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BlueBomber

NewBee
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May 16, 2014
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I've been using the JAOMs recipe for about a year now. The main reason being it's quite delicious and very easy to make, but I also just haven't had the time to really branch out and start trying new meads and methods (which is going to happen soon).

I have a couple 6.5 gal plastic big mouth bubblers and I've made a few batches with them and they turned out great. Typically I bottle after 2 months. I just bottled a batch the other day after it had been sitting for 4 months. I tried to use less honey (15lbs) than I have in my other batches (17-18lbs)to see if I could make it just a little less sweet.

After bottling it I gave it a taste and it doesn't taste much like JOAMs. It's certainly dryer, but you can also taste the alcohol much more. I haven't got into taking any readings either, yet. It's very light in color, like a white wine. Im not entirely sure what would cause such a drastic change in flavor. I have another batch (same ingredients) that's been sitting for 3 months that I will try to rack this weekend. If the taste and outcome are the same, should I backsweeten it or is there a bigger issue/ mistake?

This is not something I've run into before. Any help is appreciated.
 
fatbloke

fatbloke

good egg/snappy dresser.....
GotMead Patron
Feb 3, 2008
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When you modify the JAOM recipe, either with less honey, or with wine yeast etc, you end up with a dryer tasting batch. The problem is, is that there isn't enough sweetness to cover the dry/bitter taste that comes from the orange pith. If it's just less honey, then you could back sweeten it up some - though back sweetening with honey needs a bit of care as it can haze an already cleared mead.

When you make traditionals but use less honey, you do just get a dryer tasting batch, as there's nothing else to change things - with JAOM, you have the orange as well as the spices and raisins......
 
J

Jmattioli

Senior Member
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Oct 23, 2003
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Independence, KY and Greenacres, FL
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Hello BlueBomber,

Sorry about the results. My recipe definitely wasn't meant for the beginner to modify. It is a guaranteed well balanced simple recipe for a decent mead when followed exactly. Minor changes such as number of raisins or cloves may not adversely affect the outcome but the honey ratio is very important considering the orange pith as Fatbloke said in his post. That's why i put in the warning to follow exactly. It's also an unorthodox mead making method and was only meant to promote interest in the hobby by making it simple enough for a beginner to make a good first mead without long aging times. It was my 10th Mead after many poor results. Experimentation is good but be prepared for unexpected results. Thanks for trying and enjoying my recipe and may you someday come up with some really good ones of your own.
Ancient Joe
 
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