Joe's Ancient Orange Mead

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This is why I make rice wine, beer and skeeter pee whilst my meads age.

Except the okra mead. That abomination didnt make it to its "peak"
 
And wait. Started a batch on June 26th and still bubbling strong under my kitchen table.


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Finally bottled my batch I started in April using d-47. Really enjoyed my sample so buying more supplies this weekend for batch #2...
 
Finally bottling my first batch after ~1 year in the fermenter. Talk about clear!

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Yea, I need to know if it's good because I've been waiting since the dot com bust for my fruit to drop.
 
It's VERY sweet. If I made it again I'd definitely make certain it ended up dryer, but I prefer my meads dry. If you like sweet meads, this will be up your alley. After a year, it's very smooth and the spices are definitely present but not overpowering. It should make a delicious winter drink, but too cloying for summer. (Disclaimer: I used temperature control and yeast nutrient, so no "jet fuel" here.)
 
Getting two batches of this together tonight or tomorrow. One will follow the recipe exactly, the other will use mango instead of orange.
Anyone have experience with mango? Considering adding some pectic enzyme to help break everything down but I might just let it ride and see where I end up.
 
Getting two batches of this together tonight or tomorrow. One will follow the recipe exactly, the other will use mango instead of orange.
Anyone have experience with mango? Considering adding some pectic enzyme to help break everything down but I might just let it ride and see where I end up.

I've been curious to try mango in a mead; let me know how it goes. My guess is it will fragment quite a bit. I just made a cider with guava and it was a terrible mistake, since I ended up with about 5 inches of non-compacting fruit sludge the bottom.
 
Getting two batches of this together tonight or tomorrow. One will follow the recipe exactly, the other will use mango instead of orange.
Anyone have experience with mango? Considering adding some pectic enzyme to help break everything down but I might just let it ride and see where I end up.

I've done it. If memory serves it tasted nice and mango-ey and did have a bit of a haze (which I didnt care too much about). In my opinion, if you like sweet/fruity tasting meads (and have no competition aspirations), messing around with the JAOM recipe and simply swiping out the oranges for Fruit X isn't the worst plan in the world.

Disclaimer:

I know fatbloke disagrees with the above, and has said in the past that the only other fruit he had similar success with is lemons. He has a wealth of experience I simply dont have, so YMMV.
 
I hadn't considered lemon, I might need to give that a shot sometime.
I'm hoping the pectic enzyme will help (maybe) with clearing, but unless something amazing happens this whole thing will be kept in house for personal consumption (my favorite kind of consumption).
 
I made a batch back in September 2013. After 3 months, it was still hazy and had a strong honey/alcohol flavor to it. I left it alone in a dark spot in the basement. This past weekend, I decided to bring it out and give it a try.

First impression was the amazing clarity. Blonde to very light amber in color but truly crystal clear. The smell was clean, nothing overwhelming, a slight fruitiness to it.

I don't drink liquor and rarely drink wine, this is my first mead so it's hard to describe the flavor. Initial flavor was clean, slightly fruity but that may have been picked up in the aroma. The flavor was pleasant. I couldn't pick up honey. Then it was quickly followed by a much stronger sensation, like a brandy. It was warming.

I was expecting a honey/wine taste but was greeted by a strong liquor that is meant for sipping. I'll try again in the cold winter months.
 
Well, talk about beginners luck... My first batch of JAOM sat in the closet for just about a month before the fruit fell. I didn't get a hydrometer reading at the beginning, so I don't know what the ABV is, but it's strong. The flavor and viscosity remind me of Choya, a Japanese plum wine (Ulm fruit). I bottled it in beer bottles and have two left. I then started a 6 gal. batch with similar results, so far. About 5 - 6 weeks for the fruit to drop. I have it racked to two Mr. Beer fermenters for final settling and will bottle from there, this weekend. Oh, and with this batch, I did get the hydrometer readings: looking at about 16% ABV.
 
I've been curious to try mango in a mead; let me know how it goes. My guess is it will fragment quite a bit. I just made a cider with guava and it was a terrible mistake, since I ended up with about 5 inches of non-compacting fruit sludge the bottom.

I've got something like that going. I figure I'll be straining for a long time. Made the same mistake when I blended strawberries for my strawberry wine. I ended up racking off what I could relatively cleanly, then pouring the rest in one of those big 9" funnels with the strainer in the bottom. It was a bit of a headache, but I figure it's the cost of doing business with that much actual raw fruit.
 
Any advantage to bottling at 2 months and letting things settle out in the bottle? Or transferring to a secondary (do people even do that with mead? I'm a beer brewer).


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If fermentation is complete (and it probably is at that point) you can bottle then, but you will have sediment (and I suspect resulting off flavors) if the mead isn't clear at bottling. I typically transfer to secondary after a few months and let it settle to the point I can read small text through the fermenter.
 
Made a batch back in December and it is still sitting in the carboy. All the fruit has dropped but when I checked it a few months back it was 1.050. I threw some more yeast in it. Going to check it tonight and see if anything happened. Otherwise it is so darn sweet it is almost impossible to drink!
 
Getting two batches of this together tonight or tomorrow. One will follow the recipe exactly, the other will use mango instead of orange.
Anyone have experience with mango? Considering adding some pectic enzyme to help break everything down but I might just let it ride and see where I end up.

Got this put together tonight. Followed the recipe except:
1) Used mango instead (cut into approximate french fry shapes)
2) Added fruit, raisins, cinnamon, honey, and most of the water with 1 tsp pectic enzyme approximately 8 hours before pitching (I'll pitch around 5AM EST tomorrow).
3) I'll add 1/2 tsp of yeast nutrient when I pitch my rehydrated bread yeast tomorrow morning to make up for any lost magic from not using orange.

Hopefully it'll turn out. If not, I'll be out a few dollars of ingredients and a bit of time. I'll report back with results.
 
OK, once completed and bottled, should these be left out at room temperature or refrigerated? If corked properly should they be set on there side?
 
Once bottled I keep mine in the basement that's around 60°F. If you want to chill one in the fridge before drinking just put it in for a few hours. I actually had a 6 pack from a batch over a yr old carb up in the bottle. Man it was so good! Corked bottles yea I would lay them on their sides. It is a fine wine ya know. :D
 
I kept mine at a nice controlled room temp. No greater than 74 with max fluctuations and we tend to be 68-72. No space in the beer fridge for a cheap project. It tasted fine at about 2 years. Cellar conditions would be better I'm sure, but work with what you've got. I would store some of the C&C upright and some on its side until you know if the cork is going to negatively alter the flavor. It's a pretty light profile to me.
 
How many berries are you guys using when you're swapping out the oranges? I'd like to do 2 batches one with raspberries and one original to the recipie.
 
How many berries are you guys using when you're swapping out the oranges? I'd like to do 2 batches one with raspberries and one original to the recipie.

I use roughly a pint, frozen, to a gallon. I try to get very rough volumes by eye (level of fruit floating roughly the same.)
 
My last fruit mead used about 1.5#/gal of fruit (melomel) and was delicious.


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First try at Mead got activity about 20 minutes after pitching yeast.

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So I'm at 2 months, clear, fruit has dropped, but sample was ridiculously sweet and tasted mostly like hooch. Do I just bottle and forget I have it for a couple years?


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I've gotten little to no noticable airlock activity in the batches I've made. Just put them in a cabinet and forget about it. A batch from February of this year tastes really good when taste tested recently.
 
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