Jao The Ultimate Beginners Mead Recipe

[brettprevans]

well i seem to have failed in getting my JAO off and running again. pitched some dissolved CaCO2 left for a week or so, then pitched more yeast and yeast nutrient. swirled it up, gave it some heat etc and nup not firing. ill check the SG again tonight but think ill have to be happy with 8-9%.

will have to have a taste test also. just on 4 months.

 

[JonnyAnchovy]

...trials and tribulations of Creedy...

God - this has happened to me on many occasions - I turn into a maniacal control freak with a deathly fear of infection and oxidization whenever I'm dealing with cold-side processes. This often results in big SWMBO drama. I think I'd benefit from brewer group therapy to help control my bottling day insanity.

 

[pdilley]

cm2, rack into smaller fermenters if you have them handy. You have enough volume to draw some off for a taste test, as well as rack to smaller fermenters to try some more CaCO2 in one and others to age. At 8-9% you will have a very sweet JAO if your SG was accurately achieved. The taste will tell you how much sweetness remains. JAO should be around a sweet port style but not sickly sweet. If sweet you can trial a higher abv rated yeast to knock of the extra sugars and then if needed learn how to do some back sweetening with honey to dial it in.


Cheers,
Brewer Pete

 

[brettprevans]

cm2, rack into smaller fermenters if you have them handy. You have enough volume to draw some off for a taste test, as well as rack to smaller fermenters to try some more CaCO2 in one and others to age. At 8-9% you will have a very sweet JAO if your SG was accurately achieved. The taste will tell you how much sweetness remains. JAO should be around a sweet port style but not sickly sweet. If sweet you can trial a higher abv rated yeast to knock of the extra sugars and then if needed learn how to do some back sweetening with honey to dial it in.


Cheers,
Brewer Pete

thanks for confirming some of my thoguhts. I was going to suggest that I do that, but honestly cbf unless when i taste a smaple its way too sweet. will wait and see. i could actually use some proper yeast instread of bread yeast. im sure that would do the trick.

will see, will see. cheers mate

 

[brettprevans]

Just tested it and it's gone up 20points! Hahaha. Fkn stupid density seperation. I think it might be a little Too sweet and bloody strong. will give a tester to someone else to try and get a second opinion.

 

[raven19]

Pitched one of these tonight. Now to play the waiting game.

 

[Acasta]

A long game it will be.

 

[evilNat]

Started a new simple brew on Monday with a recipe called Ragna Rock mead :lol:

Suppose to be ready in 2 months and 2 weeks.

 

[shonks69]

Do you carbonate when bottling or just bottle and cap?

bottle and cap

the choice is yours to carbonate or leave still but traditionally this is still


Do you drink the mead cold or drink it at room temperature?

personal preference is room temperature

people drink them chilled, room temperature, or heated up depending on the volatiles in them you want to emphasise or demphasise them


Can I drink it strait away or do I have to age it, if so how long?

this style can be drunk right away but time mellows it out with ageing

the volatiles decrease with age so you need to find a balance point between level of mellowness and diminishing flavours of your additions




Cheers,
Brewer Pete

Hey Pete

Chilli Mead tasted great, all who have tried have been impressed.
A liquor with a little bite, the chilli bite has defiantly increased with age but not impacted the taste.
A Friend added some to his port barrel and reckons it came out pretty bloody good.
Cheers mate for the recipe, will defiantly make again.

Cheers
John

 

[LukeCharles]

Not sure where you are located, or the mead line that you are talking about, but yes, you can certainly use a 25L fermenter to make mead in. You may want to make the recipe suit 23L or so (multiply everything by 6) if you have such a big fermenter though, and it will give you time to drink all the mead while the next one is fermenting.
All the best
Trent

Can you half fill the fermenter if 23 litres and do a half batch? does this work?

 

[raven19]

Can you half fill the fermenter if 23 litres and do a half batch? does this work?

Yes, I have 4L batch of mead in a 10L demijohn.

And have recently fermented 10L beer batches in 30L fermentors with no issues. Its just more headspace.

 

[LukeCharles]

Yes, I have 4L batch of mead in a 10L demijohn.

And have recently fermented 10L beer batches in 30L fermentors with no issues. Its just more headspace.

Thanks.

 

[jakub76]

Bottled my JAO last night after 10 weeks in primary. Tasted really nice...I was pleasantly surprised.

I have to say that the bread yeast was a real PITA. It's so bloody fluffy and light, doesn't properly settle so the fermenter really has to stay completely undisturbed for days where ever you're going to bottle. I chose to siphon using a thin tube that I use as a blow-off valve. I used a syringe to start the syphon, worked well though the last bottle ended up quite murky.

Tasted great, the spices cover any perceptible yeast character except the aroma. The smell is pretty awful, unmistakably bread yeast - reminded me of the crappy wines I used to make out of strawberry jam in my bedroom cupboard when I was in high school. Regardless the taste is really delightful, sweet and very enjoyable. I'll be enjoying it slowly saving some until christmas. Next time I think I'll try US-05 for a more compact yeast cake - and maybe less yeasty aroma.

Any tips on improving the aroma in JAO?

EDIT: OK I've poured myself a glass after a huge 24 hours in bottles and the yeasty aroma is not as bad as when I was bottling. That said there is still a perceptible yeasty aroma...maybe it'll settle with age.

 

[evilNat]

hmm mine's at about 8 weeks now and still no sign of clearing

 

[jakub76]

hmm mine's at about 8 weeks now and still no sign of clearing

Yeah, due to the cold I also got a little worried after a month and a half, so I popped the fermenter on top of my water heater to finish off. Checked it a few weeks later and it had cleared.

 

[shonks69]

Yeah, due to the cold I also got a little worried after a month and a half, so I popped the fermenter on top of my water heater to finish off. Checked it a few weeks later and it had cleared.

I chilled my JAO chilli mead between 0-3 deg when fermentation finished for a good week, Siphoned into bottles. Crystal Clear.
If I remember I will post a photo when I crack the next bottle (last one).

Cheers

 

[evilNat]

Yeah, due to the cold I also got a little worried after a month and a half, so I popped the fermenter on top of my water heater to finish off. Checked it a few weeks later and it had cleared.

I was tempted to put it on a heat pad until I read Creedy's comments. I've got a kriek kit (Belgian cherry beer) sitting on my heat pad at the moment and a 20L batch of the Ragnarock mead recipe gurgling away, so I'm not so much in a hurry with the JOA

 

[mauriceatron]

Joe's Ancient Orange and Spice mead! That recipe and text is still going around the traps which is a testament to Joe Mattioli who originally wrote the rant and recipe.

I made it a few years ago not long after the rant first appeared and the only thing I would comment on is the yeast. In the USA, they have that Fleishmanns bread yeast which is a known commodity in the mead & wine world due to known strain and attenuation abilities. That is what Joe originally specified. Here, we don't have that yeast. I reckon you're better off getting the $4 pack of yeast from the LHBS and pitching half of that. The mead will taste better for it as that bread yeast is a bit more specialised than what you normally buy at the supermarket.

I just think that the yeast choice cannot just be converted like gallons to litres.

I remember Joe saying in his original rant about the raisons being a nutrient for the yeast. Whilst we may prefer to use yeast nutrient/energiser, I think the raisons do add a nice complexity to the flavour.

This has to be the most popular mead recipe on the internet. Of course the recipe is helped along by Joe's rant and presentation of the recipe ("no, don't touch it" etc). Great for any first time Mazer.

Cheers

 

[rontron]

hey brewer pete, ive got my first JAO goin nicely, four weeks in and i cant wait til its bottleing time lol. i really want to to just a plain mead for my next batch, just wondering how your plain ,meads went and if you could recomend a nice recipe for me to try, thanks

 

[Incognitiously]

Can you half fill the fermenter if 23 litres and do a half batch? does this work?

Yes you most certainly can! That's precisely what I did for my first batch (perhaps a bit ambitious, but I trusted in the experiencve of those who'd made the recipe and presented it here). I just want to say it is MAGNIFICENT. I had to substitute imperial mandarins for oranges, as I'd read that navels had too much pith anc caused problems, but everything came out absolutely fine. I'm having to turn friends down who want more, because I don't have enough!

I'm thinking of trying to carefully play around with fruit--introduce strawberries, maybe--and go from there. I'll be risking a warm fermentation with a SEQLD spring and summer on its way, but I'm hoping to have mead ready to give out as Christmas presents.