Jao The Ultimate Beginners Mead Recipe

[Pumpy]

I wish I knew what mead tasted like .

Is it a Saxon thing

did the Vikings bring it to Britain

Pumpy

 

[pdilley]

Jeg tror vikingene drakk de mjd og brakte den til England.

Franksmennene likte druer bedre.

Har har! Slaps you heartily on the back and welcomes you into the Mead Hall.

 

[lokgnar]

k i have a 25 ltr fermantar or something for beer i dont drink beer and i found out that they have discountcountiued sorry for spelling the mead line from stores can i make mead from this fermenta?

 

[Trent]

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

 

[lokgnar]

thanks trent im in a small town of aratula were about 1/2 hour from ipswich were i buy my mead and is one of those thristy camel or something and lady behind the counter told me there not doin it anymore could be just be in ipswich im not sure. and mead im chaseing is the maxwell brand. but i have always wonted to make my own and they just gave me a reson to try,
thanks again
Shawn

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

 

[Ivan Other One]

This looks like a recipe to try.

Being a K&K beer brewer whom has never tried this style of brewing I just have one question about storage of the finall product.

After fermentation is complete, is the mead then transfered to another bottle/s or is it ok left as is in the Demi?

YEAH,,,,, I know,,,, bloody amatures...

Cheers Ivan

 

[Tyred]

Not left in the demijohn once fermentation is complete. You can rack to another demijohn or bottle it.

Most of the time you should be able to bottle it as it is meant to drop clear soon after fermentation completes.

 

[pdilley]

Not with JAO, the style is to not rack to secondary, but leave in the primary until clear. You'll have to read the first post again for the instructions about that.

With all other Mead recipes I will rack to secondary glass fermenter for some aging or blending with spices and/or fruits.

Winter time brewing will push your fermentation and clearing times out for JAO so take that into account.

Cheers,
Brewer Pete

EDIT: I started JAO in the middle of March so that puts it about 2 1/2 months and the cold weather has slowed it down. I contrast I put down the 43 litres of Mead using US05 and SNA method on the 9th/10th of May and its already done even though it faced colder temperatures. Thats the difference between the current and the new methods of making Mead.

Now if you are not a beginner and want to hit it with sparkaloid / bentonite for very clear Mead

 

[lokgnar]

so can u drink it straight from demijohn after its cleaned up?

 

[pdilley]

so can u drink it straight from demijohn after its cleaned up?

The finger hold sure gives that idea on the glass fermenter but you simply siphon straight to bottles. This is where the spring loaded bottle filler on the end of the siphon comes in real handy. There are videos on you tube others have made of the bottling process with JAOs. I can see about finding one if you need.

Cheers,
Brewer Pete

 

[lokgnar]

no that should be fine thankyou for your info

 

[upsidefront]

Made my first one today........ can't wait to try it!!! :icon_drool2:
One question if I may: what is the expected acl content? ( Didn't get an OG to work it out myself)

 

[pdilley]

Congratulations on putting the first one down. Cold weather will slow down a JAO fermentation so keep that in mind, as long as you can keep it going and not get stuck you'll be fine. JAO is designed to ferment around 20C average and a top of 25C for decent enough results.

My Mead brewing program I'm still programming reports this to be OG 1.125, you will hit around 12% or higher ABV depending on when your yeast decides to give up the ghost and flocculates out so don't drink it all in one swig

Cheers,
Brewer Pete


EDIT: Hands you a towel for the drool

 

[notung]

I made up a 3.8L batch of JAO on the weekend and have just popped it in the cupboard out in the shed. I think given the pretty chilly temps we've been having here, I may chuck it onto a heater pad. I hope I have not killed this mead. Is it pretty robust Pete?

 

[pdilley]

I made up a 3.8L batch of JAO on the weekend and have just popped it in the cupboard out in the shed. I think given the pretty chilly temps we've been having here, I may chuck it onto a heater pad. I hope I have not killed this mead. Is it pretty robust Pete?

They are as robust as a high gravity ale as far as brewing temperatures go. You want to keep them in Ale temperature range and not keep them riding right on the bottom end of the temperature range until they've chewed up some of those fermentable sugars so they are not under such high pressures from all that gravity.

If JAOs were using SNA then you could push them right to the bottom edge and even under the low end of the Ale temps into hybrid Lagers-cum-Ale-yeast temperatures but they are for beginners and follow time old brewing techniques and thereby have no FAN or nutrient additions to help the yeast have an optimum healthy fermentation environment so you are best keeping within the recipes' listed temperature parameters.

Cheers,
Brewer Pete

 

[notung]

I have popped it onto a heater mat now, minus the fridgemate controller. I figure that should be about right... I am looking forward to this in a few months time. If I continue along the path brewing mead, I am really going to need some cellar space somewhere! Thanks for the help Pete.

 

[pdilley]

I have popped it onto a heater mat now, minus the fridgemate controller. I figure that should be about right... I am looking forward to this in a few months time. If I continue along the path brewing mead, I am really going to need some cellar space somewhere! Thanks for the help Pete.

Most definitely, but one worthy of the effort and time organising a decent stockpile of aging Meads!

I fermented the bulk of mine during ambient temperatures and it just dropped now sitting at cold temperatures averaging 10C or less during the nightly cool-down in the house during the cold turn in Canberra.

Cheers,
Brewer Pete

Photo attached below of JAO during the fruit dropping stage.

 

[Yuma]

Can compressed yeast be substituted for the dried yeast?

 

[pdilley]

Can compressed yeast be substituted for the dried yeast?

You'll be fine. Fresh yeast is highly perishable and only has a shelf life measured in weeks, 4 to 6. So depending on the date of the yeast when you bought it you may have to make your JAOM sooner rather than later. Dry yeast has a tremendously greater shelf life. Most "sell by" dates on fresh yeast *is* the "expiration date".

Just take note of your yeast and where you got it from for replication in future if you prefer the way it comes out in the end.

The basic substitution of fresh yeast to dry yeast is almost 3 grams fresh for every gram dried.


Cheers,
Brewer Pete

 

[jarrad]

Rad. I put one of these on the other day, it's in there next to my canned fruit salad wine. Bubbling away nicely and the smell is pretty good