Joe's Ancient Orange Mead

[Funkychef]

Hurry up or I will drink you too

 

[WY_Not]

13 Nov. 2017
Have done ciders last year (approx 3g) and this year (approx 11g so far). Had the supplies on hand so I decided to try a mead. Followed the recipe for Joe's Ancient Orange Mead here on Homebrewtalk.com. Only change was I changed out the bread yeast for some US-05. Added a couple of allspice but no nutmeg.

Have never had mead before so should be interesting. Mixed it up late yesterday evening. Pics below are from this morning.

22 May 2018
Well, I finally got around to bottling it. Got (8) 12oz bottles out of it with a little left over. The JAOM was interesting. As mentioned, I have never had mead before so wasn't sure what to expect. I do like it though. There is still just a hint of orange rind (I think, or maybe it is one of the spices) in the taste. Hoping that will mellow now that it is in bottles and off the fruit. Still, very drinkable. No idea what the ABV is. Not even sure if it is any good as a mead but I am liking it and will definitely be doing a few more batches once I get some large mouth carboys. Huge thanks for the recipe!

Little bit of light shining through the little bit of leftover mead. Hopefully the húsvættir likes the mead. I put some in the offering bowl on the alter for them.

In picture below, the capped bottles are cherry cider (see below) and the AOM is waiting to be capped (was capped right after picture was taken).

Now the "fun" part... figuring out how to get all that fruit out of the bottom of the carboy. Note to self... If, nay when I do this style of mead again, I WILL use large mouth carboys or better yet one of those SS BrewTech Brew Buckets (conical fermenters).

Also bottled a gallon of cherry cider that I started last October. Got 9 bottles out of that batch. Turned out really good. DW is already plotting to steal some and mix it with club soda or something to make it bubbly. Now to find the time to bottle the 10g+ of cider I still have in carboys.

 

[bernardsmith]

Hiya Wy Not - and welcome. The thing is that JAOM needs to be followed to the letter for the mead to come out as JAOM. Bread yeast is supposed to leave the mead with some residual sugar and the residual sugar counter balances the bitterness from the pith of the oranges. JAOM is a novelty mead and not a beginner's mead. JAOM counter-intuitively makes use of everything we know about mead making but does so in the same way an illusionist plays with a deck of cards.

 

[RPh_Guy]

not a beginner's mead

How so? It was my beginner mead! Followed the instructions exactly (dump everything in, watch it bubble) and it turned out fantastic! (Very good at bottling, excellent at 6 months... in my opinion).
The orange I used had been stored cold for several months and the honey was a nice wildflower variety.

JAOM counter-intuitively makes use of everything we know about mead making but does so in the same way an illusionist plays with a deck of cards.

I love this

 

[WY_Not]

Yeah. What @RPh_Guy said. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. There is residual sweetness (if I wanted syrup I'd drink a dessert wine), the pithiness is almost non-existent, the flavors of the orange, spices, and honey blend nicely. I'll definitely be doing it again and in larger batches. If you want to call it something else because I used a different yeast, have at it. I may not have followed the letter of the recipe but I believe it followed the spirit of the recipe; combined all the ingredients and tucked it away in a cool, dark corner till it was nearly forgotten.

Seems like a beginner mead to me. Don't need any fancy/special ingredients, equipment, or procedures to get something that is very drinkable.

 

[bernardsmith]

Seems like a beginner mead to me. Don't need any fancy/special ingredients, equipment, or procedures to get something that is very drinkable.

If you say so. But what next mead you make uses any of the protocol of JAOM? So if it is a "beginner mead" what do you learn from making this that you can then apply to a different mead? It's a novelty mead.

 

[WY_Not]

It may not follow the protocol of other meads to the letter but it does let someone new to making get their feet wet as it were to see if doing this is something they actually have enough interest in (and patience) to continue. It covers the same basic steps; sanitizing, preparing the must, and adding yeast. Racking is not part of JAOM nor is fining technically although fining in JAOM is done with time and patience rather than some additive. Aging is there. As is bottling.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Sniped! But I'll post anyway...

But what next mead you make uses any of the protocol of JAOM?

Acquiring a fermentation vessel and airlock
Sanitation
Sourcing the honey
Measuring and pouring the honey
Diluting the honey and mixing
Aeration
Pitching yeast
Temperature control (ok, loosely)
Watching the bubbles
Patience, patience, patience
Hydrometer readings if you want
Racking (to bottling bucket)
Bottling
Aging
Drinking and enjoying a mead homebrew

It is a novelty, but also easy and introduces many concepts involved in more traditional methods, in my opinion.
What are we missing? Degassing, acid balance, nutrient additions, secondary, sulfites ...? Stuff beyond the basics/bare minimum.

 

[Boomer]

Not impatient, just curious, more than anything.

I made this mead as the first mead I’ve ever made. I set a calendar event on my phone for two months after the day I made it. That was yesterday. The fruit is still floating, it hasn’t cleared at all, and I’m wondering if maybe I need to pitch more yeast or add a nutrient, or something.

Otherwise, I’m just gonna let it sit there until the fruit drops out. No rush on this one.

 

[Funkychef]

I'm at the same point too and my first Mead.as well. I'm 10 days over 2 months and looks like still frementing. I'm going to let mine ride for another month

 

[RPh_Guy]

Cold crashing and/or waiting longer is your best bet for clarity if it's obviously done fermenting. Certain products can help if you want to go that route.

If it's still fermenting, just be patient

 

[Andrew Hodgson]

Last night I bottled my 1 gallon of JAOM on day 56. Got 4 bomber bottles and a 12oz ish glass. Clarity isn't great but I handled the jug like an idiot so thats on me, before moving it it had cleared out nicely after cold crash for two days. I addressed the inevitable "how do I get the fruit out of the jug?" by using the curved end of my auto siphon to pull out the oranges, fairly easy.

Did not take an OG or FG reading and followed the recipe to the letter besides using a pinch of ground clove instead of whole cloves. I did also add a half pinch of cayenne which I think just blends with the cinnamon warmth, pretty undetectable.

This stuff is delicious. Now this is my first tasting of mead, I have had a wine infused with some honey before but not a 100% mead. The cinnamon and orange pith balance the honey and sweetness pretty well, and this stuff is potent, my little last runs 12oz glass hit me pretty hard, but the flavor does not come across as too hot. I have a feeling these bottles are not going to last long I have to bury one in a closet somewhere to see how it ages. Next up I'll try using a better quality honey and blackberries, if I can get a good deal maybe I will step up to a 5 gallon batch and then split it with different variations.

Cheers, and thanks Joe!

 

[Maylar]

Not impatient, just curious, more than anything.

I made this mead as the first mead I’ve ever made. I set a calendar event on my phone for two months after the day I made it. That was yesterday. The fruit is still floating, it hasn’t cleared at all, and I’m wondering if maybe I need to pitch more yeast or add a nutrient, or something.

Otherwise, I’m just gonna let it sit there until the fruit drops out. No rush on this one.

Nominal time for the JAOM is about 100 days. The pic in my avatar was at 30 days, the fruit fell in 75 days and I bottled at about 90 days. But figure 100.

 

[Boomer]

Nominal time for the JAOM is about 100 days. The pic in my avatar was at 30 days, the fruit fell in 75 days and I bottled at about 90 days. But figure 100.

Sounds good, thanks! One of my fermenters has cleared up nicely; but, the fruit is still floating. The other is still pretty hazy. Wondering if I need to throw some more yeast into that one.

 

[RPh_Guy]

The other is still pretty hazy. Wondering if I need to throw some more yeast into that one.

The haze is from the yeast still suspended in it

 

[Boomer]

The haze is from the yeast still suspended in it

Potentially. It was hazy before I ever pitched yeast, though.

 

[Maylar]

Don't mess with it. JAOM is intended to be made EXACTLY as written. It'll take care of itself.

 

[Ghostrider513]

Ancient Orange Mead (by Joe Mattioli)
1 gallon batch

3 1/2 lbs Clover or your choice honey or blend (will finish sweet)
1 Large orange (later cut in eights or smaller rind and all)
1 small handful of raisins (25 if you count but more or less ok)
1 stick of cinnamon
1 whole clove ( or 2 if you like - these are potent critters)
optional (a pinch of nutmeg and allspice )( very small )
1 teaspoon of Fleishmann’s bread yeast ( now don't get holy on me--- after all this is an ancient mead and that's all we had back then)
Balance water to one gallon

Process:
Use a clean 1 gallon carboy
Dissolve honey in some warm water and put in carboy
Wash orange well to remove any pesticides and slice in eights --add orange (you can push em through opening big boy -- rinds included -- its ok for this mead -- take my word for it -- ignore the experts)

Put in raisins, clove, cinnamon stick, any optional ingredients and fill to 3 inches from the top with cold water. ( need room for some foam -- you can top off with more water after the first few day frenzy)

Shake the heck out of the jug with top on, of course. This is your sophisticated aeration process.

When at room temperature in your kitchen, put in 1 teaspoon of bread yeast. ( No you don't have to rehydrate it first-- the ancients didn't even have that word in their vocabulary-- just put it in and give it a gentle swirl or not)(The yeast can fight for their own territory)

Install water airlock. Put in dark place. It will start working immediately or in an hour. (Don't use grandma's bread yeast she bought years before she passed away in the 90's)( Wait 3 hours before you panic or call me) After major foaming stops in a few days add some water and then keep your hands off of it. (Don't shake it! Don't mess with them yeastees! Let them alone except its okay to open your cabinet to smell every once in a while.

Racking --- Don't you dare
additional feeding --- NO NO
More stirring or shaking -- Your not listening, don't touch

After 2 months and maybe a few days it will slow down to a stop and clear all by itself. (How about that) (You are not so important after all) Then you can put a hose in with a small cloth filter on the end into the clear part and siphon off the golden nectar. If you wait long enough even the oranges will sink to the bottom but I never waited that long. If it is clear it is ready. You don't need a cold basement. It does better in a kitchen in the dark. (Like in a cabinet) likes a little heat (70-80). If it didn't work out... you screwed up and didn't read my instructions (or used grandma's bread yeast she bought years before she passed away) . If it didn't work out then take up another hobby. Mead is not for you. It is too complicated.
If you were successful, which I am 99% certain you will be, then enjoy your mead. When you get ready to make different mead you will probably have to unlearn some of these practices I have taught you, but hey--- This recipe and procedure works with these ingredients so don't knock it. It was your first mead. It was my tenth. Sometimes, even the experts can forget all they know and make good ancient mead.

How much honey? Crap! That didn't sound right. LOL What amount of honey do we need to use? When I was a sergeant for different prisons, the inmates would make something called Pruno. Your recipe is a better quality of Pruno but that's what they called it. Instead of yeast, they used pieces of bread. Nasty smelling stuff and good God they were so drunk. Fights and riots every time. Always wanted to try it on my own. Grind up the orange peels so you can get em outta the bottle. Trying this as soon as I find out the quantity of honey.

 

[Ghostrider513]

13 Nov. 2017
Have done ciders last year (approx 3g) and this year (approx 11g so far). Had the supplies on hand so I decided to try a mead. Followed the recipe for Joe's Ancient Orange Mead here on Homebrewtalk.com. Only change was I changed out the bread yeast for some US-05. Added a couple of allspice but no nutmeg.

Have never had mead before so should be interesting. Mixed it up late yesterday evening. Pics below are from this morning.

22 May 2018
Well, I finally got around to bottling it. Got (8) 12oz bottles out of it with a little left over. The JAOM was interesting. As mentioned, I have never had mead before so wasn't sure what to expect. I do like it though. There is still just a hint of orange rind (I think, or maybe it is one of the spices) in the taste. Hoping that will mellow now that it is in bottles and off the fruit. Still, very drinkable. No idea what the ABV is. Not even sure if it is any good as a mead but I am liking it and will definitely be doing a few more batches once I get some large mouth carboys. Huge thanks for the recipe!

Little bit of light shining through the little bit of leftover mead. Hopefully the húsvættir likes the mead. I put some in the offering bowl on the alter for them.

In picture below, the capped bottles are cherry cider (see below) and the AOM is waiting to be capped (was capped right after picture was taken).

Now the "fun" part... figuring out how to get all that fruit out of the bottom of the carboy. Note to self... If, nay when I do this style of mead again, I WILL use large mouth carboys or better yet one of those SS BrewTech Brew Buckets (conical fermenters).

Also bottled a gallon of cherry cider that I started last October. Got 9 bottles out of that batch. Turned out really good. DW is already plotting to steal some and mix it with club soda or something to make it bubbly. Now to find the time to bottle the 10g+ of cider I still have in carboys.

Cutting smaller pieces of the rind should resolve that issue. So how did it taste and did it give you a buzz? Recipe for the cherry cider. Really want to try that. Gallon size.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Cutting smaller pieces of the rind

Might this add more pith flavor?

 

[Ghostrider513]

It might. Of course, less rind and add orange flavor extract instead might be a better choice. Or keep the orange slices just 1/4 them so they come out easier. Shouldn't make much difference. Didn't mean grind up. Should have said 1/4 or 1/8th slices.

 

[NadrojtheGreat0182]

Hello Everyone! New to the Group but a long time home brewer and recent mead maker! Just made my First Batch of JAOM waiting for it to cool down some before i pitch my Yeast

I used 3Lbs of wildflower Honey, 1lb of which i Caramelized for 20 mins on Medium High Heat so we'll see how it turns out

 

[RPh_Guy]

I used 3Lbs of wildflower Honey, 1lb of which i Caramelized for 20 mins on Medium High Heat so we'll see how it turns out

Joe's Ancient Orange Bochet?
Sounds interesting! Let us know how it tastes.

Cheers & welcome to the forum!

 

[NadrojtheGreat0182]

Oh yeah! Haha well not entirely bochet but a 1/3rd ... the honey gave off a nice toasted Marshmellow flavor so well see

 

[James0816]

Fermenting is slowing. We are at about a bubble every seven seconds. Not a big drop yet but was five seconds a couple days ago. Sound like on the right track? It has been fermenting for 15 days now.. regular mead is dow to ten seconds

 

[ethics_gradient]

Sounds like it, will be another 45 days or so before you're ready to bottle. I sampled some of my last batch one month in and it was definitely not ready.

I've currently got 40L on, plan is to rack most of it into a carboy to let it clear and then package as Christmas presents. Has been very popular at work and with friends.

 

[James0816]

Sounds like it, will be another 45 days or so before you're ready to bottle. I sampled some of my last batch one month in and it was definitely not ready.

I've currently got 40L on, plan is to rack most of it into a carboy to let it clear and then package as Christmas presents. Has been very popular at work and with friends.

Oh yeah. Still gotta rack to the secondary and wait for it to clear. just waitn for the bubbles to stop to move over

 

[RPh_Guy]

Still gotta rack to the secondary and wait for it to clear. just waitn for the bubbles to stop to move over

You're breaking the JAOM rules. I'd suggest you don't deviate from protocol unless you know what you're doing (sulfite, degas, top-up). The recipe is not well suited for tinkering.

@ethics_gradient ~53 wine bottles of JAOM, nice!

 

[James0816]

You're breaking the JAOM rules. I'd suggest you don't deviate from protocol unless you know what you're doing (sulfite, degas, top-up). The recipe is not well suited for tinkering.

@ethics_gradient ~53 wine bottles of JAOM, nice!

You are absolutely correct! This guy just sits until clear

 

[formulaben]

You're breaking the JAOM rules. I'd suggest you don't deviate from protocol unless you know what you're doing (sulfite, degas, top-up). The recipe is not well suited for tinkering.

Anyone recall which post had the "final" recipe for JOAM? I recall some tweaks to the original first post or something like that. I have been casually following this thread but it's gotten quite huge and can't find the last tweak...