Joe's Ancient Orange Mead

[fuzzy2133]

Can anyone tell me how they heck they get all the goop out of the gallon jug afterwards???

Hot water and vigorous shaking.

 

[jstampler]

Has anyone tried hot water and some oxyclean? That stuff usually breaks stuff up pretty good.

To the guy that said needle nose pliers, can you elaborate a little? Do you have super long pliers or do you use them some other way?

I've been concerned with cleaning this thing since I started. Gallon jugs are a pain because of the small opening.

 

[Lungus]

He used the needlenosed pliers to pull the orange sections out of the neck as for the rest I put in some water, shake, dump, repeat until it's clean and a bottle brush with a bend on it will get to the yeast caked onto the top of the carboy if it won't rinse clean.

 

[cwdrake]

Yeah sorry. Used the pliers to pull the pieces out. I was able to get my jug clean with a bottle brush. Just bend the brush as needed to get the angles. Then sanitize with StarSan.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

Hi people, quick question:
I got this started in June. It's been three months, and it doesn't look like it's cleared much at all. Some fruit has dropped, most are still suspended.
I have expected to bottle next month, but at this rate I'm not sure it'll be ready. I (stupidly) used some cheap honey from the supermarket, and I'm wondering if that could have an affect on the final product.
Is there any truth to that, or can I expect it to clear up in a few months?

 

[Lungus]

If the fruit has started to drop the others will follow shortly and cheap honey ferments just fine. Strange though, mine cleared after a month and the fruit dropped a month later.

 

[jonmohno]

Hi people, quick question:
I got this started in June. It's been three months, and it doesn't look like it's cleared much at all. Some fruit has dropped, most are still suspended.
I have expected to bottle next month, but at this rate I'm not sure it'll be ready. I (stupidly) used some cheap honey from the supermarket, and I'm wondering if that could have an affect on the final product.
Is there any truth to that, or can I expect it to clear up in a few months?

You are not moving around your fermenter are you? When mine starts to clear good and drop fruit Im going to set it on my counter(where I rack) for however long til its clear and settled enough to bottle without disturbing it.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

I let it sit for about two months until I moved it to the kitchen, where it's been for about a month. It might have gotten bumped from time to time, I'll have to make certain it stays put.
Thanks folks, I'll let it ride.

 

[Bao]

Back in April, I got into making mead with the encouragement of a friend.
The first thing he suggested that I do was make a JOAM. Well, I did, but being who I am I wanted to tweak it just a bit. What became of it ended up being pretty damned interesting.

#1 – Jalapeno JOAM (12APR13)
3.5# honey
Red Star: D-47 yeast

The below was placed into a steeping bag during primary
1 large orange cut to eights
1 cinnamon stick
12 sunmaid organic raisins
2 large jalepeno peppers, stem and seeds removed, sliced thin
1 clove
Pinch of allspice and nutmeg

23APR13 racked to secondary, removed steeping bag
FG – 1.012 or ~14.2% ABV (No clue what the OG was so ABV is not accurate)
23MAY13 – moved secondary to fridge to cool and settle.
05JUN13 – racked to new bottle
01AUG13 – bottled to 6x500mL bottles.
This mead sat at a fairly high temperature 75-80 F during the bulk of primary fermentation.

I cracked the first bottle of this stuff early September. The first thing I noticed is an incredibly strong smell of jalapeno. Not the heat, but the pepper itself. Quite pleased with that. As for taste, it is an interesting combination of heat and sweet. Has about as much kick as a slice of jalapeno, but it doesn't linger. Has a slightly orangish tint to it. All the other spices I used are pretty much overwhelmed. There is perhaps a hint of clove and allspice left, but the cinnamon and nutmeg are gone entirely, which I suppose is fine. Quite please with how it came out. Hope those of you who try it enjoy it as well.

 

[Quokimbo]

Fermentation has slowed dramatically but there are still bubbles going on in there and small bits of the fruits have started falling!

 

[Lungus]

So, due to curiosity and a profound lack of patience I opened a bottle of my JOAM which was bottled two weeks ago and even though it is a tad bitter it's still very enjoyable. In a month it should be good enough to share with others.

 

[hockee40]

I discovered and ventured on this website during the winter holidays of 2012 and came across the JOAM thread and decided to give it a whirl.
Bought and gathered the recipe and equipment and followed everything to a tee except i used clementines which i already had plenty of.
12-04 recipe was assembled and had airlock activity not too long after yeast intro....SG-1.112
02-08-13 racked to another gallon jug, surprising gravity was down to 1.000...Problem i had was head space in secondary and decided to warm some spring water and honey so i would not dilute what i started...
Fast forward to 10-1-13... decided to bottle what i had and hopefully i did not taint what i started months ago.
Sanitized stopper and airlock and popped the seal.... first impressions when i smelled was strength of alcohol smell i was getting. Wand some into my hydro test jar and found that the bread yeast furthered drop my mead to .992..... very amazed by my readings to what i was reading on these posts....
Now for taste....good alcohol kick....very dry, but do to FG(which could be 15-16 ABV%)..very understandable...touch plithy...kinda of lacks in taste, but not bad at all.... drank what was in my hydro test jar and could feel some effect with just a few ounces...
Only conclusion i could come to is the packaging of the yeast i purchase...I buy Red Star in vacuum sealed package in 1 pound increments since i do alot of bread and pizza cooking on my Big Green Egg...must do with total void of oxygen compared to the jar and single serving bread yeast packets....

 

[mdabbles]

So, due to curiosity and a profound lack of patience I opened a bottle of my JOAM which was bottled two weeks ago and even though it is a tad bitter it's still very enjoyable. In a month it should be good enough to share with others.

Set a few aside for 8 months. It will be phenomenal by then.

 

[CooperBrew]

I just bottled my 1 gal batch a couple of days ago. I ended up with 3 liter bottles full that I'm going to put away for a while to age. How do you folks bottle this stuff? It was a real PITA to get clear liquid out with all the yeast getting stirred up. I ended up pouring ...slowly...through a coffee filter in my funnel. The first 2 bottles are clear but the last bottle is pretty cloudy even being filtered.

 

[mdabbles]

I just bottled my 1 gal batch a couple of days ago. I ended up with 3 liter bottles full that I'm going to put away for a while to age. How do you folks bottle this stuff? It was a real PITA to get clear liquid out with all the yeast getting stirred up. I ended up pouring ...slowly...through a coffee filter in my funnel. The first 2 bottles are clear but the last bottle is pretty cloudy even being filtered.

I had good success with a peach mead - cleared it by siphoning cloudy stuff into smaller 1/2 gallon jugs and put into refrigerator for a week. I just use old sam Adams bottles and cap them.

 

[RhodySeth]

I think I'm going to attempt a batch of this stuff this weekend. For the OG, do I just take a sample with my turkey baster prior to adding all the fruit, cloves and such?

 

[mdabbles]

I think I'm going to attempt a batch of this stuff this weekend. For the OG, do I just take a sample with my turkey baster prior to adding all the fruit, cloves and such?

You want to take OG after fruit and additives - fruit has fermentables. I do it right before pitching yeast.

 

[fuzzy2133]

I think I'm going to attempt a batch of this stuff this weekend. For the OG, do I just take a sample with my turkey baster prior to adding all the fruit, cloves and such?

You want to take OG after fruit and additives - fruit has fermentables. I do it right before pitching yeast.

Both ways work. Fruit has both fermentables and water content IMO it is a very small difference.

However in ancient times they did not have a hydrometer or sanitizers so you could also choose not to worry too much about it.

 

[RhodySeth]

I dropped the hydrometer in to get a reading but then it occurred that the reading will be off since I didn't fill it all the way with water as per the instructions. No matter, I'm now watching the millions of little bubbles rise to the surface. It's mesmerizing.

 

[mdabbles]

I dropped the hydrometer in to get a reading but then it occurred that the reading will be off since I didn't fill it all the way with water as per the instructions. No matter, I'm now watching the millions of little bubbles rise to the surface. It's mesmerizing.

With JAOM, if you follow recipe closely, you don't even need to mess with hydrometer readings. Pretty time tested formula.

 

[RhodySeth]

With JAOM, if you follow recipe closely, you don't even need to mess with hydrometer readings. Pretty time tested formula.

Yeah, it certainly seems like the yeast is going to town. It's only day three and I'm chomping at the bit! I'd better get another beer going soon to take my mind of the JAOM.

Just updated my blog with a JAOM pictorial.

 

[PandaBrau]

I did this without the spices...no cinnamon and no cloves...will it still taste all right? Any chance I could ad it in there after fermentation has started...because its started

 

[mdabbles]

I did this without the spices...no cinnamon and no cloves...will it still taste all right? Any chance I could ad it in there after fermentation has started...because its started

I don't think there would be any problem adding the spices during the fermentation.

 

[PandaBrau]

Thanks for the quick answer dabbles...I really should of read this again before I just threw it all together.

 

[mdabbles]

Good luck. It will be fantastic if you can keep a bottle or two around to age for about 8 months. I always try to have a couple going..

 

[Aceandover]

So this is the first mead I have ever made and I can't wait. It's been about a month and I was thinking about bottles. From what I have read in this thread, once u can read through it,it is ready to go, do I need to cork it or can I crown cap in some clear beer bottles. (Don't have corking stuff) also been reading a bit and people been talking about bottle bombs so do I need to stop the yeast at bottling or just go for it.
Thanks u guys are always a big help

 

[Kdog22]

So this is the first mead I have ever made and I can't wait. It's been about a month and I was thinking about bottles. From what I have read in this thread, once u can read through it,it is ready to go, do I need to cork it or can I crown cap in some clear beer bottles. (Don't have corking stuff) also been reading a bit and people been talking about bottle bombs so do I need to stop the yeast at bottling or just go for it.
Thanks u guys are always a big help

You should be able to bottle in beer bottles just fine. Wait to bottle it until the ferment has finished. Be patient for 2 months or longer if it hasn't cleared yet. But if you wait at least 2 months, fermentation should be well done and should have no worries of bottle bombs if you don't add anything to it before bottling.

People have problems with bottle bombs when they bottle too early and fermenation hasn't finished OR they introduce a new sugar source for the yeast to eat before bottling and didn't stabilize it before adding the new sugars. Time will be your friend

 

[Paul_F]

The 3 gallon batch of JAOM I started on Sept 4 has started to perceptibly clear, and I watched the first Raisin "drop" when I checked on it last night.
I'm very excited

If it clears and the fruit drops like I'm hoping, I think I'll be bottling in the middle of December!

Must.
Be.
Patient.

 

[jak1010]

Started this batch on 10/14/13. It's been a while since I made a batch according to the original recipe so for this one, it is almost 100% original. The only exception is the honey. The clover honey was $8.99 per pound and the market had a 2 pound container of aunt Sue's wild flower for $12.99 so I picked up a few of them. It's a little darker and I'm excited to see how it turns out.

I just topped it off with some bottled water and about 5 ounces of buckwheat honey.

 

[hunter_le five]

I just bottled my first 1G batch of JAOM today. I started fermenting 9/2/13 and by the end of the month it cleared up nicely. I let it sit a couple more weeks until the fruit dropped and then transferred it to a 3L secondary (yeah, I know, but I wanted to let any yeast I accidentally siphoned up settle out before bottling). The mead was a beautiful dark gold and crystal clear going into the bottles. With the exception of racking to secondary, I followed the recipe to the letter, using all Texas-sourced honey.

I tasted a sample, and I was surprised how strong the spice profile was coming through. It tasted good, though perhaps a bit overpowering compared to the mead itself, with very strong spicy cinnamon and numbing clove notes. I plan on letting it age until Christmas, and I hope the spices will mellow out a bit by then.

Anyone else have similar issues with the spices? Will they mellow out with time?

 

[tg123]

I just bottled my first 1G batch of JAOM today. I started fermenting 9/2/13 and by the end of the month it cleared up nicely. I let it sit a couple more weeks until the fruit dropped and then transferred it to a 3L secondary (yeah, I know, but I wanted to let any yeast I accidentally siphoned up settle out before bottling). The mead was a beautiful dark gold and crystal clear going into the bottles. With the exception of racking to secondary, I followed the recipe to the letter, using all Texas-sourced honey.

I tasted a sample, and I was surprised how strong the spice profile was coming through. It tasted good, though perhaps a bit overpowering compared to the mead itself, with very strong spicy cinnamon and numbing clove notes. I plan on letting it age until Christmas, and I hope the spices will mellow out a bit by then.

Anyone else have similar issues with the spices? Will they mellow out with time?

Mine came out really spicy too. I just left it in the dark. Been three month so far. Haven't tasted it again yet but planning to on Thanksgiving.

 

[Quokimbo]

Hunter la5, I started mine on 9-16-13 and have been watching the fruits start to fall! I changed a little bit in the recipe but per your description I should be racking soon. I understand the OP does not call for it, but I have not done it and want to try. I bought the siphon kit and everything! haha I put a small handheld light behind the carboy so you can see what the color is coming out as.

The second image is 3 separate one gallon batches I worked up. Basing off of this recipe, just changing the fruit and yeast in the Cherry Vanilla one.
Left-Blueberry Vanilla fleischmanns yeast
Middle-JAOM fleischmanns yeast
Right-Cherry Vanilla 71b-1122 yeast

 

[tx-brewer]

Started this around 5 months ago and put it in a plastic water jug cause all my other one gallon jugs were full. Today I oppened the mead closet to the most wonderful smell, then I realized somehow the jug had a tiny hole in the bottom and all my precious jaom had leaked out.

I know its my stupid fault for keeping it in plastic, but I'm so sad. On the brightside my quick grape mead, cherry vanilla mead, strawberry wine, and burnt mead are are aging nicely, plus I get to put a new batch of jaom together on my next off day

 

[f4mnect]

Ok started a JAOM on 9/26/13 and it's doing well, my only issue is as some yeast is dropping down 1/2 is settling on the bottom but the other 1/2 is sticking to sides of container. Might this cause a problem when I get to the point of bottling and add a lot of sediment to the bottles as i rack it.

 

[Aceandover]

I was wondering about using different fruit in this receipt but keeping everything the same. I know u use the bread yeast cause it stops working before all the auger is gone cause it covers the taste of the orange pith but does the acid from the oranges being changed out cause a problem

 

[Mad4sax]

After reading this entire thread.
I thought I would give this a try. I make beer and just finished Caramel Hard Cider.

So one "standard" by the recipe waaaaaaay back on the first page of this old and long thread. One blackberry just because I like blackberries.

After one hour already bubbling away. :rockin:

 

[blaklite]

I just finished my first batch of JAOM. I started it at the end of August and here just 7 weeks later it's perfectly clear. I just took my first sip and I have to say it is the best mead I've made so far!

Thanks Joe!

 

[jonmohno]

Im so almost about ready to bottle mine. I have about a few raisons just sitting on top and its clearer than clear. But I may just wait for those few raisons to fall it hasnt been quite 2 months yet. But, man. when that last raison falls... I remember days when the cinnomon stick fell.. it laid flat then it stood up,then it layed down.. then it stood up again. I think it finally laid down to rest. YOu hear me? Anybody. Yeah its like that for me. I want to drink it. Through osmosis I just know its good by just looking at it.:cross: Time is a ***** sometimes. This is going to be good and probably better than the other two batches I attempeted at the same time-no clarity and a weird cloudyness to those batches of regular mead dont know whats going on with them. The clarity of this JAOM is putting these other two traditional meads with D47 and yeast nutrient/energizer to shame for some reason.

 

[RhodySeth]

I started a second batch two weeks after my first batch. Changed it up this time and substituted peaches and craisins for the orange and raisins. Love watchin' these things bubble away.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

My fruit has pretty much all fallen and I'm ready to bottle this weekend.

Quick question though, how much does a usual batch yield? I figured one (full) gallon would yield about 5 750ml wine bottles, but taking sediment into account how much do you guys usually get from a one gallon batch? Also, do you rack to a bottling bucket first or is it ok to rack straight from the carboy?