first time wish me luck

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dauthiatull

NewBee
Registered Member
Jul 3, 2009
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just started my first batch of JAO

After a 4 hour lag it started to bubble.

after 6 hours it was bubbling madly.

went to bed but couldnt sleep and good thing too

got up and took a look at it and there was foam in the airlock even though there was plenty of airspace. it was frementing so well it almost looks like its on a slow simmer.

a quick check of the boards and I fashend a blowoff tube into a bottle of water. I will replace the airlock when it settles down a bit.

one quick question?
since my wife and many of my friends have various alergies. adding anything to stop the process is simply not posible and although I can cold crash a 1 gal bottle no problem I cannot fit a 5 gal in the fridge, so it looks like I will have to invest in a filter system.

about how much do these cost(canadian conversion if posible) and what effect does it have on the mead.

the OG was 1.136 at 84F when I pitched the yeast. does that sound about right?
 
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one quick question?
since my wife and many of my friends have various alergies. adding anything to stop the process is simply not posible and although I can cold crash a 1 gal bottle no problem I cannot fit a 5 gal in the fridge, so it looks like I will have to invest in a filter system.

about how much do these cost(canadian conversion if posible) and what effect does it have on the mead.

the OG was 1.136 at 84F when I pitched the yeast. does that sound about right?

Very few people have allergies to sulfites. All fermented beverages (not distilled) contain some whether you add them or not, so if someone can drink wine/beer/mead in any fashion they probably do not have a true sulfite allergy.

With JAO recipe you don't need sulfites, filters or cold crashing. Just stick it in a dark corner and let the yeast finish their job and you'll be rewarded with clear tasty mead.

Filtering can be a fun process to play with, but it really isn't needed in most cases.

Your starting gravity was a little bit higher than I expect from a JAO - did you use any extra honey? No worries in either case - it is fermenting along and will give you a nice sweet result in time.

Congratulations on your batch!

And Welcome to GotMead!!!

Medsen
 
nope measured out 3.5 pounds

the honey I bought was a bit thicker and darker than your average billy bee
about the color of a medium maple syrup

its called capilano pure and natural and its a blend of austrialian and canadian honey.
its not as sweet tasting as billy. has a mild flavour and strong but pleasent smell with a slight hint of buckwheat and maple. in fact I think I will use this in cooking and tea from now on its so much better

whats the average OG of JAO?
 
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its called capilano pure and natural and its a blend of austrialian and canadian honey.
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Here's one for your knowledge bank...........

You mention Australian honey blends.......

Well it's likely to have eucalyptus honey in that blend. I've been advised more than once to steer clear of eucalyptus honey for meads because you tend to get a sort of "cough medicine" type taste, and I don't mean the "listerine" sort of taste that Ken Schramm alludes to in his book - that's "alcohol hot" and it will age out.

If you think of those mild cold type treatments for blocked nose/sinus that smell strongly of menthol and/or eucalyptus, well you may find that your mead has a "slight" hint of the same....

I also understand that leatherwood honey should also be avoided for the same reason i.e. it's related to eucalyptus......

That's not to say that you shouldn't use these honey's just that they can sometimes impart an undesirable flavour - or that's the "gist" of what I've been told a number of times - I'm sure that you'll find someone here who will tell you the complete opposite....

Just thought it worthy of passing on......

regards

fatbloke
 
thats not really a bad thing.

I happen to like that eucalyptus effect. I do tend to get head colds a lot in the winter and if this mead turns out a medicinal mead instead of a social drink, well it still wont go to waste.

I prefer natural remedies anyway. now that you got me thinking of that Im going to have to research medicinal herbs.

thinking about a mead that works like buckly's but taste like mead
 
been 3 weeks and fermentation is very slow
took a gravity to see whats happening

OG 1.136

current gravity 1.026

thats about 14.7 % ABV

the yeast should have died off at 12%

had a sip of the sample

strong acholhol smell and kinda appley
bit of burn in the back of the throat and strong pith taste

should I rack this off or leave it
 
If you just let it sit, it will clear then you can bottle it. It may take a couple of months. During that time (and with aging subsequently) that hot alcohol will mellow and the pithy taste will start to fade.

Now is the time to add the most difficult ingredient to find - patience.