Opened my first bottle of JAO last night. I started it 1/5/08 and bottled it almost a month ago. I followed the recipe pretty closely except I used EC-1118 instead of the bread yeast since I don't really like sweet wines generally. I let it sit for maybe a month after the orange fell and then racked it and let it sit for a while longer before filtering and bottling. It was crystal clear before I racked and then the bit of lees I stirred up while racking would not drop on their own after a couple months or so which is why I ended up filtering.
Anyways, I like it pretty well. The flavor is good. Seems to be a little bit sweet which surprised me considering the yeast I used. I didn't take any SG readings this time (I will next go around) so I don't know where the fermentation stopped but doesn't EC-1118 have about an 18% alcohol tolerance? This sure doesn't taste like it has 18% alcohol, but it also doesn't taste dry. Do meads generally not taste dry even if they are technically dry?
Also, there's a small bitterness on the back of your tongue that reminds me of orange pith. Do all JAO have that since we just shove the entire orange in there or did I leave the orange in too long?
Overall, I'm very happy with this mead and I'm going to make it again and hopefully improve it!
Anyways, I like it pretty well. The flavor is good. Seems to be a little bit sweet which surprised me considering the yeast I used. I didn't take any SG readings this time (I will next go around) so I don't know where the fermentation stopped but doesn't EC-1118 have about an 18% alcohol tolerance? This sure doesn't taste like it has 18% alcohol, but it also doesn't taste dry. Do meads generally not taste dry even if they are technically dry?
Also, there's a small bitterness on the back of your tongue that reminds me of orange pith. Do all JAO have that since we just shove the entire orange in there or did I leave the orange in too long?
Overall, I'm very happy with this mead and I'm going to make it again and hopefully improve it!