Sooo, I have everything I need to make it...but the only yeast I have is 71b. Is that a bad thing? What should I expect differently? This will be my first attempt at ANY mead (the yeast is a gift from a friend who makes mead and prefers it for her sweet meads) and I want to get it right! I also plan on making a variation of the JOAM with Apricots and peaches instead of orange, with a clove thrown in for spice. Both one gallons in gallon water jugs with ballons (Don't have any carboys or anything yet).
Newbie JOAM first mead question
- Thread starter vampkat
- Start date
-
Love Gotmead and want to see it grow? Then consider supporting the site and becoming a Patron! If you're logged in, click on your username to the right of the menu to see how as little as $30/year can get you access to the patron areas and the patron Facebook group and to support Gotmead!
-
We now have a Patron-exclusive Facebook group! Patrons my join at The Gotmead Patron Group. You MUST answer the questions, providing your Patron membership, when you request to join so I can verify your Patron membership. If the questions aren't answered, the request will be turned down.
Why not just go get some bread yeast? I'm sure your friend won't be offended if you say you're saving the 71B until you know how to use it properly (I THINK 71B can be a bit temperamental, but I could very easily be wrong).
My two bobs worth is do a JAOM following the recipe as closely as you can first, then while you're waiting on that hang around here and read as much as you can. You'll have about 2 months, which is plenty of time. Then use the 71B properly next time.
My two bobs worth is do a JAOM following the recipe as closely as you can first, then while you're waiting on that hang around here and read as much as you can. You'll have about 2 months, which is plenty of time. Then use the 71B properly next time.
The 71B won't be a bad thing as long as you don't wait forever to rack when it is done. Just know you are going to have to put more work into that mead than you will the JAOM. At least if you want to do it properly. It's not a lot of work but it is more than simply sit and forget like JAO.
Yeah, I saw I'll have to aerate it more often, and rack it when it's about done fermenting, then probably rack it again. But I kinda want to do that anyways because I want to get into making mead, and those are necessary steps in the normal process....right? Plus I'm HORRIBLE at waiting and doing nothing, at least with the few extra steps I'll feel like I'm doing something....Or am I just being a baby? lol
It's making a JAO but using wine yeast that is the issue there. Bread yeast will poop out earlier leaving some residual sugars, that help balance any bitterness picked up from the white orange pith.
Using a wine yeast will take it dry, that then in turn, focuses the flavour on the bitterness from the pith.
More experienced mead makers who bother to take gravity readings from benchmark JAO's will know that you can still use a wine yeast but then you will have to back sweeten the batch to the same area that a benchmark batch gets, so that the bitterness is balanced out.
That way, you will get a much higher alcohol version but with the same sweetness. The down side being that the higher the alcohol, the longer it can take to age and be smooth and drinkable.......
Which is why, as you pointed out, it's often recommended to stick with a bench mark version of JAO and sticking with the recipe as is.......
I second saving the 71B until you're doing something that's not a JAO, it is gross when it's dry.
