Beyond JAOM

[badducky]

Howdy,

So, I'm curious if there's a database of mead recipes that are similar to JAOM in these respects:

1) No boil sack-style mead using commonly-available grocery store ingredients
2) Reliable
3) 1 gallon that is easy to scale up.
4) Fast for mead (under 3 months to drinkable)

Because, in my mind, these are the four things I love so much about JAOM, and I'd like to know if there's more recipes like that out there, collected in some fashion.

Thanks,

Badducky

 

[malkore]

1. I never boil my honey...that ruins it.
2. Staggered nutrients, good yeast selection and pitch rates, produce reliable/consistent results
3. Learn to scale on your own...this hobby requires some math
4. See #2 above - happy yeast = fewer by products during fermentation besides alcohol and CO2. Since starting staggered nutrients, degassing primary, and sticking to narbonne 71-B yeast, I've not had a mead come out of primary that wasn't fully drinkable.

Be sure to check the mead recipes in the database here on HBT. Gotmead.com has several JAOM variants with other fruits like grape (pyment) and so forth.

My general rule is if you're going to add flavors besides honey, you can stick to 'cheap' grocery store honey, even Sam's Club honey works fine, espeically in melomels.
If its a 'plain mead', that's where you want the honey to shine through and it'll be worth paying extra for the good stuff that's not blended and not processed much (if at all).

I've found trader joe's mesquite honey produces a nice basic mead.

 

[huesmann]

+1 on the TJ's mesquite. Made my first ever batch of mead using that (Schramm basic method) and it is/was excellent.

 

[biochemedic]

1. I never boil my honey...that ruins it.

Are you just baiting me?

2. Staggered nutrients, good yeast selection and pitch rates, produce reliable/consistent results
.....
4. See #2 above - happy yeast = fewer by products during fermentation besides alcohol and CO2. Since starting staggered nutrients, degassing primary, and sticking to narbonne 71-B yeast, I've not had a mead come out of primary that wasn't fully drinkable.

Yay! What he said! I'd also add oxygenation as another important "making happy yeast" technique, and also temperature control. Also, while I love 71-B as well, using proper fermentation management you can make great mead right out of primary with other yeasts as well....

 

[Meadrol]

Are you just baiting me?



Yay! What he said! I'd also add oxygenation as another important "making happy yeast" technique, and also temperature control. Also, while I love 71-B as well, using proper fermentation management you can make great mead right out of primary with other yeasts as well....

Temperature control is the one thing I didn't pay enough attention to on my first batch...while I had it in a room that was about 65 degrees, the fermentation process kicks it up at least another 10 in the must so out of primary it's a little on the alcohol taste side which will age out. Next time...swamp cooler method.

 

[malkore]

Are you just baiting me?
/QUOTE]

Not intentionally, and I know my comment is quite generic with no backup support.

But it is true...I don't buy 100% raw honey, so I never boil or pasteurize it.

 

[biochemedic]

Are you just baiting me?
/QUOTE]

Not intentionally, and I know my comment is quite generic with no backup support.

But it is true...I don't buy 100% raw honey, so I never boil or pasteurize it.

I was just being funny...I'm usually the one loudly arguing the fact that, while you don't *need* to boil or pasteurize honey (even raw honey), it doesn't necessarily "ruin" it.

 

[Echoloc8]

Per the OP, though, JAOM (recipe) is a particular formula that, like magic, uses Fleischmann's bread yeast, honey, fruit, spices and not much else (one aeration, no added nutrient) to come up crazy drinkable in a very little time. :rockin:

Has anyone found other formulas like it?

-Rich