Joe's Ancient Orange Mead

[sablesurfer]

Well, I had to move this out of fermentor today because I have two beers going in. Went a head and moved it to secondary like I do all of mine (yes, not following the rules) and had a taste.

Interesting!

Smells like a JOAM, I didn't realize there is a distinct aroma. But with lots of grapefruit in the carboy. Not so much in the glass. The taste is very different too! Half strength means no heat right now, and the grapefruit is first time I have had any pithiness at all. But it is good. The mouthfeel is WAY thinner than regular, but look at the gravity reading. Anyone ever expect a bread yeast to break under 1.000??

Overall taste remarkably like a grapefruit IPA, and ironically I was actually thinking about force carbing a mead just to see...so I guess this one will be it.

Going to try this low gravity, just to see.

3lbs of honey from a farmers market CSA farm
1 full sized grapefruit
- Sliced it in cross sections instead of quarters, I want more citrus juice exposed to mead
- One half of the grapefruit, I scored up the skin a lot to get more citrus oils exposed
1 sm handful of grapes
1 stick cinnamon snapped in three
2 allspice berries crushed between fingers

And...out of style
8oz of some remaining 180 syrup that was laying around

Made a 2gallon batch with this. OG = 1.054, so looking at 5% if fully attenuates. It will follow the standard length of aging and clearing as it is supposed to.

Things that could be issues:
- might be too thin since the yeast can easily handle this ABV
- might be too dilute honey wise since double the liquid

But, wanted to see what would happen. If it is ok, I might even force carbonate in a keg.

 

[sablesurfer]

LOL...only this morning reading my own quote. Well at least I am consistent. (Yesterday was a two brew day and this had to be transferred during all that, so i was a bit distracted.)

 

[fuzzy2133]

Smells like a JOAM, I didn't realize there is a distinct aroma. But with lots of grapefruit in the carboy. Not so much in the glass. The taste is very different too! Half strength means no heat right now, and the grapefruit is first time I have had any pithiness at all. But it is good. The mouthfeel is WAY thinner than regular, but look at the gravity reading. Anyone ever expect a bread yeast to break under 1.000??

Yes, I have done 3 batches and all were 1.004 to 0.998. Thought the first one was a fluke 0.998 so had to make more for ya know for science!

 

[TorMag]

Just had my first glass of this stuff. Great color and taste, really loved it, but man does this have a way of sneaking up on you....

 

[olephart]

Finally got around to bottling my JAOM tonight.

i made it on 1/30/16, racked it off the yeast on 4/3/16, and bottled it today 6/28/16.

The OG was 1.268, and the FG is 0.994.....35.9% ABV...

Wow, did that bread yeast really take it up to 35.9%? :


Can't wait to take some to the brother-in-laws... Maybe I'll "forget" to tell him about the ABV...

 

[rlmiller10]

Finally got around to bottling my JAOM tonight.

i made it on 1/30/16, racked it off the yeast on 4/3/16, and bottled it today 6/28/16.

The OG was 1.268, and the FG is 0.994.....35.9% ABV...

Wow, did that bread yeast really take it up to 35.9%? :


Can't wait to take some to the brother-in-laws... Maybe I'll "forget" to tell him about the ABV...

Something is not right there. How many lb of honey per gallon did you use? That OG sounds very high. My calculations say you would have to use about 7.9 lb of honey per gallon of must to get that OG. At 4 lb per gallon you could get close to 1.126

 

[meatcleaver]

Finally got around to bottling my JAOM tonight.

i made it on 1/30/16, racked it off the yeast on 4/3/16, and bottled it today 6/28/16.

The OG was 1.268, and the FG is 0.994.....35.9% ABV...

Wow, did that bread yeast really take it up to 35.9%? :

no, no it did not

 

[olephart]

Something is not right there. How many lb of honey per gallon did you use? That OG sounds very high. My calculations say you would have to use about 7.9 lb of honey per gallon of must to get that OG. At 4 lb per gallon you could get close to 1.126

I followed the JAOM recipe. Who knows what the hydrometer actually read, ( still have a little trouble figuring that out sometimes, while wearing two pairs of reading glasses....). I made it while my first batch of Mr beer was fermenting, it was my second batch of anything. My notes weren't the best either, about two lines...

 

[olephart]

I followed the JAOM recipe. Who knows what the hydrometer actually read, ( still have a little trouble figuring that out sometimes, while wearing two pairs of reading glasses....). I made it while my first batch of Mr beer was fermenting, it was my second batch of anything. My notes weren't the best either, about two lines...

I checked my "notes" and now I'm more confused...
"O.G. 1.268, Brix 29.5", the potential alcohol was "17%", according to my hydrometer...

0.994 isn't that far from 1.000, so what am I doing wrong with these online ABV calculators?
I'm gonna just go by what my hydrometer suggests, "17%".


I used 3 lbs of honey in a one gal. batch, I think. I'd have to run to the store and look at the bottle size.

 

[fuzzy2133]

I checked my "notes" and now I'm more confused...
"O.G. 1.268, Brix 29.5", the potential alcohol was "17%", according to my hydrometer...

0.994 isn't that far from 1.000, so what am I doing wrong with these online ABV calculators?
I'm gonna just go by what my hydrometer suggests, "17%".


I used 3 lbs of honey in a one gal. batch, I think. I'd have to run to the store and look at the bottle size.

I am wondering if the honey was not fully dissolved and your sample was thick with honey.

 

[rlmiller10]

I checked my "notes" and now I'm more confused...
"O.G. 1.268, Brix 29.5", the potential alcohol was "17%", according to my hydrometer...

0.994 isn't that far from 1.000, so what am I doing wrong with these online ABV calculators?
I'm gonna just go by what my hydrometer suggests, "17%".


I used 3 lbs of honey in a one gal. batch, I think. I'd have to run to the store and look at the bottle size.

What fuzzy said.

3 lb per gallon would give about 1.102 for an OG. If you have a final of .994 that would make an alcohol of 14.4% abv Honey can vary though so that is probably the high side.

Can bread yeast do it? Yes it can. Not necessarily consistent as I have had JAOM finish anywhere from 1.018 to .996 with all else as constant as I could keep it.

 

[olephart]

I followed the JAOM recipe. Who knows what the hydrometer actually read, ( still have a little trouble figuring that out sometimes, while wearing two pairs of reading glasses....). I made it while my first batch of Mr beer was fermenting, it was my second batch of anything. My notes weren't the best either, about two lines...

What fuzzy said.

3 lb per gallon would give about 1.102 for an OG. If you have a final of .994 that would make an alcohol of 14.4% abv Honey can vary though so that is probably the high side.

Can bread yeast do it? Yes it can. Not necessarily consistent as I have had JAOM finish anywhere from 1.018 to .996 with all else as constant as I could keep it.

Aha! I've finally figured this out.

When I purchased a composition notebook to keep track of my brewing, I had to copy over my data for the three things I had brewed/made, (Mr Beer Classic American Light, Mr Beer Mexican Cerveza, and of course JAOM).

It turns out that when I copied the information over for the JOAM I miswrote the OG as 1.268.... It should have been 1.1268. :smack:

This puts the ABV at 17.4%.:rockin:

 

[CreamyGoodness]

Here is a short list of my favorite things about JAOM:

1) I dont spend all that much money making a batch.
2) I need very little specialized equiptment to make it
3) I dont have to stress out too much about fermentation temperatures
4) I dont have to check OG or FG (I know that it will indeed get me drunk)

I like that everyone takes it so seriously, but I love that I dont have to

 

[TorMag]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1468076144.022416.jpg

Picked up 5 lbs of North Georgia Wildflower honey at the farmers market this morning for my next batch.

 

[TokyoTerror]

I'm giving this a go. This is my first mead. I've done 4 batches of home brew beer with less than stellar results. Always tasted meaty!? Hope this turns out better. I used 2 peeled "cuties" and their zest. Hand full of large golden raisins, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 clove, 2 whole allspice, and a 3 lb tub of raw, unfiltered desert bloom honey. I had some old champagne yeast that I threw in. It's bubbling away. Fingers crossed. I'll let you know how it is in two months!

 

[TrekMedic]

View attachment 361429

Picked up 5 lbs of North Georgia Wildflower honey at the farmers market this morning for my next batch.

Looks like what I used to make my methiglin! Have you opened it and tried to pour it? My batch was like extra-thick molasses.

 

[TorMag]

Looks like what I used to make my methiglin! Have you opened it and tried to pour it? My batch was like extra-thick molasses.

Not yet.... Will let you know.

 

[DeadNutsBrewing]

The meaty taste in the beer usually comes from autolysis. Try getting your beer off of the yeast cake sooner. Mead is a different story though and is pretty hard to screw up assuming you have good sanitary practices.

 

[TokyoTerror]

Thx for the info about the meat taste. I'll research this and adjust accordingly.

 

[katr1n1o]

Joe's Ancient Orange is a great recipe for newbie mead makers. I was really happy with my first batch, except that orthodox Joe's is too sweet for me.

After a little experimentation, I have cut back to 3lbs of honey, and have switched from bread yeast to Lalvin EC1118. The finished product is still pretty sweet, but less so than the original. I might try a smidge of vanilla in my next batch.

 

[DeadNutsBrewing]

I did one with blueberry and vanilla that turned out pretty good.

 

[CrownedBee]

I did one with blueberry and vanilla that turned out pretty good.

I started a blueberry-vanilla variant in May, and I'm (impatiently) waiting for it to clear. Just a few more months, right?

 

[KrystoferGrim]

Greetings everyone,

After recently discovering my love for mead and its relatively low maintenance capabilities, I decided to dive into the world of mead making! Here I followed the JAOM recipe as close as possible, but wanted to try it with some darker full flavored honeys.

I found a 2lb. jar of some raw Ukrainian buckwheat at my local grocery store (it was on sale and had a nice amber color to it). I also picked up some Wildflower honey to round out the taste (as I've heard that the buckwheat is a little too overpowering). I'm hoping to get a nice festive tasting wine from this when all is said and done.

1 Gallon spring water
2.2 lbs Raw buckwheat honey
1 lb "Natural" Wildflower honey
0.3 lb Acacia honey (just for the sake of amounting to 3.5 lbs per the recipe)
1 Orange with the tops chopped off (to reduce some of the pith)
1 cinnamon stick
A pinch of Chaucer's mulling spice (to add a little clove flavor)
25 Raisins
Fleischman's Active Dry

I mixed everything together in the carboy and gave it a lot of head room (in case of eruption). Topped it off with water the next day and it is fermenting beautifully! I'm thinking of using some "reclaimed" Grolsch bottles after the 2 months are up. Are those bottles pretty good at preserving mead?

 

[brewski09]

Greetings everyone,



After recently discovering my love for mead and its relatively low maintenance capabilities, I decided to dive into the world of mead making! Here I followed the JAOM recipe as close as possible, but wanted to try it with some darker full flavored honeys.



I found a 2lb. jar of some raw Ukrainian buckwheat at my local grocery store (it was on sale and had a nice amber color to it). I also picked up some Wildflower honey to round out the taste (as I've heard that the buckwheat is a little too overpowering). I'm hoping to get a nice festive tasting wine from this when all is said and done.



1 Gallon spring water

2.2 lbs Raw buckwheat honey

1 lb "Natural" Wildflower honey

0.3 lb Acacia honey (just for the sake of amounting to 3.5 lbs per the recipe)

1 Orange with the tops chopped off (to reduce some of the pith)

1 cinnamon stick

A pinch of Chaucer's mulling spice (to add a little clove flavor)

25 Raisins

Fleischman's Active Dry



I mixed everything together in the carboy and gave it a lot of head room (in case of eruption). Topped it off with water the next day and it is fermenting beautifully! I'm thinking of using some "reclaimed" Grolsch bottles after the 2 months are up. Are those bottles pretty good at preserving mead?

Grolsch bottles aren't great with oxidation IMO

 

[NeilGordon]

Well I started my mead today after following the directions. Well I thought I did and grabbed the wrong yeast. I grabbed the red star quick rise bread yeast. Is this something that should be pitched and start over or let it ride out.

 

[beernbourbon]

Meh, let it ride. See what happens. Maybe do another batch for comparison and for 'just in case'
I'm sitting at 4 months of the fruit still hangin out around the top of the jug on my latest batch. Patience and trust in the method. Even if ya screw it up, it won't be all bad. You might find that it tastes different, but still good.

 

[NeilGordon]

What is the outcome or why is it said not to use fast rising yeast? Does it create a hotter flavor that takes longer to fade out? Or does it poop out and can't carry on the fermentation process? I wish the original author of this thread would make it clear on exactly what to use. Did not see until page 7 or 8 that quick rise was not the way. Tried to research this and I can't find any solid answer. Thanks in advance

 

[beernbourbon]

That, I dunno. Maybe @Yooper can help out with this one.

 

[brewski09]

So, I've never done it myself, but plenty of people have used rapid rise yeast with no issues reported. Just what I've heard from others reporting when I've asked them.

 

[NeilGordon]

well just a bit of an update to my try on this. I went ahead and moved it over to a secondary this evening and sampled a bit of what I had. I think it will turn out just fine. It does have a taste of the medicine that everyone talks about but also a strong orange flavor. I could see this smoothing out over time. Its still giving off some bubbles so I plan to allow it to finish and clear before bottling. Thank you for the help!