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First Mead Down - Need help with next plan

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AlwaysWaven

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Mar 5, 2015
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Ok, my first batch of Joe's Ancient Orange Mead was a success and I need to know where to go from here.

1. I would like to make a 5 gallon batch of Joe's Ancient Orange Mead before Christmas. Do I just multiply everything by 5 and let it go to town?

2. What would be a good second batch recipe to make? I would like to try one with less extra taste and cleaner. If that makes sense.
 
That's all I make. If you want something tasty by Christmas then check out the BOMM. That will be ready. And as far as the JAOM I think you're pretty much right on the money x5 except I don't know about the clove.


Sent from my TARDIS at the restaurant at the end of the universe while eating Phil.
 
mannye said:
That's all I make. If you want something tasty by Christmas then check out the BOMM. That will be ready. And as far as the JAOM I think you're pretty much right on the money x5 except I don't know about the clove.
Click to expand...
If fresh organic cloves, then don't go above 2, unless you just like boatloads of clove taste. If they're really, really old like say 20 years old, then you can just go crazy. Take it from experience. ;-)
 
OK, so I am making a list of things I need.

I guess the only hardware for my 5 gal batch of JAOM is a 5 gallon carboy. Is there any reason not to get a Big Mouth Bubbler? Especially for this it seems much easier to clean.

Can anyone point me to good instructions for orange blossom honey mead? I keep finding different ones.

I found this -
Bray's One Month Mead aka "the BOMM" - 1 gallon
No heat method.
Added Orange Blossom honey to SG of 1.096 in 1 gallon jugs.
Added 3/4 tsp of 1:2 DAP:Fermaid K; also, add this at 2/3 and 1/3 sugar break.
Add 3/4 tsp potassium carbonate.
Shake like hell to aerate.
Pitched Wyeast 1388 - Belgian Strong Ale activated overnight.
Aerate daily by shaking.
Pitching temperature 68 F, but the temperature in my house fluctuates from 70-80 F with no off flavors.

But do not know what a lot of it means.
 
Hi mate,
This is my first post but i would suggest buying several 1 gallon demijohns/carboys and trying out several meads at once with different recipes to see which ones you like.
It is a lot cheaper and as long as you mark and write down which ones are which and the recipes, you will be able to choose what you like and replicate it in the future.
Also, you can use cheap honey to just get a vibe for the recipes, this way you save money.
Hope this helps.
Peace
 
http://www.gotmead.com/forum/showth...quot-BOMM-quot-1-gallon?highlight=BOMM+recipe

That link is the official BOMM recipe.

Post on here the terms/initials that are befuddling you and I will do my best to demystify them. Let's do it here because I bet it will be of help to other noobs. I certainly didn't know what Kmeta meant in the beginning as well as all the other "gotmead speak." It' takes a while to get it all straight. BOMM is super easy to make. Don't let all the techno babble worry you.

Also...big mouth bubbler is fine. 5 gallon bucket is cheaper and better IMO though.
 
Start with 1 gallon of spring water (I use Ozarka) - H2O Got it
Remove 1/2 cup water to compensate for smack pack volume. - Ok
Draw line on jugs at current water level. - Ok
Remove 3.2 cups of water from 1 gallon jugs. (757 ml) - Ok
Add OB honey to line. About 2.4 lbs. - Ok
SG 1.09-1.1 - This is a hydromitor reading?
Add 1/4 tsp DAP and 1/2 tsp of Fermaid K. - Ok
The above nutrients will be added again at 1/3 & 2/3 sugar break. - Lost here
Add 1/4 tsp K2CO3
Shake until honey is fully mixed in water. This will take some effort. - Ok
Add a smack pack of Wyeast 1388 yeast activated for about 2 hours to overnight. - 2 hours and then what?
Put it somewhere warm. High fermentation temperatures are fine for this mead.
Shake everyday for a week.
No water in airlock for 7 days. - there will be none?
Ferments dry in about a week, clears in 3-4 weeks.

Why is a bucket better than the BMB? I am new to all this.
 
A bucket isn't better. It's the same. It's better because it's cheaper. Compared to a carboy it's easier to clean, and you will never have an MEA (mead explosion accident) where the mead can literally cause the end of the world.


Sent from my TARDIS at the restaurant at the end of the universe while eating Phil.
 
AlwaysWaven said:
Start with 1 gallon of spring water (I use Ozarka) - H2O Got it
Remove 1/2 cup water to compensate for smack pack volume. - Ok
Draw line on jugs at current water level. - Ok
Remove 3.2 cups of water from 1 gallon jugs. (757 ml) - Ok
Add OB honey to line. About 2.4 lbs. - Ok
SG 1.09-1.1 - This is a hydromitor reading?
Add 1/4 tsp DAP and 1/2 tsp of Fermaid K. - Ok
The above nutrients will be added again at 1/3 & 2/3 sugar break. - Lost here
Add 1/4 tsp K2CO3
Shake until honey is fully mixed in water. This will take some effort. - Ok
Add a smack pack of Wyeast 1388 yeast activated for about 2 hours to overnight. - 2 hours and then what?
Put it somewhere warm. High fermentation temperatures are fine for this mead.
Shake everyday for a week.
No water in airlock for 7 days. - there will be none?
Ferments dry in about a week, clears in 3-4 weeks.

Why is a bucket better than the BMB? I am new to all this.
Click to expand...

Ok. First one is a hydrometer reading yes.

The second one. Using math and your hydrometer you figure out when 1/3 of the sugar has been eaten up. I tend to switch to BRIX which should also be on your hydrometer. Most have BRIX, percent alcohol potential and Gravity. Using BRIX you simply divide by 3 to get 1/3 and 2/3. So if you started at 30, 1/3 is 10 making your 1/3 break 20 BRIX then 10. If you started at 40 then 1/3 break is roughly 27 if my head calculator isn't too drunk right now. With SG there are a lot of decimals but you can do the same math.

To be frank, for a traditional BOMM I lately just add nutrients at 48 and 72 hours no measuring. So far it's working fine. But for your first BOMM (and second fourth and sixth) you may want to take measurements until you feel comfortable.

Next thing. Smack Pak. You have to smack it to break the little package inside the envelope. When you do that it releases yeast into a nutrient bath and anywhere between two and 24 hours later it will puff up indicating its ready to pitch. This will also be made clear by reading the directions It may not puff up and that's OK. After 24 hours just pitch the damn thing. I haven't had a dud yet despite the occasional unpuffed pouch.

Airlock won't need water in it for 7 days and your must will benefit from exposure to air during that time. After the 7th day you put water in it.

I think that's everything. Ask again if anything is still unclear. If any of the more experienced guys have corrections please do so! I'm still learning too!




Sent from my TARDIS at the restaurant at the end of the universe while eating Phil.
 
Bucket > Big Mouth Bubbler > Carboy
A fermentation bucket is easy to clean, least chance (basically 0) of accidents. A BMB, from what I've read about and talked to people, is basically as easy to clean and not likely to explode as a bucket, and it looks a little cooler. A carboy is the coolest of them all...nothing quite like seeing your budding baby brew in all its glorious stages as it goes from mad-scientist concoction to something magical. I can't count the (ahem) hours of bliss over the first few years of brewing just watching all the activity in one of those things. A flashlight helps you see some of the finer detail*. Fermentation buckets are as boring as they are plain to look at. But, once the magic of watching a few brews and meads do their thing inside pretty glass jugs, the fascination will wear off and you won't care what they get up to in those sterile white bucket environments.

But, especially for noobs, clogging up an airlock on one of those things when an active fermentation is going on.... well, let's just say it makes an impressive bang. A window-shaking, teeth-jarring kaboom!. Sounds like Armageddon has arrived. Also, a carboy can be a real pita to clean, even with an angled bottle brush. I still fight with mine from time to time after using one for a secondary ferment. It's amazing the amount of gook (scientific term) that collects on the insides of those things.

*the less light entered into your brews, the better — didn't stop me from shining a bright flashlight into every carboy I wanted to see more detail in though. Never had any issues that I know of.
 
Do you mean the Mark II Keg and Carboy washer? That thing is a hundred bucks! Not that I wouldn't pay it when I'm cursing at those stupid ineffective carboy brushes. But lately I'm using my carboys only for bulk aging. Buckets are the shit. Easy cleanup no MEAs


Sent from my TARDIS at the restaurant at the end of the universe while eating Phil.
 
That i the one Mannye. Seems a bit pricey, but I would not live without it now. Carboys (even 1 gallon if you shorten the nozzle, which is just a trip to the hardware store), kegs (Corny at least), bucket fermenters and the whole array of Spiedel fermenters (which I use mostly). All with no scrubbing or mess. I use Cipton as a cleaner (it is a strong one) so do not know how well it does with other products, but bet it is pretty much the same. It is a lay man's solution to scrubbing, and causes no scratches. The only time it failed me was with a used Corny Keg that had been left open with beer in it for a long time. Had to hand scrub that one first.
 
edblanford said:
That i the one Mannye. Seems a bit pricey, but I would not live without it now. Carboys (even 1 gallon if you shorten the nozzle, which is just a trip to the hardware store), kegs (Corny at least), bucket fermenters and the whole array of Spiedel fermenters (which I use mostly). All with no scrubbing or mess. I use Cipton as a cleaner (it is a strong one) so do not know how well it does with other products, but bet it is pretty much the same. It is a lay man's solution to scrubbing, and causes no scratches. The only time it failed me was with a used Corny Keg that had been left open with beer in it for a long time. Had to hand scrub that one first.
Click to expand...
How do you keep from breathing that stuff in? It's like lye solution, isn't it? Kinda scares me. I've been using b-brite, but there are a lot of things it can't clean well. As long as things are fairly clean to start with, it works fine. Which is the case with most cleaners. They work great as long as what you're wanting to clean is relatively clean already. Not my idea of an ideal cleaner. :-)
 
Ok, so all that I need to order is a 6.5 gallon bucket with an airlock and 17.5 lbs of honey? It is not a big deal that I am only making 5 gallons? Or should I order two so that I can rack it?

Since the rest can be picked up at the supermarket.
 
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