Show us your Mead in a photo!!!

[Miraculix]

I guess you mean about the Bochets and melomel?

That's what I've always done with Bochet: rack after 1 month in primary, then rack after 1 month in secondary, and bottle at three months from starting. As I use bread yeast I do this for clearing as I don't have space for cold crashing, and don't want to use clearing agents. Always came out crystal clear. Plan to do the same with the ginger mead.

With the melomel, which is my first time making, I just didn't want it to sit on the fruit for longer than a week, so the plan is to rack to secondary once bubbling has stopped or a month has passed (so 18th of April), whichever comes first.

Do yourself a favour and switch to a better yeast in combination with a modern nutrient protocol. Tosna 3.0 is probably the best out there at the moment. If you do so, skip the racking (unless for a reason, like to get it off the fruit or oak). Racking does nothing for clearing, it is meant to be used against off flavours from dead yeast but with modern protocols, this won't happen even after months.

Your meads will be ready quicker, taste better and clear better!

 

[karamonde]

Do yourself a favour and switch to a better yeast in combination with a modern nutrient protocol. Tosna 3.0 is probably the best out there at the moment. If you do so, skip the racking (unless for a reason, like to get it off the fruit or oak). Racking does nothing for clearing, it is meant to be used against off flavours from dead yeast but with modern protocols, this won't happen even after months.

Your meads will be ready quicker, taste better and clear better!

Cheers, I've been somewhat lazy with planning as I've had results I've been very happy with so far. Me and my wife are not even real drinkers, I realise I have now 40L of stuff bubbling away and no idea when they'll be drunk, an instant cellar of sorts. Nevermind, when these batches are done and bottled I'll take a closer look at the process.

 

[Miraculix]

Cheers, I've been somewhat lazy with planning as I've had results I've been very happy with so far. Me and my wife are not even real drinkers, I realise I have now 40L of stuff bubbling away and no idea when they'll be drunk, an instant cellar of sorts. Nevermind, when these batches are done and bottled I'll take a closer look at the process.

Brewing for the brewings sake... Sounds familiar

From all the mead I made,I probably drank 2 % up until now

Luckily it usually gets even better with time.

 

[karamonde]

Brewing for the brewings sake... Sounds familiar

From all the mead I made,I probably drank 2 % up until now

Luckily it usually gets even better with time.

Exactly, and can be gifted too

 

[Miraculix]

Exactly, and can be gifted too

I thought so when making it but a lot of it was on the experimental side so the result is not nice enough for the average taste. Now I've put them underneath the roof and open a bottle now and then to see how they develop. Some of them might get there, but some are really .... Let's say interesting. Especially the wild mead

 

[Dan O]

Man, I LOVE this hobby!

 

[user 263363]

I have found that my old ferm chamber I used for beer also works great for my meads and taller bottles of whiskey that don’t fit in my bar lol

 

[Dan O]

3 gallons of Acacia Rose BOMM, 1 gallon of cranberry concord grape BOMM, 1 gallon of apple, peach, mango BOMM

 

[karamonde]

17L JAOM 2 months in, actually clearing despite most of the photo being my reflection.

 

[dvi]

Bottled a 1-gallon traditional this last Sunday. Roughly 14% ABV and feels promising.

 

[Kyzaboy89]

Started this to "re-season" myself and needed to start one to consume next year. Now I can be a stickler for JAOM when people substitute yeast or nutrients and the like, as far as I go it's not a JAOM, or a BOMM, when you start doing your own thing. So I will say, in full confidence, this is not a JAOM... because I don't have any balloons anymore... Oh well, I'm learning to let things go and relax so here's 6 gallons of a Spiced Orange Melomel, "JAOM."

 

[user 263363]

The beginnings of a “triple” blueberry batch. I plan to stabilize and add blueberries in secondary.

 

[cmac62]

The beginnings of a “triple” blueberry batch. I plan to stabilize and add blueberries in secondary.View attachment 731044

Man that looks good. I have some blueberry lemonade in the fridge, that may make an interesting addition.

 

[Dan O]

My modified JAOM....aka...DABOM. (JAOM spices with blood oranges, no pith, but, 1/2 of the zest, 5 different kinds of honey. The other half of the zest is in the freezer in case I want more orange flavor.) This is finished @ 1.014 & delicious. I'll rack to glass carboys to bulk age for a while before I bottle.

 

[user 263363]

My modified JAOM....aka...DABOM. (JAOM spices with blood oranges, no pith, but, 1/2 of the zest, 5 different kinds of honey. The other half of the zest is in the freezer in case I want more orange flavor.) This is finished @ 1.014 & delicious. I'll rack to glass carboys to bulk age for a while before I bottle. View attachment 731864

I know a picture in the fermenter is not totally indicative of how the finished product will look in the bottle, but that is a beautiful color on that mead! Is that from the honey or the oranges?

 

[Dan O]

I know a picture in the fermenter is not totally indicative of how the finished product will look in the bottle, but that is a beautiful color on that mead! Is that from the honey or the oranges?

Thank you.
I used blood oranges & it took a lot of the color from them.. It used to be a deeper red, but, the red has faded some since the day it was made.

 

[cajunrph]

My first three meads. A traditional JAOM down to bread yeast, original water bottle and balloon for an air lock. The second is a Jaobommish with D47 yeast. The third is a BOMM with Lellemand Abbaye Belgian yeast. They were started Memorial Day. This picture was taken on day two or three.

 

[Dan O]

View attachment 732012
My first three meads. A traditional JAOM down to bread yeast, original water bottle and balloon for an air lock. The second is a Jaobommish with D47 yeast. The third is a BOMM with Lellemand Abbaye Belgian yeast. They were started Memorial Day. This picture was taken on day two or three.

I'm sure the wife loves to see mead on the bathroom sink

 

[cajunrph]

I'm sure the wife loves to see mead on the bathroom sink

It's my daughter's bathroom. She has been at college for a while and the bathroom is unused. But the spousal unit wasn't too thrilled to see the balloon air lock. Haha. That's fine, I'll drink that one myself.

 

[Dan O]

Bottled my Blood Orange JAOM hybrid last night. Finished @ 1.014 & tastes almost identical to a JAOM, but, just not as sweet. Very pleased with how this came out, 15.88%. Yielded 1 growler and 17 Grolsch bottles out of 3 gallons. Not too shabby, I think. Gonna be a happy 4th

 

[BrewinInPA]

In secondary since last July. Just about done. Added a cinnamon stick. The other gallon is in my basement. A year and a day...

 

[Dan O]

In secondary since last July. Just about done. Added a cinnamon stick. The other gallon is in my basement. A year and a day...

View attachment 734265

Wow! That's a LOT of headroom. Has that been aging the whole time or have you been dipping into it?

 

[BrewinInPA]

Poured a giveaway bottle 6 months ago. I've also "sampled" to see how it was coming along...

 

[Dan O]

Poured a giveaway bottle 6 months ago. I've also "sampled" to see how it was coming along...

Oh ok. If it tasted good then no worries. I always worry about having too much headspace so when it gets low enough I rack to a smaller vessel to minimize it.

 

[Maylar]

Bottled my Blood Orange JAOM hybrid last night. Finished @ 1.014 & tastes almost identical to a JAOM, but, just not as sweet. Very pleased with how this came out, 15.88%. Yielded 1 growler and 17 Grolsch bottles out of 3 gallons. Not too shabby, I think. Gonna be a happy 4th

Be aware that a JOAM improves drastically with time. Out of the fermenter it's all orange and clove. With time the clove fades and the orange takes on a wonderful bouquet. At 8-10 months it's a different mead.

 

[Dan O]

Be aware that a JOAM improves drastically with time. Out of the fermenter it's all orange and clove. With time the clove fades and the orange takes on a wonderful bouquet. At 8-10 months it's a different mead.

Yes, I'm aware of this, thank you @Maylar. This is delicious right now, but I will be tucking a bunch of those bottle away for the 1 year mark to see how much it has changed.

 

[Dan O]

This is the quad berry BOMM that I made the 1/2 gallon of. Started as a 3 gallon batch of BOMM, then racked 1/2 gallon onto a 12 oz bag of frozen mixed fruit, (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and strawberries) for 2 weeks. Racked off of that fruit onto another bag of the same mix for an additional week. FG 1.018. Berry tartness balances perfectly against the residual sweetness from the honey & bags of fruit. I'm really stoked about how this came out. I love this hobby!
EDIT.... I went back & checked my notes. The FG is 1.018, not 1.014.

 

[cmac62]

^^ is that all you ended up with from the initial 1/2 gal? LOL

 

[Dan O]

^^ is that all you ended up with from the initial 1/2 gal? LOL

Haha, no. I have a few people that I give samples to, (in those 5 0z. Hot sauce bottles). Today was sample day for the people I work with & I forgot to take a picture before I left the house. It's enough for 1 glass. Just enough to get them hooked into wanting more , but, not enough to get in trouble with. Gotta keep 'em interested, ya know?

 

[user 263363]

This is the quad berry BOMM that I made the 1/2 gallon of. Started as a 3 gallon batch of BOMM, then racked 1/2 gallon onto a 12 oz bag of frozen mixed fruit, (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and strawberries) for 2 weeks. Racked off of that fruit onto another bag of the same mix for an additional week. FG 1.014. Berry tartness balances perfectly against the residual sweetness from the honey & bags of fruit. I'm really stoked about how this came out. I love this hobby! View attachment 734789

Did you backsweeten to get that FG or did it naturally finish there?
It looks amazing!