Joe's Ancient Orange Mead

[truckmann]

I recently finished 2 batches, one with bread yeast and one with D-47. While they both turned out great my wife and I both prefer the D-47 batch as it has a cleaner flavor. The bread yeast also seems more solvent but not bad.

 

[ruger12pk]

And thats not really surprising. I mean, D-47 is like THE one to use in almost all Meads. The bread yeast by design would have to leave a bit of a yeasty flavor in the mix. I alternate between D-47, Kv-1116 and 1118 for the most part. Im also using the Ken shramm method of mead making. Im just making a nice JAOM but without the oranges until its still. I treat it like a regular show mead and then when its about a month old Ill rack it off the lees and transfer it into my brew bucket for the 2nd month with the oranges suspended in a hops bag....Ill get back to you on that..but I suspect it will be every bit as good if not better as I have more control over the amount of orange taste I want.

 

[craigbrew]

I made this on 7-19-09. It is my first mead. bottled it the other day. The sample was good. I took a bottle to a brew club meeting and it got some good reviews. At that meeting we have the best in show winner of the Michigan state fair there with his winning mead. I thought they both tasted good. His mead was not this recipe but it was a sweet mead.

 

[IrregularPulse]

Just wait until it's 6-8 months old. 3 months is pretty young for this stuff. It'll be even better.

 

[Jo_Jo_Ma]

Please forgive my noob questions. I honestly have no idea what I'm doing.

So, for my first attempt at a mead, I followed the JAOM...except, I didn't use bread yeast, but 1 teaspoon of Red Star Champagne. I didn't hydrate it - just tossed it in with the rest of the ingredients. It's been 3+ hours and no airlock activity, where everything I read said that fermentation would begin immediately. Is it because of the yeast? Should I have hydrated it first? Did I shock it with all that honey? If it doesn't start up soon, should I add bread yeast or will that just make it :cross: ?

Oh, I maybe should also mention that I'm using a 1 gal. plastic vinegar jug with a #6 and airlock. (Ran it through the dishwasher and sterilized so it doesn't hold any vinegary smells). Not sure if this is too O2 permeable, and if so, if it's okay to transfer to glass...

Probably shouldn't have decided to tweak my first mead since I'm pretty much clueless. Thanks for any advice.

 

[mrk305]

I was just reading this about JOAM.......

Ég er einmitt með eitt gallon af Joes Ancient Orange Mead í gerjun
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f80/joes-an ... ead-49106/
þar er notað brauðger og verðu mjöðurinn vonandi svolítið sætur og góður eftir nokkra mánuði.

_________________
___________________________
Í gerjun:Bæverskur hveitibjór
Á krana: Münchner Helles
Næst: Jólabjór, Märzen, Ljósöl

....... I didn't get much out of it though, except the link to HBT

 

[Jo_Jo_Ma]

Looks Icelandic. (DH is Swedish) Gerjun means fermentation; a krana is on tap.

Loosely translated, it says:

I have one gallon of Joes Ancient Orange Mead in fermentation (referral link)
(something... I think referring to inexpensive) hopefully a little sweet and good in a few months.

Oh, and in sig... up next is Jólabjór, which is Christmas beer.

 

[ruger12pk]

Id give it a good 24 hours without disturbing it. I would have rehydrated the yeast first. of course its still early enough to go ahead and do that. But give it some more time and keep it warm something should happen soon!

 

[Jo_Jo_Ma]

Thank you for your reply. Still nothing happening in the airlock and not much of anything happening. If nothing happens today, would it hurt it to just add a t. of bread yeast like the recipe specifies instead of the champagne? Thanks!

 

[Jo_Jo_Ma]

Just wanted to update that the airlock now has activity. I guess champagne yeast just show up late to the party.

I do have one more question, though... I broke down and bought a gallon jug of Carlo Rossi Burgundy...using a bit of it to make boeuf bourguignon right now (took a little sip and it's surprisingly drinkable)...will it screw things up if I rack to that bottle right now so my mead isn't fermenting in a questionable plastic jug? Should I repitch a bit of yeast if I rack it again? Thanks.

 

[AldousHuxley]

To anyone stumbling upon this thread, and actually reading it this far , Just updating on my progress with this recipe.

After my first experiment, which I detailed in this thread, I've gotten some slightly better equipment (anything is a step up from milk jugs). My buddy gave me some 1gal glass jugs he found in the basement of a house he used to live in, and I got some proper air locks and stoppers from the home brew store.

Regarding my first experiment, btw, the last bottle of it remains on the shelf. I have to say that it really hasn't aged at all - the 2nd to last bottle (now gone) was almost identical to the first sip I took of the stuff after 2 months. So I don't know if it's the type of yeast or what but with regards to the other people saying it will age out to different tastes, I haven't had that experience. After 6 months on the shelf it is very nearly identical to when I bottled it.

I get the point of this recipe. It's the way they might have done it back when cars and street lights were horses and lanterns. Back when dudes and chicks were lords and ladies. And that's cool. I also like that it is an idiot-proof starting point for someone who's never brewed before. But for me after that first batch it's hard not to want to work towards some improvement in the recipe. So this current batch isn't a true JAOM. I kind of think that's the point, though... this recipe is such a great place to start, it begs you to put your own spin on it. Just don't call it JAOM when you're done!

My recipe for this batch was the same as the JAOM posted here, except:

• I used 3lb honey per gallon.
• I juiced the orange and discarded all large solids (left the pulp). Sorry, but I've just had enough of the pithy rind taste to last me a while.
• I added the juice of half a pomagranate (aiming for something festive for Christmastime).
• I made 2 separate gallons - one with bread yeast per JAOM, one with wine yeast. (Just to experiment and see if I can tell a difference in the final product.)
• I used a yeast nutrient.

Equipment-wise, in addition to the "new" (60 year old) glass jugs with real stoppers and air locks, I also picked up some of that no-rinse sanitizer and I have to say that is really convenient stuff. Well worth the cost.

So I melted the honey in water, put in all of the ingredients, made sure the temp of the solution was reasonable for the yeast, pitched the 2 yeasts, and shook the heck out of both jugs.

12 hours later it was clear that I'd over-filled the jugs... lesson learned the hard way DEFINITELY leave some head space in the jug for the first few days. Both of my air locks got all fouled and burped half-fermented orange pulp all over the wall of my wife's home office, but she took it all in stride (bless her) and eventually I got them swapped out and everything is tidy and happy now.

The born-on date is October 10, so it's been a week and a half and both gallons are still bubbling away happy as can be. They are in a dark closet where the temp is 60F - 65F. I will post here when they are done and tasted if anyone is curious how this recipe turned out.

My next experiment (just put up on Sunday) is apple cider - I'll post about that in the cider forum.

 

[lthursdayl]

I made this recipe last night, I followed the directions exactly except I used a different brand yeast, and added a few dried cherries. Its about 24 hours later and I am getting no airlock activity. The only other detail that may be useful is a bunch of the honey is sitting on the bottom of the carboy. Wondering if I should pitch more yeast, or wait a few more days and see what happens?

 

[AldousHuxley]

I made this recipe last night, I followed the directions exactly except I used a different brand yeast, and added a few dried cherries. Its about 24 hours later and I am getting no airlock activity. The only other detail that may be useful is a bunch of the honey is sitting on the bottom of the carboy. Wondering if I should pitch more yeast, or wait a few more days and see what happens?

I'm no expert but I would suggest waiting a day or two and see if the yeast take hold. Make sure your temp is above 60F and below 80F or so. If you can easily take the airlock off and seal it, shake it up a bit or stir it to try to mix the honey into the solution.

But the bottom line is that you have yeast and you have sugar, so something should happen sooner or later - the biggest issue as I understand it is that you want your yeast to establish quickly to dominate any wild yeast or worse yet bacteria.

I think in general you want to dissolve your honey pretty well before getting started. The times I've done this recipe I've used 1 part honey to 1 part water (by volume), warmed up the mixture on the stove top (be careful not to get it too hot - you don't want this anywhere near boiling, just warm) and stirred until the honey was in suspension completely. Then when I pour that into the fermentor and top off with water and "shake the heck out of it" it mixes quite nicely.

Good luck - post back with what happens!

 

[ruger12pk]

Its soon enough Id be giving that batch a monsterous and vigourous stir! get that honey homogenized into the solution and also to whip some air into it....Yeast need the o2 to grow and that honey needs to be mixed in sooner rather than later...

 

[knipknup]

Mine separated because I added cold water. The honey was all on the bottom. It also took a few days to start but after a couple months (maybe three), it fermented out completely and is awesome. I think patience is the key. Remember, one of the primary instructions is to not touch it...

 

[lthursdayl]

I have to admit I shook it last night....woke up this morning and had movement in the airlock about aver 15 seconds. Not going to touch it again for two months. Hope this did not mess it up too badly.

 

[IrregularPulse]

I really need to get some honey and make some more of this. Got some wine yeast to try this time for a drier mead.

 

[Drew_101]

I tried D-47 in my last batch. I am exicted to see how it turns out.

 

[sharpstick]

I really need to get some honey and make some more of this. Got some wine yeast to try this time for a drier mead.

this keeps coming up. if you read the original recipe, he explains that it was developed specifically for bread yeast. if you try to replace it with brewing yeast, you take your chances. i've tried it a couple times and it never really came out right.
but feel free to experiment and let us know how it works.

 

[IrregularPulse]

I've only read the post by yooper. I don't see how a difference yeast strain would be "taking chances" though. Just give it a different profile. Bread yeast is just faster starting.
AS far as "being developed", it's honey and water. Don't see how that was "developed specifically" for anything particular yeast......?

 

[sharpstick]

I don't see how a difference yeast strain would be "taking chances" though. Just give it a different profile. Bread yeast is just faster starting.
AS far as "being developed", it's honey and water. Don't see how that was "developed specifically" for anything particular yeast......?

sounds like you are more knowledgeable than joe. please let us know how that works out for you.

 

[IrregularPulse]

Didn't say I know more than anybody and I didn't know Joe was a real person. Only thing I said was that I don't understand how Honey and water is specific to Bread Yeast. If there's an explanation I'd love to hear it.

 

[sharpstick]

Didn't say I know more than anybody and I didn't know Joe was a real person. Only thing I said was that I don't understand how Honey and water is specific to Bread Yeast. If there's an explanation I'd love to hear it.

i recommend reading the first post of this thread. it's originally from Joe Mattioli, who apparently is not very easy to contact. there is an even longer thread on this recipe over at the winepress forum.

 

[Setheus]

I made a version many months ago. I changed everything but the water, honey and yeast. I added 2 lbs of wild blueberries to it instead and let it do it's thing.

Things were slow at first and I thought I screwed up with the berries. The bubbles were hold up with the berries at the top, and it continued to release air for over a month. It took just over 2 months for the berries to drop and the mead to clear.

In the end the it had an abv around 14%

 

[Pivot]

I just threw a batch of this together, only I left out the nutmeg and the cloves. they were just wayy to expensive for a college student like me.
my starting gravity is 1.1

 

[ruger12pk]

I just threw a batch of this together, only I left out the nutmeg and the cloves. they were just wayy to expensive for a college student like me.
my starting gravity is 1.1

???? You can get both of those at your local grocery for under 5 bucks for both! Dont leave them out man! Youll regret it in the long run!

 

[Pivot]

the nutmeg was 5 bucks for a small bottle, and the cloves were 6 for a small bottle. will only having the orange, raisins and cinnamon in the honey water make it crappy?

 

[ruger12pk]

the nutmeg was 5 bucks for a small bottle, and the cloves were 6 for a small bottle. will only having the orange, raisins and cinnamon in the honey water make it crappy?

Naaaa...it wont be crappy man, but look like at the dollar stores and places like that. Id say if you can get those last 2 ingreidients in there in the next week or two youll be cool...that way it goes through the initial ferment. It wont be crap though if you just cant get them in there. I always buy the whole nutmeg and crack about 1 or 2 between 2 spoons and then toss it into the mix. ...then like 2 cloves.....They just really augment the taste and thats is what your shooting for...

 

[Pivot]

hmm maybe ill go see tomorrow if i can score some cheap nutmeg and cloves to drop in there before fermentation has finished

 

[ruger12pk]

Sweet deal, youll be glad ya did in the end!