Yeast variation in JAOM

[HailClatan]

I'm new to mead & fermenting in general but would like to thank this site for all the information contained within; I've learned enough that I'm about to start my 1st batch of mead & have decided to go with Joe's Ancient Orange as it seems to be widely considered the best jumping off point within this hobby. The recipe calls for 3.5 lb of honey per 1 gallon batch and says it will finish sweet. I have 10 lb of honey sitting on my kitchen table that I was hoping to use for a 3 gallon batch but I'm hoping to ramp up my finished product's alcohol content as much as possible which is causing me to question a couple of things in the recipe regarding honey & yeast. First of all, the JAOM recipe specifically calls for bread yeast but I've heard that has a lower alcohol tolerance than certain wine yeasts, so I bought a packet of Lalvin EC-1118 which has an 18+% alcohol tolerance. My main question is if I were to use this yeast, how would I need to alter Joe's recipe? I'm sure that i'd need additional honey and/or sugar to crank up the abv on my finished product (the primary thing I'm after) but have no idea how to do these calculations. I'm unsure the alcohol tolerance of the bread yeast the recipe was designed for & unsure how much honey or sugar would need to be added to make full use of the EC-1118 yeast. Any assistance that could be provided is very much appreciated. Also regarding the use of bakers yeasts for brewing, what differences would come out in the end product between using "active dry" yeasts and similar yeasts of the "instant" variety? I have no idea what differences there are at all between these two variations.
I thank you all so much for any input or ideas....

 

[darigoni]

Bakers yeast has a tolerance of around 10-11%. I never liked the JAOM. It’s a novelty mead and doesntbteach you anything about making mead. The orange pith can give it a bitterness, which is why you want it to be sweet. Most people make it once and either give up on mead or move on to other recipes. Rather than try to figure all that out, look up the recipe and methodology for a BOMM (Bray's One Month Mead).

Bray’s One Month Mead (BOMM) — OmniMead

The well-known and much beloved BOMM is a staple for mead makers across the globe. A great entry point to mead-making!

www.omnimead.com

 

[Chevette Girl]

If you want to make something with more alcohol than JAO, don't make JAO,

If you change the yeast to a beer or wine yeast, it's not JAO anymore and it will likely go more dry than is comforable given the aforementioned citrus pith bitterness. I've made about 40 JAO variations and the things that make it a JAO are using bread yeast so it stops around 12% and leaves residual sugar, using 3.5 lb per gallon so it leaves enough but not too much residual sugar, and using something with a good kick of acidity and/or bitterness as your fruit to balance how much sugar will be left once the bread yeast is done.. I found the pith gave me heartburn when I drank the mead so when I do a JAO I use the juice and zest and omit the pith, but it's no longer a true JAO but a variant because there's less btterness to balance the sweetness. I happen to like the sweetness that it ends with but it's not for everyone, and it's a bit much if the fruit you choose isn't acidic enough. The advantages of JAO are that you get predictable results if you follow the recipe, the recipe is structured so that you don't need a lot of equipment to tell you what's going on or when it's finished, and bread yeast is usually pretty honest about when it's done, the fruit will drop and the mead will clear and watching that happen is pretty neat. But as Darigoni said above, it really doesn't teach you good habits or techniques that translate to more sophisticated recipes. If you like experimentation, it's a fun starting point. But honestly there are better ways toget consistent mead, just requires better techniques.

Just because a yeast CAN go to 18% doesn't mean your mead will get there, or that you're going to enjoy the results if it does. Really pushing your alcohol content is something we all seem to want to do as new wine and meadmakers (I know I did, wouldn't want to"waste" the alcohol tolerance!) but I'd advise against doing it for your first batches. And definitely don't do it with bread yeast, you want a nice robust wine yeast for that, like the EC-1118 you've selected. Your early batches may not ferment as well as you could wish as you're figuring out how to get yeast to best do its thing, which could mean the yeast throws some off flavours, and very alcoholic meads do stress out the yeast and can leave you with something that's very hot tasting and not very pleasant if you don't know the tricks to avoid getting that hot alcohol taste or tricks to balance it a bit if you do get it. I'd recommend trying some of the traditional mead recipes or the abovementioned BOMM if you can find the specific yeast recommended. Your mileage may vary but 12-14% is usually enough alcohol to feel it but not so much that it drowns out what the honey contributes.

If you're bound and determined to make a very alcoholic mead, I'd suggest that you aim for something under your yeast's tolerance (like 14% for EC-11118) and then step-feed it more honey in small increments until it stops. I have done this a few times to pretty good effect and what I do is set an upper and lower specific gravity limit, every time it drops to the lower limit, I add honey to boost it back up to the higher limit... that way if it stalls out right after you feed it, it's only going to be that sweet.