First batch if JOAM.

[PorterTockMan]

Mmmm...prime-cut porterhouse yeast cake...

 

[Preliator]

Simple and friendly is what I need. My first foray into mead (about 15 years ago) was a waste of a lot of honey.

This was a similar situation for me....my original mead making was shortlived as very expensive. since then i moved to brewing beer and cider....recently i tried mead again and love the fact that i moved down the batch size to 1 gallon batches. I have a few gallons of viking thunder under my belt and just put up my first JAOM yesterday.....I figure all the good reviews and 100's of years under the recipe the bugs got worked out by now...so we will see....her she is 2 days old.....keep ya posted when she finishes....
thanks

 

[PorterTockMan]

Update:
My JAOM is still s l o w l y clearing. It seems just a little clearer than last time I checked. This may take a while. I have not noticed the fruit rising to the top and falling again. I just have a couple of raisins still floating, which now resemble plump little grapes. This waiting is killing me. JUST CLEAR ALREADY!

 

[LastKnight]

I bumped or moved mine a lot. =/ Every time it moved so much as a few inches, it outgassed again... and all my fruit rose. Gah!

 

[PorterTockMan]

I move mine around to get a good look at it in the light and no fruit rises. I've noticed that the airlock looks like there is still some pressure in it. Hard to tell if its still out-gassing though.

 

[Tusch]

If you are wanting it to clear, stop moving it around. Even the slightest jiggle with pull up some sediment slowing down or reversing your clearing all together.

 

[Pronay]

I have just started my first, however I found I only had about half the honey, when I was already making it, it's fermenting away, Will it be okay to add the rest of the honey when I get it, I've left a large gap

 

[PorterTockMan]

I have just started my first, however I found I only had about half the honey, when I was already making it, it's fermenting away, Will it be okay to add the rest of the honey when I get it, I've left a large gap

There are plenty of mead recipes out there that call for adding ingredients, such as fruit or honey, partway through fermentation. And I've seen cases where people add more honey after tasting their mead and wanting a different flavor.

One problem I see is difficulty getting the honey to dissolve in your already fermenting batch. I don't think you'll want to heat it up and mix it in for fear of damaging the yeasties. If you left enough space you could dissolve the remaining honey in water, let it cool, then pour it in. If not enough space, you might get away with just pouring it in. I bet the honey would dissolve slowly over time. Your fermentation would take a lot longer though. You could try stirring it up when you add the honey, this will also oxygenate the mead again. Again, many recipes call for oxygenating the mead periodically throughout fermentation.

Let us know what you decide to do, and how it turns out.

 

[PorterTockMan]

If you are wanting it to clear, stop moving it around. Even the slightest jiggle with pull up some sediment slowing down or reversing your clearing all together.

AHH! I know! Okay, I've been leaving it alone for a while now, hopefully it's clearing. Must resist urge to peek...

 

[Bender]

I have just started my first, however I found I only had about half the honey, when I was already making it, it's fermenting away, Will it be okay to add the rest of the honey when I get it, I've left a large gap

I would rack off about 1/3 if the fluid and vigorously mix in the remaining honey and then add it back into the fermenter.

 

[PorterTockMan]

Bottled it tonight. It looked really clear to me. I could read through the carboy tuesday night. I got eight 12 oz bottles and one partial. I poured some of the partial into a glass to taste it. It appeared slightly cloudy, and tasted a little harsh but still good. Could the cloudiness be from this bottled coming from the bottom of the fermentor? I'm chilling the rest overnight and bringing half of them camping over the long holiday. The other half I'm going to let age for a while.

My very first tate of mead makes me want to make more!:rockin: