Jao The Ultimate Beginners Mead Recipe

[Danwood]

My father in law is an apiarist in Mildura...I really should pull my finger out and have a go at a mead :lol: .

 

[Rob S]

Bottling today after 4+ months in the demijohn. The oranges dropped last week, weeks after the fermentation seemed to stop. Going to put it in 330ml stubbies as i only have about 4 litres. Going to prime half with sugar & leave the other half unprimed.

 

[FuzzyDropbear]

Firstly - thanks for the recipe! I've just finished putting together 2 demijohns (one with less honey) however it's been about 6 hours and the honey is still very much undissolved at the bottom. Is this normal? Will it eventually dissolve? Thanks in advance. Jeff

Hi Jeff, did you dissolve the honey in hot water as per the recipe or did you just bung it in? Actually, after reading back a couple of pages (thought I'd read it somewhere) someone stated that the honey will eventually dissolve, it may just take a while.
Cheers.
Rob
edit: To correct statement.

 

[Jeff_beazley]

Hi Jeff, did you dissolve the honey in hot water as per the recipe or did you just bung it in? Actually, after reading back a couple of pages (thought I'd read it somewhere) someone stated that the honey will eventually dissolve, it may just take a while.
Cheers.
Rob
edit: To correct statement.

Hi rob, I just dissolved it in some warm water to make it easier to work with (original recipe said not to boil). I didn't see the post saying it will dissolve after time, but I guess I'll just leave it to work it's magic! Thanks for the info!
Jeff

 

[nuggetron]

ok so my mead was fermenting it has stopped but its now on 1.040
no where near whatit should be?
ive kinda made an adjustment to the bottle so it cant be turned to add more yeast unless i risk losing some liquid gold
thoughts? is it done? its been on 1.040 for a month and a half
out of the fridge and on a stool in the garage

 

[Gop]

I made another batch of this but no orange and about twice the honey. I left it for about 3 months and it was quite clear, though not fully since our bees make "town honey" a dark honey which occurs as the bees visit all different flowers.

Anyway, the mead tastes great but it's about 14% or maybe more. I'm used to drinking from my half pint cup and nearly fell off my chair! It's a good recipe - recommended.

 

[mestoth]

Laid down my first double batch

2 X 5 Litre Demis currently doing the yeast thing.

Need to re-read but regarding topping up with water after a couple of days...to what volume? or is it just to top it back to the 3.8L mark previously established?

 

[Mr. No-Tip]

My fruit dropped last week so I've had it chilled for a few days in the hope of settling out the yeast...it's still pretty looseley caked - looks very cloudy in this photo as I've just moved it to the kitchen fridge from the brew fridge...

...but my main interest/concern is those spots (on the glass, not in the mead - that's some refloated raisins) . There was a bit of bread yeast on the walls that got stuck as I pitched. I guess this is the point of the growth....be interesting to see if it effects the taste/kills me...

 

[FuzzyDropbear]

Can't imagine the yeast would affect the flavour much, it's only what's in the mead anyway.

I just bottled mine last night. Had some of the leftover as a sampler and wow, what a kick. I haven't tried mead before but it's quite, dunno how to describe it, rich(?) maybe. I don't think I could sit there and knock it back, maybe as a desert wine or something over a couple of hours. The missus was impressed though, so thanks for sharing Pete :icon_cheers: I think this will be a nice Christmas present to a couple of family friends.

For the yeast I bought from my local HBS for my breadmaking, I'd have to up the honey for the next one to balance out some of the dryness I think.

On another note, would mead go off or go funny if I was to chuck it a port barrel? I was just thinking because I'll probably only have it as a nightcap type drink so I'm not sure if I'd finish a longneck.

 

[thanme]

Hi guys. A quick couple of questions.
After spending ages saying "Ooh I should make that", I finally pulled my finger out and did it. I have 2 5L Demijohns both using different types of honey. They've been sitting in my kitchen cupboard now since the end of June (so we're coming in to week 12) and I'm yet to see it go clear. At what stage should I start to worry?? That being said, I have noticed the oranges starting to sink this week. Is it worth sampling/gravity testing, or should i just sit tight for a bit longer?

 

[FuzzyDropbear]

Hey mate, not sure why it hasn't cleared, mine was clear after about 2 and a bit months. What temp has it been sitting at? I had mine sitting at about 17 degrees to help fermentation along, otherwise it would have stalled here in the Ballarat winter.

 

[Mr. No-Tip]

Mine wasn't crystal clear when I crash chilled it. It cleared up heaps at ~2 degrees though.

 

[nuggetron]

Is it worth sampling/gravity testing, or should i just sit tight for a bit longer?

Sample yes
good to learn how its going
mine was put down on boxing day and is still going so it depends on a variety of factors, i did a big 15 litre batch and im sure this affected the time
i bottled it thinking it was done, but wasnt 100% sure so put plastic bags over the bottles held down with rubber bands and the bags kept inflating suggesting fermentation, thats one way to go if you not sure if its finished once a week or so i just empty the bag and keep repeating until it doesnt do it anymore, i think another month for mine and it will be perfect

 

[thanme]

It's just been in the cupboard, so who knows?? That being said, over the last couple of months has been pretty cold in our house, so it could just be slower because of that.

Thanks for the feedback. I'll sample this weekend and give the bag trick a go. That's a clever one

 

[nuggetron]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll sample this weekend and give the bag trick a go. That's a clever one

that was a mistake the fact that it was on a bag, i bottled it thinking it was finished then when i opened to show my mum it hissed and was like oh crap it isnt finished

 

[thanme]

Right, so I gave them both a test, and apart from tasting amazing, one is sitting on 1.045 and the other on 1.042. oddly enough, the mead on 1.045 is the one where all the oranges have sunk. I thought it would be the other way around.

One thing I should note is that I didn't add the "top up" water after the foaming, because I didn't actually see any major foaming activity during the first week.

I guess these still have a fair bit to go right? There's certainly nothing wrong with them, so I'll just leave them for at least another 4 weeks and see where we're at.

 

[nuggetron]

i failed to top up the water as well

 

[brettprevans]

mmmmm mead... after about 14 months. nectar :icon_drool2:

 

[thanme]

i failed to top up the water as well

What gravity did it finish up at??

mmmmm mead... after about 14 months. nectar :icon_drool2:

Wow! That's some serious patience

 

[WarmBeer]

mmmmm mead... after about 14 months. nectar :icon_drool2:

Did you end up kegging it, CM?

The JAO's I've done have been uncarbonated, it turns out like a desert wine. Wondering how it would be with a little "spritz" in it...

 

[brettprevans]

Did you end up kegging it, CM?

The JAO's I've done have been uncarbonated, it turns out like a desert wine. Wondering how it would be with a little "spritz" in it...

half went into the keg (lightly carbed) then bottles and half just bottled straight away and is uncarbed. I think the light carbing adds something. It it a little desert wine-y as its a sweet mead. If it was drier it wouldnt need carbing. it would be delicious carbed but it wouldnt need it

 

[nuggetron]

4.6 litres of mead bottled after 9 months
still got another 5 in the brewing barrel but no bottles
cant wait till tasting session tonight

 

[The_Duck]

While checking on my fermenters in the garage yesterday, I took a few mins to take a sample from my mead that I have had sitting there for over 2 years.

It is a basic sack mead and was approx 3.5:1 (Water:Honey) mix.

It poured out beautifully clear with a desert wine aroma and 100 mls or so kicked like a mule

Looks like I have about 20 litres of this to bottle in the near future.

For any of you Melbourne Brewers out there, I will be bringing a sample bottle to the October meeting. I'd suggest no more than a sip if you are driving or better yet get a designated driver and enjoy a larger measure

Duck

 

[Mr. No-Tip]

mmmmm mead... after about 14 months. nectar :icon_drool2:

No negative changes?

I seem to remember reading somewhere in this thread Brewer Pete saying this was not a mead for ageing...perhaps it was not a mead that required ageing? I know it's the general rule for 'other' meads....I managed to get some discipline and cellar a couple bottles from my first batch and am going to try some long cellaring with the next lot as well.

The JAO's I've done have been uncarbonated, it turns out like a desert wine. Wondering how it would be with a little "spritz" in it...

I put a couple of my very dessert winey meads through a carbo cap. Pretty nice. I prefer it still, but an interesting taste anyway...

 

[damo_m]

Nice one, I like it. Anyone got a good place to buy a 5 litre demijohn setup with airlock and rubber stopper?

 

[WarmBeer]

Demijohn

Bung

Airlock

Not so hard now, was it?

 

[damo_m]

Demijohn

Bung

Airlock

Not so hard now, was it?

nah, thanks for that. I wanted to use this smaller 5 litre demi to produce random experiments. For secondary fermentation do you transfer into bottles or can you add sugar and keep it all in the demi with a secure lid ? I have never used glass and the thought scares me a little due to over fermenting and blowing up.... lol...

 

[WarmBeer]

nah, thanks for that. I wanted to use this smaller 5 litre demi to produce random experiments. For secondary fermentation do you transfer into bottles or can you add sugar and keep it all in the demi with a secure lid ? I have never used glass and the thought scares me a little due to over fermenting and blowing up.... lol...

Have another read of the recipe. It's a still mead, no carbonation, so no need to add any sugar at bottling.

You want to give it at least 3 months in the primary fermenter, then bottle straight from there. Then just forget about it for 6 months, and it will magically transform into nectar of the gods.

 

[Thefatdoghead]

I made this 4 days ago and don't see much action in the Demi. I pitched 2 packs of bread yeast dry as per instructions but still nothing. Might go get another yeast pack from the shop.... How long has the yeast been sitting on the shelf in the supermarket? Who knows but im getting worried about bacteria taking over before the yeast get a hold of it.

 

[WarmBeer]

I made this 4 days ago and don't see much action in the Demi. I pitched 2 packs of bread yeast dry as per instructions but still nothing. Might go get another yeast pack from the shop.... How long has the yeast been sitting on the shelf in the supermarket? Who knows but im getting worried about bacteria taking over before the yeast get a hold of it.

Where in the instructions does it say "2 packs of bread yeast"? Have a look at Page 1, for a 3.8lt batch (i.e. demijon sized) it calls for 1 tsp of bread yeast.

I suspect the reason you're not seeing anything is because all that yeast has completed fermentation within a 12 hour period.

Mmmmm, yeasty...