Drinking my first mead

Finally got around to bottling my Joe's Ancient Orange Mead, for how cheap and easy this was to make I am very impressed. Very smooth and drinkable, its a little sweeter than I would like, but it was a big hit at dinner with some friends. If I can find a deal on some honey I might get a bigger batch going.

Congratulations! I've found that, despite my best efforts and regardless of whether my mead was an award winner or not, JAO mead is a consistent favorite with the majority of people who try mead for the first (or second or third) time. Joe Mattioli should go down in the annals of mead making history!

just made my first 1 gallon batch of mead yesterday using this recipe. Then just found out about a minute ago that i won't get to taste it till about this time next year.! dang.

If you made JOA mead then you should be enjoying it within 4 months of pitching the yeast.

summersolstice said:

If you made JOA mead then you should be enjoying it within 4 months of pitching the yeast.

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yep, I believe I made this batch in April.

summersolstice said:

If you made JOA mead then you should be enjoying it within 4 months of pitching the yeast.

Click to expand...

Score! That's what I made! So I'm guessing 1-2 months ferment, top-off, age till the 4 month date, enjoy? I can't wait to taste it. I've never had a mead before. All from seeing a picture on the picture thread. i thought, "hmm that looks simple enough." I love these type of recipes, such as this and apfelwein, that you can whip out in about 20-30 minutes, pre-cleaning to pitching. Gives a small brew fix in the middle of the week.

What is a good commercial example to try for the first time? Going to a decent store this weekend who may just have some mead.

IrregularPulse said:

I love these type of recipes, such as this and apfelwein, that you can whip out in about 20-30 minutes, pre-cleaning to pitching. Gives a small brew fix in the middle of the week.

What is a good commercial example to try for the first time? Going to a decent store this weekend who may just have some mead.

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I once made a JAO mead at home on my lunch break and still had time to eat lunch and be back to work within an hour.

Commercial meads are kind of hard to find. A lot of commercial stuff is made by small operators who don't have very wide distribution. Look for Redstone. White Winter, from Wisconsin, might be available in Ohio. Avoid Chaucer.

I actually have found one variety of Redstone being sold here in West Lafayette at a local liquor store. I was amazed, will be trying it soon. Have had their traditional and it was excellent, but the shipping was a bite.