Just had my first glass of JOAM...damn that's intense. Did I screw it up?

[jagec]

Until I got into homebrewing, the only experience that I had with mead was at a renn fair, where I found it to be a fairly boring drink.

Fast-forward to when I start brewing, and after several batches of beer I decided to give a try to other fermented beverages. I made a batch of JOAM, following the recipe, but adding a few craisins and some extra honey as well. I measured an OG of 1.13. That was three months ago.

The mead has been nice and clear for a while now, so I just took a hydrometer reading and a sample glass. FG of 1.03, yielding about 13% ABV. Seems a little sweet by beer-brewing standards, but OK.

Well, the sample glass was overwhelming. LOTS of hot alcohol taste, LOTS of sugar, LOTS of bitterness from the orange rind, LOTS of spice, LOTS of orange. It was vaguely reminiscent of a turbocharged dessert wine plus orange, or an overly sweetened mulled wine. I can't help but think that the best thing to add to this would be more water. Mind you, this was at room temp, but I can't see myself being able to drink much more than a glass of the stuff at a time.

So...what did I do wrong? Should I bottle/carb and just give it some time to mellow out? Or is mead always this potent? I'd read that you can't really taste a good mead in this country unless you brew it yourself...well, I guess I'm still looking.

 

[Zbay]

Sounds like a little more aging in the bottle wouldn't hurt it much. Give her a little more time, and hope the flavors cool down a bit.

 

[fatbloke]

I don't care what the recipe says......

After at least half a dozen batches, its never ready once its cleared and the fruit has dropped....

Like other meads, it needs at least 6 months of ageing. The sweetness mellows, the pithy bitterness recedes and balances. It will still be sweet, that's intended. Just that as long as the recipe was followed to a "T", including being careful with the spices, it should be fine......

 

[Machalel]

How much extra honey did you add? That will possibly make it sweeter than intended.

Mead take a lot longer to mellow than beer.
I don't know what you like to drink, but think about the difference between a quick 4% Pale Ale and a 9% Barley-wine, and how ageing really helps the Barley-wine. Then do that same mental-jump from a 9% Barley-wine to a 14% Mead!

 

[Tnoodle]

At 8 months this mead will blow your mind. Let it sit a for a while and you will not be disappointed.

 

[Aquavitae]

I just tried mine, coincidentally my first mead as well, tonight. I notice no pith bitterness from the peels and to me it is a tad too sweet. Any suggestions on how to cut that sweetness? Maybe (blasphemy!!) mix it with some OJ when I drink it? I haven't completely lost hope for it. I intend to let it age some more...just curious.

 

[jagec]

How much extra honey did you add? That will possibly make it sweeter than intended.

Not entirely sure, to be honest. I bought a 5-lb container of clover honey back in the day, and it was starting to crystallize from lack of use. So I thought to myself, "what can I do to get rid of 3-4 lbs of honey?" and, well, that JOAM recipe seemed like just the ticket, and it claimed that it was ready-to-drink fairly quickly, for a mead.

I measured the OG (1.13), but not the actual honey.

I'll bottle it and give it some time to age. Not sure if I want it carbonated or not...I just haven't tried enough mead to know what I like. I suppose I should probably go for a still mead, just for simplicity's sake.

I'll banish it to the basement for a few more months.

 

[Tnoodle]

Not entirely sure, to be honest. I bought a 5-lb container of clover honey back in the day, and it was starting to crystallize from lack of use. So I thought to myself, "what can I do to get rid of 3-4 lbs of honey?" and, well, that JOAM recipe seemed like just the ticket, and it claimed that it was ready-to-drink fairly quickly, for a mead.

I measured the OG (1.13), but not the actual honey.

I'll bottle it and give it some time to age. Not sure if I want it carbonated or not...I just haven't tried enough mead to know what I like. I suppose I should probably go for a still mead, just for simplicity's sake.

I'll banish it to the basement for a few more months.

4 lbs of honey is alot, JAOM is meant to be sweet so adding extra honey is not the best idea. But if you let it age it will mellow.

 

[robin850]

JAOM start to finish...about 80 days. racked it, let it sit another 30 days, stabilized, bottled.
each week you let it sit, it tastes even better.

only 1 bottle left. gotta make more, this stuff is awesome.

cheers,

robin850

 

[kevokie]

My first taste of JAOM was the same, overpowering everything...but still pretty decent. I'm letting mine age right now. It should be good to go around June or July i figure.

 

[Meadrol]

What yeast did you use?

 

[jagec]

Standard bread yeast. I think I'll try it again tonight, now that it's been sitting in the fridge for a while. Hopefully it has mellowed out a little.

 

[Meadrol]

Just let it bulk age for a while in a cool dark place before you bottle it up; it'll smooth out for you.