Joe's Ancient Orange Mead

[Vansaar]

Hey Tim,
I found a conversion site and it shows 56oz = 3lb 8.0000oz, or 3.5 pounds. it's http://www.metric-conversions.org/weight/ounces-to-pounds.htm if you wwant to double check. The honey should be fine. As for the white stuff, I have the same on mine. It seems to be a layer of yeast that gets stuck on the fruit. I just gently shook up the must a bit and washed the layer of white into the remainder. I know we're not suppose to touch it or shake it, but it does work. infact my should be ready next week. I just looked at it and it is really starting to clear up. I also have two orange slices that have dropped so far.

 

[Yesfan]

Well, I suspect it will be rather clovey. Live and learn .

Yeah, no kidding. I guess mine is "Joe's Ancient Clovey Mead"

 

[ThirstyVine]

Hi all

I made a mead on the 17th of feb and about a week ago it was completely see through. I moved it to a new location so that I could bottle soon and now all of a sudden it is producing small bubbles like it is carbonated or some such thing. At this stage last week there was no motion or bubbles. What should I do about this and does this mean that it will need more time for the ferment before going into bottles

 

[Goofynewfie]

Probably just needs to degas a little. Stir it and then let it set a few more days

 

[kaconga]

Speaking of bottles: if I don't degas my mead should I put it into beer bottles or would wine bottles be ok? This is my first wine and I am under the impression that not degassing can lead to issues with the corks staying put. Could I get around that by using screw top wine bottles?

 

[AbuMaia]

Well, I finally got a hydrometer. However my 3-gal batch is almost finished. Still a few bubbles, but it's newspaper-clear and fruit is dropping. How do I check the alcohol content now?

 

[Meadiator]

I used 3 lbs/gal. Of honey in a recent batch instead of 3 1/2 lbs. will I be okay?

 

[waxer]

You can always backsweeten if to dry and the bitterness etc is to forward?
Mine is taking forever. Still steadily bubbling away 6 weeks in.
Surely such a slow fermentation is a sign I will end up with a stressed hot mead when done.

 

[hcuda]

Anyone use an ale yeast for this? Read a recipe once for a "quick mead" that was supposed to be drinkable in a month or so. It used a beer yeast, I think ale. I can't find the recipe but it had orange, clove, cinimon etc.

I would like to try a mead but don't want to wait till Christmas to find out its worth. In fact I'd like to know sooner so that if it's really good I'd make 5 gal and give it to friends for Christmas.

 

[jtd_419]

I have batches going side by side with bread yeast and s-33 to see the difference, but it's not ready yet so I can't give any real help other than the s-33 started out violently.

 

[Robin0782]

I made my first batch of this 3.5 months ago and its finally cleared and starting to get drinkable. Still hot but I think another month or so, bottled and chilled it will be ready for consumption. I don't see any way that this recipe can be ready in only 2 months.

 

[jkrug]

I am a newbie to jaom. Started a batch about 2 months ago. Fruit has not dropped yet. I guess it needs to clear more? Is this like wine where u should be able to read print through it? Getting anxious to bottle and taste.

 

[CreamyGoodness]

Yes you should be able to read a newspaper through it when it is done. I have tasted and even drank it far earlier than that though when I was anxious. I dont recommend it, but Im certainly not going to call you nasty names.

 

[jkrug]

Will the fruit drop at that point? Sides of the jug has some stuff on it where may be difficult to read newspaper through it ever. Just wondering. Thanks again for the responses.

 

[SirVilhelm]

I'm doing an experiment! Each jug is exactly the same (as best as I can control for) and follows the recipe, except for how I'm using the orange:

1. In one jug, I cut the orange up and shoved it in as per the recipe directions (with the rind and all).
2. In the other jug, I've peeled the zest from the orange with a vegetable peeler, put the zest in, removed pith from the orange, and then sliced the rest of the orange and shoved it in.

This test should show if the orange pith adds an off flavor to the mead. I've even gone to the length of using half of an orange in each jug, so that I can avoid the problem of one orange just being tastier than the other. The only problem I found is that shoving the orange slices with the rind on was a tighter squeeze, so I lost a bit more of the orange juice in the process. Hopefully that doesn't ruin my experiment.

Hi HowlerMonkey, just wondering how your experiment is going. I am going to start my first mead this weekend and wondering which road to go down. I am leaning toward just adding the orange zest and juice.

 

[CreamyGoodness]

Will the fruit drop at that point? Sides of the jug has some stuff on it where may be difficult to read newspaper through it ever. Just wondering. Thanks again for the responses.

It really depends. I have had clear mead with the fruit still on top, and I have had mead where the fruit dropped and the mead still needed to clear. It really varies.

 

[HowlerMonkey]

Hi HowlerMonkey, just wondering how your experiment is going. I am going to start my first mead this weekend and wondering which road to go down. I am leaning toward just adding the orange zest and juice.

I have not tasted them yet, so I have no idea if there is a flavor difference. I will be bottling these two gallons this weekend, though, so I'll taste them then.

I think there was an unexpected original gravity difference between the two, but it might have been a problem of the honey not fully dissolved and settling faster in the first gallon I filled. Otherwise, they should be different only by the pith. I'm quite curious to taste the difference myself. I'll be sure to update.

 

[turd22003]

How much alcohol should this produce...?

My batch should be ready near the time of a family gathering, next month, and am tempted to take some there, but don't want to turn the event into an Irish funeral..

your thinking of a wake we're hungover for the funeral

 

[JohanMk1]

I finally got to bottle and taste my first batch that i made at the beginning of September.

Surprisingly good, but a lot drier than I expected. I think the bread yeast that I used may attenuate a bit further than Fleishmann’s. I'm now on a mission to find Fleishmann’s here in South Africa.

I've also tracked down a better source for honey, so the next batch will be 5 or 6 gallons

It's been mellowing in a dark place since the quoted post.(12/28/2012)

I caved and opened a bottle this evening after dinner.




The "cloudiness" is condensation.

This is my first attempt at any form of mead at all and I have never previously tasted mead.

It has mellowed substantially, the spices are certainly moving back and allowing the mead to step forward.

 

[turd22003]

I am thinking of making JAOM for the first time, but one thing puzzles me - how do you get the orange and all the other crap out of carboy afterwards?! Is it easier than I think?

I just turn mine upside down and use my fingers, but I only make 1 gallon batches

 

[cwdrake]

Needle nose pliers work really well.

 

[ThirstyVine]

Every time I try to move my mead to transfer into bottles it shakes up the lees. I can't leave it anywhere easy cause I have kids who will touch how do I overcome this dilema

 

[zfields]

Every time I try to move my mead to transfer into bottles it shakes up the lees. I can't leave it anywhere easy cause I have kids who will touch how do I overcome this dilema

Smack your kids and tell them no?

 

[choda42]

Just bottled and sampled a batch of this ancient orange mead and was pleasantly surprised! Started two more batches with grapefruit instead of orange and one without the clove. Now I need to level up and try a batch of something a bit harder.
Thanks for the recipe!

 

[Kdog22]

Has anyone done the recipe exactly but used a Red Start Premier Cuvee yeast instead of the baker's yeast?

I understand it may not be the ideal yeast for this but that's what I ended up using in the batch I put together this past weekend. I suppose we'll see how this turns out..

 

[hunter006]

Looking at having a go at this but was wondering if you can just throw in a litre of OJ on top of the honey?

3Lb honey
1L OJ ( from concentrate )
1 Cinnamon stick
1 Pinch allspice
1L Welchs white grape juice
1 tsp yeast Nutrient
Wine yeast

SG 1.100
FG 1.010

I know this is far from the original...
What do you think..

 

[cincybrewer]

Just bottled mine and tried one after 13 months and man was it strong. The smell almost knocked you off your feet. It tasted much more mellow but it was still too strong and had a pretty strong alcohol burn. Maybe because I didn't top off after fermentation? Either way I just plan on letting the bottles sit for another year or so and try again.

 

[bottlebomber]

Looking at having a go at this but was wondering if you can just throw in a litre of OJ on top of the honey?

3Lb honey
1L OJ ( from concentrate )
1 Cinnamon stick
1 Pinch allspice
1L Welchs white grape juice
1 tsp yeast Nutrient
Wine yeast

SG 1.100
FG 1.010

I know this is far from the original...
What do you think..

Don't do it. The OJ is way to acidic, and I highly doubt you'll finish at 1.010 using wine yeast. It will probably be more like 1.00 or even lower, and you'll really taste that OJ. Just try to imagine OJ without the sweetness.

 

[CreamyGoodness]

Don't do it. The OJ is way to acidic, and I highly doubt you'll finish at 1.010 using wine yeast. It will probably be more like 1.00 or even lower, and you'll really taste that OJ. Just try to imagine OJ without the sweetness.

Or, as fatbloke would say "dry as a buzzard's arse"

 

[hunter006]

Surely I can stop close to with stabilizer/campden and raise the acidity with acid blend? Maybe