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Khan

Khan

Worker Bee
Registered Member
Apr 11, 2012
93
2
8
South jersey
OK.. I have started many a thread with some sort of success... this one I'll start with a failure (in production only). the beginning of my journey was so simple it was "stupid": 1# honey - 1Gal Water - 1 pak Yeast (all from Wallie-world") - and a few weeks fermenting... well, that was terrible! but I learned what yeast did and what it's effects on my ingredients was. A VERY dry (and weak) semblance of a white wine.. not a good one, mind you,not even salvageable; but it let me know that I could ferment sugars into alcohol without killing myself!.
here's my second attempt: (Based off of "Storm_The_Castle's: Quick, Easy, Cheap Mead" {I may have mis-quoted that}; I think it is a JAO Variant... but I could be wrong).. my wife has an orange allergy...

3.5# Clover Honey
1 Gal "Drinking" water
1 Apple (sliced a few times)
1tsp (*ish) cinamon
1 pak of "Flieshman's: Quick Rise" Yeast
("some" mixed Berries ... replacement for raisins)
a 2 chamber air-lock (cheap thingy from the brew-shop)
a #6 rubber stopper for the air-lock (pre-drilled)

... the first 2 days I "aerated" the mixture in the jug (that the water came in) at @12-1300 EST ... re-capped/air-locked and covered with aluminium-foil (too keep out light) ... now I just have to wait!

... That's where I am at the moment, I felt the compulsion to introduce myself at this point.. maybe there is some advise or just encouragement ... either is welcome. I've taken the hobby because it is less violent than some others... and I need one to take my time... .. ..

PS: Hi there!
 
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Chevette Girl

Chevette Girl

All around BAD EXAMPLE
Moderator
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Apr 27, 2010
8,447
59
48
Ottawa, ON
Welcome to the forum, and the wide world of things you can ferment ;D

That looks like a JAO variant, alright. 3.5 lb honey, bread yeast. Yup.

If you want one that's a little closer, a lemon will work, just use the juice and zest and not the pith or it gets too bitter. Do a forum search using the terms "ancient" and "variant" or something like that and you should come up with a thread that's got all kinds of suggestions for other things that can be done with/to the JAO recipe. (the forum search tool doesn't take 3-letter words like JAO but "JAOM" might work). Let me know if you can't find it and I'll dig it up and let you know what search terms worked :p

You may find come racking time that a cinnamon stick would have been easier. And raisins are probably a better nutrition source, even if you don't like the taste of raisins, you'll never notice the taste in a JAO after the yeast have done their thing. Oh, and I'll be interested to hear how it works with the quick rise yeast, we usually recommend the plain old ordinary bread yeast. Things to think about next time!

And that first batch you made probably could have been salvaged if you'd come to us earlier :) It's amazing what a difference backsweetening and some age can make, even in something that weak. Or you could have added more honey and gotten it a little stronger... My first winemaking attempt ever was wild grape wine with breadmaker yeast and nowhere near enough sugar added, I did eventually figure this out and added more sugar and more yeast and got it to be something drinkable months later. But hey, you've found us now! Let the learning begin!

 
W

wayneb

Lifetime Patron
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Feb 7, 2007
5,794
11
38
Evergreen, CO (west of and above the Denver smog!)
Let me add my Welcome to "Gotmead," too! We're glad that you found your way over here. In case you're wondering, JAO is shorthand for "Joe's Ancient Orange..." mead, a recipe developed by Joe Mattioli and first posted here nearly a decade ago. It still makes a very good mead, and is one of the simplest recipes that consistently turns out great results. You may want to try the original someday. You can search for it using the Search function found near the top of this page. It will lead you, among other places, to a thread with over a thousand posts in it -- a chronicle of sorts, where all those who have tried it, or variants of it, have either asked questions or posted results. I'd also recommend checking out the NewBee Guide to meadmaking here at the Gotmead site; there is a link to it over on the left side of this page.

Happy meadmaking! You've found a hobby that we all here love, and I hope that you'll enjoy it too!!
 
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