Joe M’s Orange Mead

[NorthernWinos]

Don't waste those rasins....

That looks so good and am sure it tastes great too.

 

[Waldo]

Great job PWP

Sure looks yummy

 

[PolishWineP]

The raisins scare me right now. I think the composter will get the stuff. I don't even want to feed it to the birds and squirrels. I'd hate to get hit with a lawsuit or dram law after serving birds who then flew drunk!

Or squirrels who tried to make friends with some ferral cat!

Maybe I'll put them in the raspberry patch and be able to pick pre-fermented raspberries this summer!

 

[PolishWineP]

I stirred in the bentonite the other day and it's working really well. I need some info from the forum members though.


When you've made the Joe M Orange Mead according to the directions of stuffing everything into the carboy and leaving it alone for a long time, when did you use your fining agent? What did you use? Which methods did you use? Are you satisfied with the results?


Always looking for the best way to do things while making wine!

 

[Harry]

I didn't use any fining on my AO It cleared up on its own and very clear at that. I left alone for 9 weeks.


Harry

 

[smurfe]

I stirred in the bentonite the other day and it's working really well. I need some info from the forum members though.


When you've made the Joe M Orange Mead according to the directions of stuffing everything into the carboy and leaving it alone for a long time, when did you use your fining agent? What did you use? Which methods did you use? Are you satisfied with the results?


Always looking for the best way to do things while making wine!

I didn't use any either. I did it exactly as the directions stated to the "T" mine came out clear as well. I did run it through my Mini-Jet as well. It is absolutely crystal clear. Mine sat for 8-9 weeks as well.


What I wished I would of done was added some sulfites or preservative. How long will this stuff last in the bottle? Will it improve with age or spoil with age? Anyone know?


Smurfe

 

[masta]

Sulfites are produced during the fermentation of your mead so the end product is not completely sulfite free even if you didn't add any extra.


The amount of sulfites produced during fermentation is different based on the yeast used...for example Lalvin EC-1118 will produce between 30 - 50 ppm of sulfites during fermentation.


From my research many meadmakers do not any extra to their meads and don't have any problems. I believe mead is less prone to bacterial infection due to the natural anti-bacterial properties of honey.

 

[PolishWineP]

Guess I'll have to try again, following through till when the fruit drops on it's own. I got impatient.

It showed no signs of dropping so I took matters into my own hands. Try, try again!

 

[PolishWineP]

From Masta: From my research many meadmakers do not any extra to their meads and don't have any problems. I believe mead is less prone to bacterial infection due to the natural anti-bacterial properties of honey.


Too bad we can't sell our meads! We could sell them as All Natural Anti-Bacterial Tonics!

Edited by: PolishWineP

 

[smurfe]

Guess I'll have to try again, following through till when the fruit drops on it's own. I got impatient.

It showed no signs of dropping so I took matters into my own hands. Try, try again!

Now remember, per directions it says the fruit don't have to fall. If it's clear, it's done. My batch the fruit didn't fall and it had been clear close to a week. If I remember it says it would of taken another couple weeks or so for the fruit to fall. Mine came out exactly like it was supposed to. I bought a commercial bottle of Mead at the local World Market store and mine tasted identical to it. I was quite surprised.


Smurfe

 

[jcnoren]

Mead is done...How do you get the 1 gallon carboy clean? I guess I need a new bottle brush or something. When the carboy dries the interior has what looks like hard water spots/flim. I am thinking possibly since this is my first mead that the honey has something to do with it. Edmonton has hard water but I have never experienced this problem before.


Suggestions? Thank you.


JC

 

[masta]

I use C-Brite to clean all my equipment and have not run into anything that didn't come clean yet.

 

[Dean]

Yep, Diversol, C-Brite, "pink stuff" works wonders to get all my carboys clean. When there is a REALLY tough job, I use TSP and no dirt/grease/glue stands up to that.

 

[djcoop]

Question: Why the marbels?? If we guess how many are in there do we wine a bottle of the product or something

 

[masta]

Marbles are used to help fill the void in a carboy instead of topping up when you don't have correct product to use.

 

[PolishWineP]

Oh DJ! I love your guess!

I might have to bring a bottle of wine to you in Texas just for creative thinking! You'll be there, right?

 

[djcoop]

Princess


I will be there for the mixer Friday night, but I don't know if I will be able to make it on Saturday. With the kids, May is a huge month (dance receitals, confirmation, end of school, oh and work). I work weekends and I am already having to schedule so much time off for the month of May. Maybe I can develop jungle fever or something

.


I've never had mead before, but it looks amazing!


d

 

[PolishWineP]

I'll try to get the mead bottled by then...

 

[smurfe]

Well, I made another batch of this but instead of oranges I used a bag of Kumquats my father-in-law gave me. I finally bottled it a couple days ago. It is quite sweet like the last batch of orange I made. Very smooth and mellow. Not as "hot" as the last batch I made.


I have read all of these posts and similar in other forums and many are concerned about the fruit not falling. I have found that it is CO2 that keep the fruit floating. I did the Vaccu-Vin trick on this batch and all the fruit fell immediately after it was degassed.


I will say though that I wished I had racked it before degassing though. I lost a lot of liquid and picked up a lot of solids from the thick layer of fruit and stuff on the bottom. I guess if you just had a few orange slices in there though it would be different. I had 6 inches of kumquats and such in the bottom of my carboy.


After all was done I ended up with 33 375ml bottles of a pretty good Mead. Once again I have amazed myself that i can actually do this.


Steve

Edited by: smurfe

 

[smurfe]

Time to re-generate yet another old thread.


I was wondering about the aging potential of this Mead. Will it "evolve" any like the grape wines do with ageor stay pretty well as is for it's life? It was pretty good at bottling and the samples tried after a month in the bottle were good with no difference in flavor detected.


Has anyonemade this and aged it any length of time and noticed a difference? I ask because I am thinking of entering the Kumquat in a competition but it will only be 3 months in the bottle at judging time.


Smurfe