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CHERRY melomel started 4 hours ago

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on the left we have my black and blueberry aging in a 1 gal with some oak chips. this is going to be a dry mead. after tasting it during racking, it almost reminded me of a cabernet. next to it, i put some more black and blueberries in the remaining gallons of that batch and will be making this one slightly sweeter and hopefully some sparkling. far right is some jaom. the bottle is what i'll be putting the black and blueberry into and that's just a rough draft of the labels i'm having printed for it. i'm thinking i'll seal it with some red wax. might brown wax the oaked batch. these are my first two meads. have a pumpkin cyser in the bucket that i started yesterday.

oh, as an update, the black and blueberry have become EXTREMELY dark. almost a blood red. looks great!

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Thanks! i'm glad you like it. I'll post pictures after its bottled. The final print is going to be done professionally so expect it to look a lot better. I figure that even if the mead turns out bad, at least the good looks might be enough to trick people. haha
 
Here is a pic of the T'ej I started on 11/10/10, so aged almost 1.5 yrs. T'ej is an Ethiopian mead flavored with Gesho (used similar to hops). So I guess you could consider this mead, Braggot, or maybe Metheglin (depends on what you consider the Gesho is). I only have 2 bottles left so I need to make this last.

Ryan

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Wow Ryan that look beautiful!! It's crystal clear. Well here is a small trial batch that I have going right now. I started this about 24 hours ago.

baker1234

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Thanks baker, I let it bulk age for 8 months before I bottled and didn't use any fining agents. This is really just a case of if you let it sit long enough it will eventually clear on its own.

Ryan
 
Your welcome. Ooh nice! I hope mine turns out like that but will see. How is the flavor of your mead?
 
Its about 16% ABV so when it was bulk aging it was rocket fuel with a hint of bitterness (from the Gesho). A couple months after bottling a lot of the harshness went away and a slightly bitter apple flavor dominated with a very dry finish. The last time I cracked a bottle was in January and the slight bitter flavor has mellowed, the apple has toned down and I felt like I was getting more of the subtle honey flavors finally coming out. I wish I made more than a 2 gallon batch.

Ryan
 
Oh wow that sounds amazing! If you don't mind I'd love to try some could you please post or send me the recipe. Are you going to make another batch from the same recipe?

Baker
 
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From left to right (which also happens to be order of creation) JAOM, Apple Pie cyser, pomegranate melomel, Joe's Quick Pyment, and a test batch of traditional mead.

Scott
 
Ooh that JAOM is looking pretty sweet! Speaking of that does any one have a good and easy recipe for JAOM?
 
Well the one on the left is an apple cinnimon mead and the one on the right is still in the primary stages but is going to be a cherry vinnilla mead. I'm just waiting for the fermentation to slow down to rack it a smaller carboy.

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baker1234 said:
Ooh that JAOM is looking pretty sweet! Speaking of that does any one have a good and easy recipe for JAOM?

Easy recipe for jaom??? Itt is easy... You mean easier?

Honey 3.25 lb/gal
Water
Real mead yeast not bread yeast
Orange zest and fruit, NOT pith though
Nutrient
Time

Easy
 
Jukas said:
Bhunter gave you the basics.. This thread https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f80/joes-ancient-orange-mead-49106/ posted by Yooper is the go to thread for JAOM. :D

I just think that putting bread yeast and orange pith in a quality drink is rubbish. It costs the same to buy wine yeast and 10 min to peel and zest the oranges.... 10 min to remove 2 huge factors in off flavors... Yes please
 
Just curious BHunter, but have you actually made a JAOM using bread yeast/pith and have determined that the product is inferior, or are you just morally against using bread yeast and pith in a mead?

My first batches are still aging, so I don't have the experience to say one way or the other, but it does seem like a lot of people have gotten very good results using the exact recipe, and those that deviated (specifically using wine yeasts) have generally regretted it.

Personally the batches that I've made with bread yeast have tasted great (keeping in mind none of them are technically "done" yet, they have finished primary fermentation and in secondary), and the one batch I made with a real wine yeast (EC-1118) has so far proved less than tasty. Time will probably change that.

Scott
 
I have tried jaom, but have never made that exact recipe myself. I have my own modified version (what I posted above). I will say that I know there is a difference in the finished product when using bread yeast vs. mead/wine yeast, and I have eaten an orange peel.... Neither will taste good in mead. Go, eat an orange peel. Then ask yourself if you want that to even POSSIBLY be a taste mixed with your honey sweetness? Undoubtedly, no.

I just don't understand, when you can buy a yeast that is MADE for what you are making and costs the same, WHY would you use an inferior product?!? Just because gas will run through a diesel truck, and it's easier to come by, doesn't mean it's the right choice...
 
delvorak said:
Personally the batches that I've made with bread yeast have tasted great (keeping in mind none of them are technically "done" yet, they have finished primary fermentation and in secondary), and the one batch I made with a real wine yeast (EC-1118) has so far proved less than tasty. Time will probably change that.

Scott

Keep in mind that Prisse de Mouse (EC1118) is a monster yeast capable of tearing through the honey up to 18% ABV. Bread yeast will likely poop out around 11-12%. Bread yeast will be a very sweet mead, while Prisse de Mouse will take it dry an require extended aging due to the alcohol it kicks out.

I'd reckon to get an even close comparison to a 2 month old bread yeast based JAOM you'd have to wait till the 6-8 month mark if using Prisse de Mouse
 
If the photo upload went through, on the left is mixed berry wine, on the right is mixed berry mead. Same recipe, just one with sugar, one with honey. Cherry pie filling, blueberry pie filling, cranberry juice, grape juice concentrate.

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