Jao The Ultimate Beginners Mead Recipe

[Tanga]

Impressive labels Stu - very professional. I like the dark look. What bottles are you using?

 

[stuchambers]

Im going to use some small clear olive oil bottles for the presents they hold about 200ml sealing with a cork and then waxing the top with bees wax, so you get a hint of honey from the wax instead of using proper sealing wax. I talked to a bloke at the market and he said if you cool the wax quickly in ice cold water it becomes very shiny just like the sealing wax so I will give that a go.

As for the rest I will have to see if I can get my hands on some of those smaller 375ml wine bottles.

Cheers Stu

P.S I need another type of mead this one I will use red type any suggestions on what to make. If the style doesn't really go with red it can be changed buti think keeping the colours yellow orange and red would create a bit of flow.

 

[Chookers]

Im going to use some small clear olive oil bottles for the presents they hold about 200ml sealing with a cork and then waxing the top with bees wax, so you get a hint of honey from the wax instead of using proper sealing wax. I talked to a bloke at the market and he said if you cool the wax quickly in ice cold water it becomes very shiny just like the sealing wax so I will give that a go.

As for the rest I will have to see if I can get my hands on some of those smaller 375ml wine bottles.

Cheers Stu

P.S I need another type of mead this one I will use red type any suggestions on what to make. If the style doesn't really go with red it can be changed buti think keeping the colours yellow orange and red would create a bit of flow.

Chilli mead, hot and firey :super:

 

[Rodolphe01]

I put down this Jao recipe on 22/6/2010 and there are a few floaties on the surface... I tried to take some pics but it is hard through glass.

The mead is otherwise crystal clear - is it normal for bits on the surface? If it was beer I wouldn't even pose the question. I haven't tasted it, nor opened it to smell, it has been closed up since it was made.

I plan to bottle it this weekend, so will find out how it tastes... Just a paranoid newbie

 

[felten]

I had some on mine, didn't seem to affect it.

 

[Rodolphe01]

Yea not overly concerned as it didn't appear until after active fermentation, settling of the fruit etc and it hadn't been opened or anything. Did notice though in moving the bottle to take the photos that the yeast roused very easily, bakers yeast doesn't form very compact yeast cake!

 

[WarmBeer]

Okay, first ever 3.8lt batch of JAO is ready for bottling. I'm planning on having it as a still mead, but want to add priming sugar to 1 stubbies worth in order to try what it's like as a sparkling mead.

My question, is the sugar priming rate for mead the same or similar as we use for beer? Should I use the standard teaspoon (using my HBS scoop, not an actual teaspoon) and risk possible bottle bomb?

Any JAO makers out there had experience with bottle priming their JAO's?

 

[KudaPucat]

I know you have already said bread yeast, and theres alot of questions about that.. but if the only issue with using the bread yeast is so it only brews out to around 12%, then could you use a cider or sweet mead yeast that will brew out to 11-12%, and expect the same results as the bread yeast??

Thing is I tried bread yeast in a very similar recipe and it was like a honey cordial very mildly alc and yeast flavoured, also I have cider yeast at my disposal so.. I suppose the real question do you use bread yeast just for the ABV %??? or is there some other reason to use the bread yeast.

Thanks (and apologies if this has already been answered)

I suspect the answer will be: "You can try what you like and see how it goes, but brew it as per recipe so you have something to compare it to"
1 gallon demijon will not cost you much for a benchmark, brew both. If bread yeast works, use it, it's a poofteenth the cost of brewer's yeast.

I should like to know how your experiment with cidre yeast turns out.

I have my first 3 demi's running at the moment. (read that as first 3 brewing attempts for anything ever) One is a JAO as per recipe. I have one spare demi, but the other two recipes require racking, so I'm keeping it spare to make that possible. If the JAO is great, I'll brew 4 more of that, and probably buy a big fermenter.

My dad has 4 hives for his orchard, and this is his second year. He discovered that my mum is a tight *** and wont hand out honey, even when he had a glut. So after my first kilo doled out by mum, he's just dumped 5 kilos on me. I expect should I ask for more, he'd be willing, however it might spoil the surprise of his first bottle of mead, as I've kept the brewing a secret from him. It should be ready for his birthday.
The honey's all candied massively though so was a pain in the neck, and had to be heated with water to about 70 degrees (perhaps more) to get it to dissolve in a reasonable amount of time. So I may have boiled off some volatiles.

My reason for making mead is: Dad's making wine and has a glut of honey. He suggested making it, but I know he has NFI (like me) and not much drive as all his equipment is tied up with wine. He also says "I'm thinking of making mead next year" so it's on the never-nevers.

The two non JAO meads suggested nutrient should be added - I skipped this, as my LHBS told me the yeast would cope, just ferment slower, and nutrient can give off flavours... I hope this is accurate.

I also want to know the effect of adding less yeast to the mix.
The two non JAO (I know: it's off topic, but I'm on a role) are using EC-1118 champagne yeast.
The packet suggests it will make 4-20 litres. In an effort to make multiple batches with the same yeast, but differing honey quantities, I used 1/3 of a packet per demi (4 litres)
I also thought this may improve the sweetness of the brew. Ideas?

thanks... it's taken me days to read this thread, and I started brewing when only half way through, so now have HEAPS of questions.

 

[brettprevans]

"The Compleat Meadmaker" by Ken Schramm answers a lot of questions that keep coming up on the forum. its a great read,.

 

[Rodolphe01]

Okay, first ever 3.8lt batch of JAO is ready for bottling. I'm planning on having it as a still mead, but want to add priming sugar to 1 stubbies worth in order to try what it's like as a sparkling mead.

My question, is the sugar priming rate for mead the same or similar as we use for beer? Should I use the standard teaspoon (using my HBS scoop, not an actual teaspoon) and risk possible bottle bomb?

Any JAO makers out there had experience with bottle priming their JAO's?

I am quite possibly wrong, and still haven't bottled my frist mead, but I thought the mead was sweet because it is self limiting fermentation in that the yeast reaches it's alcohol tolerance.... so if you prime, it won't actually carbonate as the yeast is clapped out.

 

[KudaPucat]

"The Compleat Meadmaker" by Ken Schramm answers a lot of questions that keep coming up on the forum. its a great read,.

I have this book but I've not yet finished reading it. It is a good read, but almost put me to sleep at the start with the 'Was mead the first brewed beverage' question!

 

[WarmBeer]

I am quite possibly wrong, and still haven't bottled my frist mead, but I thought the mead was sweet because it is self limiting fermentation in that the yeast reaches it's alcohol tolerance.... so if you prime, it won't actually carbonate as the yeast is clapped out.

This makes sense, thanks Rudi, and I guess it is why the basic JAO recipe calls for bread yeast, not mead yeast.

I will just enjoy this first batch as a still mead, and if I like it enough, can plan on looking into further recipes down the track.

 

[Rodolphe01]

Just bottled my JAO, very happy with it. Turns out that the surface film was nothing to worry about as suggested. It was in primary for 5 months, chilled it down for ~1 week and bottled.

I pretty much followed the recipe, except:
* I used sultanas, not currants
* I used relatively crappy non-varietal 'bush' honey from the markets
* I used a regular supermarket orange

 

[KudaPucat]

Could this be made using lemon? or would that do something evil to the flavour? I have lemons on the tree outside, so they're heaps more appealing than oranges.

 

[McFly]

Howdy,

I've just put down the JAO as described and one with the same ingredients but using EC-1118 for comparison. I'm hoping the EC-1118 comes out a bit drier, as I prefer that.

Although to be honest I'm just hoping it works at all, that's a shitload of honey I've just put on the line...

 

[KudaPucat]

I'd have taken a small sample of my standard JAO, and pitched EC-1118 into it to see just how dry it became.
I guess if it's too dry you can always backsweeten. I wonder though if half the charm of this is the length of time it takes to ferment, drawing all the flavours out of the orange and spices. EC-1118 is a VERY fast yeast. It's weeks ahead of anything else I've pitched so far.
But I'm a major noob to brewing, so perhaps I have NFI ;-)
I hope it works out. Make sure you let me know, I like dry stuff too....

 

[Tanga]

Sparkling mead can be nice if it's not too sweet. That honey spritz on the tongue is to die for. Even if it doesn't take on the flavour of the spices it will probably end up quite drinkable (just totally different) - afterall the recipe I used wasn't too different to this (though it did end up too sweet and bottle bombing because I didn't measure my FG and bottled too early - the ones that survived were delish though). For your champers yeast I'd do as above, but prime the bottles - a bit more acid possibly wouldn't hurt either. Taste after your final rack and decide. Maybe prime with lemon juice?

What do you think Pete? Got a good sparkling mead recipe to compare?

 

[brettprevans]

im just thinking out loud here but the sweetness of the orange is what you want. lemon is way more tart. Ive used oranges in various brews and you dont get that same citrus taste as you would for a lemon. in saying that, here are drinks like Limoncello which are lemon based. so it could work it just wouldnt be JAO.

I cant say that my experiance with the bread yeast wasnt great. im having to repitch yeast at my 25L of JAO casue it has hasnt worked well enough. again if your wanting JAO its mean tto be a sweeter mead, but if you wanted a drier mead then so be it, its completely up to you to make stuff you like. I would err on the side of caution and not go a really dry mead with this as I think you will loose a lot of its flavours.

wine yeast can be good, ive used it in cyser and it didnt come out winey at all. so im all for experiments.

edit: changed a word. my experiance wasnt great with bread yeast

 

[KudaPucat]

im just thinking out loud here but the sweetness of the orange is what you want. lemon is way more tart. Ive used oranges in various brews and you dont get that same citrus taste as you would for a lemon. in saying that, here are drinks like Limoncello which are lemon based. so it could work it just wouldnt be JAO.

nah, it'd be JAL Or perhaps HAL, as Joe had nothing to do with it!

I cant say that my experiance with the bread yeast was great. im having to repitch yeast at my 25L of JAO casue it has hasnt worked well enough.

<snip>

Ummm My bread yeast is barely ticking along, the JAO has to be the slowest fermenter. It bubbles at half the rate of all but my nearly finished brews, and has almost 0 dissolved CO2 when I agitate it.
You mention repitching. How did this go for you? did it speed things up at all? Is it something worth trying? Can it hurt the must?
I think I would like to rehydrate my yeast next time too, not just bung it in.
I also noticed that my bread yeast wasout of date by 2 or 3 months when I pitched it.

"the ancients" might not have had the word 'rehydrate' in their dictionary, but it occurred to me to ask: Did the ancients freeze dry yeast seal it up and keep in in their refridgerator? Or did they use fresh yeast?

 

[brettprevans]

whoops. that was meant to be 'wasnt'. my experiance was crap with bread yeast. it sucked.

edit - im pitching some us05 at it. just building up a starter.