JAOs cleared early

[crimsondrac]

Hi all, my first post here and my first batch of mead as well. I made two gallons of JAOs in two seperate 1 gallon jugs. The first, I used a pure local honey and the second, I mixed some local honey with non-local clover honey. On the first jug of pure local honey, I noticed yesterday that it had cleared. The second jug is still cloudy.

I made both jugs on 5/22/2010, same time, same day. And I noticed the one jug had gone clear yesterday, 6/10/2010. Now, everything I read said it was supposed to take about 2 months, but this one went clear in less then one.

Anyone have any suggestions as to what I should do? I am just thinking about bottling it and trying it out. Got to be some alcohol in it, though probably not much.

 

[fatbloke]

Hi all, my first post here and my first batch of mead as well. I made two gallons of JAOs in two seperate 1 gallon jugs. The first, I used a pure local honey and the second, I mixed some local honey with non-local clover honey. On the first jug of pure local honey, I noticed yesterday that it had cleared. The second jug is still cloudy.

I made both jugs on 5/22/2010, same time, same day. And I noticed the one jug had gone clear yesterday, 6/10/2010. Now, everything I read said it was supposed to take about 2 months, but this one went clear in less then one.

Anyone have any suggestions as to what I should do? I am just thinking about bottling it and trying it out. Got to be some alcohol in it, though probably not much.

did you take any gravity measurements when you started? If so, have you checked to see what it is now ?

If not, take one now to see what it's at......

Even slight variations in the honey types can make a difference, so it's entirely possible that they will take different times to clear.

Has the fruit dropped ? It's usually the orange that takes the longer time to drop (presumably as the orange flesh holds onto some of the CO2 longer than the raisins).

regards

fatbloke

 

[crimsondrac]

Thanks for response. I will take a reading and post it here today. Fruit is still floating.

 

[Gardenfish]

Mine cleared in a month also. Let it sit another month, bottle it and let it sit as long as you can stand. Every month the taste will get better and better. I have 3 bottles left of mine that are just over 1 yr. They are as good as anything I have tasted so far.

Gardenfish

 

[crimsondrac]

Yesterday, the second jar cleared. I took a s.g. of the first jug and it read 1.1.

I filtered out the gunk from the sample and tried it out. It definitely needs some time to age, but it is also alcoholic and it did not kill me. LOL.

So, I guess, I will filter it, bottle it up and let it age a while.

Guess it is time to start planning out the next batch. What is a good recipe to make after JAO?

 

[crimsondrac]

Sorry, the FG is 1.01, not 1.1. Read the hydrometer wrong. lol...newbies.

 

[jdw03n]

Guess it is time to start planning out the next batch. What is a good recipe to make after JAO?

Depends on what you like. A traditional mead might not be a bad place to start - would let you learn about nutrient additions and fermentation management without having the challenges of cap management and such.


Just my 2c, I'm not a professional, and my advice neither states nor implies any guarantees or warranties.

 

[AToE]

A traditional is something everyone should do, and if doing small batches it might as well be soon. Otherwise you'll never know what mead tastes like, you'll just know what mead + stuff tastes like!

It's great for educating your tastebuds, and it takes forever to age, so it will teach you patience.