Joe's Ancient Orange Mead

[Yooper]

Made a batch of this last night... My first mead, ever.

I pitched the yeast when it was warm still. I'd guess about 110, or 115F. It was bubbling this morning, so hopefully I didn't kill too many of the yeasties...

Think pitching it at that high of a temp will screw it up too badly?

No, if it's fermenting, you're fine.

 

[michael88n]

Assembled my first batch last night. Two actually. Followed Yoop's recipe.

Has anyone had luck making three or five gal batches?

I followed Yoop's recipe and I was wondering what type of ingredient modifications had to be made rather than multiplying everything by three or five?

Thanks,
Michael

 

[summersolstice]

I've made a few 3 and 5 gallon batches and just multiplied everything but the yeast. They all turned out well.

 

[michael88n]

I've made a few 3 and 5 gallon batches and just multiplied everything but the yeast. They all turned out well.

Rog. Thanks.

It was pretty easy. And it is really fun to watch. No rhino farts, so it's kitchen friendly. How important is it to leave it in the dark? After a week or so I was going to put it in a dark closet. But for now, the kids like to watch it.

Cheers,
Michael

 

[flyweed]

I am wondering WHAT this ancient orange recipe would taste like if you used Orange Blossom Honey with it???? Hmmm......could be 'nother batch????

 

[Corey_James]

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.

Yooper, was wondering if tangerines would work? For some strange reason, I am allergic to oranges, but can eat a tangerine with no problems. Wouldn't mind trying this and changing it around a little. Thanks for the help.

 

[Ryan]

Has anyone used quickrise bread yeast before? Any reason why that wouldn't work?

 

[lordbeermestrength]

Has anyone used quickrise bread yeast before? Any reason why that wouldn't work?

I've heard you don't wanna use quickrise yeast... but can't remember why. I just looked it up earlier too and now I can't find the page...

 

[jayhuff]

I just made a batch of this just to give it a try. I have a buddy who makes mead and it is not something I am crazy about, but this seems too easy not to try! Thanks for the recipe. BTW, my OG was 1.14! Whoohoo!

 

[BCNbeer]

I just made a 2.5 gallon batch of this (in an old Mr. Beer). I kept everything the same, just upped the honey to 5 lbs. Has anyone been able to carb it, or is the bread yeast a little too weak at the end of fermentation?

 

[knipknup]

Yooper, was wondering if tangerines would work? For some strange reason, I am allergic to oranges, but can eat a tangerine with no problems. Wouldn't mind trying this and changing it around a little. Thanks for the help.

I'm sure any citrus would be fine. I am contemplating a batch with grapefruit. My batch turned out incredible. I have shared some bottles with others and have received raving reviews. I used the little orange things called Clementines. Personally, I would rather have the grapefruit flavor than the orange thing.

Go for it!

 

[dutchboy62]

I love Clementines. How many did you use for 1 gal they are kinda small. Im def trying this this weekend. Stupid ? honey doesn't go bad does it ? I bought some last year to make a mead and never got around to it. It will stil be good right?

 

[knipknup]

I'm not sure about the honey and how long it lasts. I will defer that question to the experts.

On the other hand, Clementines are sold here in a bag that holds around 20 of them. I am sure I used about half the bag for five gallons. I cut them into quarters and pushed them into the carboy. I may have cut the quarters again to make little pieces but don't remember exactly. My goal was to make them small enough to get the pieces out later. I did peel any stickers off the peels and wash them but I also added them peels and all.

The mead turned out very nice. It is still pretty young and will get better with age. I really believe the key was the yeast I used. It was some dry packet of mead yeast that finished perfectly in my opinion.

The citrus is reasonably subtle and the mead is not too sweet or dry. Nice balance.

However, the next batch I do will be with grapefruit - the essence of citrus perfection!

 

[ContinentalDrifter]

Has anyone tried JAOM/MAOM with buckwheat honey? Also, on a different note, I'm thinking of making a batch that's a bit more summery and so I want to use ginger instead of cinnamon, cloves, etc.

Any thoughts?

 

[Yooper]

I love Clementines. How many did you use for 1 gal they are kinda small. Im def trying this this weekend. Stupid ? honey doesn't go bad does it ? I bought some last year to make a mead and never got around to it. It will stil be good right?

Honey doesn't seem to go bad- it does tend to crystalize after a bit, though. If your honey crystalizes, you can just either microwave it on low for about 30 seconds, until it's liquid again, or place the container in some warm/hot water.

Has anyone tried JAOM/MAOM with buckwheat honey? Also, on a different note, I'm thinking of making a batch that's a bit more summery and so I want to use ginger instead of cinnamon, cloves, etc.

Any thoughts?

I'm not a buckwheat honey fan- but if you like it, why not try it? I'm sure there are others that have made mead with it, too. If you want to use ginger, that would be fine, I'm sure. Ginger is strong though, so maybe look over Charlie Papazians "Barkshack Ginger Mead" recipe, to see if your ingredients are in line for a nice mead.

 

[NikolausXX]

I made the recipe exactly as posted as my first mead. I let it go a little above the shoulder of a 4l jug. I topped up the water after a week to halfway up the neck, man did this thing take off. I got orange pithy foam going through my sbubble airlock. I have it in a 2 gallon stock pot incase it overflows! Im not to worried about it, was amazed at how that "woke it up". I probably shouldnt have as much water in there.

Edit, woke up this morning and the foaming has stopped, but still fermenting strong, to the closet it goes.

 

[jharres]

So is clarity the sign of finishing on this mead? I ask because mine is getting clear and it's only be in the fermenter for a little over a month. My ambient temp has been around 69 degrees, so I don't think the temp is an issue.

 

[bigfloppybunny]

Is sterilizing necessary when making mead? It wasn't mention in the recipe, but is that because it is implied? Also, about how much honey is 3.5 lbs? I don't have a small scale.

 

[brianmp]

b.f.bunny - you should practice sanitization when cleaning out the container you are fermenting this in. If you need help with this, check out this link: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/what-sanitisers-cleaners-used-43688/
for ways to sanitize. It really helped me out. Also, make sure you clean the orange really well as you will be putting the whole thing into the container for fermentation. I'm actually making mine right now, and I'm boiling the water used for dissolving the honey to make sure it is clean.
About the honey, if you go to the store (I went to WalMart) you will see the weight of honey written on the side of the containers. I used a container of 3lbs of honey and I think that should be enough for the recipe.

 

[bigfloppybunny]

I think I'm gonna make this in my Mr. Beer. How many gallons does that hold? do I need to double the amount of yeast if I make more than one gallon?

 

[Yooper]

I think I'm gonna make this in my Mr. Beer. How many gallons does that hold? do I need to double the amount of yeast if I make more than one gallon?

I think the Mr. Beer keg is around 2-2.5 gallons. You don't need to double the yeast, that's enough yeast.

 

[bob1852]

Thanks for posting this Yooper. I'm gonna try this as well...

just picked up some gallon jugs and other stuff in Colorado Springs and will be starting some ancient meads when I get home in a couple days!

Maybe ready for the summer soltice?

 

[Eves]

Just whipped up another batch the only thing I did different was split the raisins & I zested the orange and then peeled it chopped it up finer and smashed the cinnamon stick. I figured maybe more surface area should = more orange/spice flavor.

My last batch had no bitter/pithy taste at all from the orange , just hoping the smaller orange & raisin pieces will fall sooner and make for easier racking.

Here is a shot inside the jug before adding the honey.

Has anyone determined if removing the rind (using only the zest and orange 'meat') helped or hurt their version of the Ancient Orange Mead? I'm planning on making a batch in the next couple days and am curious if SuperiorBrew's idea of skipping the rind was a good idea.

 

[flyweed]

FWIW..I've made two batches of this now..one using the JAOM recipe and the other using MAOM (only uses orange zest, not any of the white pulp)

I prefer MAOM...they both are good, but the MAOM doesn't have any of that white bittery pith taste that the white part of the orange can leave behind.

Dan

 

[Brew-boy]

Not my first mead, actually this is my third mead that I will have made. This recipe looks tasty easy and fun. I hope mine comes out as good as the recipe looks, thanks for posting.

 

[bob1852]

I'm in as well...

too simple and cheap and fun not to try...

 

[Eves]

I started a 2 gallon batch on Thursday. Outside of using only the zest and 'meat' (no white peel) I followed the recipe as stated. However, I am curious about the fermenting temp. Originally I put the mead fermentor in my normal brewing nook where I ferment my beers. Then after a day I realized that might be too cold (around 66-68). So I moved the fermentor upstairs to a closet where it is definitely warmer.

Am I correct in assuming warmer temps (~75) is better for this mead?

 

[joejaz]

Yoop, how long does this take to actually ferment out. Is the 2 months to condition it? Made a gallon batch in Mr Beer the other day and of course I had to taste some 3 days later. Tasted rather good but sweet, don't know if that's the honey still fermenting. Also thinking about using the same ingredients in a batch of apfelwein, what do you think?

 

[RugenBrau]

Could you use S0 4 with this or would it completely change the taste? I've neve rmade a mead before but this one is intriguing.

 

[BallJar]

So even a 5 gallon batch is left in the primary fermenter for the full two months?