Joe's Ancient Orange Mead

[Pflanz]

OK, once completed and bottled, should these be left out at room temperature or refrigerated? If corked properly should they be set on there side?

 

[Bigbeavk]

Once bottled I keep mine in the basement that's around 60°F. If you want to chill one in the fridge before drinking just put it in for a few hours. I actually had a 6 pack from a batch over a yr old carb up in the bottle. Man it was so good! Corked bottles yea I would lay them on their sides. It is a fine wine ya know.

 

[brewski09]

I kept mine at a nice controlled room temp. No greater than 74 with max fluctuations and we tend to be 68-72. No space in the beer fridge for a cheap project. It tasted fine at about 2 years. Cellar conditions would be better I'm sure, but work with what you've got. I would store some of the C&C upright and some on its side until you know if the cork is going to negatively alter the flavor. It's a pretty light profile to me.

 

[scrub0bk]

How many berries are you guys using when you're swapping out the oranges? I'd like to do 2 batches one with raspberries and one original to the recipie.

 

[CreamyGoodness]

How many berries are you guys using when you're swapping out the oranges? I'd like to do 2 batches one with raspberries and one original to the recipie.

I use roughly a pint, frozen, to a gallon. I try to get very rough volumes by eye (level of fruit floating roughly the same.)

 

[brewski09]

My last fruit mead used about 1.5#/gal of fruit (melomel) and was delicious.


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[JINKS]

First try at Mead got activity about 20 minutes after pitching yeast.

 

[tellyho]

So I'm at 2 months, clear, fruit has dropped, but sample was ridiculously sweet and tasted mostly like hooch. Do I just bottle and forget I have it for a couple years?


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[Jupapabear]

I would.

 

[DarthBeer]

I've gotten little to no noticable airlock activity in the batches I've made. Just put them in a cabinet and forget about it. A batch from February of this year tastes really good when taste tested recently.

 

[brewski09]

You could swirl the yeast suspension and see if they keep working. I would personally add a different yeast, but that's just me. Otherwise, let it sit for a while.

 

[DarthBeer]

It seems that it's just a matter of time when the yeast really kicks in. I checked a batch yesterday and it has lots of small bubbles rising to the top like a looking at the fizz of a soda.

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

This brew is ALL about patience. What I made in February, I bottled 2 weeks ago. Its good! I intended it for Christmas and that shud be about perfect.


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

 

[tellyho]

Think I'm going to move it to the basement and ignore it for a while. A good excuse to buy a new carboy.


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[TrustyOlJohnson]

Think I'm going to move it to the basement and ignore it for a while. A good excuse to buy a new carboy.


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I think thats a wise choice! And you will be rewarded! Heres my February JOAM in orange seals, substituted lemon and wine yeast in the yellow seals, and 1 gallon racked to secondary, I used champagne yeast in this and ive added potassium sorbate to the secondary. Gonna backsweeten with honey, keg, carbonate and bottle. They all are tasting bette with time!

 

[Briatta]

Darn if this whole brewing thing isn't a tad addictive. My very first cider (brew of any kind) was pitched two weeks ago Saturday and will be moved to five one gallon jars in a few weeks with one "plain" baseline and four different flavors to get things kicked off, but I saw this and I couldn't resist. It's currently sitting on the counter cooling to room temp so I can pitch the yeast. I used raw Oregon wildflower honey (the absolute last three pack that CostCo had) one clove, one small cinnamon stick, one allspice berry and a just a smidge of freshly grated nutmeg. I also separated the peel and flesh from the pith of the orange since I don't have other, farther along, things to distract me from my impatience. Hehe. I know it will get easier in six months to a year when I have more things going, but this first starting out thing is tough. LOL

 

[rlmiller10]

Darn if this whole brewing thing isn't a tad addictive. My very first cider (brew of any kind) was pitched two weeks ago Saturday and will be moved to five one gallon jars in a few weeks with one "plain" baseline and four different flavors to get things kicked off, but I saw this and I couldn't resist. It's currently sitting on the counter cooling to room temp so I can pitch the yeast. I used raw Oregon wildflower honey (the absolute last three pack that CostCo had) one clove, one small cinnamon stick, one allspice berry and a just a smidge of freshly grated nutmeg. I also separated the peel and flesh from the pith of the orange since I don't have other, farther along, things to distract me from my impatience. Hehe. I know it will get easier in six months to a year when I have more things going, but this first starting out thing is tough. LOL

That is why you should also brew beer. From 3 to 6 weeks brew day to glass depending on style and equipment. It makes the wait for the mead a whole lot easier.

 

[Briatta]

That is why you should also brew beer. From 3 to 6 weeks brew day to glass depending on style and equipment. It makes the wait for the mead a whole lot easier.

Technically I assisted the boyfriend with his two week blonde ale, but it's pretty much gone now so...

 

[2drunk2]

I started brewing in June, and suddenly wanted to ferment everything. My JAOM has been sitting for 2 months. My patience is improving.

 

[tellyho]

The key to patience is having a bunch of other beer projects around so you can forget about individual ones. SWMBO does not approve of this strategy, unsurprisingly.


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[brewski09]

After 5 years, my SWMBO appreciates the less frequent brew days that come with special projects (I have a mead aging until January and an imperial stout that's been bulk agin for a couple of months and is just ready to bottle).


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[jhiggy]

Hello! I'm making my first ever batch of mead and decided on this recipe. I'm going to make a 5 gallon batch but in the instructions it says to increase everything equally as you go up, does this include the yeast? So for 5 gallons would I put in 5 tsps of yeast? I thought I read in one of the beginner guides that yeast was the only thing you don't increase in equal parts. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[jak1010]

Hello! I'm making my first ever batch of mead and decided on this recipe. I'm going to make a 5 gallon batch but in the instructions it says to increase everything equally as you go up, does this include the yeast? So for 5 gallons would I put in 5 tsps of yeast? I thought I read in one of the beginner guides that yeast was the only thing you don't increase in equal parts. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

Good choice for your first mead. I can say for sure that the yeast should not be multiplied x 5. You also may consider other ingredients such as the cinnamon. I've never done anything other than 1 gallon but I've read that 5 cinnamon sticks can be strong.

 

[jhiggy]

Good choice for your first mead. I can say for sure that the yeast should not be multiplied x 5. You also may consider other ingredients such as the cinnamon. I've never done anything other than 1 gallon but I've read that 5 cinnamon sticks can be strong.

Thanks! I've read that too so I only put in 3 sticks. Hopefully that tones it down a bit. Waiting for it to get to room temp before I put in the yeast, any other suggestions?

 

[jhiggy]

I have a couple concerns about a batch I made last night. I've seen a couple places people complaining about the orange rinds in this recipe. I made a 5 gallon batch and put 5 oranges in rind and all. Am I going to have a problem? If I do, is there anything I can do about it? (Like scoop out the oranges with a sanitized strainer???)

 

[jhiggy]

Another question....I probably should have thought of this before I started my brew but..I only have 5 gallons in a 6 gallon container? Is that going to cause a problem? Will the extra air be an issue? If so, can I put another 2.5lbs in and top it off with water once the foaming stops? (Honestly my never foamed like crazy)

Here is what I have in it right now, 17.5lbs of honey, 2 packets of yeast, 2 cloves, 3 cinnamon sticks, 5 oranges, a couple pinches of all spice, a couple pinches of nutmeg and enough water to make 5 gallons.

 

[rlmiller10]

Another question....I probably should have thought of this before I started my brew but..I only have 5 gallons in a 6 gallon container? Is that going to cause a problem? Will the extra air be an issue? If so, can I put another 2.5lbs in and top it off with water once the foaming stops? (Honestly my never foamed like crazy)

Here is what I have in it right now, 17.5lbs of honey, 2 packets of yeast, 2 cloves, 3 cinnamon sticks, 5 oranges, a couple pinches of all spice, a couple pinches of nutmeg and enough water to make 5 gallons.

You will be fine for now as the fermentation is filling the empty space with CO2. But if you rack to secondary to bulk age you will want to have a container that just fits the mead volume to minimize air contact.

For my JAOM I just left it in the primary until fruit dropped (I had to cold crash after 2.5 months to get it to drop) and then bottled. Now, a year later, it is a very nice drink.

 

[tellyho]

Jhiggy, I made a 5 gallon version as well, with your exact proportions. It turns out fine, spice-wise, not too overpowering. You will probably be fine on the volume unless you decide to bulk age, at which point you can transfer it to something smaller. Despite what I read elsewhere, I do not find this recipe drinkable at 2 months, FWIW.


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[jak1010]

Jhiggy, I made a 5 gallon version as well, with your exact proportions. It turns out fine, spice-wise, not too overpowering. You will probably be fine on the volume unless you decide to bulk age, at which point you can transfer it to something smaller. Despite what I read elsewhere, I do not find this recipe drinkable at 2 months, FWIW.


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Totally agree.

 

[jhiggy]

Thank you everyone for your reponses! Put my mind at ease