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Suggestions regarding Joe's Ancient Orange Mead (JAOM)

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Loadnabox

NewBee
Registered Member
Apr 17, 2011
849
3
0
Ohio
A few corrections to my original post. Pardon the quasi html, hopefully it makes sense.

(from the section on Pith)
* (line modified)remove the pith from inside the orange but leave the peel on
* zest & remove the peel from (change)half (/change)the orange(s) to be used
* (added line) Be sure to cut into 8th's small pieces provide more surface area to impart pith taste

(from the section on raisins)
A: ...nitrogen rich berries get much better results. (Added sentence)Using "golden" raisins generally does not have as good of results as plain raisins.

(from the section about adding more spice)
A: Mead is extremely good at extracting (change)flavor(/change) from spices...

(from the section on removing spice)
A: The clove and cinnamon help to balance the sweetness just as the tang from the (change)pith(/change) does.

(new question)
Q: My JAO is way too sweet!

A: This is the most common complaint from people who prefer drier wines.

If you find your first JAO too sweet the best way to fix this is to modify the recipe to 3 pounds per gallon of honey instead of 3.5 pounds.
 

Chevette Girl

All around BAD EXAMPLE
Moderator
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Apr 27, 2010
8,443
53
48
Ottawa, ON
(new question)
Q: My JAO is way too sweet!

A: This is the most common complaint from people who prefer drier wines.

If you find your first JAO too sweet the best way to fix this is to modify the recipe to 3 pounds per gallon of honey instead of 3.5 pounds.

I'd recommend starting with a 1/4 lb drop, that made a significant difference when I tried it once.

Or if you can't stand the stuff at all and are not going to drink any of your first batch, make it with significantly less honey and try blending the two batches to a suitable level of sweetness...
 

Loadnabox

NewBee
Registered Member
Apr 17, 2011
849
3
0
Ohio
I'd recommend starting with a 1/4 lb drop, that made a significant difference when I tried it once.

Or if you can't stand the stuff at all and are not going to drink any of your first batch, make it with significantly less honey and try blending the two batches to a suitable level of sweetness...

I think your first suggestion is best and coincides with the standard recommendations that people slow add or remove things.

remove 1/4 pound per gallon until the taste suits you.
 

Dan McFeeley

Lifetime Patron
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Oct 10, 2003
1,899
7
38
68
Illinois
Some of the need for adherence to the original recipe for JAO might sound like religious dogmatism, or close to it, but there's more to the story. Joe Mattioli was one of the regular posters to the GotMead forums back in the early days. He hasn't been around for some time now, but us older folk remember him well and miss him.

Most people might have seen this post by Joe, but it's not the original post on what was to become an Internet legend:

http://www.gotmead.com/index.php?option=com_rapidrecipe&page=viewrecipe&Itemid=6&recipe_id=118

I have the original post somewhere, but it's still on the forum archives, you can find it if you search hard enough. It isn't much different from the post above, just not as much fun to read. At that time, Joe was responding to a request for an easy mead recipe, what was to become JAO was his response.

I enjoyed Joe's posts, and I really enjoyed meeting and talking with him at the 2004 International Meadfest in Boulder Colorado. Joe was great.

It was a funny thing. We found that experimenting with Joe's original recipe got poor results. It got to be a joke among us at that time -- it's fool proof, don't fool with it!

Joe's Ancient Orange is really not much more than an old country wine recipe for an orange melomel. We all know that, and like most recipes, there's room for variation. It takes some knowledge and skill, but there's reasons why these old time meadmakers put together the recipes the way they did.

A big part of why us old timers on the GotMead forums stick to the recipe is because it's a salute to an old friend. Whenever I make a JAO, and hoist a glass of it, I remember those conversations with Joe at the Outlook hotel in Boulder Colorado. I suppose I could make some changes, but I'm not going to.

Cheers, and cheers to Joe!

--
 
Last edited:

kudapucat

NewBee
Registered Member
Dec 2, 2010
2,383
10
0
Bundoora, Melbourne, Australia
I think your first suggestion is best and coincides with the standard recommendations that people slow add or remove things.

remove 1/4 pound per gallon until the taste suits you.

I've never weighed a JAO(variant). I just add honey until I get an OG I'm happy with.

I have suggested to a mate who's brewing JAO, to measure OG and decrease it by 0.010 until it tastes more like you'd want.
But I guess it's probably the same advice.
 

TheAlchemist

I am Meadlemania
GotMead Patron
Sep 9, 2010
2,464
8
0
near a lake
Joe Mattioli was one of the regular posters to the GotMead forums back in the early days. He hasn't been around for some time now, but us older folk remember him well and miss him...

Most people might have seen this post by Joe, but it's not the original post on what was to become an Internet legend:

http://www.gotmead.com/index.php?option=com_rapidrecipe&page=viewrecipe&Itemid=6&recipe_id=118

I enjoyed Joe's posts, and I really enjoyed meeting and talking with him at the 2004 International Meadfest in Boulder Colorado. Joe was great...

Cheers, and cheers to Joe!

--

Where Have You Gone Joe Mattiolio, Our Forum Turns It's Lonely Eyes to You...
 

Chevette Girl

All around BAD EXAMPLE
Moderator
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Apr 27, 2010
8,443
53
48
Ottawa, ON
I've never weighed a JAO(variant). I just add honey until I get an OG I'm happy with.

I have suggested to a mate who's brewing JAO, to measure OG and decrease it by 0.010 until it tastes more like you'd want.
But I guess it's probably the same advice.

I guess it depends on the volume of the fruit you're adding, but I think a standard actual, true to the recipe JAO for me usually comes out around 1.125 and if I make a variant with larger fruit volume it comes out maybe up to 1.135. Are your values much different?
<runs off to play Uriah Heep's Lady in Black to displace Mrs. Robinson from brain's audio reel>
 

kudapucat

NewBee
Registered Member
Dec 2, 2010
2,383
10
0
Bundoora, Melbourne, Australia
I guess it depends on the volume of the fruit you're adding, but I think a standard actual, true to the recipe JAO for me usually comes out around 1.125 and if I make a variant with larger fruit volume it comes out maybe up to 1.135. Are your values much different?
<runs off to play Uriah Heep's Lady in Black to displace Mrs. Robinson from brain's audio reel>

My yeast is not Flieschmann's and I get 14% on average. So I know it will drop 100 points.
I didn't like it sweet (FG:1040) so I usually go for OG:1120, giving FG:1020 or so...
 

Chevette Girl

All around BAD EXAMPLE
Moderator
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Apr 27, 2010
8,443
53
48
Ottawa, ON
My yeast is not Flieschmann's and I get 14% on average. So I know it will drop 100 points.
I didn't like it sweet (FG:1040) so I usually go for OG:1120, giving FG:1020 or so...

I really need to get my pH meter calibrated and see if that's why mine stops early, some people have reported getting up to 12% with Fleischmann's but the few where I've taken an OG, I usually get around 10%. Something to start thinking about more with next batch of honey!
 
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