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JAO not clearing/Orange not sinking

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Yahiko_n_Tsubame

NewBee
Registered Member
Aug 13, 2013
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Greetings Everyone

So, I made this batch in mid-august. It's actually my first attempt at JOA.
I thought I followed the instructions to the letter (including not racking it) but it hasn't cleared as much as I expected, nor have the cut oranges dropped as the directions said it should.

It's spent the past three months under a table with a towel draped around it to keep it dark.
KRaQUk4.jpg


Any ideas?
 
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Is the airlock still active? If so, it won't clear because it's not done, and the fruit won't sink until it's done and starting to degas.

What temperature has this been kept at?
 
racking

Mine wouldn't clear so I racked it. The bread yeast does not clump up and stay put. (flocculation) It tastes great but I racked twice and still have some sediment. I decided to live with it.
 
Is it cold where you are?
Toss it in the garage. The fruit should drop overnight if it's ready, though it should clear regardless, this will speed it up.
I never had the fruit drop on my first 6 batches of JAO, but my neighbour did. The difference? He brewed in his shed, me in my kitchen.
His were often sweeter, as the yeast would clap out a little earlier, and imho ran the risk of restarting when bottled and kept in the kitchen.
See how you go. It will clear one way or the other. Wait until clear or fruit dropped before bottling or racking.
 
kudapucat said:
Is it cold where you are?
Toss it in the garage. The fruit should drop overnight if it's ready, though it should clear regardless, this will speed it up.
I never had the fruit drop on my first 6 batches of JAO, but my neighbour did. The difference? He brewed in his shed, me in my kitchen.
His were often sweeter, as the yeast would clap out a little earlier, and imho ran the risk of restarting when bottled and kept in the kitchen.
See how you go. It will clear one way or the other. Wait until clear or fruit dropped before bottling or racking.
Click to expand...

Interesting... I thought the JAO recipe said that it likes being in warm places?
Anyway, I just stuck the mead out front following your advice.
I'll update you guys in the morning :)
 
Its my understanding that the yeast (bread yeast) likes higher temperatures. It ferments better at a slightly higher temp. Once fermentation is done, the remnants of the orange, the byproducts of the fermentation, are pretty much affected by environment much like you'd used a wine yeast.

Having said that, I've never had the oranges drop. I don't know if its because I haven't waited long enough or what, but if its clear, its good enough for me. If I remember correctly, the 'warranty' for Joe's Ancient Orange says something like "I've been told that its even better if you wait until the fruit drops, but I don't wait that long". If this is a miss-quote, I apologize. It could possibly be that it being "even better" has less to do with the fact that the fruit dropped and more to do with the extra time involved. Just a guess.

Joe
 
ok, I just took a pic awhile ago.
All of the orange slices have dropped to the bottom overnight and quite a bit more sediment has formed as well. It's still quite murky though.
NHHAV7ml.jpg

Should I keep it outside until it clears?
Or should I rack it since the oranges dropped?

And thank you everyone for all your input. a newbee like myself really appreciates the help :)
 
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It's hard to tell.
That plastic is a little opaque before you start.
Look. This is your first.
Make a decision, when you're happy. Bottle it.
Then keep an eye on the bottles. If they end up with too much sediment, you'll know it wasn't clear enough.
It really does get to be more art than science at times...
 
Here is my question, did you use standard active dry bread yeast or rapid rise bread yeast? Because my first batch I used rapid rise and it cleared 2 weeks early. But I have a batch now that's been going since 17 November that I used standard active dry in and is now barely starting to clear.
 
I also started a batch on Nov 17th (must have been a slow day). It is now clear but the fruit is still floating.

Actually, the oranges are no longer "horizontal" but have drooped to a "vertical" float (they are still at the top). I think I had 1 raisin drop to the bottom.

My temperature is about 67-68 degrees.

I was considering leaving it for one more week, then racking it off (so much for a 1 month brew cycle)!

Paul
 
I ran out of patience and racked the JOAM off the fruit yesterday. It had been almost 3 months and the fruit had not dropped.

The end result is a beverage that is tasty but sweet (I followed the recipe exactly). I'm thinking of either using it as a mixer or trying a second fermentation cycle with an actual mead/wine yeast.

Paul
 
My kind of guy. Except I would never have waited that third month. Lol.

JAOM is very sweet. The spices help but there's no getting around the sweet. You should really invest in a glass jug. I hear it gets even better with age but it didn't last a week once I racked. The mead not the jug.

Get a gallon of cheap wine and make a mess of sangria then you have your jug!


Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now. G
 
Call me crazy (or just dumb) but I added 1/2 package Lalvin D46, about 2 cups pineapple juice and 1 cup straight mead. It brought the level back up to within 2 inches of the neck (it is a glass jog).

I put an airlock back on and it started to bubble again (albeit not very fast).

I'm expecting to:
1) Raise the alcohol level since I expect that Lalvin has a higher alcohol tolerance than bread yeast
2) Lower the sweetness
3) Give it an Orange / Pineapple flavor

Or it could just make a mess out of everything.

I guess about another month to let it ferment and settle out again. What possibly could go wrong :)

Paul
 
mannye said:
Get a gallon of cheap wine and make a mess of sangria then you have your jug!
Click to expand...

2x on that. A jug of Paisano or Country Red never lasted long at my house when I was growing up, and once I was deemed old enough, I got to 'help'. ;)

Just find a nice country red in a 4 liter jug and have yerself a party. You can even invite others if you'd like! <lol>

Luckily, I like that kind of wine. Even more luckily, I know several other people who do too.

Alternatively, if there's a local home brew shop (aka lhbs) close by, they usually sell 4 one gallon jugs for between $18 and $20. Right around the same price as the dago red, but you get 4 empty jugs instead of 1 full one. Hmmm... po-tay-toe, po-tah-toe. ;)

Joe
 
OMG....Paisano? Haven't seen or thought of that in decades! Three score and seven years ago.......etc

Sent from the Nexus of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy which has been infected with Vogon poetry, some of which leaked out here.
 
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