Jao The Ultimate Beginners Mead Recipe

[AshleyDoran]

Guys... Have done up a 25l batch however I am very concerned at the moment... there is black mould forming on top of the oranges.

Is this normal?

 

[Grainer]

Guys... Have done up a 25l batch however I am very concerned at the moment... there is black mould forming on top of the oranges.

Is this normal?

This is probably cause the fruit is exposed without the sugar from the honey to inhibit the mould/bacterial growth..

this shouldn't be happening.. looks like you potentially have contamination issues... sorry...
Even tho the receipe says not to shake it I got in a habit of every few days making sure the fruit had some liquid on it with a small bump or 2 of the demi..This is common practice from what I have read in mead making to ensure the fruit is not always exposed.

 

[AshleyDoran]

****... im going to try to pull the fruit then, its only growing just on the fruit, not the liquid.

 

[AshleyDoran]

So this is what the oranges ended up looking like...

 

[Grainer]

yeah that don't look right.. they look funky

 

[blotto]

Hopfully you'll be alright if its just on the oranges. It doesn't look as black as I thought it would be.

 

[Spyk]

HI all,

I'm a first timer. I have a couple of bee hives and I thought I'd give this ago with my own honey.

I've followed the instructions - but jave a question -it may well have been answered
but I cant read 40 pages of posts to check I'm afraid .

The instructions are very specific about the "Balance water to bring batch out to 3.8 litres"

Then it goes on to say "After major foaming stops in a few days add some water"

I've got mine in a 5ltr Carboy. so there's plenty of space above the 3.8Ltr mark....

How much is "some water" ? Top it up ? Leave some number of centimeters ? or
It won't matter and that's why its not specific ?

Thanks in advance - The smell coming from the carboy is wonderful - its worth doing
just for that I think.

cheers
Spyk

 

[Trevandjo]

I think it means add water if needed to keep the level at 3.8L

 

[Mr. No-Tip]

HI all,

I'm a first timer. I have a couple of bee hives and I thought I'd give this ago with my own honey.

I've followed the instructions - but jave a question -it may well have been answered
but I cant read 40 pages of posts to check I'm afraid .

The instructions are very specific about the "Balance water to bring batch out to 3.8 litres"

Then it goes on to say "After major foaming stops in a few days add some water"

I've got mine in a 5ltr Carboy. so there's plenty of space above the 3.8Ltr mark....

How much is "some water" ? Top it up ? Leave some number of centimeters ? or
It won't matter and that's why its not specific ?

Thanks in advance - The smell coming from the carboy is wonderful - its worth doing
just for that I think.

cheers
Spyk

I've never topped my JAOs up.

Read the 40 pages. It won't take an hour, and what you'll learn will save you many more.

 

[AshleyDoran]

Its actually 79 pages, just to be clear....

 

[Alex.Tas]

i had this same question a few days ago. Brewer pete clarifies this somewhere. I did a search of this topic for "water". He basically suggests that you need to top up to 3.8L if you had such vigorous activity through the airlock that you lost some liquid along the way. Also have a look at my post #780 to see my thoughts on the balance. I wouldn't stress too much.

 

[Mr. No-Tip]

Its actually 79 pages, just to be clear....

Definitely not worth it then

 

[blotto]

Its actually 79 pages, just to be clear....

Not on my computer, this is page 40.

 

[Deep End]

My assumption was that you make it up to 3.8L then let it ferment out, as it can get a bit foamy and end up coming up through the airlock if you dont leave the headroom. Then, once fermentation has settled, you top it up to the 4.5 to 5L mark in your demi; I filled mine to the bottom of the neck. This is to reduce surface area for possible oxidisation and contamination. Then proceed as normal and get your half a dozen bottles of mead.

 

[carpedaym]

... once fermentation has settled, you top it up to the 4.5 to 5L mark in your demi; I filled mine to the bottom of the neck. This is to reduce surface area for possible oxidisation and contamination.

This is what I've been doing, but only because I racked to another demi/carboy which would was full of air. While it's in the primary vessel there should be a good blanket of CO2 over it and I wouldn't think there was a need to worry. That opens up debate about if/when to rack and the effect of autolysis if left on the lees too long. (I must admit I haven't read this whole thread either, and whether that has been covered.)

 

[Redracer]

I just put down a mead with no fruit or spices last week. Would it be OK to add them now while it is still going or have I left it too late?

 

[Mr. No-Tip]

I just put down a mead with no fruit or spices last week. Would it be OK to add them now while it is still going or have I left it too late?

I don't think it's too late. It does pose a small infection risk, but I would imagine there's plenty of yeast there and plenty of fermentation left to go to knock down any single cells sitting on a sultana.

 

[Moad]

Just found out I have access to 20L of natural honey, it has a very interesting flavour by itself. Earthy and spicy as there are few flowers in the area.

Will have a crack at mead in a few weeks...it will take me that long to read this thread.

 

[thorg]

ive just tried making mine in 3 batches each has somthing different done to it except the first one which is control not altered or deviated from the recipe, Im pretty pleased to say all 3 are doing well 4 days on. i just hope another heatwave doesnt hit QLD weather has been pretty bad this year.

 

[thorg]

is it normal to have the bottles clear at 2 weeks? cause one of them has any advice?

 

[philmud]

Made a JAO this morning. To recipe but with the inclusion of some yeast nutrient.

 

[superstock]

ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1422750699.574914.jpg
Made a JAO this morning. To recipe but with the inclusion of some yeast nutrient.

The raisins are there for yeast nutrient.

 

[philmud]

Ahh ok. I've been reading up on them a bit & I know they also get added to meads for tannins, too. Hopefully they won't be so healthy they forget to crap out before it's fully fermented!

 

[superstock]

Black tea is for tannins.

 

[philmud]

Err, lots of things contain tannins. Besides JAO contains no black tea.

 

[bingggo]

I think it means add water if needed to keep the level at 3.8L

As a comment on the views for and against topping it up to 5L after a few days: I have only done two batches, but I topped up to 5L and all went well. It wasn't particularly foamy at the 3.8L phase. Tastes spicy mid-to-high sweetness and over 13% I'd say.

I imagine it would be unnecessarily intense if kept at 3.8L. Also, it seems a shame not to get more bottles out of it

Pete may have clarified this to the contrary as someone suggested, but to me his original instructions clearly indicate topping up: in choosing a 5L fermenter but only filling to 3.8L as you "need some room for some foam -- you can top off with more water after the first few days foaming frenzy".

B

 

[AshleyDoran]

Well, it has been 3 months since I bottled the 25 litre batch, and am impressed with how it has matured. My only regret is that I was (again) inpatient and probably bottled a bit too early. That being said as per discussion above, if I didnt it would have been completely ruined.

 

[bingggo]

How does this recipes turn out with wine or mead yeast?

 

[carpedaym]

How does this recipes turn out with wine or mead yeast?

I believe the use of bread yeast is intended to leave the mead sweet, somewhere between 1.020 and 1.040, from a quick look around the web. Most wine yeast will have a higher alcohol tolerance and will ferment the honey out more fully, leaving the mead more on the dry side. If you follow this path, perhaps choose a wine yeast with an alcohol tolerance that will rough land you in the aforementioned final gravity range. (I'm guessing 12–14% abv-ish.)

Here's some brief discussion on gotmead: http://www.gotmead.com/forum/showthread.php/22475-updated-JAO(ish)
^ Worth a read if you haven't found it.

 

[Golani51]

This was the mead that got me started. I have since moved on to bigger (25L batches) and better (Cactus Fruit Mead) things but always brew this one. It is at the request of my wife who rarely drinks any alcohol. Even leaving it on the yeast for an extra several months (5?) did nothing to taint it. Great stuff. An ideal first mead.