</font>Here is the the recipe for Joe's Ancient Orange and Clove Mead. It is for 1 gallon but everyone says to make more if you can.</font></font>
Ancient Orange Cinnamon & Clove
Mead</font>
1 gallon batch </font>
<ul>[*] 3 1/2 lbs Clover or your choice honey or blend (will finish
sweet)[*]1 Large orange (later cut in eights or smaller rind and all)[*]1 small handful of raisins (25 if you count but more or less ok)[*]1 stick of cinnamon[*]1 whole clove ( or 2 if you like - these are potent critters)[*]optional (a pinch of nutmeg and allspice )( very small )[*]1 teaspoon of Fleismanns bread yeast ( now don't get holy on me---
after all this is an ancient mead and that's all we had back then)[*]Balance water to one gallon[/list]
Process:
<blockquote>
Use a clean 1 gallon carboy
Dissolve honey in some warm water and put in carboy
Wash orange well to remove any pesticides and slice in eights --add
orange (you can push em through opening big boy -- rinds included -- its ok for
this mead -- take my word for it -- ignore the experts)
Put in raisins, clove, cinnamon stick, any optional ingredients and
fill to 3 inches from the top with cold water. ( need room for some foam -- you
can top off with more water after the first few day frenzy)
Shake the heck out of the jug with top on, of course. This is your
sophisticated aeration process.
When at room temperature in your kitchen. Put in 1 teaspoon of bread
yeast. ( No you don't have to rehydrate it first-- the ancients didn't even
have that word in their vocabulary-- just put it in and give it a gentle swirl
or not)( the yeast can fight for their own territory)
Install water airlock. Put in dark place. It will start working
immediately or in an hour. (Don't use grandma's bread yeast she bought years
before she passed away in the 90's)( Wait 3 hours before you panic or call me)
After major foaming stops in a few days add some water and then keep your hands
off of it. (Don't shake it! Don't mess with them yeastees! Let them alone
except its okay to open your cabinet to smell every once in a while.
Racking --- Don't you dare
additional feeding --- NO
NO
More stirring or shaking -- Your not listening, don't touch
After 2 months and maybe a few days it will slow down to a stop and
clear all by itself. (How about that) (You are not so important after all) Then
you can put a hose in with a small cloth filter on the end into the clear part
and syphon off the golden nectar. If you wait long enough even the oranges will
sink to the bottom but I never waitied that long. If it is clear it is ready.
You don't need a cold basement. It does better in a kitchen in the dark. (like
in a cabinet) likes a little heat (70-80). If it didn't work out... you screwed
up and didn't read my instructions (or used grandma's bread yeast she bought
years before she passed away) . If it didn't work out then take up another
hobby. Mead is not for you. It is too complicated.
If you were sucessful, which I am 99% certain you will be, then enjoy
your mead. When you get ready to make a different mead you will probably have
to unlearn some of these practices I have taught you, but hey--- This recipe
and procedure works with these ingredients so don't knock it. It was your first
mead. It was my tenth. Sometimes, even the experts can forget all they know and
make a good ancient mead. </blockquote>
