Very excited about my first batch of JAOM

[Flumpy]

So I started 8 days ago, did the JAOM recipe exactly except I accidentally used 3lbs of honey rather than 3.5. I didn't have a hydrometer so I didn't take an initial reading but my temp-adjusted reading just now was 1.053 SG. I tasted it and wow it's yummy! Like a sort of sweet orange concoction definitely with some alcohol. It's probably going to get a lot drier though as the yeasties breathe the rest of that sugar. Very excited.

 

[Flumpy]

1.038 now

 

[Huskysibe]

I have a batch I made Dec16. Never took a reading, just tossed it all in there and let it sit. Its just now starting to clear and settle out.

 

[Flumpy]

how long are you going to wait?

 

[ibwahooka]

I just opened a bottle from when I made a batch in September of 2009. It's still delicious.

As for how long you should wait, give it two months to the day at a minimum. I have made at least 10 batches of JAO and always give it the two month minimum. Also, don't be discouraged if the fruit doesn't fall to the bottom of the carboy. If you really are concerned, sometimes the CO2 gets trapped and a quick punch will get the fruit to loosen up and fall to the bottom.

Good luck with you JAO!

 

[Flumpy]

Now 1.026

 

[huesmann]

That's probably close to where it's gonna end.

 

[Huskysibe]

how long are you going to wait?

Probably 3 months. Going to go by sight though, once it's clear I will bottle it and taste it.

 

[robin850]

My JAOM went 2.5 months. Stabilized and racked, bottling soon! OMG! this stuff is good!

 

[tojo]

I made three separate gallons - 2 are 3 months old and the third is two months old. All three gallons bulk aging for about a month then to bottles they go. I still haven't tasted it! I may have to steal some with the thief when bottling time comes. Trying to be patient.

 

[Flumpy]

After 25 days now at 1.012, somewhere around 12% ABV.

 

[Flumpy]

After a little over 43 days it's at 1.002! About 14% alchy. Fermentation slowed significantly last week, now there's only a few bubbles left.

The liquid has largely clarified, if I move the plastic water jug around and then shine a flashlight through it I can see large areas of sediment from the fruit sinking slowly.

Not sure whether to rack or to "wait for the fruit to drop" as they say.

 

[crazyseany]

They say to leave it alone for 60 days....

I'm starting my first batch tonight so I am of no help :-(

 

[Arpolis]

Wow 14% ABV, what yeast did you use? I didn't think bread yeast would survive in an ABV that high. I figure like 10-11% ABV or such. I actually am on the same track as you and only have about 3# per gall

 

[Arpolis]

Wow 14% ABV, what yeast did you use? I didn't think bread yeast would survive in an ABV that high. I figure like 10-11% ABV or such. I actually am on the same track as you and only have about 3# clover honey per gallon. Mine was started on the 6th so still a while to go.

 

[Flumpy]

Fleischman's Active Dry. I've heard it'll get up to 14%, it's definitely sucked all the sugar out of this one.

EDIT:

So I tasted it right now and boy that's pretty harsh. I understand why you'd go with the 3.5lbs rather than 3.0 lbs.. it's extremely dry and the sharp orange flavor is overwhelming. This will definitely have to be sweetened with a little extra honey.

 

[Flumpy]

Racked it this evening, less to get it off the lees and more to get it off the fruit. That orange peel is really powerful.

 

[Flumpy]

FG is around 1.001~1.002. Some lees have dropped in second container. Balloon still inflates slightly but I see no bubbles. May get down to 1.000 in another couple of weeks.

ABV around 14.1%

The orange rind is too much. Next time no orange rind. I didn't use the cinnamon stick and waited about 3 weeks to put the clove in.

Drinkable for a guy like me who can drink cheap liquor straight, but if you're delicate at all this would not (yet) be to your taste. Would likely be more drinkable at this point without the bitter rind.

Gives me sort of a loopy, spacy drunkenness.

 

[Fathand]

Next time no orange rind. I didn't use the cinnamon stick and waited about 3 weeks to put the clove in.

I am not trying to be a jerk but you didn't make JAOM then. Joe states if you don't follow the recipe to a T then its not JAOM.

I think the way the recipe was formulated was that cinnamon and clove help balance the pithy flavor you can get from the orange. I've made two 5 gallon batches though and have never experienced that flavor. It has however tasted hot from the alcohol but that mellows as it ages. I've also never had it go that dry. Perhaps back sweetening it will help.

 

[Flumpy]

yes yes, I've heard the whole "if it ain't exactly the recipe then it ain't JAOM." As if the creator somehow landed upon the perfect recipe that, if followed exactly, turns out a fantastic mead and, if not followed exactly, turns out cr@p. I somehow doubt that. I think it's popular because it's cheap, easy, and is a fairly foolproof way to a relatively drinkable mead in a reasonable amount of time.

Once you create something and release it into the world, it will be altered, critiqued and improved upon. Joe has no authority over the JAOM recipe -- the internet mead-making community does. Plenty of folks have said that removing the rind is an improvement on the recipe, and based upon what I've tasted I'd concur. Some cinnamon flavor won't mellow this rind taste, IMHO.

Next time I won't make it as described either; I'm going to use half the orange that the recipe calls for and cut off the rinds. Double the raisins. Possibly use a wine yeast.

I'll still wait a few weeks to drop in the clove and I perhaps at the same time I'll put in a bit of cinnamon.

That's the plan.

 

[huesmann]

Well, you can do that, but he's right--it's no longer Joe's Ancient Orange Mead, it's Flumpy's Ancient Orange Mead. Or possibly Flumpy's Modern Orange Mead.

On the other hand, excluding the pith (but including the zest) probably does help cut the bitterness and would be worthwhile. But it's still something that takes some effort, which the original recipe tended to minimize.

 

[TheBrewingMedic]

I'm one of the newb mead makers that havent made a JAOM, seems some look at it as a right of passage into the world of mead, have to start there, I went even more simple, a traditional of just honey, water, nutrient and yeast, wanted to learn technique and such first.

I've been considering making a JAOM now that I have the traditional and a melomel working, its third on the list behind a brochet and a metheglin I've been playing around with a recipe for. I'm doing all 1 gallon batches right now which I know some disagree with but I'm not looking for quantity just yet, more interested in finding methods and recipes I like (ie: the type honey I like, yeast I have best luck with for my recipes and climate control ability) then will increase batch sizes of the succesful ones.

For the JAOM I am thinking about, or the similar version I'm contemplating, I am going to break the orange down, use the segments and zest from the orange, eliminate the pith, that seems to me the source of the flavor profile complaints I've read, also going to add the cinnamon and clove in a lesser quantity later in the process, it won't really make it any more difficult.