I know this is a bit long, but I thought other newbies might learn from a first timer.
So my initial plan was to follow Joe's Ancient Orange to the letter. That really didn't happen at all. I wanted a mead that was more on the dry side. I discovered Wyeast 4632 and decided to see where it could take me.
Here's a breakdown of my recipe:
2 lb Raw Texas Wildflower honey
1 lb Raw Clover Honey
Wyeast 4632 Dry Mead Yeast
1 Valencia Orange Zested and peeled
4 Medjool Dates Sliced and pitted
1 Cinnamon stick
2 Cloves
RO Water to 1 gallon
In February I pitched, aerated, and let it do it's thing for a while just like the rules said.
Then I went off the map a little.
I racked about a month later.
In May I racked it again and added 2 pounds of Raw Texas Wildflower Honey and nutrients. Flavor was hot alcohol with some citrus.
Early July racked again because the lees were starting to stack up and the mead was starting to clear up nicely. Still hot alcohol flavors but the citrus had blended a little more.
July 31, final racking. I also added gelatin as a fining agent at this point.
August 10th, beautifully clear and ready to hit the bottles. It had fermented dry and I didn't add any back sweetening after that second honey addition. However, I did add Potassium Sorbate and K-Meta. I wasn't taking any chances
When I transferred to the bottling bucket, I added 2 oz of heavy toast oak extract I had made months earlier (Toasted oak extracted in vodka) to balance out the flavors.
Tasting at this point was nice. The spices and citrus complemented the honey flavor well. The oak and tannins added vanilla overtones and played very nicely with the overall flavors. As it was, this mead is incredibly drinkable. I enjoyed a small glass of it after bottling. This is a mellow and smooth mead that I think will age very well and get nice and complex in about a year.
Notes in retrospect for first timers:
1. I was very lucky with this mead. I went off the reservation but was still able to pull it off in the end. I think I was able to do this because I read everything I could find about crafting mead and that kept me from making fatal errors and kept the little errors to a minimum. All of my deviations were calculated based on what I had read.
2. Mead is very forgiving due to the very nature of what it is. Don't be afraid of it, just respect pre-defined parameters that are spelled out very clearly from others with more experience than you. This place is a great resource, make use of it.
3. Patience will keep you from screwing up.
4. Buy a hydrometer. Even if you're just planning on making JAOM, take readings otherwise you'll always wonder exactly where you're at. I didn't start with a hydrometer, but I'm guessing my alcohol ended up around 18% based on the yeast tolerances and the amount of honey I used (plus the 2 ounces of vodka extract). I'll never know for sure but that's my best educated guess since I fermented it dry.
So my initial plan was to follow Joe's Ancient Orange to the letter. That really didn't happen at all. I wanted a mead that was more on the dry side. I discovered Wyeast 4632 and decided to see where it could take me.
Here's a breakdown of my recipe:
2 lb Raw Texas Wildflower honey
1 lb Raw Clover Honey
Wyeast 4632 Dry Mead Yeast
1 Valencia Orange Zested and peeled
4 Medjool Dates Sliced and pitted
1 Cinnamon stick
2 Cloves
RO Water to 1 gallon
In February I pitched, aerated, and let it do it's thing for a while just like the rules said.
Then I went off the map a little.
I racked about a month later.
In May I racked it again and added 2 pounds of Raw Texas Wildflower Honey and nutrients. Flavor was hot alcohol with some citrus.
Early July racked again because the lees were starting to stack up and the mead was starting to clear up nicely. Still hot alcohol flavors but the citrus had blended a little more.
July 31, final racking. I also added gelatin as a fining agent at this point.
August 10th, beautifully clear and ready to hit the bottles. It had fermented dry and I didn't add any back sweetening after that second honey addition. However, I did add Potassium Sorbate and K-Meta. I wasn't taking any chances
When I transferred to the bottling bucket, I added 2 oz of heavy toast oak extract I had made months earlier (Toasted oak extracted in vodka) to balance out the flavors.
Tasting at this point was nice. The spices and citrus complemented the honey flavor well. The oak and tannins added vanilla overtones and played very nicely with the overall flavors. As it was, this mead is incredibly drinkable. I enjoyed a small glass of it after bottling. This is a mellow and smooth mead that I think will age very well and get nice and complex in about a year.
Notes in retrospect for first timers:
1. I was very lucky with this mead. I went off the reservation but was still able to pull it off in the end. I think I was able to do this because I read everything I could find about crafting mead and that kept me from making fatal errors and kept the little errors to a minimum. All of my deviations were calculated based on what I had read.
2. Mead is very forgiving due to the very nature of what it is. Don't be afraid of it, just respect pre-defined parameters that are spelled out very clearly from others with more experience than you. This place is a great resource, make use of it.
3. Patience will keep you from screwing up.
4. Buy a hydrometer. Even if you're just planning on making JAOM, take readings otherwise you'll always wonder exactly where you're at. I didn't start with a hydrometer, but I'm guessing my alcohol ended up around 18% based on the yeast tolerances and the amount of honey I used (plus the 2 ounces of vodka extract). I'll never know for sure but that's my best educated guess since I fermented it dry.