Joe's Ancient Orange Mead

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Would it be possible to use a fining agent like sparkolloid or super-kleer to make the lees precipitate out and be less fluffy or easier to rack?
 
it probably won't hurt to try, but i think those are more useful for haze and other suspended particulates.
your problem is that baking yeast was not bred for brewing and does not floculate as well. the lees swirl up at the slightest movement, but settle down in a few days. when i plan to bottle, i move my carboy to the counter about a week ahead of time. at bottling i use an autosiphon with a carpenter clamp on the shaft to hold it just below the floatines at the top. the last bottle or too are a bit cloudy but they also settle out and i rebottle them.
 
I just bottled 3 gallons of this. It sat in the carboy for 5 months before I got around to bottling it.

A few bottles in, I discovered that my siphon didn't fit all the way down through the mouth of the particular carboy I was using, so I bottled half with the carboy tipped at a 45 degree angle. Also, I hadn't let it settle overnight after moving it onto the counter and before bottling. The bottles have some sediment! It settles out quickly and stirs up easily. I think you have to accept that in the spirit of the recipe.

This tasted good at bottling. I'm looking forward to drinking some in a year's time.
 
I saw something on a moonshine forum about using super-kleer. They were fermenting only turbo yeast, nutrient, and white table sugar so I assumed they must be using the fining agent to drop the yeast.
 
Over two months since pitching my Fleischman packets and the raisins are still hovering at the top of my meads. A few have succombed to gravity, but the majority in both batches are still lingering around. I have no need to use either vessel, so I'm just going to let em sit for as long as they need to.

Would cold crashing help expedite the process? I'm anxious to taste these bad boys.
 
what do you mean, "Fleischman packets"? you're supposed to open them and pour the yeast in.
the fruit will never all sink to the bottom. some will always remain at the top. clarity in the middle is the important thing to look for. two months may be a bit soon. i've always waited at least 4 to 6.
it may look clear, but you may still end up with sediment in the bottles and they will have to be carefully decanted to drink or rebottle.
 
sharpstick said:
what do you mean, "Fleischman packets"? you're supposed to open them and pour the yeast in.
the fruit will never all sink to the bottom. some will always remain at the top. clarity in the middle is the important thing to look for. two months may be a bit soon. i've always waited at least 4 to 6.
it may look clear, but you may still end up with sediment in the bottles and they will have to be carefully decanted to drink or rebottle.
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I'd like to think that homebrewers at least give each other the benefit of the doubt - you don't think I actually just dropped the entire Flesichman packaging into the mead, do you?

Regardless, it's been about 2 1/2 months since I pitched. Somewhat clear in the middle, but nothing to make me confident in a clarity just yet.
 
Grasslands said:
I'd like to think that homebrewers at least give each other the benefit of the doubt - you don't think I actually just dropped the entire Flesichman packaging into the mead, do you?
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I don't know what you meant. That's why I asked.
How many yeast packets did you use? Usually one is plenty for up to five gallons.
Hang in there a while yet if you can be patient. That's easier after you get a few batches made and aren't in a rush to try it. Joe's meads are good in months, but they get even better after some aging. I have some 3 or 4 years old now and they keep getting better.
 
sharpstick said:
I don't know what you meant. That's why I asked.
How many yeast packets did you use? Usually one is plenty for up to five gallons.
Hang in there a while yet if you can be patient. That's easier after you get a few batches made and aren't in a rush to try it. Joe's meads are good in months, but they get even better after some aging. I have some 3 or 4 years old now and they keep getting better.
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No problem...

Publix had a set of three packets attached to one another. I used one for my JOAM w/agave nectar (1g) and 2 for the JOAM w/honey (3g). I figured 2 wouldn't hurt and/or cause off flavors. My thought is to give them a while after bottling and try only 2 against each other...then have my wife hide them somewhere. :D
 
You haven't said how big your batches are. More than one probably won't hurt.
I do suggest prehydrating in warm water first, though.
 
Started my 1st ever batch of mead in an old 1.5gallon Mr. Beer last night. I have a few questions/concerns. After combining all the ingredients and shaking the mixture, everything looked ok. A few minutes later, all the honey separated out and I have an inch of honey on the bottom of the fermenter. Is this bad? Also, since I used a 1.5 gallon Mr. Beer for this one gallon recipe, is the extra room in the fermenter bad?
 
Well, my JAOM is ready to bottle. It's been in primary for a little over two months, and it's already is beginning to taste good.

My JAOM started at 1.080 and finished around 0.990, making it right around 12-13%. It's dry, almost like a white wine. I did make a few changes, using Safale S33 instead of bread yeast, and peeling and zesting a few blood oranges, adding the fruit and zest without the rind. I'm glad I went with a lower alcohol, as I think it will be ready to drink faster. I'm debating whether or not I want to try and carbonate it, we'll see.
 
Bottled my batch last night. I have to say, it was completely undrinkable. Way too sweet & way too bitter at the same time. It'll be sitting in the basement for at least a few months before I try it again. I'm not giving up on this recipe yet, but it may be a while before I try it again.
 
The batch I made last year for christmas went over well enough. I think I might have ruined it with all the cloves though. Other people seemed to like it, but I wasn't a fan. I'll have to actually make it without tweaking the recipe. :/
 
I made a batch of this earlier today. I scaled it up to 3 gal. I have some separation in the water, and honey, but from what i have read that is not too big of a deal. 30 minutes after i pitched the yeast, there is airlock activity...now i guess i just have to watch it to make sure the airlock doesn't blow. LOL.
 
SuperiorBrew said:
I have never ventured to the Mead Forum before but when I did and saw how easy this was I just had to give it a try. Thanks to Joe and Yoop!

All the ingredients

Less than 10 minutes later
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How did you make that bottle fermenter it looms sweet. Did you just cut a hole and put airlock in??? It looks awesome I want one:)
 
jbrookeiv said:
Well, I just made my own version of JAOM, can't wait for it to finish. This is my first mead, and I'm pretty excited. Here's what I did.

I had 12 lbs of honey that a co-worker gave me. It was in a gallon plastic milk jug, and just said "Honey" on the outside, so no clue what kind it is. I'm guessing maybe Orange Blossom, since the honey was from his father's farm, and we're in Florida? Who knows...

Anyway, I dissolved the honey in to enough water to bring the total volume to 5.5 gallons. I wanted a lower alcohol mead, and am hoping it might be drinkable a little quicker because of it. The OG turned out to be 1.080. If it finishes around 1.020, it should end up at ~7.5% ABV.

I used blood oranges instead of regular oranges, mainly because they're in season and I've been wanting to brew something using blood oranges. Hopefully they will add a cool pinkish color to the mead.

I peeled, zested, and split up the blood oranges, and used 4 total. I didn't want to get that pithy taste that has been described in this thread in my mead. I added 3 handfuls of raisins, 2 cinnamon sticks, 2 whole cloves, a dash of allspice, a dash of nutmeg, and mixed it all together. I aerated for a few minutes by shaking my Ale Pail, and pitched my yeast.

I decided to use Safale S-33, since I had it sitting in my fridge. Malkore described using this yeast on a few meads with success, so I figured I'd use it since I already had it. I'm still planning on leaving it in primary for two months, and then bottling. I'm also planning on carbonating the mead, and really hope it will be ready over the summer. It should turn out to be a great, light summer beverage, great for drinking on the beach.

I'll keep you guys posted!
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Well, I bottled this on Monday. It fermented down to 0.993 with the S-33. It already tastes good after a little over 2 months, I can't wait to see how it progresses. Very dry, but not particularly "hot", even though it ended up around 13%. It tastes like a nice white wine with some honey character.
 
I have 2 one gallon batches 2 weeks in. I know I've got a while yet but, when I rack the golden nector do I do I put it into the bottles or put in another clean carboy for a while?
 
into da bottles...Page 1..."Racking --- Don't you dare" If you can't live without racking then 2-3 months when all the yeasties have finish floating and found their way to the bottom
 
Is it safe to bottle this in regular beer bottles with a capper?

What about the plastic screw top beer bottles?

Just did it tonight, so I won't be bottling for quite some time, but I don't have a wine corker.
 
You would actually be better off in beer bottles than wine bottles. Hopefully the yeasties will be done doing their thing before you put them in a bottle. But, if some of them get a little happy and ferment a bit more the beer bottles would stand up to the pressure better. Best case scenario involves champagne bottles, corks, and cages but I don't think that is necessary.

FWIW I put a batch of JAO in beer bottles just a few days ago.
 
I just racked this today and tasted it. I followed the recipe precisely EXCEPT I used champagne yeast. And WOW, VERY HIGH alcohol content. Will it get better if I let it sit?
 
yes, mine has gotten better, but it is still very strong so I'm giving mine even more time. maybe I'll just save it for winter...
 
collegebrewer13 said:
I just racked this today and tasted it. I followed the recipe precisely EXCEPT I used champagne yeast. And WOW, VERY HIGH alcohol content. Will it get better if I let it sit?
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Yes it will get better over time as flavours blend together. I bottled mine 8 months ago and it is now awesome. When your mead is clear, bottle and let it sit. I started to drink mine after 4 months.

I need to make a 5 gallon batch of this !
 
collegebrewer13 said:
I just racked this today and tasted it. I followed the recipe precisely EXCEPT I used champagne yeast. And WOW, VERY HIGH alcohol content. Will it get better if I let it sit?
Click to expand...

It is quite possible that yours will never be very good. This recipe is specifically designed for bread yeast. It needs some sweetness to taste good, otherwise it'll be very bitter & take forever to age.

Here's hoping though!
 
First, thanks for the recipe!!!
I made a couple of batches on 3/20/11

One with bread yeast and one with Lalvin EC-1118
The bread yeast batch has cleared up nicely but the Lalvin one is still cloudy, maybe the yeast are still working?
IMG_1548.jpg

IMG_1551.jpg

moving these ever so slightly kicks up a lot of sediment, It seems like it'd be very tricky to bottle clear without racking off the sediment 1st even with a mini autosiphon.
 
Today (6/4) I racked a 4.5 gallon batch started exactly 2 months ago (4/4) with bread yeast except mine looks more like your cloud 1118 batch above rather than your clear bread yeast batch.

Gravity was 1.05 down from 1.14 so ~ 12% abv with no noticeable airlock activity. I tasted a spoon full, it was hot (young) and the spice was nice. It was quite sweet but not nearly as sweet as I was feared at 1.05 so I'm guessing there were some heavyish non-fermentables in the honey.

How low should the gravity go and how sweet is the finished mead supposed to be?
 
This sounds great!

I ordered a 15gal fermenter, because I can't pass up a deal, but up until now I had no idea what I was going to put in it.

Now, since I'm doing a 15gal batch, should I still only use 1tsp yeast? I know that for people doubling it and stuff, the general consensus is to keep the same amount, but should I put maybe 3tsp in?
 
Made 5 batches...

Same recipe different types of yeast: Bread yeast, Lalvin 71B-1122 Yeast, Lalvin EC-1118 Yeast, Lalvin K1V-1116 Yeast, Red Star Champaigne Yeast
 
how to get rid of the orange junk and the yeast on the bottom? orange junk is the biggest problem. how to filter this before bottling?
 
A piece of cheesecloth on your racking wand will go a long way on controlling the orange pulp. The yeast is another story. It's very fine and doesn't form a strong cake. Your best bet is to not move it any and siphon it off working from the top down until you see the yeast starting to lift.
 
I made this for the first time a couple days ago. As I was pushing my orange slices into the carboy I thought, "How am I suppose to get these out?".

Well?
 

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