JAOM question

I followed the directions to a T, it's been 3 weeks and it's still as brown as the Mississippi river, it hasent even begun to clear. Should I let it sit or toss it and try again?

Theres oranges sticking out of the top of the water and they are turning brown. Directions say not to shake it or touch it, but that can't be good.

I have a 5 gallon batch that has been sitting for over 2 months now, third batch of this. I have found that around the 1-1.5 mark is starts to clear. I know the directions say that it is ready in 2 months, however you can also drink beer within 5 minutes after pitching the yeast, but it's not really done. Allow this to condition for at least 6 months, 1 year would be better. At 2 months, it tastes like honey-orange rocket fuel. Just let it ride and let the yeast do their thing. I've been leaving mine in primary for 3-4 months, and then directly bottling. Also, I've found that the bread yeast does not clump up tightly on the bottom, so use some extra care when racking to try not to disturb the yeast cake, unless you want 1/2 an inch of yeast in the bottles.

Cool, thanks. Gonna leave it alone and forget about it awhile.

What about the brown oranges sticking out of the top of the must, fish them out or leave them?

Leave them in, and rack from underneath them. How brown are these brown oranges? Mine have stayed orange as far as i can tell (colorblind), and also stay above the level of mead. Could you maybe post a picture of your oranges?

The only mead I will ever toss is one that is without a doubt infected. Otherwise, time heals all meads. JAO is good at 2 to 3 months, but my 1+ year batch is so much better. When I make JAO, I let it stay in primary for 3 months, then rack all liquid (and the yeast at the bottom) to a secondary to get as much as possible. After another month when it is clear it gets bottled. As far as the oranges, mine usually stay orange, they shouldn't rot as they are in the co2 in the headspace. I'd let it go till the fruit drops, but that is me. If you have the fermenter space, start another batch of something else.