Joe's Ancient Orange Mead

TrekMedic said:

Are you using the pith from the oranges? That could be a cause. Also, just throwing it out there: are you COMPLETELY sterilizing everything?

Click to expand...

2 batches are without the peel and I made a valiant effort to remove all the white from the oranges that I could.

I use a fine mist spray bottle with Star San to spray everything and then let it sit for 5 minutes or until it dries.

Just bottled my first attempt at making this following the instructions exactly on post #1 (I think, no notes). I made it on October 22, 2015 so it has been sitting in my closet for over a year. OG was 1.128 and FG 1.030 which makes it around 13%. I can't believe it but it tastes great, didn't notice any yeast autolysis. I guess the key is to just forget about it and not touch it!

Almost there

View attachment 1486073901210.jpg

3 gallon batch started last night. Bubbling away. Kind of cool in the fact that when first mixed the raisins and cloves fall down to the bottom; heavier even than the high OG mixture. But as soon as fermentation began, the CO2 bubbles adhere to the outside of the raisins (and possibly some inside) bring them to the surface.

I tried looking for a 5-gallon recipe I can't seem to find it I guess I could just multiply the ingredients

So a few years ago, I made a 3 gallon batch following the original recipe to the letter.
It was good, but I felt it was over-spiced (too much clove) and had a little too much bitterness from the orange peel.

Overall it was pretty good though, and one friend liked it a lot - she said it tasted like Christmas.
I even reserved a gallon and oaked it, but I either didn't use enough oak, or the residual sweetness suppressed the oak flavor (maybe the solution was too concentrated to absorb the flavor?), because I couldn't taste much difference.

For those who advocate peeling the oranges, I'm not sure that's completely on the right track unless you like it that way, because I find some bitterness from the peel balances the residual sweetness of the mead.

So a few days ago I made a new batch, peeling half of the oranges and leaving half with peel on to keep a hint of that balancing bitterness.
I also use 2 cloves for 3 gallons instead of 3.

I'll post pics soon.

Found a bottle I had stashed about 4 or 5 years ago from my first batch. It was nothing like drinking it within a year of making it as all the spices mellowed out and just so subtly enhance the sweetness of the mead. Put a bottle away and forget about it and you will be rewarded! Have a couple left that were about 9 months younger that I will continue to forget about!

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1487290157.965682.jpg

Cleared up nice, too!

Just tasted mine which has been fermenting since nov30, sitting at 1.022 and almost done.

Tatses dang good!

Slightly OT, but my local farmers' market started selling "fresh squeezed" (they're running it through a high-tech juicer ) juices, so I bought a few 4 oz bottles of blood orange juice. I was thinking of making a gallon of JAOM using this and completely omitting the whole oranges. Has anyone tried this before? Did it make a difference (other than the obvious use of the type of orange)?

I enjoy some bitterness from the rinds, but that doesn't mean your all-juice version wouldn't also be delicious. If you try it, let us know how it turns out.

I'm on my first batch, a week old. I have one question, when its clear in a couple of months and i rack it into a different container, do you add water to top it off or just find a smaller container? With the loss of volume it will not be the same because of the bottom and the fruit being left behind?

Find a smaller container

This is my first mead brewed back on 2/10/17. I made a 3 gallon batch using the ingredients mentioned with the exception of the yeast. Instead I used red star active dry yeast. I ended up with an OG of 1.120 and the airlock was bubbling away during the first week. One thing everyone seems to mention is foam building at the top however mine does not have this and the airlock has no movement. The mead color looks similar to that of a cloudy NE IPA. My question, how do I know if the yeast is doing its magic? If it's not, any advice on getting this started back up?

A hydrometer will tell you if its still working.

I just put some of this in the freezer to jack it. Curious how it will come out compared to my applejack. Should know in a few days or so how it tastes, a few months of aging will be needed i am sure.

beergears said:

How much alcohol should this produce...?

My batch should be ready near the time of a family gathering, next month, and am tempted to take some there, but don't want to turn the event into an Irish funeral..

Click to expand...

im not sure if this is absolutely correct, but if you add the sugar from the honey, orange, and raisin you may get around 3.5 pounds (this is an estimate) of actual, fermebtable sugar in the gallon. a google search tells you that only about half of the sugar turns to alcohol, while tge ither half turns to co2 gas. a gallon of water weighs 9.7 pounds. so it makes sense that dividing 3.5 by 9.7 abd then splitting that in half will give you a (very) rough estimate of your alcohol percentage. im guessing the potential alcohol will be %18, but the bread yeast will die long before it can reach that. if you know the percentage bread yeast can tolerate, then there is your answer.

Just bottled my first gallon I made last New Year's Eve.

TrekMedic they look good

Found this in the closet. Wonder how it tastes. 4 months in the fermenter and 3 years in the bottle.

View attachment 1488554401032.jpg

brothernature said:

a gallon of water weighs 9.7 pounds.

Click to expand...

When did it's weight go up?

It's always been around 8 pounds as long as I can remember.......

Stealthcruiser said:

When did it's weight go up?



It's always been around 8 pounds as long as I can remember.......

Click to expand...

Haha... missed that. Yes, 8.3 lbs. imperial gallon weighs 10 ... umm lbs? That's not confusing at all

Been making mead of various sorts for a few years now. Never really considered making JAOM before. Big mistake, this stuff rocks! Clear in 6 weeks and super tasty. I will bottle in a couple of days. Don't wait 3 or 4 years to try this and don't try all the fancy variations thinking this is just too simple to work.
Temp kept at 66-68 degrees in a darkened room. Bob's Red Mill yeast, honey from my own hives(alfalfa), raisins from the back yard and a store bought organic orange. A most satisfying brew!

honeycon said:

Been making mead of various sorts for a few years now. Never really considered making JAOM before. Big mistake, this stuff rocks! Clear in 6 weeks and super tasty. I will bottle in a couple of days. Don't wait 3 or 4 years to try this and don't try all the fancy variations thinking this is just too simple to work.
Temp kept at 66-68 degrees in a darkened room. Bob's Red Mill yeast, honey from my own hives(alfalfa), raisins from the back yard and a store bought organic orange. A most satisfying brew!

Click to expand...

You do any recipe modifications?

You mind posting up the version you used?

Myself and a neighbor are soon to attempt a batch, since our collective retired asses have access to some affordable tasty Honey, and some time of course!

Stealthcruiser said:

You do any recipe modifications?

You mind posting up the version you used?

Myself and a neighbor are soon to attempt a batch, since our collective retired asses have access to some affordable tasty Honey, and some time of course!

Click to expand...

The recipe from the OP by Yooper. Only variation was the bulk baking yeast from Bob's Red Mill. Used a heaping teaspoon.
Honey was added to carboy, about 1/2 the water then shake till your tired. The orange sections were forced through the carboy opening. didn't count the raisins, one clove and a 2 1/2" cinnamon stick.
Added water to top off. Their was still some honey on the bottom but gone in 2 days. Set on a table and left it.
I copied the recipe off GotMead and followed it to a "T". Yoopers' is the exact same recipe as posted by Joe Mattioli.

Thank You Much!

Hello, I just started brewing today and doin great, it's been bubbling after 2 hours. The question is I am currently using a balloon as an airlock for a day or two and gonna switch it to proper one after the shipment comes,will it hurt the yeast when I change the airlock?, and since I feel I added too little amount of honey (around 700 ml of honey to 2 litre jug), is it okay to add more during the airlock exchange?

In a few days your initial "foamy phase" of fermentation will slow down. That is a great time to top off and add the remainder of your honey. Just pour it in and don't mix it up. The yeast will find it.
Add your clean and sanitized airlock and wait it out.
BTW, I am an expert of one batch of JOAM, so take the advise for what it is worth.

Does this sound right for 5 gallons

View attachment 1489666949247.jpg

Justin201 said:

Does this sound right for 5 gallons

Click to expand...

I would cut back to about 15 lb honey. Using 17.5 will be quite sweet. And the raisins, says 5 small handfuls which would be at least 50 raisins even with child sized hands so not sure where the 25 number came from.

But it should make a very good mead.

Oh, and using the whole orange you will get some bitter pith flavors that will need to age out. I jest half of my oranges, then peal all the orange and white off all the oranges adding the jest from half and the meat from all to avoid the pith flavors.

Just wanted to add to the many posts here and say I started a batch of the op recipe last night before supper.

Finally found a glass gallon jug (2 actually) after weeks of searching and threw this together.

So simple! Started to gurgle a bit a couple hours after mixing it all, and today it is happily burping away.

I've got it wrapped in a towel on the kitchen counter for a day or so more until I'm sure the foam has settled down a bit, then will top it up near the top and put it up on the pantry top shelf.

Think I better set an email reminder for me for a couple months from now so I don't forget about it.

rlmiller10 said:

I would cut back to about 15 lb honey. Using 17.5 will be quite sweet. And the raisins, says 5 small handfuls which would be at least 50 raisins even with child sized hands so not sure where the 25 number came from.

But it should make a very good mead.

Click to expand...

Thank you

I would like to have a drinkable mead in around 2-3 months or less.

However I see a lot of folks posting about needing to age JAOM 6 months to several years... usually due to the fusel alcohols produced (jet fuel/"hot" taste). Forgive me for stating the obvious but this is almost certainly due to yeast fermenting at non-optimal temperatures, assuming the recipe was followed.

Can anyone using fleischmann's active dry yeast share your fermentation temperature and the fusel quality of the mead at 2 months? Joe's recipe says to ferment at 70-80F. Are the people getting high fusels fermenting outside of this range or did you otherwise change the recipe?

I am looking forward to feedback!

Also surprised I haven't seen any mention of the 1-month JAOM-variant (BOMM) that I am considering either instead of or in addition to this recipe.

Got mine going around 64F, which is perfect for the lavlin d47 brews I got going next to my JAOM. We'll find out. It's bubbling about every 5 seconds at about 3 days. First round of mead brewing for me.

I know this is supposed to be a bulletproof recipe, but my first batch just didn't take. Hyper slow fermentation for a few days, then stuck. Pitched some more yeast, but it just didn't take. Eventually dumped the gallon of swill and started fresh. 2nd go-round, again following the recipe to the T, with the exception of adding an 1/8 teaspoon of Wyeast nutrient to the mix. This batch kicked off within 30 minutes and is going strong on what is now day 5.

I don't get it, as all the ingredients in the second batch replicated the first, sans the nutrient..

jmneill said:

I know this is supposed to be a bulletproof recipe, but my first batch just didn't take. Hyper slow fermentation for a few days, then stuck. Pitched some more yeast, but it just didn't take. Eventually dumped the gallon of swill and started fresh. 2nd go-round, again following the recipe to the T, with the exception of adding an 1/8 teaspoon of Wyeast nutrient to the mix. This batch kicked off within 30 minutes and is going strong on what is now day 5.

I don't get it, as all the ingredients in the second batch replicated the first, sans the nutrient..

Click to expand...

That is strange. The first thing that comes to mind is the yeast and if it was viable. For the 2nd batch, was it the same batch of yeast? This happened to me once. The yeast was sold as a sleeve of 5 packs. When the first package didn't take, I pitched a second from the same sleeve and it worked.

brewit75 said:

That is strange. The first thing that comes to mind is the yeast and if it was viable. For the 2nd batch, was it the same batch of yeast? This happened to me once. The yeast was sold as a sleeve of 5 packs. When the first package didn't take, I pitched a second from the same sleeve and it worked.

Click to expand...

You know, before reading your post I would have said yes, same yeast. However, I too purchased the yeast by the sleeve. I would have bet good money that you wouldn't get one bad pack followed by a good one in the same sleeve. (or in my case, two bad packs followed by a good one) Again, my first batch did take, albeit VERY slowly before becoming stuck, so I dunno. With less than a couple dozen batches of wine under my belt, and this being my first mead, I'm not qualified to even make an educated guess.

jmneill said:

You know, before reading your post I would have said yes, same yeast. However, I too purchased the yeast by the sleeve. I would have bet good money that you wouldn't get one bad pack followed by a good one in the same sleeve. (or in my case, two bad packs followed by a good one) Again, my first batch did take, albeit VERY slowly before becoming stuck, so I dunno. With less than a couple dozen batches of wine under my belt, and this being my first mead, I'm not qualified to even make an educated guess.

Click to expand...

For JAOM and bread I recommend going to Sam's and getting the bricks of yeast. Even baking weekly it will last you for over a year. But it just seems to be more fresh and I have certainly had better luck with it when making bread then with the strip packs from the grocery store. I was using it by the time I started making mead and have never had any trouble there either.

I made a batch of this a while ago and it was not bad. The one thing I struggled with was getting rid of the very fine wispy lees/sediment completely.

Ended up with a slightly cloudy mead that, according to my friend who has never had mead, had a light beer-like aftertaste but was quite good. It must have been strong for a mead because he felt as if he had drunk two and a half regular beers from drinking a small 250ml bottle