Joe's Ancient Orange Mead

Williams 728
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chunkwagon said:
My JOAM has been crystal clear for several weeks now and some of the raisins have dropped, but none of the oranges. Having never done a mead before and not wanting to rush things, should I still wait to bottle? Should I rack into a secondary before bottling?
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Eh...well this is one part of the instructions I take liberty with only because I am short of vessels this size. I rack out of my 1.25gal plastic bottles, when clear but oranges still floating, and into 1gal glass. Then that bulk ages for a long while still.

Overall the point to me is the length of aging before bottling. You can easily just leave it in secondary for many months more, I have. But bottling too early could leave it without a bit of the mellowness that comes from bulk aging. (<----complete supposition that is not supported by any testing.)
 
olephart said:
It's been "two months and a couple of days", I'm debating between bottling, and adding a little champagne yeast and racking to a new jug for a while. If I bottle could I add more bread yeast to carbonate? The airlock stopped bubbling a little while ago, so I don't believe it will carbonate without a little help.
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Yeah, what sablesurfer said. If you do add another yeast I'd shy away from champagne yeast as its kind of a super yeast with a very high tolerance. I like Nottingham in here for a stronger alcohol dry mead (tolerance around 12% in my experience). I'd honestly recommend bottling this and doing another batch with a different yeast so you can blend and find the best balance for you. You can also look up stovetop pasteurization here on HBT if you want to go that route (carbonated and sweet still) but you should know it has its own serious risks as well.
 
CrownedBee said:
Hi everyone!

My husband and I started brewing three batches of JAO at the beginning of January: 2 x 1 gallons (one with cinnamon, the other without) and 1 x 6 gallon with cinnamon. Here are pictures of the two 1 gallon batches.


Without cinnamon


With cinnamon

I tried a sip of the 1 gallon with cinnamon, and whew, it's strong! You guys weren't kidding about the cloves! It has such potential, though, and we have a tasting bottle marked for 6 weeks out. I can't wait to try it again.

Speaking of not being able to wait, our 6 gallon batch is very nearly clear. We plan to rack it off into another 6 gallon carboy to make bottling easier. Then we'll be starting the blueberry vanilla variation in the 6 gallon and several 1 gallon variations (I think we might start with grapefruit, though tangelo is very intriguing).

Any recommendations on what 1 gallon variations we should try first, or tips and tricks to getting the berry-to-spice ratios correct?
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Wow, that just looks sweet in the bottle. My first patch is at 1.5 months and is just starting to clear up. Can't wait. I will probably start a second batch the moment I bottle the first.
 
sablesurfer said:
Eh...well this is one part of the instructions I take liberty with only because I am short of vessels this size. I rack out of my 1.25gal plastic bottles, when clear but oranges still floating, and into 1gal glass. Then that bulk ages for a long while still.

Overall the point to me is the length of aging before bottling. You can easily just leave it in secondary for many months more, I have. But bottling too early could leave it without a bit of the mellowness that comes from bulk aging. (<----complete supposition that is not supported by any testing.)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advise! I'll rack to secondary...I'm in no rush.:mug:
 
TorMag said:
Wow, that just looks sweet in the bottle. My first patch is at 1.5 months and is just starting to clear up. Can't wait. I will probably start a second batch the moment I bottle the first.
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I know - it's just gorgeous in the bottle! It's amazing to see the transformation of it in the carboy, too. It gets a noticeably clearer every day. Did you use the standard recipe, or make any mods to it?
 
CrownedBee said:
I know - it's just gorgeous in the bottle! It's amazing to see the transformation of it in the carboy, too. It gets a noticeably clearer every day. Did you use the standard recipe, or make any mods to it?
Click to expand...

I went with the standard recipe for the first batch. I've got it in two .5 gallon mason jars that I have airlocks for.
 
sablesurfer said:
Eh...well this is one part of the instructions I take liberty with only because I am short of vessels this size. I rack out of my 1.25gal plastic bottles, when clear but oranges still floating, and into 1gal glass. Then that bulk ages for a long while still.

Overall the point to me is the length of aging before bottling. You can easily just leave it in secondary for many months more, I have. But bottling too early could leave it without a bit of the mellowness that comes from bulk aging. (<----complete supposition that is not supported by any testing.)
Click to expand...

I'm kind of in the same position. This week will mark 3 months since I started. The mead is rapidly clearing up (I'd call it "hazy" now), the raisins and cinnamon stick are at the bottom, but the orange chunks are floating along the top. There's pressure in the airlock, but no active bubbling. Because I have 7 lbs of raw honey just sitting around and limited carboys, I'm thinking of racking it to a one-gallon plastic jug next week and letting it mellow in my basement over the summer before racking it again and bottling it.
 
So I racked my JAOM from it's plastic water jug into a glass jug. The O.G. was 1.118, now its 0.994. I'm impressed with the bread yeast.. Now that it's gonna set for awhile to clear should I use a airlock or just keep a cap on it?
 
olephart said:
So I racked my JAOM from it's plastic water jug into a glass jug. The O.G. was 1.118, now its 0.994. I'm impressed with the bread yeast.. Now that it's gonna set for awhile to clear should I use a airlock or just keep a cap on it?
Click to expand...

You should be able to put the cap on at this point. There is not more sugar for a yeasty to eat. You had some hearty bread yeast.

That said, an airlock won't hurt if you remember to keep it filled, and a glass gallon jug will not withstand much pressure.

I would put an airlock on it just to be on the extra safe side.
 
this just keeps getting better

IMG_20160329_234052801.jpg
 
So, just racked my first gallon! :ban:
It picked up some of the lees, so it's a little cloudy again. First taste impression: ORANGE, ORANGE, ORANGE! I'm a little surprised given that I added a stick of cinnamon, cloves, and allspice.
I didn't have a hydrometer when I started, so I don't have an ABV, but it does pack a wallop!
I'm going to let it settle a few days before I pack it away for the summer!
 
TrekMedic said:
So, just racked my first gallon! :ban:
It picked up some of the lees, so it's a little cloudy again. First taste impression: ORANGE, ORANGE, ORANGE! I'm a little surprised given that I added a stick of cinnamon, cloves, and allspice.
I didn't have a hydrometer when I started, so I don't have an ABV, but it does pack a wallop!
I'm going to let it settle a few days before I pack it away for the summer!
Click to expand...


You can use a recipe program and just assume it's starting gravity is right while plugging in your measured final gravity. That should give you a good number that won't vary too much from reality.
 
Hey, guys!

I'm really excited to try this!

However, where I live we only have access to 5 liter containers (about 1 1/4 gallon).
Is it okay if I use the exact same recipe, compensating only the water?

Thanks!
 
FaelanQ said:
Hey, guys!

I'm really excited to try this!

However, where I live we only have access to 5 liter containers (about 1 1/4 gallon).
Is it okay if I use the exact same recipe, compensating only the water?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Honestly you do not need to fill up the whole container. During the initial fermentation the CO2 buildup will push all the O2 out. Then if you never really disturb the container all that CO2 will stay because it is heavier than 'air'. It will stay as a blanket.

The only reason to fill a container to the neck is if you move the liquid post fermentation. That is when the protective layer of CO2 is lost and 'air' with some O2 can get in there.

If you are really freaked out about it, here in the US, get one of those small CO2 canisters for filling bike tires or little air guns. Then you can shoot some CO2 into the container.

TireInflationKit5.jpg


That last bit is what I always do when going to secondary, into bottling buckets. Then put your transfer hose down under the blanket of CO2 gas and transfer.
 


Just pitched my grapefruit variant of JAOM last night, and took a picture this morning. I got rid of all the pith, so hopefully it won't be too bitter with just the peel and the fruit. It always amazes me how fast the bread yeast gets to work!
 
A few pics from my first batch before I store it in the basement for the summer.

The first racking came out too cloudy because I forgot to filter it
The second pic shows it after settling after a week on the kitchen counter
The third shows the muck from when I racked it out of the original carboy.

JAOM Navel 1.jpg


JAOM Navel 2.jpg


JAOM Navel 3.jpg
 
Firstly apologies for asking this, as I'm pretty damned sure it's been asked before... Just don't have the time to skim the 250+ pages on this thread.

What's the process for bottling this up? I assume that since the yeast crap out pretty quickly that it's a matter of waiting for it to clear up (2-6 months) and then bottling as per usual.

Is there any need to pasteurize the bottles as the yeast has likely all died off?
Hopefully starting a batch of this tonight or tomorrow!
 
psylent777 said:
What's the process for bottling this up? I assume that since the yeast crap out pretty quickly that it's a matter of waiting for it to clear up (2-6 months) and then bottling as per usual.

Is there any need to pasteurize the bottles as the yeast has likely all died off?
Click to expand...

Sigh, all the new guys...lol.

Actually, it probably hasn't 'died' exactly, it is just at its alcohol tolerance. You could probably pitch the yeast again just like beer, but it is only bread yeast.

Let it clear, bottle it. It is supposed to be still. Unless you add a higher powered yeast then it should be fine.
 
Haha, I'll openly admit to being a newbie. I've brewed a few batches of beer and dabbled with ciders but never meads. Been unfortunate to have a few bottle bombs so I always like nailing every detail down before trying something new.

Thanks for the heads up!
 
psylent777 said:
Haha, I'll openly admit to being a newbie. I've brewed a few batches of beer and dabbled with ciders but never meads. Been unfortunate to have a few bottle bombs so I always like nailing every detail down before trying something new.

Thanks for the heads up!
Click to expand...


Ha! I get this. Really tho, Yoopers original post is probably the most important one, if not really the only one you absolutely should read. Follow those instructions, you get good mead. Simple.
Once you get JAOM down good, then the other threads can lead you in a lot of different directions to whatever your personal preferences are.
As always, relax and have fun with it. In the end you will always end up with beer/cider/mead.
 
psylent777 said:
What's the process for bottling this up? I assume that since the yeast crap out pretty quickly that it's a matter of waiting for it to clear up (2-6 months) and then bottling as per usual.
Click to expand...

My experience, and temperature was probably a BIG factor, was the yeast didn't "crap out quickly." In fact, after 2 1/2 months, it was still actively bubbling along. I ended up finally racking it around the first week of April, in part because it had stopped bubbling and was mostly clear. I left it settle some more for a week and, lo and behold, it started bubbling again. Because Mother Nature decided to throw a temper(ature) tantrum and make it snow after a week of 70 degree warmth, I was able to put it in my garage to cold crash it over the past weekend. I've since placed it in another gallon container and put it away in my basement for the summer. I'm hoping to start bottling it for the holidays.
 
Going to try this low gravity, just to see.

3lbs of honey from a farmers market CSA farm
1 full sized grapefruit
- Sliced it in cross sections instead of quarters, I want more citrus juice exposed to mead
- One half of the grapefruit, I scored up the skin a lot to get more citrus oils exposed
1 sm handful of grapes
1 stick cinnamon snapped in three
2 allspice berries crushed between fingers

And...out of style
8oz of some remaining 180 syrup that was laying around

Made a 2gallon batch with this. OG = 1.054, so looking at 5% if fully attenuates. It will follow the standard length of aging and clearing as it is supposed to.

Things that could be issues:
- might be too thin since the yeast can easily handle this ABV
- might be too dilute honey wise since double the liquid

But, wanted to see what would happen. If it is ok, I might even force carbonate in a keg.
 
Mines been in for over 2 months and still cloudy and fruit is still floating. The yeast activity is done, airlock has settled. I had plenty of airlock activity for a long time. I guess it is time to rack it to a secondary.
 
Mines been in for over 2 months and still cloudy and fruit is still floating. The yeast activity is done, airlock has settled. I had plenty of airlock activity for a long time. I guess it is time to rack it to a secondary.
Click to expand...

My 6 gallon cleared after 3 months and the fruit never fell. My 1 gallons cleared in 2 months and, again, the fruit didn't fall. I'm learning that the time it takes for this recipe to clear is a "your mileage may vary" guesstimate. I doubt racking will hurt it, but I think you could just as easily let it sit!
 
Well, we transferred our JAOM variant over to secondary last night. Gallery here, sorry for potato quality.

The Rock and Rye theme I was going for worked out really well. It took on exactly the flavor profile I had hoped for, and is surprisingly drinkable for a young mead. It's sweet, with an orange spice flavor on the front and the taste of cherries following shortly after. There is no pithiness from the orange rind, which I know some people have complained about.

We also experimented by adding a pour of Rye whiskey to a small glass of mead. I thought it definitely added a lot to the taste, but I'm reluctant to bulk age them together. I can always add Rye later, I can't take it out (and it's good enough I'd hate to ruin a good thing).

All in all, this has been a much more successful endeavor than our first mead (Mindbender Metheglin). Now we wait.
 
I started a blueberry vanilla variant of JAO. 6 gallons with 1lb frozen blueberries per gallon and 6 tsp (or was it tablespoons...) of vanilla extract. Here it is when it first started fermenting. We've since topped it off with water, and it's going strong.

It did something weird, though: the honey separated from the water and sank to the bottom. I know this isn't unusual for this recipe, but my first attempt at traditional JAO stayed in solution. Oh well! :mug:

 
iSynic said:
Well, we transferred our JAOM variant over to secondary last night. Gallery here, sorry for potato quality.

The Rock and Rye theme I was going for worked out really well. It took on exactly the flavor profile I had hoped for, and is surprisingly drinkable for a young mead. It's sweet, with an orange spice flavor on the front and the taste of cherries following shortly after. There is no pithiness from the orange rind, which I know some people have complained about.
Click to expand...

Did you, or can you, post your Rock-And-Rye recipe? Sounds like something I might try next.:mug:
 
TrekMedic said:
Did you, or can you, post your Rock-And-Rye recipe? Sounds like something I might try next.:mug:
Click to expand...

Absolutely!

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=7471370&postcount=2514

  • 5 Gallon Batch
  • 18 lbs. fresh local clover honey
  • 8 smallish Blood Oranges cut into eighths (about 3-4 lbs worth, only used blood oranges for color so feel free to sub them out for another variety)
  • Zest from 1 Lemon
  • 1 bag of sweet/tart dried cherries (probably 50-60 cherries). They should be sticky, not totally dehydrated.
  • 4 sticks of cinnamon
  • 2 whole cloves
  • 1 Star Anise
  • 1/2 oz of Horehound
  • EC1118 Yeast

Similar to JAOM, let sit for 6-8 weeks until it's mostly clear. Mine was still slightly opaque after 7 weeks but we racked it off and it cleared in less than 4 hours in secondary.

You can drink by itself, add rye whiskey (or whiskey soaked wood) to secondary, or make a cocktail with it. If you try it, let me know how it goes! This is my first original recipe.
 
CrownedBee said:
My 6 gallon cleared after 3 months and the fruit never fell. My 1 gallons cleared in 2 months and, again, the fruit didn't fall. I'm learning that the time it takes for this recipe to clear is a "your mileage may vary" guesstimate. I doubt racking will hurt it, but I think you could just as easily let it sit!
Click to expand...

I started mine in November 2015, and kept waiting for the fruit to fall. The raisins never did, and my notes don't include when the orange did. I bottled and sampled yesterday, and although my wife finds the alcohol flavor unpleasant, I think I like it.
 

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