Toggle sidebar

Really disappointed with my first JAO

  • PATRONS: Did you know we've a chat function for you now? Look to the bottom of the screen, you can chat, set up rooms, talk to each other individually or in groups! Click 'Chat' at the right side of the chat window to open the chat up.
  • Love Gotmead and want to see it grow? Then consider supporting the site and becoming a Patron! If you're logged in, click on your username to the right of the menu to see how as little as $30/year can get you access to the patron areas and the patron Facebook group and to support Gotmead!
  • We now have a Patron-exclusive Facebook group! Patrons my join at The Gotmead Patron Group. You MUST answer the questions, providing your Patron membership, when you request to join so I can verify your Patron membership. If the questions aren't answered, the request will be turned down.
Barrel Char Wood Products
M

McJeff

NewBee
Registered Member
May 17, 2013
1,095
1
0
Farmington, Maine
785504E6-06D7-4411-A86C-F1883FEF7CC6-83218-0000117DD2379E9E_zpsb6ad1eff.jpg


It's very thick, syrupy taste to it. Very one dimensional, flat. Can't taste anything but the honey. Used 18lbs for a 5g batch. Didnt think the extra honey would make that much of a diff. Added a slice of lemon and its slightly better.

So what to do?
 
Brew a super dry batch and blend until you get something you like. And next time remember all the warnings about how deviating from the recipe voids the warranty!

But most of all, don't despair! I'm sure you can salvage with some blending.
 
McJeff said:
It's very thick, syrupy taste to it. Very one dimensional, flat. Can't taste anything but the honey. Used 18lbs for a 5g batch. Didnt think the extra honey would make that much of a diff. Added a slice of lemon and its slightly better.

So what to do?
Click to expand...

I second the idea of making a bone dry batch and blending tiill you like the taste.

It sounds to me like your fermentation stalled. Your mix is only heavy by 0.10 lbs of honey per gallon. That isn't a lot. Less than three percent difference. You said you can taste honey, but do you taste alcohol?

If you have a hydrometer, check it and see what the SG is. If you don't have a hydrometer, get one. ;)

I am probably the cheapest man alive, and I learned quickly that ten bucks for a hydrometer is money well spent. It will tell you how your fermentation is progressing, when it has stopped, and how sweet or dry it is. It truly is the one indispensable item.

Since this is a JAO, I guess you could re-pitch with more bread yeast, but I think it is a better idea to set about fermenting a batch and let it go very dry, let it clear, then blend it with the JAO.

That's just my $0.02, and your mileage may vary.


And smile, dammit, you made mead!

Joe
 
joemirando said:
Since this is a JAO, I guess you could re-pitch with more bread yeast, but I think it is a better idea to set about fermenting a batch and let it go very dry, let it clear, then blend it with the JAO.

Joe
Click to expand...

So to make another batch that is dry, I would duplicate the recipe but use a different yeast like EC-1118 or K1-V1116? and then blend the dry batch with the sweet batch to taste? But wouldn't the blending be adding additional sugar that would restart the fermentation?
or am I missing something?
Maybe it is making a second batch of the same JAO recipe but with less honey to take it dry using bread yeast.
 
I've already started 2 gallons of normal JAO. But will only 2 lb per gallon. So we will see. I bottled the sweet stuff in a panic thinking I had too much air space in my carboy. So I just means more work mixing ever mason jar. I have a hydrometer ill test a mason jar tomorrow.
 
potato888 said:
So to make another batch that is dry, I would duplicate the recipe but use a different yeast like EC-1118 or K1-V1116? and then blend the dry batch with the sweet batch to taste? But wouldn't the blending be adding additional sugar that would restart the fermentation?
or am I missing something?
Maybe it is making a second batch of the same JAO recipe but with less honey to take it dry using bread yeast.
Click to expand...

I guess that both are options, and I am sure that someone with more knowledge than I will chime in, but I was thinking about using something like Lalvin 71B on a 1 gallon batch with 2.75 pounds of honey. This yeast is good to about 14%, and it should ferment it dry (13%) if aerated and given nutrients and energizer.

But thinking about it now, I guess you could make a fresh batch of JAO with less honey. But how much you'd have to blend with the first one is impossible to guess at without SG readings.


Joe
 
Unless you use stabilizing chemicals and want to wait a year for everything to age out, I would not recommend mixing a too-sweet JAO with anything made with a different yeast.

What I'd have done is almost exactly what you've already started, I'd have made a gallon or two of JAO with maybe 2 lb honey and only leave it till it goes dry rather than waiting for the fruit to drop, then add some of the too-sweet stuff and see if it kicks back up... if it does, add the rest of the too-sweet batch and see what happens, worst case scenario you're only waiting an additional two months for this to finish up and clear. If it doesn't kick up, then blend according to taste... And hey, at least it's a JAO on a two month timescale rather than a traditional on a 12-month timescale to see if it's any good!

I found when I tried this early on, eliminating just 1/4 lb of honey with a lemon variant made it pretty awful and I had to blend with something that had stuck, but Fatbloke dilutes it more (using imperial rather than US gallon) and likes it that way, so really, it may be your taste.

I've had one JAO get stuck at around 1.060 which really is pretty sweet, most of mine finish between 1.030 and 1.025, which is sweet but not syrupy, to me anyway. Do let us know what you get when you check yours with your hydrometer!

Oh, and I have found that with JAO's you really do NOT need to sweat about headspace. Most other wines, meads and mels, yes. But there's something about JAO that seems resistant to oxidation, maybe it's the sweetness, maybe something else, but I've never had a JAO or variant oxidize from too much headspace even when I've racked them into a carboy with a few inches of space before the shoulders of the carboy narrow...
 
I would endorse Joes comment about getting a hydometer. I als laughed at the idea of adding everclear to fortify it......thats a GREAT and innovative solution! Alsohonorable mentions for making a very dry batch and blending, and using a different yeast with a known, and higher, tolerance for alcohol. Have fun with it !!
 
Joes instructions about not aerating, agitating or otherwise stirring etc may also be something to do with it coming out a bit syrupy.

I've not experienced that, because I screwed up my first ever one ages ago, thinking I was making it as close to benchmark as I could.

I made it to 1 gallon, but 1 imperial gallon, not 1 US gallon a.k.a. 4.55 litres instead of 3.78 litres, so about 20% or so more.

It still came out fine. Sweet enough for my taste etc.

There's also some anecdotal stuff kicking around, about JAO's that have been made on stir plates, where the continuous aeration/degassing/agitiation seem to have encouraged the yeast to ferment dry (bread yeast that is).

That seem to have cleared quicker and then needed some stabilisation and back sweetening.

So whether it is a yeast thing with McJeff's batch, does seem more likely, than not...... but nothing is certain is it............
 
5108E891-FA70-48CD-A435-5737E8DD97CC-11153-000017679A3BD87C_zps5166793f.jpg


Never did a starting SG, but I'd image it was alot higher. Maybe it's just my taste. Side question, was leaving the carboy on the kitchen counter for two months bad? Not direct sunlight but sunny.
 
McJeff said:
Never did a starting SG, but I'd image it was alot higher. Maybe it's just my taste. Side question, was leaving the carboy on the kitchen counter for two months bad? Not direct sunlight but sunny.
Click to expand...

I've left buckets in sunny rooms for longer without any ill effects. I've even left a JAOv (blueberry) under the kitchen sink for 3-5 months... that's how long it normally takes my fruit to go completely under...
 
JAO starts at like 1.136? And finishes sweet, so above 1.025. Yours is spot on pretty much with sweetness level.

As for the sunlight, warmth can produce fusels which are combination alcohols and are indeed oily. If you fermented very warm (JAO likes a little bit of warmth) all the time, specially in the beginning where most of the alcohol is produced then yes it could contribute to a more syrup like consistency. It's not the sunlight that's problematic with JAO but warmth can be a factor. What was the temperature of the room you left it to ferment in?​
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Barrel Char Wood Products

Viking Brew Vessels - Authentic Drinking Horns

Top Bottom