Blood Orange Melomel First Timer

[Inkvine]

I have been lurking about for a few weeks trying to learn as much as I can before jumping in. I am experiencing information overload. I think it is time to get my hands dirty. I understand the basics to get started the rest is a little fuzzy. I toyed with the idea of starting with a JAO, but it sounded a little too sweet for me. I found the recipe below while perusing the forums (can't find the thread to give due credit to the creator) I really like the Whole Foods Italian blood orange soda so that is my flavor profile goal. Not too sweet, tart and slightly bitter with a hint of salty-ness. I realize as a NewBee that I will probably fall flat of my goal, but I'm going to try anyway.

1 gallon batch medium sweet orange melomel
2 cups fresh squeezed juice of blood orange, navel and tangelo, (plus zest)
3.75 lbs. Raw clover honey (surprisingly spicy)
1 gallon filtered water (plus extra for rinsing and topping off)
71B yeast
1/2 tsp yeast nutrient
1/2 tsp yeast energizer

Is pectic enzyme necessary with just juice and zest? Have not worked out SG or PH. I have all the tools and I plan on getting that nailed down before I jump. I want to do a non boil method. I have campden tablets, but could I get away with sanitizing the unprocessed fruit? The original post for the recipe used D47 for the yeast, I thought the 71b description fit this recipe better. (Please feel free to correct me)
I have a 2 gallon fermentation bucket to start the must in, should I be concerned with too much head space. Also I have a 5 week window before I leave town for a week, should I hold of until I get back? I'm sure I have many more questions and concerns that I will bombard you with in the near future.

Thanks in advance *_*Inkvine

[Inkvine]

I guess I should add that I do have acces to C02 to top off my fermentation bucket if it is neccesary. I assume it should be done every timee the bucket is opened?

[triarchy]

Welcome to GotMead Inkvine! Ill take a crack at some of your questions.

Pectic enzyme-Probably not necessary for the OJ and zest. Wont hurt if you add it though.

No need for the Campden tablets in my opinion. Just wash/sanitize the fruit good before you zest.

Yeast-71B will take this closer to dry than D47 will. 71B should still leave you with some sweetness though, unless it really does a good job (which it can sometimes do). If you use 71B and it goes dry, you can backsweeten. Make sure you rack off of the lees quickly, 71B can cause off flavors if left too long on them. If you chose D47, make sure to ferment at a cooler temp, like high 50's to low 60's to prevent harsh flavors.

A 2 gallon bucket should give you plenty of head room. No need for the CO2 during primary, the fermentation will be making the CO2 for you. Once you transfer to secondary and age, then you can top off with CO2 to prevent oxidation. I (and many others) leave the primary fermenter uncovered except for a sterile cloth to make stiring and adding nutrients easier. I cover the fermenter with a lid after 1/2 sugar break.

You should be done with primary fermentation well before the 5 weeks are up. Once you rack it to secondary, you will probably want to let it age un-bothered for a while (6-12 months or more). This will have a fairly high alcohol content and the zest might be quite bitter for a while, aging will help a lot.

Good luck!

[Chevette Girl]

Actually most commercially available pectin is made from citrus fruits, so if you've got it or can get it, you might want to use pectinase, I made a heavy-citrus JAO and had to use pectinase to get it to clear a year later. Since alcohol tends to inhibit its performance, it's best to use it before fermentation rather than after...

With 3.75 lb honey in a gallon, the Mead Calculator estimates a starting gravity of 1.135 which will be increased to more once you add the orange juice... you'll get a pretty high specific gravity to start with. This can lead to ticked-off where they may not start off well, or they may quitt early (or both), leaving you with a VERY Sweet mead. And even if it does finish, at an estimated 18% alcohol it's gonna take a long time to age out to be more than rocket fuel... you may consider starting with 3 lb honey, see where it goes, and then you've got plenty to backsweeten with later.

I always scrub my citrus fruits with hot soapy water (sometimes I throw them in the sink with the dishes) to make sure my zest isn't mostly pesticides.

And yeah, don't sweat about headspace in primary. You WANT some oxygen exposure in the early stages and in the later stages it's making enough CO2 to drive out anything you didn't want in the headspace.

[Inkvine]

Triarchy Thanks very much for the welcome and the help, I will take your suggestion and use D47 instead. The Contributes tropical-fruit esters and softens acidity perception description for the 71-B caught my eye.

Yikes I see my error now. I downsized the numbers from a 3 gallon recipe and I made a mistake, the amount of honey should have read 2.75 lbs. (math skills I has them) Thanks for talking me off the ledge Chevette Girl. That would have been a hot mess. I would hopethat once I plugged the numbers in to the mead calculator I would have figured it out.

So if I used the mead calculator right 2.75 lbs. honey would have an SG. of 1.106/ABV% of 13.9 and 3.00 lbs. honey would be SG.1.115/ABV% of 14.96%? Both amounts have the 2 cups O.J. pluged in as well. Is there any way to calculate what the Final Specific Gravity will be?

yes I was concerned about pesticides as well so the orange to be zested is organic. I don't want to over do it so I figured half a tablespoon in the primary, and if needed add a little to the second and taste till desired effect.
Thanks again for the help it is much appreciated.<3

[Chevette Girl]

Originally Posted by Inkvine

So if I used the mead calculator right 2.75 lbs. honey would have an SG. of 1.106/ABV% of 13.9 and 3.00 lbs. honey would be SG.1.115/ABV% of 14.96%? Both amounts have the 2 cups O.J. pluged in as well. Is there any way to calculate what the Final Specific Gravity will be?

Sounds about right.

Generally we assume it goes to 1.000 or a little lower but lots of different things could cause it to stop earlier - pH too low, your yeast aren't rated for it (sorry I don't know off the top of my head what 71B or D47's tolerances are, it's probably on the Yeast Table over there under the Mead Calculator), you didn't aerate or feed your yeast colony adequately during its early stages... all kinds of things can cause it to not finish. And then sometimes you mistreat yeast horribly and it still eats everything in sight and blows way past its rated alcohol tolerance...

I find zest without pith imparts flavour without too much bitterness, but it does definitely round out nicely with some age. I've used the juice and zest of three or four lemons per gallon and not tasted a predominant citrus flavour in the finished product. And organic citrus is a seasonal thing here, I can't always get it, but the dish soap method hasn't left enough pesticides in my brews to kill me yet