So I just brewed my first JAOM

[funkapottomous]

and amped up the recipe for five gallons, as I'm planning on giving it away for christmas. Only called for five cloves but I figured it was going to need a little extra boost of christmas cheer so I put about fifteen in I think. mmmm cloves.

It's happily bubbling away right now. Here's a picture from last night, gotta wait for my phone to charge (it didn't last night for some reason) and give you a picture of it today.

SMELLS AMAZING. the closet that I'm keeping it in smells like orange heaven right now. So stoked.

 

[Tinga]

those cloves are potent little guys. be careful.

 

[IrregularPulse]

15 is gonna be a crazy amount!

 

[RandallT]

Funk,
Looks good! Keep a close eye on it while it starts up you can get a whole lot of foam going.

 

[funkapottomous]

Funk,
Looks good! Keep a close eye on it while it starts up you can get a whole lot of foam going.

So I've noticed!

I've got a lot of headspace for the foam, but evidently my airlock was a little wet last night, because I went in to check it around 4am after getting up to use the restroom and my airlock had popped off and was sitting upside down on a box next to the carboy.

Here it is a few minutes ago:

(notice the cinnamon stick floating midway.)
Also I noticed that about halfway down the must/mead there's a pretty clear separation of either honey or the juices from the oranges. is this normal? you may not be able to see it in the picture from my phone but the top half is noticeably lighter than the bottom half when I turn the light on to check it.

 

[RandallT]

Funk,
I see the line there. Normal for the situation. I had a blowout night before last with some blueberry I put together in a one gallon mix. Made a bit of a mess!. Plus, I dropped a little spoon into the bottle that I was cleaning the neck out with!. So, had to put it all in another jug and kinda shocked the process a little. It's doing fine now. The raisins I threw in with my first JAOM were going up and down inside the bottle. I still don't know what causes this phenomena but it was fun to watch. Best of brewing!

 

[Q2XL]

That looks great!! 15 cloves-wow, is that gonna be strong. I used a half a clove for 1 gallon and it was a bit strong to me. Then again, I am not a big fan of cloves.

 

[funkapottomous]

That looks great!! 15 cloves-wow, is that gonna be strong. I used a half a clove for 1 gallon and it was a bit strong to me. Then again, I am not a big fan of cloves.

I love cloves.

if the people I gift this to don't like cloves, they can give me back mah bullets! woo!

i mean mead...give me back my mead.

 

[George7845]

i put 15 cloves in my cider and it totally destroyed it

 

[smn]

I put 30 cloves in a one gallon batch. The result is, well, interesting.

 

[Tinga]

Funk,
The raisins I threw in with my first JAOM were going up and down inside the bottle. I still don't know what causes this phenomena but it was fun to watch. Best of brewing!

i think the raisins are just slightly heavier than water so they would naturally sink but the CO2 given off make them rise then the CO2 falls away and they sink again. blue berries do it too in a glass of beer.

 

[RandallT]

Tinga,
That makes perfect sense! While I did not see this action occur in the second bottle I made up, the first one I should call "Dancing Raisin Mead". Best of brewing!

 

[funkapottomous]

So I just back from a three (more like four) day weekend, and checked my mead to find that my raisins had turned to grapes!

is this normal?
decided to break the fruit as well as I could with the wooden spoon I had, and was just taken aback by the fact that they had turned back into grapes. good thing I accounted for the water the fruit was displacing when I filled it up.

 

[RandallT]

Funk,
Yeah, the raisins in my bottles fattened up too. I have had 6 different people sample my first batch of JAOM so far and the heads are nodding. It's great stuff. I cannot drink very much of it myself as it seems to go right to the head, no kidding. Unusual kick to it. I have read where Mead can give a heavy hangover and I think I understand. Doesn't seem to stop me from tippling a little before I crash though.

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

mmmm cloves.

I really hope you like cloves. They are strong suckers.
Let us know how it comes out.

 

[funkapottomous]

mmmm cloves.

I really hope you like cloves. They are strong suckers.
Let us know how it comes out.

yeah, I love cloves.

when we go to any type of candy store, my first stop is the clove gum.

 

[summersolstice]

I always use three cloves per gallon. It is, afet all, Ancient Orange Spiced Mead! I think the cloves help cut the orange pith. I've found a solution for the pithy taste too, though - I use thin skinned tangerines.

 

[George7845]

is thin thin sliced tangeroine your secret?

 

[George7845]

just looked over my reply and noticed how drunk i was, but how many thin sliced tangerines? help me solstice