Orange Blossom Honey

[gaudet]

Well there is orange zest and some pulp from the juice. I wonder if it will all dissolve with the pectic enzyme I added. I can always strain it when I rack to get the pulp and zest out. Plus the first rack should be a splash rack anyways right?

 

[Wade E]

Just racking normally will be fine and it will typically revive fermentation so dont top up the carboy.

 

[gaudet]

I will be racking to a 5 gallon and a 1 gallon for this batch since I am out of 6 gallon carboys

. All 3 of em are in use, I only have a 5 spot free.

 

[gaudet]

Stirred the must just now and took another SG 1.048. At this rate it will be ready to transfer on Friday or Saturday.

 

[gaudet]

Stirred again, took another SG 1.034... Getting close to putting this baby in the glass.

 

[Wade E]

Getting there buddy!

 

[gaudet]

SG this morning was 1.024

Racking time............ I racked it into a 5 gallon and a 1 gallon. Crappy pic from my razr phone. I will get better ones later.

 

[gaudet]

Here are the better shots as promised.

How long should I let them sit on the lees before I rack these again. The 5 gallon and the 1 gallon are the OBH as crudely marked in dry erase on the carboys.

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Edited by: gaudet

 

[vcasey]

A lot of mead makers will let it sit until it clears. But at the very least let it sit for 2-3 months. Why don't you experiment a little and use a light oak on the gallon one - just to play. Oak and honey really do well together. Or mix some lime in there or both. What ever you do just be patient.
VPC

 

[gaudet]

I thieved a sample this morning to get a sg reading. Its now below 1.000, kind of hard to get an accurate reading but it looked like 0.994 or 0.996

Based on the starting gravity of 1.090 I figure its got 12.2% abv now.

The 1 gallon is starting to clear, but the 5 gallon is no where near the clarity of the smaller batch. I plan to let it set another month or two before racking off the1.5 inches of lees it currently resides on.

 

[uavwmn]

gaudet, I am using one of those "Carlos Rossi" 1 gal jugs for my mead. What stopper will fit that jug?

 

[NorthernWinos]

Are the jugs in your area a gallon...ours are 4 Liters.....the half sized jugs are 1½ Liters, also a handy size to have around.

I like the #6 bungs best....those may differ from manufacturer....#6½ are a bit large, but hold on tight......Have some unmarked bungs fit good but could get pushed in....

 

[gaudet]

#6 like Northern said.

 

[gaudet]

On 12/24 I combined the 5 gallon batch with the 6 gallon jug and racked off the lees. Needless to say the crystal clear 1 gallon jug became part of the semi-murkiness. I stabilized it with 1/4 tsp k-meta and 1 tbs k-sorb. I placed it in the dark recesses of the closet to "fuggitboutit"

 

[gaudet]

Ok mead experts.......

I want to back sweeten this baby. I intend to get another 3 pounds of orange blossom honey for just this purpose. What is the best way to add this to the 6 gallon carboy?

Not knowing any better way, I would just heat up the honey ( to loosen it up) and add it 16 ounces at a time and stir it into the carboy. Taste to see the effect and add more if desired.

Any tips or suggestions?

 

[vcasey]

I usually remove some of the mead and mix the honey into the liquid then stir it into the batch. Taste and go from there, make sure you take the SG so you'll have a target for next time. I never heat the honey because I think it loses some of the aroma.
VPC

 

[gaudet]

Here is the most recent shot of this one: It was racked on 12-24-08

 

[gaudet]

Today I got off my lazy butt and racked this off the lees again. There was a good bit of sediment on the bottom and I just wanted to get it off of there. I also had the ulterior motive of backsweetening with 3 pounds of Orange Blossom Honey. Since I stabilized it almost a month ago I did not add any more K-meta this time. I placed my 3 pound carton of honey in a warm water bath (very hot tap water) for 15 minutes and it loosened it up very nicely. I proceeded to rack from the carboy to a primary bucket. I poured the honey in at the half way mark and stirred it gently with the mix stir on at low speeds for a couple minutes (to prevent any oxidation) I finished racking the OBH and placed the lid on the bucket and proceeded to clean the carboy of all sediment and residue. After appropriate sanitzing, I reracked the obh back to the carboy and put it back the airlock filled with K-meta. There was enough for 2 glasses and I poured them for me and the Mrs's. I think it is pretty good now, so I can't wait to see what it will be like when properly aged. This was started on 10-31-08 and I hope to have it bottled after it clears, so I am not rushing this one at all.

 

[montyfox]

That's a very pretty color you have there. I love the way meade looks (and the way it tastes!). I'm in the planning stages of making a blueberry meade using raspberry flower honey.

 

[gaudet]

Thanks Monty,

After backsweetening, it has a lot of floral notes to the flavor. Considering this is my very first attempt at a large batch of mead, I am pretty pleased with the results so far.