Slow JAOM?

[Drewed]

... If it keeps going much further, it's going to be HOT.

It will keep going, or at least is should. I think you are going to have to let this one sit for awhile once she is done.


JAOM is an "Odd Duck" when it comes to mead. Almost everything about it is "wrong." Yet all those "wrongs" add up to a "right." Problem is when just one thing is changed, it will unbalance everything.

Sounds like your mead back on track. Just remember to treat it like a citrus mead now, and not like a JAOM and you should be fine.

 

[Maylar]

Then maybe your 1.150 was wrong? 9 lbs of honey in 2.5 gallons should have been a reasonable 1.126. Which still doesn't explain why the D47 stalled.

A classic JAOM will finish around 1.020. If you end up below that I'd say that's a good level to back sweeten it to.

 

[drksky]

Then maybe your 1.150 was wrong? 9 lbs of honey in 2.5 gallons should have been a reasonable 1.126. Which still doesn't explain why the D47 stalled.

A classic JAOM will finish around 1.020. If you end up below that I'd say that's a good level to back sweeten it to.

That's what I thought, but I calibrated the refectometer and measured it twice. The hydrometer I have only goes to 1.070

 

[drksky]

Hehe...I must have been drunk when I made this.

I just checked the refractometer and it only goes to 1.120, so who knows where I got that 1.151. I now vaguely remember using the refractometer and it was off the scale.

Oh wait...I have two hydrometers. The old cheap triple scale I have must be what I used as it goes up to 1.170.

 

[drksky]

1.026 today. HOT!

 

[fossilcat]

Well, I'm sure you're not surprised by that. But 1.026 is very drinkable, especially considering where you were. That high FG will help balance after some aging, I'm sure. Is the ferment done? If it is, cold crash it and rack a few times until it's clear. The multiple rackings will help degas, which will also help clear. When you're ready to bottle I'd use a few 375 ml bottles so you can pull one every once in a while to see how the aging process is going without getting too pi**ed when you have to throw it out because it still tastes like crap.

 

[drksky]

Well, I'm sure you're not surprised by that. But 1.026 is very drinkable, especially considering where you were. That high FG will help balance after some aging, I'm sure. Is the ferment done? If it is, cold crash it and rack a few times until it's clear. The multiple rackings will help degas, which will also help clear. When you're ready to bottle I'd use a few 375 ml bottles so you can pull one every once in a while to see how the aging process is going without getting too pi**ed when you have to throw it out because it still tastes like crap.

No, not surprising at all. Airlock is still venting, and I'm considering trying to stabilize it to stop it from going any further.

I'm planning on bottling it in 12oz crown cap bottles as I can't see ever finishing even a 375ml bottle before it goes belly up. Might even put it in a keg and carb it. I kind of like the light carb that it has in the fermenter.

 

[drksky]

So, after doing some reading, is it better to let the yeast finish what they're doing and back sweeten instead of trying to stop the fermentation?

But if back sweetened, you still have to add stabilizers to keep fermentation from starting back up? Seems like a potayto-potahto situation.

 

[fossilcat]

See the attached on the use of sorbate for stabilizing. When I was researching a couple years ago I found this website by some guy named Hightest - he had a bunch of useful information. I downloaded some of it, I wish I'd collected more because the site is gone now. But this doc might help you make your decision.

View attachment Sorbate.pdf

 

[MarkKF]

But if back sweetened, you still have to add stabilizers to keep fermentation from starting back up? Seems like a potayto-potahto situation.

Yeah but....getting an active fermentation to stop and drop all the yeast is a lot harder than just waiting for it to finish and clear.

 

[Maylar]

So, after doing some reading, is it better to let the yeast finish what they're doing and back sweeten instead of trying to stop the fermentation?

Correct. Unless you have the ability to cold crash and filter it's very difficult to stop an active fermentation.

But if back sweetened, you still have to add stabilizers to keep fermentation from starting back up? Seems like a potayto-potahto situation.

Yes. If you don't stabilize it, the remaining yeast wake up and keep fermenting. You let the mead clear so that the yeast fall out of suspension. You want as little yeast left as possible before stabilizing.

 

[drksky]

Instead of trying to stop it, I let it go. The EC1118 is still working (definitely slowing down, though) and yesterday's sample was 1.001! It's no longer sweet and there's a little bit of pithy bitterness. Hasn't started to clear at all. Looks like it's going to be one to age...

 

[fossilcat]

dkesky - take a look at my cranberry orange: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=623802

I don't stabilize because my family has allergies to sorbates/sulfites. I try to burn the yeast out before sweetening. Might give you some ideas.

 

[Maylar]

Instead of trying to stop it, I let it go. The EC1118 is still working (definitely slowing down, though) and yesterday's sample was 1.001! It's no longer sweet and there's a little bit of pithy bitterness. Hasn't started to clear at all. Looks like it's going to be one to age...

That's to be expected. The JAOM will continue to improve as it ages. Under normal conditions I find 2-3 months is minimum, and 8 months even better. It's designed to quit at about 1.020 so that the sweetness balances out the bitter pith. People report that anything under 1.010 has no chance of reaching balance, so my suggestion would be after it clears stabilize it and sweeten to about 1.015 with the same honey.