Joe's Ancient Orange Mead

[treacheroustexan]

If you made one gallon, that is perfect/fine/acceptable/etc. I made two gallons of volume.

Oooh gotcha. Misread!

 

[treacheroustexan]

So it's only been a little over a month and its super clear already. Leave it another month or bottle?

 

[TorMag]

Mines been in for over 2 months and still cloudy and fruit is still floating. The yeast activity is done, airlock has settled. I had plenty of airlock activity for a long time. I guess it is time to rack it to a secondary.

 

[CrownedBee]

Mines been in for over 2 months and still cloudy and fruit is still floating. The yeast activity is done, airlock has settled. I had plenty of airlock activity for a long time. I guess it is time to rack it to a secondary.

My 6 gallon cleared after 3 months and the fruit never fell. My 1 gallons cleared in 2 months and, again, the fruit didn't fall. I'm learning that the time it takes for this recipe to clear is a "your mileage may vary" guesstimate. I doubt racking will hurt it, but I think you could just as easily let it sit!

 

[tellyho]

Yes, like, for a year.

 

[iSynic]

Well, we transferred our JAOM variant over to secondary last night. Gallery here, sorry for potato quality.

The Rock and Rye theme I was going for worked out really well. It took on exactly the flavor profile I had hoped for, and is surprisingly drinkable for a young mead. It's sweet, with an orange spice flavor on the front and the taste of cherries following shortly after. There is no pithiness from the orange rind, which I know some people have complained about.

We also experimented by adding a pour of Rye whiskey to a small glass of mead. I thought it definitely added a lot to the taste, but I'm reluctant to bulk age them together. I can always add Rye later, I can't take it out (and it's good enough I'd hate to ruin a good thing).

All in all, this has been a much more successful endeavor than our first mead (Mindbender Metheglin). Now we wait.

 

[CrownedBee]

I started a blueberry vanilla variant of JAO. 6 gallons with 1lb frozen blueberries per gallon and 6 tsp (or was it tablespoons...) of vanilla extract. Here it is when it first started fermenting. We've since topped it off with water, and it's going strong.

It did something weird, though: the honey separated from the water and sank to the bottom. I know this isn't unusual for this recipe, but my first attempt at traditional JAO stayed in solution. Oh well!

 

[TrekMedic]

Well, we transferred our JAOM variant over to secondary last night. Gallery here, sorry for potato quality.

The Rock and Rye theme I was going for worked out really well. It took on exactly the flavor profile I had hoped for, and is surprisingly drinkable for a young mead. It's sweet, with an orange spice flavor on the front and the taste of cherries following shortly after. There is no pithiness from the orange rind, which I know some people have complained about.

Did you, or can you, post your Rock-And-Rye recipe? Sounds like something I might try next.

 

[iSynic]

Did you, or can you, post your Rock-And-Rye recipe? Sounds like something I might try next.

Absolutely!

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=7471370&postcount=2514

• 5 Gallon Batch
• 18 lbs. fresh local clover honey
• 8 smallish Blood Oranges cut into eighths (about 3-4 lbs worth, only used blood oranges for color so feel free to sub them out for another variety)
• Zest from 1 Lemon
• 1 bag of sweet/tart dried cherries (probably 50-60 cherries). They should be sticky, not totally dehydrated.
• 4 sticks of cinnamon
• 2 whole cloves
• 1 Star Anise
• 1/2 oz of Horehound
• EC1118 Yeast

Similar to JAOM, let sit for 6-8 weeks until it's mostly clear. Mine was still slightly opaque after 7 weeks but we racked it off and it cleared in less than 4 hours in secondary.

You can drink by itself, add rye whiskey (or whiskey soaked wood) to secondary, or make a cocktail with it. If you try it, let me know how it goes! This is my first original recipe.

 

[Jonakr]

My 6 gallon cleared after 3 months and the fruit never fell. My 1 gallons cleared in 2 months and, again, the fruit didn't fall. I'm learning that the time it takes for this recipe to clear is a "your mileage may vary" guesstimate. I doubt racking will hurt it, but I think you could just as easily let it sit!

I started mine in November 2015, and kept waiting for the fruit to fall. The raisins never did, and my notes don't include when the orange did. I bottled and sampled yesterday, and although my wife finds the alcohol flavor unpleasant, I think I like it.

 

[sablesurfer]

It did something weird, though: the honey separated from the water and sank to the bottom. I know this isn't unusual for this recipe, but my first attempt at traditional JAO stayed in solution. Oh well!

Yeah, that happened to me once as well. I was using some very old honey, and it really didn't want to go back into solution. In the end it all fermented anyway.

 

[brewski09]

I started a blueberry vanilla variant of JAO. 6 gallons with 1lb frozen blueberries per gallon and 6 tsp (or was it tablespoons...) of vanilla extract. Here it is when it first started fermenting. We've since topped it off with water, and it's going strong.



It did something weird, though: the honey separated from the water and sank to the bottom. I know this isn't unusual for this recipe, but my first attempt at traditional JAO stayed in solution. Oh well!

That might be a ton of vanilla

 

[CrownedBee]

That might be a ton of vanilla

I checked my logbook, and I added 6 tsp. It smells like blueberry pie filling!

Yeah, that happened to me once as well. I was using some very old honey, and it really didn't want to go back into solution. In the end it all fermented anyway.

We used new honey, so I'm not really sure what was different about it versus the first batch. But I know the yeast will get to it.

I started mine in November 2015, and kept waiting for the fruit to fall. The raisins never did, and my notes don't include when the orange did. I bottled and sampled yesterday, and although my wife finds the alcohol flavor unpleasant, I think I like it.

We bottled our 6 gallon of traditional JAO yesterday as well. I loved it and thought it was ready to drink, but my husband wants to let it bottle age at least 3 months. I admire his restraint! And too bad that your wife doesn't like it, but that means more for you!

 

[TorMag]

My 6 gallon cleared after 3 months and the fruit never fell. My 1 gallons cleared in 2 months and, again, the fruit didn't fall. I'm learning that the time it takes for this recipe to clear is a "your mileage may vary" guesstimate. I doubt racking will hurt it, but I think you could just as easily let it sit!

Interestingly enough, I had to split my one gallon between to .5 gallon mason jars with fermentation lids. One jar is now clear and the other is still hazy. The recipe was split right down the middle between the 2 jars. The only difference is the hazy jar was exposed to more light than the clear jar.

 

[salli4102]

After my brother and I tried our hand at a dry Metheglin last year we wanted to go with something a bit sweeter and fruitier.

We decided to give this a try, though we did vary the recipe a bit. I've been drinking Rock and Rye (recipe is about half-way down) and this seemed like a good mead to modify for a similar theme.

What we settled on:

5 Gallon Batch
18 lbs. fresh local clover honey
8 smallish Blood Oranges (for color, about 3-4 lbs worth)
Zest from 1 Lemon
1 bag of sweet/tart dried cherries (instead of raisins, probably 50-60 cherries)
4 sticks of cinnamon
2 whole cloves
1 Star Anise
1/2 oz of Horehound

This is fermentation after ~36 hours, looks like it's taking on some color from the blood oranges and cherries:

We're considering soaking some rye whiskey into oak cubes and adding them to secondary before bottling.

I'm going to have to give this a try. Good job!

 

[thunderwagn]

Made another batch of JOAM today. I added a small squeeze of lemon, 4 bl pepper corns, and a small pinch of coriander along with the stock ingredients.

 

[CrownedBee]

Made another batch of JOAM today. I added a small squeeze of lemon, 4 bl pepper corns, and a small pinch of coriander along with the stock ingredients.

Peppercorns? That'll be interesting. I guess they're not too unlike clove. Have you used peppercorns in brewing before?

 

[thunderwagn]

Peppercorns? That'll be interesting. I guess they're not too unlike clove. Have you used peppercorns in brewing before?

In beer, yes. In mead, no. I did see a few mead recipes using them and I tried to play it conservatively.

 

[treacheroustexan]

Any bottling tips? The fruit has fallen! Just siphon into wine bottles?

 

[CrownedBee]

In beer, yes. In mead, no. I did see a few mead recipes using them and I tried to play it conservatively.

Well please keep us posted! I'd love to know how it turns out.

Any bottling tips? The fruit has fallen! Just siphon into wine bottles?

I racked my mead into another carboy and let it settle for another week or two to reduce the chances of getting sediment in my bottles. If that's not an option for you, just be careful not to disturb the fallen fruit. Good luck!

 

[TrekMedic]

I racked my mead into another carboy and let it settle for another week or two to reduce the chances of getting sediment in my bottles. If that's not an option for you, just be careful not to disturb the fallen fruit. Good luck!

I ended up racking it into another 1-gallon container, cleaned out the gunk in the original carboy and sterilized it, then racked it back with an airlock (just in case). Sure enough, it started bubbling again but, fortunately, we had a severe cold snap that weekend, so I cold-crashed it in my garage. When all was said and done, the lees settled to the bottom and I re-racked it back into another 1-gallon container and it's currently sitting in my basement. I plan on checking it every 3 months until I'm satisfied with the taste.

 

[treacheroustexan]

I started a blueberry vanilla variant of JAO. 6 gallons with 1lb frozen blueberries per gallon and 6 tsp (or was it tablespoons...) of vanilla extract. Here it is when it first started fermenting. We've since topped it off with water, and it's going strong.

It did something weird, though: the honey separated from the water and sank to the bottom. I know this isn't unusual for this recipe, but my first attempt at traditional JAO stayed in solution. Oh well!

Did you still use the cinnamon and clove or did you eliminate that?

 

[CrownedBee]

Did you still use the cinnamon and clove or did you eliminate that?

Eliminated it. Just blueberries and vanilla for this one. If it needs more spice, I'll throw a clove into the next batch.

 

[Texconsinite]

Thats amount of vanilla extract should be VERY noticeable. I usually use 1Tablespoon in my Oatmeal stout

 

[Elkobrewer]

Bottled this today and had to try some I don't think it will last long once the SWMBO gets her hands on it

 

[brewski09]

Did you still use the cinnamon and clove or did you eliminate that?

I'm a fan of cinnamon with blueberries

 

[CrownedBee]

I'm a fan of cinnamon with blueberries

I've tried the combo in oatmeal, and I like it, too. I'm pretty new to brewing, though, and I didn't want to throw too much into the carboy without having a baseline. I'll start simple, then get more complex.

 

[brewski09]

I've tried the combo in oatmeal, and I like it, too. I'm pretty new to brewing, though, and I didn't want to throw too much into the carboy without having a baseline. I'll start simple, then get more complex.

Make the mead without anything else and then make a tincture of cinnamon with vodka (carbon filtering really helps clean up the flavors and give you a neutral vodka from a cheap vodka). Then you can add a teaspoon at serving time and see what you like. I'd also try some citrus zest in there but just enough to know its there without too distinct flavors. Then next time you can incorporate it into the whole batch of you like it.

 

[CrownedBee]

Make the mead without anything else and then make a tincture of cinnamon with vodka (carbon filtering really helps clean up the flavors and give you a neutral vodka from a cheap vodka). Then you can add a teaspoon at serving time and see what you like. I'd also try some citrus zest in there but just enough to know its there without too distinct flavors. Then next time you can incorporate it into the whole batch of you like it.

That's actually a fantastic idea. Thank you!!

 

[brewski09]

That's actually a fantastic idea. Thank you!!

It's how I do stout additions and add to meads when I haven't added enough (or experiment with different mead additions). Works great with chili peppers and cocoa nibs as well.