Joe's Ancient Orange Mead

[2drunk2]

The hardest part.

 

[CreamyGoodness]

This is why I make rice wine, beer and skeeter pee whilst my meads age.

Except the okra mead. That abomination didnt make it to its "peak"

 

[2drunk2]

Haha! Beer will be brewed this weekend.

 

[tellyho]

And wait. Started a batch on June 26th and still bubbling strong under my kitchen table.


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[2drunk2]

This stuff bubbles forever doesn't it?

 

[hunter_le five]

This stuff bubbles forever doesn't it?

Congratulations, you just built the engine for a perpetual motion device. it will literally go on forever and ever. None of us have ever actually tasted JAOM, we're all still waiting for the fruit to drop.


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[2drunk2]

It doubles as an air freshener for my office.

 

[fuzzy2133]

It doubles as an air freshener for my office.

Dude you are giving me bad ideas! Hey boss please do not mind the mead that is fermenting in the corner...

 

[2drunk2]

My boss has never seen my office lol.

 

[Goofynewfie]

This is why I make rice wine, beer and skeeter pee whilst my meads age.

Except the okra mead. That abomination didnt make it to its "peak"

Yet.......

 

[plath]

Finally bottled my batch I started in April using d-47. Really enjoyed my sample so buying more supplies this weekend for batch #2...

 

[SiriusStarr]

Finally bottling my first batch after ~1 year in the fermenter. Talk about clear!

 

[2drunk2]

Wow!

 

[2drunk2]

How does it taste?

 

[Hanso]

Yea, I need to know if it's good because I've been waiting since the dot com bust for my fruit to drop.

 

[SiriusStarr]

It's VERY sweet. If I made it again I'd definitely make certain it ended up dryer, but I prefer my meads dry. If you like sweet meads, this will be up your alley. After a year, it's very smooth and the spices are definitely present but not overpowering. It should make a delicious winter drink, but too cloying for summer. (Disclaimer: I used temperature control and yeast nutrient, so no "jet fuel" here.)

 

[brewski09]

Mine was decent at a year in the bottle but should have gone longer.


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[madwilliamflint]

Mine was decent at a year in the bottle but should have gone longer.


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Mine is really dry and hot. I'm going to put it down and pretend to forget about it for quite a while hoping that it mellows out.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

Getting two batches of this together tonight or tomorrow. One will follow the recipe exactly, the other will use mango instead of orange.
Anyone have experience with mango? Considering adding some pectic enzyme to help break everything down but I might just let it ride and see where I end up.

 

[SiriusStarr]

Getting two batches of this together tonight or tomorrow. One will follow the recipe exactly, the other will use mango instead of orange.
Anyone have experience with mango? Considering adding some pectic enzyme to help break everything down but I might just let it ride and see where I end up.

I've been curious to try mango in a mead; let me know how it goes. My guess is it will fragment quite a bit. I just made a cider with guava and it was a terrible mistake, since I ended up with about 5 inches of non-compacting fruit sludge the bottom.

 

[CreamyGoodness]

Getting two batches of this together tonight or tomorrow. One will follow the recipe exactly, the other will use mango instead of orange.
Anyone have experience with mango? Considering adding some pectic enzyme to help break everything down but I might just let it ride and see where I end up.

I've done it. If memory serves it tasted nice and mango-ey and did have a bit of a haze (which I didnt care too much about). In my opinion, if you like sweet/fruity tasting meads (and have no competition aspirations), messing around with the JAOM recipe and simply swiping out the oranges for Fruit X isn't the worst plan in the world.

Disclaimer:

I know fatbloke disagrees with the above, and has said in the past that the only other fruit he had similar success with is lemons. He has a wealth of experience I simply dont have, so YMMV.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

I hadn't considered lemon, I might need to give that a shot sometime.
I'm hoping the pectic enzyme will help (maybe) with clearing, but unless something amazing happens this whole thing will be kept in house for personal consumption (my favorite kind of consumption).

 

[hio3791]

I made a batch back in September 2013. After 3 months, it was still hazy and had a strong honey/alcohol flavor to it. I left it alone in a dark spot in the basement. This past weekend, I decided to bring it out and give it a try.

First impression was the amazing clarity. Blonde to very light amber in color but truly crystal clear. The smell was clean, nothing overwhelming, a slight fruitiness to it.

I don't drink liquor and rarely drink wine, this is my first mead so it's hard to describe the flavor. Initial flavor was clean, slightly fruity but that may have been picked up in the aroma. The flavor was pleasant. I couldn't pick up honey. Then it was quickly followed by a much stronger sensation, like a brandy. It was warming.

I was expecting a honey/wine taste but was greeted by a strong liquor that is meant for sipping. I'll try again in the cold winter months.

 

[LondoThePoet]

Well, talk about beginners luck... My first batch of JAOM sat in the closet for just about a month before the fruit fell. I didn't get a hydrometer reading at the beginning, so I don't know what the ABV is, but it's strong. The flavor and viscosity remind me of Choya, a Japanese plum wine (Ulm fruit). I bottled it in beer bottles and have two left. I then started a 6 gal. batch with similar results, so far. About 5 - 6 weeks for the fruit to drop. I have it racked to two Mr. Beer fermenters for final settling and will bottle from there, this weekend. Oh, and with this batch, I did get the hydrometer readings: looking at about 16% ABV.

 

[2drunk2]

Wow! That's potent!

 

[madwilliamflint]

I've been curious to try mango in a mead; let me know how it goes. My guess is it will fragment quite a bit. I just made a cider with guava and it was a terrible mistake, since I ended up with about 5 inches of non-compacting fruit sludge the bottom.

I've got something like that going. I figure I'll be straining for a long time. Made the same mistake when I blended strawberries for my strawberry wine. I ended up racking off what I could relatively cleanly, then pouring the rest in one of those big 9" funnels with the strainer in the bottom. It was a bit of a headache, but I figure it's the cost of doing business with that much actual raw fruit.

 

[tellyho]

Any advantage to bottling at 2 months and letting things settle out in the bottle? Or transferring to a secondary (do people even do that with mead? I'm a beer brewer).


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[Cheesy_Goodness]

If fermentation is complete (and it probably is at that point) you can bottle then, but you will have sediment (and I suspect resulting off flavors) if the mead isn't clear at bottling. I typically transfer to secondary after a few months and let it settle to the point I can read small text through the fermenter.

 

[D_Nyholm]

Made a batch back in December and it is still sitting in the carboy. All the fruit has dropped but when I checked it a few months back it was 1.050. I threw some more yeast in it. Going to check it tonight and see if anything happened. Otherwise it is so darn sweet it is almost impossible to drink!

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

Getting two batches of this together tonight or tomorrow. One will follow the recipe exactly, the other will use mango instead of orange.
Anyone have experience with mango? Considering adding some pectic enzyme to help break everything down but I might just let it ride and see where I end up.

Got this put together tonight. Followed the recipe except:
1) Used mango instead (cut into approximate french fry shapes)
2) Added fruit, raisins, cinnamon, honey, and most of the water with 1 tsp pectic enzyme approximately 8 hours before pitching (I'll pitch around 5AM EST tomorrow).
3) I'll add 1/2 tsp of yeast nutrient when I pitch my rehydrated bread yeast tomorrow morning to make up for any lost magic from not using orange.

Hopefully it'll turn out. If not, I'll be out a few dollars of ingredients and a bit of time. I'll report back with results.