First two JAOM not good at all

TattyGina · Jun 15, 2015

Hi, I started two JAOMs a month ago - one with supermarket honey, one with local honey - both as per recipe exactly. Having bought a wine thief, and one of the JAOMs being fairly clear I thought I would try a little bit.

They were not good! First one awful burning taste and not at all sweet or any taste of honey, second one slightly better with some taste of honey and sweetness. I know they have about a month to go but cannot see any way another month could improve the first one?

Am thinking of adding more honey? Good or bad idea (they are still fermenting a bit)?

Am so disappointed:-(

mannye · Jun 15, 2015

Maybe the honey wasn't exactly pure honey? That's the only thing I can imagine went wrong if the recipe is followed to a "t". I would wait before letting the panic set in. Sounds like you may not have enough honey but if you added the required amount of honey as per the recipe you should have a very sweet mead especially after only 30 days. But.... I say wait at least 60 more days before you do anything like adding more honey. I don't remember reading in the instructions to taste after 30 days and then freak out and add stuff right?

TattyGina · Jun 15, 2015

There may have been some freaking out ;-)

The recipe does say if this doesn't work then Mead making is not for you! :-0!

Am a bit hopeful for the second one, maybe I have worked out the honey wrong for the first one because no sweetness at all.
Also commercial Meads I have bought have a 'thickness' to them and mine are like water!
(Still freaking out a bit....)

loveofrose · Jun 15, 2015

Wait, how old is it? For my taste, JAOM needs 8 months to really be good.

Better brewing through science!

See my brewing site at www.denardbrewing.com

See my Current Mead Making Techniques article here:
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/current-mead-making-techniques.html

mannye · Jun 15, 2015

Minimum. But there seems to be a "thin" issue that strikes me as either not enough honey or assuming the recipe was followed to the letter, not 100% pure honey.

Did you read the label of the honey you used to make sure nothing was added to it? I made my first JAOM using regular supermarket orange blossom. And it was fine.

Sent from my TARDIS at the restaurant at the end of the universe while eating Phil.

TattyGina · Jun 15, 2015

Thank you for replies.

Having checked my notes I used 3 1/3lbs of Orange blossom honey in a 1gallon (UK) Demi John. So likely not enough?
Really is like water.
Second one I used 4lbs of good local honey in again a UK 1 gallon Demi John.
Although the first one has a hideous rocket fuel, burning taste not just that it is watery!

What to do now? Am thinking leave them till he two months is up and then rack them and top up with more good honey? Can leave the air locks on in case any activity starts up?

EJM3 · Jun 15, 2015

I personally just cover mine in a blanket (to keep the light out) and forget mine for 4 to 6 months. After that I rack to a clean carboy, leaving behind the gross lees (yeast gunk at the bottom), then bottle directly from that new container. There is no need for a secondary aging, unless you want to bulk age the batch first, which is fine, but the JAOM is meant to be drunk young(ish), not aged for a year to years...

TattyGina · Jun 15, 2015

Was hoping to bottle rather than rack as per instructions but the first one definitely needs more honey.

Have another two I started last week - they have more honey than these first two but I figure if I do it now I could top up the honey in those up a bit?

Then back sweeten the first two?

EJM3 · Jun 15, 2015

The racking is done so that you don't accidentally kick up the yeast cake and bottle a huge amount (NOT a good thing) of the gross lees. If you do then you can just wait for it to settle down again, then rack & bottle, all without having bottled half the yeast cake along with your mead. Even with SurLie you would normally do it with a large amount of mead/wine, about a barrel full at least. Then when you are done you wait for the last of the yeast to fall out then bottle the crystal clear mead/wine, you don't leave it in the bottle or it can get kinda nasty from the yeast just laying there for years at a time. When you stop the battonage (stirring/shaking/etc) the yeast settle, when that happens for a long time they start to decay, not what you want to taste I assure you...

What are the SG of your batches?? That will tell you (and others) accurately when the fermentation is finished & also where the residual sugar levels are at. Just guessing at it is asking for trouble at some point down the road...

loveofrose · Jun 15, 2015

TattyGina said:
Thank you for replies.

Having checked my notes I used 3 1/3lbs of Orange blossom honey in a 1gallon (UK) Demi John. So likely not enough?
Really is like water.
Second one I used 4lbs of good local honey in again a UK 1 gallon Demi John.
Although the first one has a hideous rocket fuel, burning taste not just that it is watery!

What to do now? Am thinking leave them till he two months is up and then rack them and top up with more good honey? Can leave the air locks on in case any activity starts up?

That's why. JOAM is measured in U.S. Gallons (3.8 liters). It's 4 lbs of honey per 3.8 liters.

Better brewing through science!

See my brewing site at www.denardbrewing.com

See my Current Mead Making Techniques article here:
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/current-mead-making-techniques.html

Search

First two JAOM not good at all

TattyGina

NewBee

mannye

Administrator

TattyGina

NewBee

loveofrose

Got Mead? Patron

mannye

Administrator

TattyGina

NewBee

EJM3

Honey Master

TattyGina

NewBee

EJM3

Honey Master

loveofrose

Got Mead? Patron