Joe's Ancient Orange Mead

[RPh_Guy]

On another note, I was just talking to an aunt in Denmark, and she mentioned that at some point she adds a tablespoon of salt for 30 minutes before or during bottling (google translation with my family's dialect is not very precise, lol). Now, I've done some research in the past regarding fusel oils and I wonder if this is part of conditioning it before bottling... ie mix in some saline solution, let stand for 30 minutes, then decant to eliminate some amount of amyl alcohol or whatever.

Huh?
Both NaCl and amyl alcohol are completely water soluble.

 

[Byron Sonne]

Indeed, but search for 'brine' in this article... tbh, I'm still not sure exactly what she means (but I don't want to jack this thread too deeply) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amyl_alcohol

To wit: "The most important is isobutyl carbinol, the chief constituent of fermentation amyl alcohol and a constituent of fusel oil. It can be separated from fusel oil by either of two methods: shaking with strong brine solution and separating the oily layer from the brine layer"

 

[RPh_Guy]

^^^ If anyone is taking this seriously I have some magic beans to sell you ;]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_and_the_Beanstalk


(No offense)

 

[Byron Sonne]

heh, none taken. I'm just trying to figure out what she's talking about regarding salt, as I've never heard that before, and I'm grasping at straws!

 

[R.M. Mead Productions]

Any succes with JAOM using orange zest and peeled oranges. And has anyone used Lalvin D47 in a JAOM and how did it turn out?

 

[RPh_Guy]

I have used D47 and it turned out good but it was not as drinkable as soon as my batches with the bread yeast were. The batches I have done without the white pith of the orange were the best,. The pros of using D47 were that it was easier to bottle and keep it clear. The cons of using it were the higher ABV which means it will take longer to age out the heat, and the temp range of D47 is very low so I can only use it during the fall and winter.

This. Thread search
And

It'll be drier, since bread yeast isn't very attenuative. The bread yeast leaves it pretty sweet, and the d47 has a much higher alcohol tolerance and may take it dry. It'll still be really good, especially if you don't like sweet meads anyway.

 

[R.M. Mead Productions]

This. Thread search
And

Thankyou very much, I didn't want to have to read the 70 pages. I never realized there was a way to search inside a thread.

 

[Peter D Day]

Hello members. I'm a new member and a beekeeper, and I just make my first batch of Joe's Ancient Orange Mead. I was wondering if anyone can tell me at approximately what ABV the Fleishmann's yeast will stop working?

 

[RPh_Guy]

Hello members. I'm a new member and a beekeeper, and I just make my first batch of Joe's Ancient Orange Mead. I was wondering if anyone can tell me at approximately what ABV the Fleishmann's yeast will stop working?

... 10% on gravity readings from the ones I have made. There is some variability. I have had from 12% to 8%....

Cheers

 

[Peter D Day]

Thanks for the response RPh Guy.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Thanks, guys - I started this tonight and I think it will turn out good.

A couple of deviations, more from necessity than anything else:

The amount of honey I used was probably an ounce or three shy of 3.5 pounds, but I am sure it will be fine. The biggest share of it was raw, unfiltered Montana honey, while half a pound of it was a blend of Montana honey and Montana huckleberry, just because that is what I had on hand.

I grated what looked like a pinch of nutmeg off of a whole...nugget? Nut? I am not sure what it is called. It might have been a bit more, but I am sure this will be fine, too.

I wanted to zest and then juice the orange, but couldn't find one part of my juicer that was needed; so, I zested it, then peeled it (pulling off any substantial "strings" of pith), then cut the segments into chunks and tossed everything in. My logic was that this would be much easier to remove from the fermenter, and also would eliminate any potential bitterness from the pith. My son, who has made this before, said that he noticed no bitterness when he made his (pith and all), but by then I had already done it, so we will see how it goes. It will be fine, I am sure.

Having no Fleischmann's yeast, I used a generous teaspoon of "Western Family" yeast, which is distributed by a regional grocery chain. As with everything else above, I am willing to bet that this will be fine.

Between the honey and about half a gallon of water (i used a local spring water that makes great beer), I had about 3/4 of the fermenter filled by the time I was finished. I will leave this alone for 3 days or so until the most active period of fermentation is complete, then will top up to a gallon.

More as it happens, etc. &c...

Ron

I bottled this mead last night, and I believe it is going to be pretty good!

The bottling went fairly well; I got about 4.5 bottles out of the total gallon, which is pretty good considering that there was a lot of "sediment" in there from the yeast, the orange zest/pulp, the raisins etc. Bread yeast does not flocculate very well, meaning that it does not settle and pack down the way other brewing and vintning yeasts will do. I did "cold-crash" the fermenter for a couple of days, and this helped quite a bit to settle the yeast down.

The half-bottle was sampled and we were pretty impressed with it. I think with a little bit of aging it will be really good. It might be a very wee bit sweet for my taste, but I certainly will not criticize it. The recipe - as written - tells you to include the orange peel for a reason; this is, I believe, in order to balance the inherent sweetness of this mead. I departed from that instruction, so the consequences are mine. Having said that, it tastes pretty good, anyway!

I'll give it a month or two to settle from the "bottle shock," then will see how it is. The bulk of this mead will be held in reserve until Christmastime, when it will, I think, be a welcome part of the holiday cheer.

Ron

 

[rlmiller10]

Excellent, can be a little hard to get the residual sweetness just right on this as the yeast doesn't appear to be very consistent. I have had it go from about 8% up to almost 12% ABV. So one back can be sweet at 3 lb honey per gallon and the next not so much. But it is never bad.

 

[Funkychef]

Well I have started my first Mead! Thanks for the super simple recipe! Only if all brew days were this quick! Now the wait....

 

[Tarpon87]

Just racked mine off the fruit and yeast after 2 months and 2 weeks so I can bottle it. It was really good, orange was coming through strong but not overly bitter from the pith.

 

[roweman07]

I just racked my first JAOM off the fruit, and put all the yeast and mixed up mead from the bottom of the jug into a water bottle. After being in the fridge for a couple days it cleared up nice for me to taste it. It's a little hot but I am very impressed. It's freaking delicious. This will be great thru the summer.

I started another one January 25th with the full amount of specified spices. I'm saving it for Christmas. I'm the only person in my family to have mead so I'm hoping it's a real treat for them.

 

[SIRMIGHTYBALLS]

.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Hey guys do you know if store bought chocolate covered cherries would work in mead or would their ingredients hurt it?

Probably should look at the ingredients and research individually.

It might make more sense to just add cherry and chocolate by some other means.

This thread is for a particular recipe involving neither of those ingredients, might want to start your own thread for more advice.

Cheers

 

[SIRMIGHTYBALLS]

Sorry,kind of new to this,ill remove it now

 

[rlmiller10]

This is probably my 10th batch of JAOM and this is a first for me. It has been over two months now and I still have fermentation. I never did have a vigorous fermentation but for the last month at least it has been one bubble per 30 to 45 seconds. Fruit is all floating and I don't see any nasty to indicate mold or bacteria. It just keeps bubbling along.

A few days ago I started measuring and recording the bubble interval so I can see if it is slowing down. I will let it go, but just wanted to let others who might read this know that if your batch does not clear and the fruit drop in 2 months, don't worry. Seems consistency is not a JAOM trait.

 

[Boomer]

Just made this (kinda).

I did one gallon with just honey, an orange, and a cinnamon stick. I did the other gallon with honey, an orange, and two cloves.

Letting it cool now and pitching yeast in a bit. Never made it before so I’m looking forward to trying it in a few months!

 

[Hankhill11]

I'd wager you'll find your JAOM a lot more palatable.
Cheers

So, I jumped the gun by 4 days, racked it to a separate gallon to clear a little in the frig before final bottling. It tastes amazing. 100% followed the recipe up to and including keeping it upstairs where its warmer. I will be putting on another batch of this as soon as i have the supplies.

With regard to comparing it to Viking Blood, its hard to say its any better or worse. It certainly has a lot of flavors going on, its not as high alcohol (but i didn't measure anything so i hve no idea what it actually is), but I think they're both good in their own way. lovin it.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

I bottled this mead last night, and I believe it is going to be pretty good!

The bottling went fairly well; I got about 4.5 bottles out of the total gallon, which is pretty good considering that there was a lot of "sediment" in there from the yeast, the orange zest/pulp, the raisins etc. Bread yeast does not flocculate very well, meaning that it does not settle and pack down the way other brewing and vintning yeasts will do. I did "cold-crash" the fermenter for a couple of days, and this helped quite a bit to settle the yeast down.

The half-bottle was sampled and we were pretty impressed with it. I think with a little bit of aging it will be really good. It might be a very wee bit sweet for my taste, but I certainly will not criticize it. The recipe - as written - tells you to include the orange peel for a reason; this is, I believe, in order to balance the inherent sweetness of this mead. I departed from that instruction, so the consequences are mine. Having said that, it tastes pretty good, anyway!

I'll give it a month or two to settle from the "bottle shock," then will see how it is. The bulk of this mead will be held in reserve until Christmastime, when it will, I think, be a welcome part of the holiday cheer.

Ron

Well, everyone - I am going to call this a success!

The mead is actually much more clear than the photo indicates; I took several pictures, but the one that turned out best was from the last glass that we poured, so a little bit of sediment had kicked up; considering the bread yeast that is used, it only takes a little to affect the clarity.

The taste, in my opinion, is what counts, and this was very good. The spices were in perfect balance, for me, and the honey came through beautifully. I know that by mead standards this is very young, but I honestly don't see why it can't be enjoyed - and enjoyed very much - at this stage.

As noted above, the only major departure from the recipe/method is that I used orange zest rather than whole peel; this worked well for me, but it was probably a mite sweet, compared to what it "should" be. I liked it this way, but the next time I make it I will use the whole peel; Ill then compare the results and go forward with what I prefer.

Other than that, I wouldn't change anything. The orange and spice are spectacular here, and make a very drinkable mead. I have a good supply left that I will "try" to save for Christmas, but it may not last that long.

If you want to dip your toes into meadmaking, this is a great gateway and worth a shot; just remember that it does break a lot of "rules," but if you follow it, you will end up with good results.

 

[Hankhill11]

I've started a 2nd batch while awaiting my first to clear in the frig. This time I used a blood orange, hoping for a little different color.

 

[Byron Sonne]

Well, this run just finished a week ago and it is fantastic once again. I am so very happy I found this recipe, and I'll raise a glass to Joe for gifting us with this fine recipe. Skoal!

 

[Wortwood]

Started a batch Feb 5, in a Mr Beer, my first attempt at mead. Looks to be super clear right now, but the fruit is still floating and looks to have a little white gunk on the exposed portions. Pulled a shot through the spigot and of course it clouded from the yeasties at the bottom, and it smelled like orange rocket fuel.

Should I bottle and age? Leave it in the Mr Beer?

 

[rlmiller10]

Started a batch Feb 5, in a Mr Beer, my first attempt at mead. Looks to be super clear right now, but the fruit is still floating and looks to have a little white gunk on the exposed portions. Pulled a shot through the spigot and of course it clouded from the yeasties at the bottom, and it smelled like orange rocket fuel.

Should I bottle and age? Leave it in the Mr Beer?

You could cold crash it which would probably drop the fruit. If it is clear I would go ahead and bottle.

 

[Peter D Day]

I racked mine off the fruit to a secondary carboy when it cleared and let it settle again for a week or so, then bottled. It was crystal clear but not very drinkable so I tucked it away to age for a year. Hopefully it will get better.

 

[Randomnoob]

https://twitter.com/jrgsstuff/status/985315032308305920

Here's how mine turned out. Only change I made was using Lalvin D47 White Wine yeast. This particular batch was made the week before Christmas of 2016 and I kegged it about a month ago.

 

[Funkychef]

Well it's been 2 months..... But it's still fermenting! Shows that yeast don't hold a time schedule

 

[RPh_Guy]

Well it's been 2 months..... But it's still fermenting! Shows that yeast don't hold a time schedule