Orange Vanilla- Creamsicle Mead

[Hilltop Honey Farms Mead]

Making 1 gallon batch:

Just over 3 pounds of honey (Original Gravity- 1.116)
Water to 1 gallon
1/2 tsp DAP
1/2 tsp Yeast Energizer

2 cans orange juice concentrate- frozen
Vanilla Extract?

The mead fermented through to 1.000, then I racked onto 1 can of frozen OJ concentrate.
Increased SG, has fermented back to 0.998 at this time (been about 1 1/2 weeks in secondary).

Will be racking onto KMeta and KSorbate this weekend, letting sit for 1 week, then adding lactose, the other can frozen OJ, and vanilla extract

My questions:
1. From experience, about how much lactose should I add to make it a little creamy, like a creamsicle? I don't want to be eating my mead, but would like it to be thicker than a traditional mead or melomel.

2. I truly can't find vanilla beans in any stores around me (Meijer, Kroger, Walmart). That being said, I don't see why I can't add vanilla extract once stabilized. How much vanilla extract should I add to give it some vanilla flavor however not be too overpowering?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Cavpilot2000]

Can anybody confirm that the OJ will taste okay fermented? Most people I know who want orange flavor add orange zest, not juice.

For vanilla beans, look on Amazon. You can find good ones way cheaper than in local stores, where they are ridiculusly expensive.

You could use extract, but make sure you get a good one that is pure and not an artificial.
No idea how much to use - I just made a vanilla milkshake IPA (5 gal) using 3 split and scraped beans in 4 oz vodka, soaked for a week and added after primary. The taste is strong, but also picked up a woody character that is not bad, but not like the flavor you get from bought extract. Probably one bean soaked in about 2 oz vodka would be plenty for a 1 gal batch.

Re: lactose: I used 1 lb in 7 gal hot wort for my milkshake IPA, which was only 5% of the grist. Some people use up to 10%, but I think 5% was nice without making it cloying, and would be good for your mead. So scaling that down would be 1/7th of a pound (0.14 lb) for 1 gallon. That scales down to about 2.5 oz. I'd round up to 3 oz for good measure.

 

[MaxTheSpy]

Making 1 gallon batch:

Just over 3 pounds of honey (Original Gravity- 1.116)
Water to 1 gallon
1/2 tsp DAP
1/2 tsp Yeast Energizer

2 cans orange juice concentrate- frozen
Vanilla Extract?

The mead fermented through to 1.000, then I racked onto 1 can of frozen OJ concentrate.
Increased SG, has fermented back to 0.998 at this time (been about 1 1/2 weeks in secondary).

Will be racking onto KMeta and KSorbate this weekend, letting sit for 1 week, then adding lactose, the other can frozen OJ, and vanilla extract

My questions:
1. From experience, about how much lactose should I add to make it a little creamy, like a creamsicle? I don't want to be eating my mead, but would like it to be thicker than a traditional mead or melomel.

2. I truly can't find vanilla beans in any stores around me (Meijer, Kroger, Walmart). That being said, I don't see why I can't add vanilla extract once stabilized. How much vanilla extract should I add to give it some vanilla flavor however not be too overpowering?

Thanks in advance!

This sounds amazing! Please let us know how it turns out I would love to try this as well! Ive used the juice from the cans of oranges and it turned out pretty good but never used concentrated orange juice. Ive always used orange zest and pressed orange juice

 

[Cavpilot2000]

Yes, please do report back on the result. I am considering a creamsickle IPA, so I want to know how the OJ in it turns out.

 

[NeverDie]

I think I've read that fermenting OJ doesn't turn out very well, but I haven't tried it and have no direct experience of it myself. Maybe in a mead it would be a different story.

 

[Cavpilot2000]

I think I've read that fermenting OJ doesn't turn out very well, but I haven't tried it and have no direct experience of it myself. Maybe in a mead it would be a different story.

Same here, which is why I am curious.

 

[MaxTheSpy]

Found this post from 2012 on the hombrewers assosiation page

I did this to a cider, 1 can at kegging as priming sugar. It was awesome best cider ever. It also fermented out in the keg after a month, for what its worth. Watch out for sulfites on the label those are meant to kill yeast and stop the juice from turning to wine! I love to blend juices at kegging time on a whim. That black cherry stuff is awesome in a sour. If you read the sugar content on the package you can figure out how much to prime with. Juice is highly fermentable like corn sugar, for your calculations. Go for it

 

[Blacksmith1]

One of the recipes I am planning to make has 48oz of OJ as an ingredient.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/brendans-triple-berry-wine.658039/

 

[NeverDie]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/fermented-orange-juice.171481/

 

[madscientist451]

If you want a Creamsicle flavor, which has some orange, but is mostly sweet, you need to stabilize the mead before adding your OJ concentrate. Fermeted OJ does not taste anything like a Creamsicle. Ferment your base mead the best you can, let it age if it needs it, add stabilizing agents and then do some blending trials to figure out how much Orange and vanilla extract to add. You might be better off using a prepared flavoring like this:
https://www.bickfordflavors.com/products/creamsicle-flavor

 

[Cavpilot2000]

The lactose will boost sweetness.
You could also do a partial mash of some light caramel malt, like CaraHell and add it.

I personally refuse to add prepared artificial flavors.

 

[NeverDie]

I purchased some lactose sugar, and to be honest, it doesn't taste sweet to me, even sampling it straight from the bag. At best, it's seems subtle.

 

[Cavpilot2000]

I purchased some lactose sugar, and to be honest, it doesn't taste sweet to me, even sampling it straight from the bag.

It's not very sweet like sucrose or dextrose, but unless you want a truly sweet beverage, you don't want sugary sweet. Lactose will add creamy body and some sweetness, but not a ton.

ANother option is to just add extra honey and use a low-attenuating yeast like WLP Sweet Mead. Anything above about 3 lb/gal will leave you with sweet unfermented honey with that yeast.

 

[madscientist451]

I personally refuse to add prepared artificial flavors.

I've used some flavor additives that work ok, but some have a chemical aftertaste which can be somewhere between distracting and repulsive.
The company in the link I provided says their flavors are all natural and Kosher.
I've never used their products so I don't know if they would work in a mead or not.
The Heading for the thread mentions the product Creamsicle, which likely contains artificial flavors. I'm skeptical you will be able to re-produce that flavor if you add malt or orange juice and then let them ferment.
Orange juice concentrate with some vanilla and lactose for mouthfeel will probably get you in the ballpark. Palate fatigue can set in fast when trying to blend flavors for taste, its good to have a few more tasters on hand when trying to dial in the final blend.

 

[NeverDie]

Whatever you add, if it turns out to mask the honey flavor of mead, then it defeats the point of mead, I would think. Creamsicle would have to be subtle. Maybe then it would be OK. At least I can imagine it being OK. The sugar lactose might get you the creamy flavor. Maybe orange zest for the orange flavor. Then vanilla. Sounds a bit like an orange julius, doesn't it?

 

[madscientist451]

That's a good point, if you don't want it to taste like mead, you could ferment table sugar and add the above flavoring and (in theory) it would be pretty close to a Creamsicle with an alcohol note.

 

[Hilltop Honey Farms Mead]

Racked onto KMeta and KSorbate this evening. Sampled and it is different but I wouldn’t say terrible. I think if it ages out a week, with a little more orange and vanilla added, and ages a couple of months, it’ll be decent. I’ll keep everyone informed!