Malkore's (not so) Ancient Orange Mead

[Mitch311]

Could you use S-04 as the yeast for this? With 3.5lbs of honey?

I am aiming for medium sweetness. Imagine maybe a moscato or lexia wine?

I would be very happy with 12-13% as in the original JOAM.

 

[Vox]

Can someone clarify the honey dissolving process? Are you placing the container of honey in a warm bath to loosen or actually pouring honey into warm water? Newbie here. Thanks.

 

[Keithww]

Can someone clarify the honey dissolving process? Are you placing the container of honey in a warm bath to loosen or actually pouring honey into warm water? Newbie here. Thanks.

I put the jug of honey in a pot and fill it with water till the water reaches about an inch from the top of the jug. Then I remove the honey and heat the water to about 120 degrees and then turn off the fire and drop in the jug. Do everything else that needs to be done and the honey will flow easier in twenty to thirty minutes.

 

[knickknack9]

Beginning a five yeast experiment with simple mead.



The yeast strains are labeled on the bottles and I used 15 lbs of clover honey in 5 gallons of spring water. I add fermaid every four days and aerate. I will continue that until I get through the 1/3 sugar break then rerack into a secondary until my SG allows for bottling.

Also with the extra must, I used bread yeast and in the growler is bread yeast and freeze dried strawberries. (Honestly, that's what I had lying around and didn't wanna dump the extra...)

I am a long way from results, but ask me in a few months. Any criticism, ideas or questions are welcomed.

 

[Jaunte]

I just started one gallon of this recipe last week using a raw wildflower honey. I did not heat the honey with the water, instead I shook the honey in the carboy to dissolve it in solution.

At first I completely forgot to add the nutrients and energizer, but I remembered two days into the ferment. It didn't start producing carbon dioxide until a day after I added the nutrients and energizer.

I also forgot to take the initial gravity reading. I started a day after it was producing carbon dioxide, and it read 1.080.

Two days later it read 1.030.

A day later, today, I read it again at 1.018! It is moving quickly.

I also altered the recipe slightly by adding two small allspice berries and one clove flower bud to the ferment. The aroma during its fermentation is very nice, so I am excited to see how it changes.

edit*
I am also shaking the carboy to release any trapped carbon dioxide, as I don't have a wine whip or a stir plate.

 

[Yaksha808]

I just brewed this last night and it smelled and tasted pretty good!! I used some 1118 for the yeast... as of 16 hours after pitching I have active fermentation.... I had to split it into 1gal carboys... the only issue is that I had more before the top off water in one... so the initial gravity readings are vastly different... which could be a good thing... one gallon was 1.092 the other was 1.068
Pictures...

 

[fizgig]

I made this with D-47 yeast last week, today it's still fizzing up like a pop bottle that was shook up, is that normal? 1 gallon batch, 3lbs of orange blossom honey. I've never seen such a full blown fermentation for a solid week.

 

[T_Baggins]

from what I gather, honey is naturally a slow ferment.

 

[sielm]

Made a 5 liter batch of this yesterday, using D-47 too. BTW I also did what Yaksha did, I left the spices in the fermentation vessel (cinnamon and cloves) instead of straining them out. I used 1.5 kg of honey and about 4 liters of water. After adding the orange juice, orange zest and spices the SG was 1.092. I did not want an overly sweet mead, but a semi-sweet or somehow-dry variant. We'll see in a few weeks!

BTW I got airlock activity in about 5 hours after pitching.

Cheers!

 

[fizgig]

Mine took off right away too, it's been going since the 27th (2 weeks and 2 days) and it's still fizzing, it's slowed down a bit in the past few days, but it's still bubbling away. I have it in the basement at 60 degrees, I did 3lbs/1Gallon and left the spices and oranges in the fermenter.

 

[sielm]

Well, my 5 liter batch did bubble for 3 days before stopping almost completely. Right now there is no visible bubbling whatsoever. The fermentor is still well closed (the liquid in the airlock would bubble if the fermentor is pressed so it's well isolated) and the stuff in the interior is moving and generating small bubbles, but the airlock would not bubble anymore (at least visibly). Do you think it's possible that the main fermentation is done already? I read that the D-47 is a quick yeast but this looks too quick. My OG was 1.092 so it's not a very high original gravity either... During the fermentation the temperature was stable around 68ºF (20ºC).

I can see the cinammon stick and orange peel bits moving around, floating and sinking all the time (you can clearly see that the liquid is "alive" hehehe) but the airlock is no longer bubbling. Only 24 hours before it was bubbling like crazy, more than 1 bubble per second. And now it stopped... anyways I'll wait at least 2 weeks from now until racking (and testing the actual gravity).

 

[sielm]

Well, sorted it out. The rubber stopper did get a bit loose (from the pressure, I assume) so the airlock was not totally hermetic. I fixed it and the actual activity is plenty. It's bubbling like once every 2 secs. Everything looks fine so I just hope no infections got in there during the time the airlock was not sealing properly...

 

[SirVilhelm]

Quick question, when you take the gravity reading to you put the tested mead back into the fermentor or throw it out?

 

[fizgig]

Neither, you drink it.

 

[SirVilhelm]

Neither, you drink it.

Lol, I knew it!

 

[Jaunte]

Quick question, when you take the gravity reading to you put the tested mead back into the fermentor or throw it out?

It depends on the cleanliness of your gravity reading container.

I always put my container in an Iodophore rinse before I fill it with the sample. The same goes with the hydrometer.

I put most of the sample back, and taste a little bit. I am curious how the flavor changes as it goes through the fermentation and aging process.

 

[sielm]

Personally I either drink or discard the sample. Even with sanitation procedures it's another possible way of contaminating the whole batch and in my opinion it's not worth it. I don't really like to use the hydrometer in the fermentation vessel for the same reason, it's best to use a small cylinder and then discard (or drink) the sample. Chances to contaminate it because of the sample are slim but not zero so I would not put it back.

 

[fizgig]

I'm with sielm, it's 3-4 oz, if you take 3-4 readings, you lose 1 bottle but gain some tastes along the way and valuable knowledge. about where it's at If you're worried about the loss, I'd say make a bigger batch.

 

[Jaunte]

I would still argue that with safe sanitation practices, there should be no reason to lose so much must from readings.

During primary, I am taking readings twice a day. I like having the multiple data points, and I like watching the gradual change. During my latest mead, I took 15 readings during the 4 days of primary.

If you are worried about contamination, then you could always buy a refractometer and use Hightest's correction tables for the error produced by the increase in EtOH concentration. I have not tried it, but it looks interesting. It requires only 3 milliliters to test!

 

[sielm]

I only take 1 reading in the beginning and then try to minimize further sampling. Normally I would take only 2 more readings, one to check for FG and another 2 or 3 days afterwards to check if the FG reading is stable.

If you take so many readings you have a lot more control, but also increased chances for contaminants to get into the brew...

I guess the best option would be to make an slightly larger batch to compensate for the amount lost in the samples... or to be extremely cautious with the cleaning and put the samples back

To get on-topic, my 1 week old fermenting mead is still bubbling like crazy, even faster than before, about 1 bubble per second. Temperatures around here have risen a bit, and now the mead is fermenting at around 72ºF (22-23ºC), maybe this temp change has something to do with the increased activity.

I would love to get a sparkling mead, is it factible to prime this mead and get it sparkling? I intend to bottle it using swing-top grolsch style bottles, which work really well with beer. Would it be better to bottle the mead directly or maybe add some sugar for priming?

 

[SirVilhelm]

I started my first ever mead on 4/20. My first time brewing anything in fact. So now its three days later and it is still bubbling but starting to slow. I added the yeast energizer and nutrition according to the packed when I bottled to the must. I am noticing a slow down in the bubbling, the surface of the must was completely covered in bubbles on the 21st and by the evening of the 22nd the surface was almost glass.

So my questions is, is this normal? Should I add anything? Rains? More nutrient? Or just let it sit and be patient?

I just want to make sure I am doing it right:rockin:

 

[Jaunte]

To get on-topic, my 1 week old fermenting mead is still bubbling like crazy, even faster than before, about 1 bubble per second. Temperatures around here have risen a bit, and now the mead is fermenting at around 72ºF (22-23ºC), maybe this temp change has something to do with the increased activity.

I would love to get a sparkling mead, is it factible to prime this mead and get it sparkling? I intend to bottle it using swing-top grolsch style bottles, which work really well with beer. Would it be better to bottle the mead directly or maybe add some sugar for priming?

Some yeast prefer a higher temperature for optimal fermentation. It depends on the strain you are using. Do you have the company information on the yeast? I have also read that higher temperatures can cause the yeast to stress out and produce higher alcohols. Those alcohols contribute to the "rocket fuel" taste that require time to age out.

Some websites have yeast fact sheets that give all sorts of rich information about the yeast.

I have never primed a mead for bottle carbonating, so I can't speak from any sort of experience. I do know that you can't produce a sweet carbonated mead. The mead has to be dry for priming and bottling. The idea is that you clarify the mead, prime it, and then bottle it for aging. You can try searching other websites for calculators on how much sugar/dextrose to add.

This recipe is carbonated. I think I remember reading how much dextrose was added for carbonating too.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f80/ra...10-great-arizona-homebrew-competition-183027/

 

[Jaunte]

I started my first ever mead on 4/20. My first time brewing anything in fact. So now its three days later and it is still bubbling but starting to slow. I added the yeast energizer and nutrition according to the packed when I bottled to the must. I am noticing a slow down in the bubbling, the surface of the must was completely covered in bubbles on the 21st and by the evening of the 22nd the surface was almost glass.

So my questions is, is this normal? Should I add anything? Rains? More nutrient? Or just let it sit and be patient?

I just want to make sure I am doing it right:rockin:

If it is already slowing down, then you might be past your 50% fermentation mark; therefore, the yeast will probably not benefit from the addition of more nutrients.

To accurately understand what is happening, more information is required.
How big is your batch?
How many pounds of honey did you use?
What yeast did you use?

Many of my meads ferment from vigorous airlock activity to almost nothing in 3-5 days. Sometimes longer.

 

[SirVilhelm]

Please let me know if my thought process is wrong

I am making a 3 gallon batch using Lalvin D-47. I used the calculator here http://www.gotmead.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=745&Itemid=16

And used a target gravity 14% and target volume of 3 gallons. It spit out 8.9lbs of honey so that's what I used.

Is this reliable?

 

[SirVilhelm]

Quick update. I did a quick gravity test, I started at 1.120 and today I am at 1.109. I get a bubble in the airlock every 5~7 seconds. Am I on the right track?

 

[Jaunte]

Oh. Are you sure it read 1.109 and not 1.019 or 1.009?
Based on your experience, your mead should have fermented much more.

 

[johngottshall]

I made a batch of Joan taste like Gewertzimeiner is this about right for the flavor??

 

[Draffish]

hi all just made my first mead took an og reading says 1.070 i think i messed up not converting from us gallons to uk so looks like its going to be on the dry to medium side (shame i was hoping for medium to sweet) does anybody know if this thing gets explosive in the first few days as i only left an inch gap at top of my demi jars (2x 1 gallons).
thanks for any help and also to malkore and jo for getting this reciepe together
draff

 

[pgrevie]

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this thread. I just picked up what I think I need to make some Mead. This will be my first batch, so I'm hoping for the best.
I want to make 3 gallons. I'm thinking I'll start with a little more than 3g, so that I end up with 3g in secondary. I have a little over 8 lbs of Orange Blossom Honey. Not all of it will be used. My plan is to use 2 cinnamon sticks and a clove along with the zest of 3 oranges to make a tea. I plan to strain and add the tea to primary with the honey, juice from 3 oranges and possibly raisins.
I will be using FermaidK and Yeast Energizer. I am planning to add 1/4 tsp of Fermaid and 1/2 tsp Energizer just before I pitch yeast. I then plan on adding 1/4 tsp of Energizer each day over the first 5 days along with degassing. I'm going to use 71B yeast. Primary will be in a fermentation bucket for 7-10 days then I'll rack to glass. I'm looking for an orange flavor with some spice. I want the final product to be sweet, but not a dessert wine. Probably along the lines of a sweet white zin or gewürztraminer.
Would adding the zest from an orange and cinnamon stick to secondary be to much? I would appreciate any suggestions or input. Thanks, Pete

 

[dapete]

Sounds good. I'll give this a try for my first mead.