Joe's Ancient Orange Mead

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TasunkaWitko said:
Thanks, guys - I started this tonight and I think it will turn out good.

A couple of deviations, more from necessity than anything else:

The amount of honey I used was probably an ounce or three shy of 3.5 pounds, but I am sure it will be fine. The biggest share of it was raw, unfiltered Montana honey, while half a pound of it was a blend of Montana honey and Montana huckleberry, just because that is what I had on hand.

I grated what looked like a pinch of nutmeg off of a whole...nugget? Nut? I am not sure what it is called. It might have been a bit more, but I am sure this will be fine, too.

I wanted to zest and then juice the orange, but couldn't find one part of my juicer that was needed; so, I zested it, then peeled it (pulling off any substantial "strings" of pith), then cut the segments into chunks and tossed everything in. My logic was that this would be much easier to remove from the fermenter, and also would eliminate any potential bitterness from the pith. My son, who has made this before, said that he noticed no bitterness when he made his (pith and all), but by then I had already done it, so we will see how it goes. It will be fine, I am sure.

Having no Fleischmann's yeast, I used a generous teaspoon of "Western Family" yeast, which is distributed by a regional grocery chain. As with everything else above, I am willing to bet that this will be fine.

Between the honey and about half a gallon of water (i used a local spring water that makes great beer), I had about 3/4 of the fermenter filled by the time I was finished. I will leave this alone for 3 days or so until the most active period of fermentation is complete, then will top up to a gallon.

More as it happens, etc. &c...

Ron
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I bottled this mead last night, and I believe it is going to be pretty good!

The bottling went fairly well; I got about 4.5 bottles out of the total gallon, which is pretty good considering that there was a lot of "sediment" in there from the yeast, the orange zest/pulp, the raisins etc. Bread yeast does not flocculate very well, meaning that it does not settle and pack down the way other brewing and vintning yeasts will do. I did "cold-crash" the fermenter for a couple of days, and this helped quite a bit to settle the yeast down.

The half-bottle was sampled and we were pretty impressed with it. I think with a little bit of aging it will be really good. It might be a very wee bit sweet for my taste, but I certainly will not criticize it. The recipe - as written - tells you to include the orange peel for a reason; this is, I believe, in order to balance the inherent sweetness of this mead. I departed from that instruction, so the consequences are mine. Having said that, it tastes pretty good, anyway!

I'll give it a month or two to settle from the "bottle shock," then will see how it is. The bulk of this mead will be held in reserve until Christmastime, when it will, I think, be a welcome part of the holiday cheer.

Ron
 
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Excellent, can be a little hard to get the residual sweetness just right on this as the yeast doesn't appear to be very consistent. I have had it go from about 8% up to almost 12% ABV. So one back can be sweet at 3 lb honey per gallon and the next not so much. But it is never bad.
 
Just racked mine off the fruit and yeast after 2 months and 2 weeks so I can bottle it. It was really good, orange was coming through strong but not overly bitter from the pith.
 
I just racked my first JAOM off the fruit, and put all the yeast and mixed up mead from the bottom of the jug into a water bottle. After being in the fridge for a couple days it cleared up nice for me to taste it. It's a little hot but I am very impressed. It's freaking delicious. This will be great thru the summer.

I started another one January 25th with the full amount of specified spices. I'm saving it for Christmas. I'm the only person in my family to have mead so I'm hoping it's a real treat for them.
 
SIRMIGHTYBALLS said:
Hey guys do you know if store bought chocolate covered cherries would work in mead or would their ingredients hurt it?
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Probably should look at the ingredients and research individually.

It might make more sense to just add cherry and chocolate by some other means.

:off: This thread is for a particular recipe involving neither of those ingredients, might want to start your own thread for more advice.

Cheers
 
This is probably my 10th batch of JAOM and this is a first for me. It has been over two months now and I still have fermentation. I never did have a vigorous fermentation but for the last month at least it has been one bubble per 30 to 45 seconds. Fruit is all floating and I don't see any nasty to indicate mold or bacteria. It just keeps bubbling along.

A few days ago I started measuring and recording the bubble interval so I can see if it is slowing down. I will let it go, but just wanted to let others who might read this know that if your batch does not clear and the fruit drop in 2 months, don't worry. Seems consistency is not a JAOM trait.
 
Just made this (kinda).

I did one gallon with just honey, an orange, and a cinnamon stick. I did the other gallon with honey, an orange, and two cloves.

Letting it cool now and pitching yeast in a bit. Never made it before so I’m looking forward to trying it in a few months!
 
RPh_Guy said:
I'd wager you'll find your JAOM a lot more palatable.
Cheers
Click to expand...

So, I jumped the gun by 4 days, racked it to a separate gallon to clear a little in the frig before final bottling. It tastes amazing. 100% followed the recipe up to and including keeping it upstairs where its warmer. I will be putting on another batch of this as soon as i have the supplies.

With regard to comparing it to Viking Blood, its hard to say its any better or worse. It certainly has a lot of flavors going on, its not as high alcohol (but i didn't measure anything so i hve no idea what it actually is), but I think they're both good in their own way. lovin it.
 
TasunkaWitko said:
I bottled this mead last night, and I believe it is going to be pretty good!

The bottling went fairly well; I got about 4.5 bottles out of the total gallon, which is pretty good considering that there was a lot of "sediment" in there from the yeast, the orange zest/pulp, the raisins etc. Bread yeast does not flocculate very well, meaning that it does not settle and pack down the way other brewing and vintning yeasts will do. I did "cold-crash" the fermenter for a couple of days, and this helped quite a bit to settle the yeast down.

The half-bottle was sampled and we were pretty impressed with it. I think with a little bit of aging it will be really good. It might be a very wee bit sweet for my taste, but I certainly will not criticize it. The recipe - as written - tells you to include the orange peel for a reason; this is, I believe, in order to balance the inherent sweetness of this mead. I departed from that instruction, so the consequences are mine. Having said that, it tastes pretty good, anyway!

I'll give it a month or two to settle from the "bottle shock," then will see how it is. The bulk of this mead will be held in reserve until Christmastime, when it will, I think, be a welcome part of the holiday cheer.

Ron
Click to expand...

Well, everyone - I am going to call this a success!

0NQojIX.jpg


The mead is actually much more clear than the photo indicates; I took several pictures, but the one that turned out best was from the last glass that we poured, so a little bit of sediment had kicked up; considering the bread yeast that is used, it only takes a little to affect the clarity.

The taste, in my opinion, is what counts, and this was very good. The spices were in perfect balance, for me, and the honey came through beautifully. I know that by mead standards this is very young, but I honestly don't see why it can't be enjoyed - and enjoyed very much - at this stage.

As noted above, the only major departure from the recipe/method is that I used orange zest rather than whole peel; this worked well for me, but it was probably a mite sweet, compared to what it "should" be. I liked it this way, but the next time I make it I will use the whole peel; Ill then compare the results and go forward with what I prefer.

Other than that, I wouldn't change anything. The orange and spice are spectacular here, and make a very drinkable mead. I have a good supply left that I will "try" to save for Christmas, but it may not last that long.

If you want to dip your toes into meadmaking, this is a great gateway and worth a shot; just remember that it does break a lot of "rules," but if you follow it, you will end up with good results.
 
I've started a 2nd batch while awaiting my first to clear in the frig. This time I used a blood orange, hoping for a little different color.
 
Well, this run just finished a week ago and it is fantastic once again. I am so very happy I found this recipe, and I'll raise a glass to Joe for gifting us with this fine recipe. Skoal!
 
Started a batch Feb 5, in a Mr Beer, my first attempt at mead. Looks to be super clear right now, but the fruit is still floating and looks to have a little white gunk on the exposed portions. Pulled a shot through the spigot and of course it clouded from the yeasties at the bottom, and it smelled like orange rocket fuel.

Should I bottle and age? Leave it in the Mr Beer?
 
Wortwood said:
Started a batch Feb 5, in a Mr Beer, my first attempt at mead. Looks to be super clear right now, but the fruit is still floating and looks to have a little white gunk on the exposed portions. Pulled a shot through the spigot and of course it clouded from the yeasties at the bottom, and it smelled like orange rocket fuel.

Should I bottle and age? Leave it in the Mr Beer?
Click to expand...
You could cold crash it which would probably drop the fruit. If it is clear I would go ahead and bottle.
 
I racked mine off the fruit to a secondary carboy when it cleared and let it settle again for a week or so, then bottled. It was crystal clear but not very drinkable so I tucked it away to age for a year. Hopefully it will get better.
 
13 Nov. 2017
Have done ciders last year (approx 3g) and this year (approx 11g so far). Had the supplies on hand so I decided to try a mead. Followed the recipe for Joe's Ancient Orange Mead here on Homebrewtalk.com. Only change was I changed out the bread yeast for some US-05. Added a couple of allspice but no nutmeg.

Have never had mead before so should be interesting. Mixed it up late yesterday evening. Pics below are from this morning.

i-29hbvvz-L.jpg
i-RcQzpDL-M.jpg


i-wf5HmBL-L.jpg
i-2szQmPr-L.jpg



22 May 2018
Well, I finally got around to bottling it. Got (8) 12oz bottles out of it with a little left over. The JAOM was interesting. As mentioned, I have never had mead before so wasn't sure what to expect. I do like it though. There is still just a hint of orange rind (I think, or maybe it is one of the spices) in the taste. Hoping that will mellow now that it is in bottles and off the fruit. Still, very drinkable. No idea what the ABV is. Not even sure if it is any good as a mead but I am liking it and will definitely be doing a few more batches once I get some large mouth carboys. Huge thanks for the recipe!

Little bit of light shining through the little bit of leftover mead. Hopefully the húsvættir likes the mead. I put some in the offering bowl on the alter for them.
i-2trL2Ch-M.jpg


In picture below, the capped bottles are cherry cider (see below) and the AOM is waiting to be capped (was capped right after picture was taken).
i-gQCC3hn-L.jpg


Now the "fun" part... figuring out how to get all that fruit out of the bottom of the carboy. Note to self... If, nay when I do this style of mead again, I WILL use large mouth carboys or better yet one of those SS BrewTech Brew Buckets (conical fermenters).
i-8fvzCHC-L.jpg


Also bottled a gallon of cherry cider that I started last October. Got 9 bottles out of that batch. Turned out really good. DW is already plotting to steal some and mix it with club soda or something to make it bubbly. Now to find the time to bottle the 10g+ of cider I still have in carboys.
 
Hiya Wy Not - and welcome. The thing is that JAOM needs to be followed to the letter for the mead to come out as JAOM. Bread yeast is supposed to leave the mead with some residual sugar and the residual sugar counter balances the bitterness from the pith of the oranges. JAOM is a novelty mead and not a beginner's mead. JAOM counter-intuitively makes use of everything we know about mead making but does so in the same way an illusionist plays with a deck of cards.
 
bernardsmith said:
not a beginner's mead
Click to expand...
How so? It was my beginner mead! Followed the instructions exactly (dump everything in, watch it bubble) and it turned out fantastic! (Very good at bottling, excellent at 6 months... in my opinion).
The orange I used had been stored cold for several months and the honey was a nice wildflower variety.
bernardsmith said:
JAOM counter-intuitively makes use of everything we know about mead making but does so in the same way an illusionist plays with a deck of cards.
Click to expand...
I love this :)
 
Yeah. What @RPh_Guy said. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. There is residual sweetness (if I wanted syrup I'd drink a dessert wine), the pithiness is almost non-existent, the flavors of the orange, spices, and honey blend nicely. I'll definitely be doing it again and in larger batches. If you want to call it something else because I used a different yeast, have at it. I may not have followed the letter of the recipe but I believe it followed the spirit of the recipe; combined all the ingredients and tucked it away in a cool, dark corner till it was nearly forgotten.

Seems like a beginner mead to me. Don't need any fancy/special ingredients, equipment, or procedures to get something that is very drinkable.
 
WY_Not said:
Seems like a beginner mead to me. Don't need any fancy/special ingredients, equipment, or procedures to get something that is very drinkable.
Click to expand...

If you say so. But what next mead you make uses any of the protocol of JAOM? So if it is a "beginner mead" what do you learn from making this that you can then apply to a different mead? It's a novelty mead.
 
It may not follow the protocol of other meads to the letter but it does let someone new to making get their feet wet as it were to see if doing this is something they actually have enough interest in (and patience) to continue. It covers the same basic steps; sanitizing, preparing the must, and adding yeast. Racking is not part of JAOM nor is fining technically although fining in JAOM is done with time and patience rather than some additive. Aging is there. As is bottling.
 
Sniped! But I'll post anyway...
bernardsmith said:
But what next mead you make uses any of the protocol of JAOM?
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Acquiring a fermentation vessel and airlock
Sanitation
Sourcing the honey
Measuring and pouring the honey
Diluting the honey and mixing
Aeration
Pitching yeast
Temperature control (ok, loosely)
Watching the bubbles
Patience, patience, patience
Hydrometer readings if you want
Racking (to bottling bucket)
Bottling
Aging
Drinking and enjoying a mead homebrew :)

It is a novelty, but also easy and introduces many concepts involved in more traditional methods, in my opinion.
What are we missing? Degassing, acid balance, nutrient additions, secondary, sulfites ...? Stuff beyond the basics/bare minimum.
 
Not impatient, just curious, more than anything.

I made this mead as the first mead I’ve ever made. I set a calendar event on my phone for two months after the day I made it. That was yesterday. The fruit is still floating, it hasn’t cleared at all, and I’m wondering if maybe I need to pitch more yeast or add a nutrient, or something.

Otherwise, I’m just gonna let it sit there until the fruit drops out. No rush on this one.
 
Cold crashing and/or waiting longer is your best bet for clarity if it's obviously done fermenting. Certain products can help if you want to go that route.

If it's still fermenting, just be patient ;)
 
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Last night I bottled my 1 gallon of JAOM on day 56. Got 4 bomber bottles and a 12oz ish glass. Clarity isn't great but I handled the jug like an idiot so thats on me, before moving it it had cleared out nicely after cold crash for two days. I addressed the inevitable "how do I get the fruit out of the jug?" by using the curved end of my auto siphon to pull out the oranges, fairly easy.

Did not take an OG or FG reading and followed the recipe to the letter besides using a pinch of ground clove instead of whole cloves. I did also add a half pinch of cayenne which I think just blends with the cinnamon warmth, pretty undetectable.

This stuff is delicious. Now this is my first tasting of mead, I have had a wine infused with some honey before but not a 100% mead. The cinnamon and orange pith balance the honey and sweetness pretty well, and this stuff is potent, my little last runs 12oz glass hit me pretty hard, but the flavor does not come across as too hot. I have a feeling these bottles are not going to last long I have to bury one in a closet somewhere to see how it ages. Next up I'll try using a better quality honey and blackberries, if I can get a good deal maybe I will step up to a 5 gallon batch and then split it with different variations.

Cheers, and thanks Joe!
 
Boomer said:
Not impatient, just curious, more than anything.

I made this mead as the first mead I’ve ever made. I set a calendar event on my phone for two months after the day I made it. That was yesterday. The fruit is still floating, it hasn’t cleared at all, and I’m wondering if maybe I need to pitch more yeast or add a nutrient, or something.

Otherwise, I’m just gonna let it sit there until the fruit drops out. No rush on this one.
Click to expand...

Nominal time for the JAOM is about 100 days. The pic in my avatar was at 30 days, the fruit fell in 75 days and I bottled at about 90 days. But figure 100.
 
Maylar said:
Nominal time for the JAOM is about 100 days. The pic in my avatar was at 30 days, the fruit fell in 75 days and I bottled at about 90 days. But figure 100.
Click to expand...



Sounds good, thanks! One of my fermenters has cleared up nicely; but, the fruit is still floating. The other is still pretty hazy. Wondering if I need to throw some more yeast into that one.
 
Yooper said:
Ancient Orange Mead (by Joe Mattioli)
1 gallon batch

3 1/2 lbs Clover or your choice honey or blend (will finish sweet)
1 Large orange (later cut in eights or smaller rind and all)
1 small handful of raisins (25 if you count but more or less ok)
1 stick of cinnamon
1 whole clove ( or 2 if you like - these are potent critters)
optional (a pinch of nutmeg and allspice )( very small )
1 teaspoon of Fleishmann’s bread yeast ( now don't get holy on me--- after all this is an ancient mead and that's all we had back then)
Balance water to one gallon

Process:
Use a clean 1 gallon carboy
Dissolve honey in some warm water and put in carboy
Wash orange well to remove any pesticides and slice in eights --add orange (you can push em through opening big boy -- rinds included -- its ok for this mead -- take my word for it -- ignore the experts)

Put in raisins, clove, cinnamon stick, any optional ingredients and fill to 3 inches from the top with cold water. ( need room for some foam -- you can top off with more water after the first few day frenzy)

Shake the heck out of the jug with top on, of course. This is your sophisticated aeration process.

When at room temperature in your kitchen, put in 1 teaspoon of bread yeast. ( No you don't have to rehydrate it first-- the ancients didn't even have that word in their vocabulary-- just put it in and give it a gentle swirl or not)(The yeast can fight for their own territory)

Install water airlock. Put in dark place. It will start working immediately or in an hour. (Don't use grandma's bread yeast she bought years before she passed away in the 90's)( Wait 3 hours before you panic or call me) After major foaming stops in a few days add some water and then keep your hands off of it. (Don't shake it! Don't mess with them yeastees! Let them alone except its okay to open your cabinet to smell every once in a while.

Racking --- Don't you dare
additional feeding --- NO NO
More stirring or shaking -- Your not listening, don't touch

After 2 months and maybe a few days it will slow down to a stop and clear all by itself. (How about that) (You are not so important after all) Then you can put a hose in with a small cloth filter on the end into the clear part and siphon off the golden nectar. If you wait long enough even the oranges will sink to the bottom but I never waited that long. If it is clear it is ready. You don't need a cold basement. It does better in a kitchen in the dark. (Like in a cabinet) likes a little heat (70-80). If it didn't work out... you screwed up and didn't read my instructions (or used grandma's bread yeast she bought years before she passed away) . If it didn't work out then take up another hobby. Mead is not for you. It is too complicated.
If you were successful, which I am 99% certain you will be, then enjoy your mead. When you get ready to make different mead you will probably have to unlearn some of these practices I have taught you, but hey--- This recipe and procedure works with these ingredients so don't knock it. It was your first mead. It was my tenth. Sometimes, even the experts can forget all they know and make good ancient mead.
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How much honey? Crap! That didn't sound right. LOL What amount of honey do we need to use? When I was a sergeant for different prisons, the inmates would make something called Pruno. Your recipe is a better quality of Pruno but that's what they called it. Instead of yeast, they used pieces of bread. Nasty smelling stuff and good God they were so drunk. Fights and riots every time. Always wanted to try it on my own. Grind up the orange peels so you can get em outta the bottle. Trying this as soon as I find out the quantity of honey.
 
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WY_Not said:
13 Nov. 2017
Have done ciders last year (approx 3g) and this year (approx 11g so far). Had the supplies on hand so I decided to try a mead. Followed the recipe for Joe's Ancient Orange Mead here on Homebrewtalk.com. Only change was I changed out the bread yeast for some US-05. Added a couple of allspice but no nutmeg.

Have never had mead before so should be interesting. Mixed it up late yesterday evening. Pics below are from this morning.

i-29hbvvz-L.jpg
i-RcQzpDL-M.jpg


i-wf5HmBL-L.jpg
i-2szQmPr-L.jpg



22 May 2018
Well, I finally got around to bottling it. Got (8) 12oz bottles out of it with a little left over. The JAOM was interesting. As mentioned, I have never had mead before so wasn't sure what to expect. I do like it though. There is still just a hint of orange rind (I think, or maybe it is one of the spices) in the taste. Hoping that will mellow now that it is in bottles and off the fruit. Still, very drinkable. No idea what the ABV is. Not even sure if it is any good as a mead but I am liking it and will definitely be doing a few more batches once I get some large mouth carboys. Huge thanks for the recipe!

Little bit of light shining through the little bit of leftover mead. Hopefully the húsvættir likes the mead. I put some in the offering bowl on the alter for them.
i-2trL2Ch-M.jpg


In picture below, the capped bottles are cherry cider (see below) and the AOM is waiting to be capped (was capped right after picture was taken).
i-gQCC3hn-L.jpg


Now the "fun" part... figuring out how to get all that fruit out of the bottom of the carboy. Note to self... If, nay when I do this style of mead again, I WILL use large mouth carboys or better yet one of those SS BrewTech Brew Buckets (conical fermenters).
i-8fvzCHC-L.jpg


Also bottled a gallon of cherry cider that I started last October. Got 9 bottles out of that batch. Turned out really good. DW is already plotting to steal some and mix it with club soda or something to make it bubbly. Now to find the time to bottle the 10g+ of cider I still have in carboys.
Click to expand...
Cutting smaller pieces of the rind should resolve that issue. So how did it taste and did it give you a buzz? Recipe for the cherry cider. Really want to try that. Gallon size.
 

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