Thanks

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I think the wisdom is here is smell it and if it smells good taste it. I certainly didn't let mine age that long but I don't see why it would have ruined it. Was the airlock dry or did you keep up on the liquid level?

Part of the recipe is let it sit, DON'T TOUCH IT, for at least 6 months. After that I'd rack it, taste it, and probably drink it. I have a gallon waiting for that point....

Andrew Hodgson said:

I think the wisdom is here is smell it and if it smells good taste it. I certainly didn't let mine age that long but I don't see why it would have ruined it. Was the airlock dry or did you keep up on the liquid level?

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I didn't add any liquid to it after the initial prep and the airlock seems dry now... I am so dumb, how could I not have thought to keep that filled up?! So now I am realizing it has been exposed to air... this seems bad, no?

Blacksmith1 said:

Part of the recipe is let it sit, DON'T TOUCH IT, for at least 6 months. After that I'd rack it, taste it, and probably drink it. I have a gallon waiting for that point....

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OK, I have been good about not touching it. My procrastination has been a big help in that department, except for not keeping the darn airlock in working order.

Even with the airlock being dry if it doesn't look nasty and tastes OK you're probably fine. But I'm not the paranoid type.

Andrew Hodgson said:

Even with the airlock being dry if it doesn't look nasty and tastes OK you're probably fine. But I'm not the paranoid type.

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OK, good to know. As blacksmith1 pointed out, I should rack it now. I will smell it and taste it and let you know how it went. Fingers crossed.

I have 5 separate gallons of this fermenting, and before I started even more, I decided to crack one open at the 2 week mark just to taste it. Pretty good! Even aleady has considerable alcohol in it. The taste will obviously improve with some more fermentation time, as per the recipe, but it seems to be well on track. I'm pleased enough that I'll initiate some additional, new fermentations of it.

This guy did a split batch to compare JAOM done with baker's yeast versus K1V yeast:



Spoiler: he ended up liking the bread yeast better.

I'm not surprised the above "comparison" failed in favor of the bread yeast, because the K1V yeast undoubtedly fermented dryer than the bread yeast did. So, #1 it's ABV would have been higher, affecting the flavor, and #2 he didn't backsweeten.

Question: what ABV does JAOM typically have? Is it 12%?

As far as modern methods goes, none of the posts on this thread have mentioned trying to make JAOM using a BOMM type approach. i.e. that would entail reducing the amount of honey so that the JAOM ferments dry at the same 12% ABV (?) it normally would, then gets stabilized and finally gets backsweetened. Only under those conditions could a proper yeast-to-yeast JAOM comparison be done.

Has anyone tried making JAOM using this more "modern" method? I'm not saying it should be done that way, or that it would be better if it were done that way, but I am curious what the results are if it were done that way. And yes, I've heard the mantra of don't mess with the recipe. And if it's messed with in a thoughtless way, as in the above youtube video, then I can see why. So, all that being said, has anyone tried making JAOM using a BOMM like approach?

While I can't answer the above post because it's far past my knowledge level, I can update on how things turned out for myself...

So I followed the recipe, I then let it sit for 7 months "fermenting" (I'm sure it had stopped at some point), didn't touch it or bother it. Airlock had dried out at some point, but after racking it and tasting it... AMAZING! I'm very happy with my nearly finished product. This is a great recipe and easy to make!

Question: If the mead becomes infected, is this dangerous to consume? Or will it just mess with the flavor? Luckily it didn't happen to me, but I was worrying about it for a bit there.

First-Time-Brewer said:

While I can't answer the above post because it's far past my knowledge level, I can update on how things turned out for myself...

So I followed the recipe, I then let it sit for 7 months "fermenting" (I'm sure it had stopped at some point), didn't touch it or bother it. Airlock had dried out at some point, but after racking it and tasting it... AMAZING! I'm very happy with my nearly finished product. This is a great recipe and easy to make!

Question: If the mead becomes infected, is this dangerous to consume? Or will it just mess with the flavor? Luckily it didn't happen to me, but I was worrying about it for a bit there.

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Assuming it fermented so there is over 5% alcohol there are no pathogens that will be present. So then it is all based on flavor.

Has anyone ever tried to force carb and keg this? It may be worth a try

Since my last post in April of 2018, I had been keeping my mead safe in a dark corner, intending to check on it again around Christmastime. Unfortunately, I forgot about it even then, and didn't remember it until mid-February!

In any case, we cracked one open. In the bottle, it looked really good:



I poured a little into my glass, and was immediately impressed with the blend of orange and spice that wafted up from inside; it seemed to me to be a really nice combination; not too much of anything, and just enough of everything:



When I tasted it, my impressions were the same - it was great! A very nice, well-balanced combination that didn't seem too "hot," too "sweet," too "spicy" or too "orange-y." I honestly couldn't think of a thing wrong with it, and was very happy with it, and hope that I can make it as well, next time.

The mead made for nice sipping while I was playing cribbage with my dad, and may have even brought me some good luck:



As has been said many times, trust the recipe. It may break a lot of "proper" rules, but for this application, every step is there for a reason, and contributes to a marvelous end.

Give it a shot - you will not be disappointed!

Ron

After having pitched JAOM about 6 weeks ago, it has gone clear, so I gave it a taste: it tastes very much like a mulled, or glint, wine that one might typically have in the winter or possibly around Christmas when it's cold out. Given the ingredients, I guess it's not surprising. If allowed to age, is that still what it tastes like?

You get a lot of orange and clove at first. The flavors are not focused. But it changes a lot as it ages. I remember the one I made started in July, finished in August and by Thanksgiving it was excellent.

Maylar said:

You get a lot of orange and clove at first. The flavors are not focused. But it changes a lot as it ages. I remember the one I made started in July, finished in August and by Thanksgiving it was excellent.

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OK, so it improves with age. That much I get. But does it still taste like a glint wine after it has aged?

NeverDie said:

OK, so it improves with age. That much I get. But does it still taste like a glint wine after it has aged?

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Whazzat?

It tastes like honey, orange and spices.

Maylar said:

Whazzat?

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A glint wine is just a hot, spiced mulled wine. If you travel to, say, Paris or Vienna in the late December, most of the local pubs and such are serving it. Or Gluhwein in Germany or Glogg in Sweden. At 6 weeks old, that's what tasting JAOM reminds me of the most.

And all that is fine. It's just not something people usually want to drink during, say, the summer. So, it has me wondering whether JAOM is more of a winter drink, even if it isn't served warm or hot.

You could say the same about any mead, or wine for that matter. I imagine that chilled it'd be fine in the summer.

The jug I made will hit 10 years old this November. Every few years I'll take a sample and it has evolved from near turpentine to something that is pretty amazing. Same with the Cherry Vanilla mead I did that same week.

MTtoAZ said:

The jug I made will hit 10 years old this November. Every few years I'll take a sample and it has evolved from near turpentine to something that is pretty amazing. Same with the Cherry Vanilla mead I did that same week.

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That's impressive on many levels. #1 that you seem to have unlimited patience. #2 that you can track how the taste of something has evolved over a 10 year timespan.