Joe's Ancient Orange Mead

[DarthBeer]

Would racking to another container help with clearing?
After three months there is no fruit drop or clearing.
I'm wondering if a factor in that might be that I used red star champagne yeast instead of bread yeast.

 

[brewski09]

If you give it time it will clear. It won't hurt it to rack it either. Your call.


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[jpwic]

My closet has gotten pretty chilly in the past two days (the mead is sitting at 66 degrees a week in), is there an immediate rush to get back to upwards of 80 or is it OK where it is until the room warms up again?

 

[scottdmichael]

my mead stayed between 65 and 70 degrees. it turned out fine. and my fruit never dropped, yet it did stop working 2 weeks after i thought it should have.

 

[neilpcraven]

I accidentally partially froze a bottle yesterday of this and the liquor that came out was amazing!

 

[plath]

Is there any reason I couldn't/shouldn't split a batch of the JAOM into two half gallon glass milk bottles? My stoppers fit them perfectly, and I don't want to tie up my 4 liter jugs that long. I do plan on changing the yeast to d-47 if that makes a difference? Do I need to worry about headspace with d-47?


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[plath]

Hmmm in reading more sounds like I need more headspace for overflow... Back to the drawing board :/


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[TrustyOlJohnson]

Would racking to another container help with clearing?
After three months there is no fruit drop or clearing.
I'm wondering if a factor in that might be that I used red star champagne yeast instead of bread yeast.

Back in early feb I made 3 one gallon batches, one with bread yeast, one with wine yeast and one with cchampagne yeast. The bread yeast one is the clearest, the champagne yeast is clear. Wine yeast is cloudy. Go figure


"Sometimes Im right half of the time ...."

 

[plath]

Well just put together a two gallon batch in my mr beer fermenter. Used d47 so put it in the basement to hopefully keep the temp in check. We'll see how it goes!


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[DarthBeer]

Back in early feb I made 3 one gallon batches, one with bread yeast, one with wine yeast and one with cchampagne yeast. The bread yeast one is the clearest, the champagne yeast is clear. Wine yeast is cloudy. Go figure


"Sometimes Im right half of the time ...."

I'm wondering if the yeast is the reason it's not clearing the way others have said. I've started another batch with wyeast mead yeast. For that batch I added the zest, juice, and pulp instead of the whole orange.

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

I didnt use the pith or rind in any if the three recipes. And the wine yeast one has lemons instead if oranges. Otherwise, they are the same


"Sometimes Im right half of the time ...."

 

[ElDochart]

I started this one almost 2 months ago, using the original recipe, except I substituted for a dry ale yeast. This is my first mead. The 2 months is up tomorrow, and the oranges and foam floating on top have not yet sunk to the bottom, as described in the original instructions. Should I filter and bottle it anyway, or maybe rack it for a week or so to clear it up?

Thanks for any advice any of you can give!

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

I made mine early Feb. raisins and fruit are jus now starting to fall. And its clearling up nicely


"Sometimes Im right half of the time ...."

 

[hunter_le five]

I started this one almost 2 months ago, using the original recipe, except I substituted for a dry ale yeast. This is my first mead. The 2 months is up tomorrow, and the oranges and foam floating on top have not yet sunk to the bottom, as described in the original instructions. Should I filter and bottle it anyway, or maybe rack it for a week or so to clear it up?

Thanks for any advice any of you can give!

Personally, I would just wait a while longer. This recipe doesn't really start to taste good until after 6+ months, so there is no need to rush things.

Nothing wrong with racking it, though, as long as you're careful. I would make sure that whatever secondary vessel you use, you try to minimize the headspace. I found that a 3L plastic soda bottle worked great for this.


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[jak1010]

I started this one almost 2 months ago, using the original recipe, except I substituted for a dry ale yeast. This is my first mead. The 2 months is up tomorrow, and the oranges and foam floating on top have not yet sunk to the bottom, as described in the original instructions. Should I filter and bottle it anyway, or maybe rack it for a week or so to clear it up?

Thanks for any advice any of you can give!

Is it clear? You should be able to see right through it like a piece of glass. If not, I'd let it sit longer. Just check the airlock to make sure it stays filled and let the mead run its course.
Odds are its probably done but you really don't want to bottle too soon. You can rack but it will be easier if you let it clear and let the fruit drop.

 

[Black Island Brewer]

I started this one almost 2 months ago, using the original recipe, except I substituted for a dry ale yeast. This is my first mead. The 2 months is up tomorrow, and the oranges and foam floating on top have not yet sunk to the bottom, as described in the original instructions. Should I filter and bottle it anyway, or maybe rack it for a week or so to clear it up?

Thanks for any advice any of you can give!

My first batch, which is still in progress, cleared after just a few weeks in the fermenter. However , I could see small bubbles floating up through it and the fruit remained at the top. Only now has the fruit started to fall . Since it can't be consumed right away, just give it time it will do what it needs to do in its own time.

 

[rlmiller10]

I started this one almost 2 months ago, using the original recipe, except I substituted for a dry ale yeast. This is my first mead. The 2 months is up tomorrow, and the oranges and foam floating on top have not yet sunk to the bottom, as described in the original instructions. Should I filter and bottle it anyway, or maybe rack it for a week or so to clear it up?

Thanks for any advice any of you can give!

I waited about three months and the fruit never did fall. I finally cold crashed it and that got the fruit to fall. I then racked to a secondary and let it sit another three months to get perfectly clear.

Don't know if I would have needed too but I wanted my 5 gal carboy back for beer. I racked to a 3 gal carboy and it fill just to the neck. I had about a glass left over which I drank but it was not really enjoyable.

 

[ElDochart]

Thanks for the advice, all. It is not clear yet, but the airlock doesn't seem to be bubbling anymore, or it is at least going very slowly. I will probably give it another month, and rack it if it still isn't nice and clear. I'm hoping to have it ready to drink by christmas.

 

[LondoThePoet]

Please advise: My first batch of JAOM tasted so good, I want to make more. If a 1-gal batch uses 1 tsp of Flieshman's yeast, would you use 5 tsp for a 5-gal batch? I could cut the cinnamon and cloves to 3 or 4 of each and maybe 120 raisins, but I used a couple of extra oz. of honey and would use about 18# to five gallons. My main question is the yeast. Your thoughts?

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

Please advise: My first batch of JAOM tasted so good, I want to make more. If a 1-gal batch uses 1 tsp of Flieshman's yeast, would you use 5 tsp for a 5-gal batch? I could cut the cinnamon and cloves to 3 or 4 of each and maybe 120 raisins, but I used a couple of extra oz. of honey and would use about 18# to five gallons. My main question is the yeast. Your thoughts?

Ok, I jus read this and Im thinkin, "Why is this guy talkin bout 1tsp of yeast? You're supposed to use the whole package!"

Then I realized, maybe I shud go back n read the original post. And lo n behold....

So, I made 3 1 gallon batches back n Feb, using whole pkgs of bread yeast, wine yeast and champagne yeast respectively. They seem to be doin fine. They have all clarified. Stuff is dropping, I opened one and huffed it, and it smelled great!! Anyone else made the same mistake?


"Sometimes Im right half of the time ...."

 

[LondoThePoet]

Ok, I jus read this and Im thinkin, "Why is this guy talkin bout 1tsp of yeast? You're supposed to use the whole package!"

Then I realized, maybe I shud go back n read the original post. And lo n behold....

So, I made 3 1 gallon batches back n Feb, using whole pkgs of bread yeast, wine yeast and champagne yeast respectively. They seem to be doin fine. They have all clarified. Stuff is dropping, I opened one and huffed it, and it smelled great!! Anyone else made the same mistake?


"Sometimes Im right half of the time ...."

So, from that I'm thinkin' 5 tsp should be fine in 5 gallons. Thanks.

 

[Andi Dawson VO]

I screwed it and put too much yeast in and now it tastes like a VERY dry wine - can I sweeten this back up? And if so, with what? Would honey do the job? And how much can I get away with?

Sorry for the million and one questions, but if I don't do something I fear I've not only wasted my time, but will suffer the wrath of my wife!!


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[Jupapabear]

Mine just hit about 15.2% abv... wow

 

[rlmiller10]

I screwed it and put too much yeast in and now it tastes like a VERY dry wine - can I sweeten this back up? And if so, with what? Would honey do the job? And how much can I get away with?

Sorry for the million and one questions, but if I don't do something I fear I've not only wasted my time, but will suffer the wrath of my wife!!


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First it was not the amount of yeast you put in. Yeast will do what they do. Certain types will ferment to a certain dryness or run out of sugar trying. The amount may affect off flavors but not usually the dryness (stalled fermentation excepted).

Yes, you can back sweeten. Do a search and you will find info on that, but the basic process is add one campden tablet per gallon and potassium sorbate. Let sit for 24 hours then add honey to taste. Age for 1 to 6 months and bottle.

They key is to stop the fermentation, i.e. paralyze the yeast before you back sweeten so the added sugars are not fermented.

 

[The_Bishop]

The reason you use the bread yeast instead of a dedicated wine yeast, is that the bread yeast will quit well before the sugars are all used, leaving a sweeter mead. Any of the wine yeasts will dry it all the way out, making it harsh and requiring a longer aging period before it's 'good'.

 

[jak1010]

And, it was designed for people to make mead with easy to find ingredients and take away the mysterious nature of mead.

In the long run, people can make mead without reading books, buying fancy equipment, measuring #s and doing calculations, etc. Just throw it together with a bunch of stuff from your local supermarket and wait a few months.

The surprising part is, even with the books, fancy equipment and special ingredients...people I know who brew still prefer to make this stuff as is and keep it in their regular rotation of brewing.

Keep it simple and enjoy how easy it is.

 

[Andi Dawson VO]

It was a bread yeast I used, but thought maybe it was because I used the 15g recommended on the tin for bread making, instead of the tsp in the recipe lol

Thanks for the assistance - I have some campden tablets and potassium sorbate on order now


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[Andi Dawson VO]

You mentioned paralysing the yeast - how do I do that?


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[Black Island Brewer]

You mentioned paralysing the yeast - how do I do that?


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Once fermentation is done, you can use a combination of campden (potassium metabisulfite) and potassium sorbate to prevent fermentation from restarting when you add sugar. Search the forums for the specific amounts.

 

[boxcar1]

couple of noob questions.i plan on doing 2 versions of this using bread yeast and wine yeast just to compare them.when adding the wine yeast do i still only add 1 tsp of yeast just like with the bread yeast or should i use the whole packet

also,when transferring into secondary,should i strain off the fruit so its just the liquor in it