Proportions for JAO...

I did a four gallon of JAO by upping all ingredients four times. Not finished yet, but perking along nicely.

Michael

Yes, you can simply double all ingredients, except the yeast (one package is plenty for a two gallon batch).

As for honeys, most any will do, and this is a great recipe for using even cheapie generic store bought stuff -- but you'll want to avoid very strong-flavored ones, I think. Stay away from buckwheat, ling, rata, muscular wildflowers, pretty-much any eucalyptuses, etc.

Is the yeast you mention just a plain baking yeast, as opposed to a "rapid rise" style (which is a different strain of yeast than the plain one, and comes packaged with its own bread-making-specific nutrients)? You'll want to avoid anything other than a basic bread yeast, although the exact brand doesn't seem so important. Some people use fresh yeast, and I've even heard of JAO being produced using sourdough starter (I wouldn't do that, but, whatever).

Please post up your exact recipe once you start -- I'll be interested to hear what you decide on!

-David

Eucalyptus should be more or less ok. We've had discussions on this topic on the Mead Lovers Digest and, I think, Hist-Brewing.

Basically, eucalyptus is more of a category than an actual varietal of some kind. A familiar example would be "pine." There are many kinds of pine, all different but still a "pine" of some kind. Same thing with eucalyptus, and the honeys produced from eucalyptus. Many of them are quite tasty, and well suited for mead making.

Australian honeys are very unique, and unfortunately little known outside the Antipodes.

Why is this thread starting to remind me of the "Wine Expert" Monty Python sketch? You know the one...


"A lot of people in this country pooh-pooh Australian table wines. This is a pity as many fine Australian wines appeal not only to the Australian palate but also to the cognoscenti of Great Britain.

Black Stump Bordeaux is rightly praised as a peppermint flavoured Burgundy, whilst a good Sydney Syrup can rank with any of the world's best sugary wines.

Château Blue, too, has won many prizes; not least for its taste, and its lingering afterburn.

Old Smokey 1968 has been compared favourably to a Welsh claret, whilst the Australian Wino Society thoroughly recommends a 1970 Coq du Rod Laver, which, believe me, has a kick on it like a mule: 8 bottles of this and you're really finished. At the opening of the Sydney Bridge Club, they were fishing them out of the main sewers every half an hour.

Of the sparkling wines, the most famous is Perth Pink. This is a bottle with a message in, and the message is 'beware'. This is not a wine for drinking, this is a wine for laying down and avoiding.

Another good fighting wine is Melbourne Old-and-Yellow, which is particularly heavy and should be used only for hand-to-hand combat.

Quite the reverse is true of Château Chunder, which is an appellation contrôlée, specially grown for those keen on regurgitation; a fine wine which really opens up the sluices at both ends.

Real emetic fans will also go for a Hobart Muddy, and a prize winning Cuivre Reserve Château Bottled Nuit San Wogga Wogga, which has a bouquet like an aborigine's armpit."

Eucalyptus honey usually goes well with citrus or ginger.

For JAO, the semi-sweet/spice balance really goes well with the honey (I can only speak for standard off-the-shelf honey, which is a blend of who-know-what Eucalypts).

Definitely try some leatherwood honey sometime (not eucalyptus). It adds a unique aroma and taste, but is wonderful (IMHO). Not sure if you would use it in a JAO, however.