This is an 'updated' version of Joe's Ancient Orange Mead, updating a few things like the yeast used, and the orange flavor extraction. I've seen a few comments that JAOM was a little 'pithy' or bitter until it had aged 6-8 months.
Water used was store bought 'spring water'...sanitary, but still containing minerals and some hardness.
Process:
This is for a 2 gallon batch...easy enough to scale up or down. I started by washing an orange very thoroughly, and then zesting the exterior, stopping before I hit any white rind/pith. That got me about 2 tsp of zest.
Then I hand squeezed the rest of the juice out of the orange, and set it aside.
I used 5lbs of honey - just under 3 lbs of alfalfa and the rest was with Sam's Club clover honey.
I dissovled this in a gallon of 160F water, which caused it to drop to about 150F. I added the zest, 2 sticks of cinnamon, 2 whole cloves, and the squeezed juice, plus yeast nutrient and energizer (added per the label's instructions).
I let this steep 10 minutes, then used a water bath to cool it down.
(I used the 'light heat' method dictated by Schramm because half my honey was raw and unfiltered, so I wished to try to kill wild spores).
Added to carboy using a strainer to remove the spices, zest and pulp from the OJ, and topped off to two gallons.
This had me about 67F, and my yeast pack was swollen, so I aerated and pitched.
I expect this will take 3 weeks to ferment out. The yeast should stop around 12% ABV, leaving some residual sweetness without being cloying. If its too try or acidic, it can always be fed more mead or back-sweetened with a little splenda.
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Hopefully the 'better' mead yeast and the removal of orange bits will make this a little smoother and a little quicker to become drinkable. The must smelled amazing at least
I've made mead with bread yeast a few times, and it does work, but it always took longer to mellow out.
Water used was store bought 'spring water'...sanitary, but still containing minerals and some hardness.
Process:
This is for a 2 gallon batch...easy enough to scale up or down. I started by washing an orange very thoroughly, and then zesting the exterior, stopping before I hit any white rind/pith. That got me about 2 tsp of zest.
Then I hand squeezed the rest of the juice out of the orange, and set it aside.
I used 5lbs of honey - just under 3 lbs of alfalfa and the rest was with Sam's Club clover honey.
I dissovled this in a gallon of 160F water, which caused it to drop to about 150F. I added the zest, 2 sticks of cinnamon, 2 whole cloves, and the squeezed juice, plus yeast nutrient and energizer (added per the label's instructions).
I let this steep 10 minutes, then used a water bath to cool it down.
(I used the 'light heat' method dictated by Schramm because half my honey was raw and unfiltered, so I wished to try to kill wild spores).
Added to carboy using a strainer to remove the spices, zest and pulp from the OJ, and topped off to two gallons.
This had me about 67F, and my yeast pack was swollen, so I aerated and pitched.
I expect this will take 3 weeks to ferment out. The yeast should stop around 12% ABV, leaving some residual sweetness without being cloying. If its too try or acidic, it can always be fed more mead or back-sweetened with a little splenda.
------------
Hopefully the 'better' mead yeast and the removal of orange bits will make this a little smoother and a little quicker to become drinkable. The must smelled amazing at least
I've made mead with bread yeast a few times, and it does work, but it always took longer to mellow out.