# First time, trying a batch of jaom and need help



## rookie2531 (Jul 28, 2014)

I really dont want to be a big hassle for anyone here o b.s. but after trying to register on gotmead, it really has turned into a nightmare. That site is plagued right now, i think. I cant post what i need to and am getting no help from mods.

But i have a batch of mead that i started and messed up on my math and seems i was way too gigh on my sp than i should have been.

I didnt have a hydrometer when i started the batch, but have one now.

So, after 6 days of brewing, but only 24 hours of bubbling, i was able to test gravity.
It read 1.51 and had a taste of alcohol. It was very sweet but definitely strong alcohol. I am not at all a big drinker and dont drink much, so maybe this is why, but i did catch a small, quick buzz feeling, off one taste. Hard to describe, but it went straight to my head, but didnt taste strong like a wiskey wouldve.

Anyway, sweet, strong S.P. 1.51
I think it is too sweet and added 1.75 gallons water to bring s.p. down to 1.1
I added 3 more teaspoons of fleishmans yeast and put it back.

Did i ruin it? Will it start fermenting again, or should it?


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## msl (Sep 6, 2016)

> Anyway, sweet, strong S.P. 1.51


 by SP do you mean SG? are you reading the scale right? 
My hydrometer only goes to 1.170
a starting 1.510 SG reading would be a tad over 13.5 pounds of honey per gallon of water
as a reference point 1/1 sugar syrup would be 1.368 was it any were that thick?


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## jeeperrs (May 8, 2016)

First, yeast will keep fermenting if sugar is present. Do not bottle the mead until it has had time to complete fermentation. The yeast you have will determine the final alcohol content. Some yeast can live in high alcohol content like wine and others will die off much earlier. I have a feeling your hydrometer is reading 1.175 and 1.151. If that is the true reading, you only have made mead with an alcohol by volume of 3.2%. This is very weak for a mead and is okay for a low point beer. Just let it sit for a few more days or add something to kill the yeast and stop the brewing process. Ask any local brew shop and they will get you what you need to stop the fermentation. Once you stop the fermentation you can bottle the mead without fear of it exploding.


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## rookie2531 (Jul 28, 2014)

Ok. I read it wrong. After fermenting for 6 days and reading it after 6 days. The reading was. 1.15 sp. Gr. At 70° and directions say to add .001 at 70°. So is that 1.151?

And after that i added distilled water to bring it down to. 1.100.

And i added more yeast thinking it would start it up again.

I kicking myself for not having started with hydrometer. Every youtube video should start out saying that, DO NOT START MEAD MAKING UNTIL YOU GET ONE.

This is what ingredients were.

14.5 pounds honey
4 pounds sugar
1 orange, zested and sliced thin
2 cinnamon sticks
75-100 raisins
Pinch allspice
3 packets Fleishman yeast

Up to the 3 gallon mark.

But, today i added 1.75 water and more raisins and 3 teaspoons more yeast. I ordered yeast nutrient also but it hasnt came yet. 

Nearest wine shop is over an hour from me, so mail order is only way to go.


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## msl (Sep 6, 2016)

ok so 
that ball parks at 1.264 starting gravity with your finishing gravity of 1.151 that give you 14.83% ABV, at that % its well beyond the Fleshmans alcohol tolerance range and would have killed the yeast. That fits in well with your taste test and observations 

As it was too sweet for your taste, adding water and yeast was the reasonable save


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## rookie2531 (Jul 28, 2014)

Thanks msl. I hope it comes out good, as i have almost 5 gallons worth now.

And hope to get better. I am thinking of ordering some one gallon jars a racking seperate ones and playing with different flavors for the second ferm.

Any suggestions? It only has the one orange in it, but zesting it i think made it overpowering.


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## BadBeeKeeper (Jan 24, 2015)

rookie2531 said:


> I hope it comes out good, as i have almost 5 gallons worth now.
> 
> And hope to get better.


I would suggest that [next time] you use wine or ale yeast, not bread yeast. You don't need to live near a brew shop to get the right stuff. Dried wine, champagne and ale yeasts will ship just fine. I can't imagine the sort of flavor bread yeast provides.



> had a taste of alcohol. It was very sweet but definitely strong alcohol. I am not at all a big drinker and dont drink much, so maybe this is why, but i did catch a small, quick buzz feeling, off one taste. Hard to describe, but it went straight to my head, but didnt taste strong like a wiskey wouldve.


I think I know the feeling you are trying to describe, with a peculiar sensation that hits you around the eyes. I am a drinker, but the only thing that gives that sensation is mead, and usually only the first sip. I never get it from whiskey, ale or wine. I've never figured out what causes it.


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## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

For me, the JAOM was a little "zesty" when I first tried it (when racking) but after a little while in the secondary it smoothed out quite a bit. That's just me and I'm brand new at mead making as well. 

FWIW, I gave up on Gotmead too.


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## rookie2531 (Jul 28, 2014)

BBK, I will start ordering better equipment and yeast, as im thinking if i get good at it, it will go nice with "gifts from the hive" baskets, for Christmas and other occasions.

Ravenseye, that will be nice if it does mellow down. I havent given​ up on that site yet, as i was able to start a post and get some response. there may be great mead makers there that started out as wine makers and they dont have bees. But, that site does have issues. hackers?


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## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

I don't know if it's hackers. It's a pretty close group for sure. Not here to push around other sites though. I lurk and get a lot of info there but I won't post.

Is your JAOM clear? Mine was "feisty" when I did a hazy rack but now that it's clear as can be it tastes different. Maybe it's me....I wonder if there's others out there that have some thoughts. Overall, I'd make it again. I enjoy it young and I have no doubt that I'll enjoy it as time goes on. 

I have yet to bottle anything but I'm anxious to!


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## msl (Sep 6, 2016)

BadBeeKeeper said:


> use wine or ale yeast, not bread yeast.*snip* I can't imagine the sort of flavor bread yeast provides.


at one point all beer/mead yeast was bread yeast 
Its not bad.... and is 100% needed for the JAOM (Joe's *Ancient* Orange Mead) flavor profile 

ale yeasts are optimized for maltose sugar, wines are for fructose.. for mead your looking for a yeast the eats Fructose and Glucose and an ale yeast would be a poor choice...I had a cider stall this year on an ale yeast, it fermented a bit and stopped... tossed in a wine yeast and it took of... guess the sugar profile on the new tree I got access to was different then my past tree..that being said, yes one of the bigist impacts you can have on a mead's flavor is your yeast.. and for that I would use a mead specific yeast, if you going to pay for it, get the "better" stuff if you can 
now if you like the JAOM as it ages out, there is no reason to get elitist and change your yeast.

As for suggestions, I would take a step back.... 1 gal or even 1/2g batches, honey, water, yeast. Find a yeast you like, deside if you like sweet or dry, get all your math worked out, learn how the flavor changes as it ages, etc Then worry about adding this and that and tweaks. ie a JAOM is a Melomel not a strait mead, get mead right(read to your taste) before adding flavors and other stuff... lastly white sugar has no place in a mead
Mead making is fast and easy (on the labor scale) so there is no reason not to have a bunch of small batches working


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## rookie2531 (Jul 28, 2014)

Ravenseye, 
my must is still murky. I might rack it in couple weeks, dont know when. but i doubt it will clear anytime soon. im thinking of buying stuff that will kill yeast and clear it up, because i do like the looks of the clear bottles im seeing.

msl, Good sound advice, and definitely no sugar added, next time.

Thanks


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## msl (Sep 6, 2016)

its mead, and a JAOM at that, walk away for 2 mounths, check on it then



> 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
> ...


Don't jump the gun, if you need to "kill" the yeast its not finished working. I can go grain to glass in a week with a fast beer yeast and keging.. Meads take time and just because the airlock isn't riping away dosen't mean the yeast is it not working


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## rookie2531 (Jul 28, 2014)

msl said:


> its mead, and a JAOM at that, walk away for 2 mounths, check on it then
> 
> 
> 
> Don't jump the gun, if you need to "kill" the yeast its not finished working. I can go grain to glass in a week with a fast beer yeast and keging.. Meads take time and just because the airlock isn't riping away dosen't mean the yeast is it not working


msl, O.K done with it for awhile. I do want to rack it in couple months though. The bucket im using leaks all around and i want to get it in a carboy. but i will wait until the gravity settles and stops moving.

I will update on gravity readings

Thanks again.


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## msl (Sep 6, 2016)

Get it out of the bucket as soon as you have a carboy!


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## rookie2531 (Jul 28, 2014)

msl said:


> Get it out of the bucket as soon as you have a carboy!


Well do. &#55357;&#56397;


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## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

Mine went from a little hazy to crystal clear in the space of 2 weeks. I was stunned by how clear it suddenly got...just by waiting. I have more trouble racking off of JAOM yeast (compared to "regular" meads) than I do getting it to clear. Have to admit though...it's a pretty color mead!


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## rookie2531 (Jul 28, 2014)

Msl, I was able to get a 5 gallon water jug and i racked the liquid into it and funneled the fruits and floats back in as well. I ordered a rubber stopper and a airlock, bjt when they came, the stopper was too small and now have ordered a couple different ones and waiting for them now, a #10 and a 10.5. Right now the lid is on it, but loose fit so it can exhaust.

The must is still fermenting as i see bubbles rising in the fruit.
I took another reading and the gravity went down to 1.03 and i drank the test tube and got quit buzzed.

It also looks like quite a bit of cake on the bottom as i have put about 6 teaspoons of yeast in total.

When i do rack again, i will leave as much solids behind.


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## msl (Sep 6, 2016)

nice
maby not an issues for the Jaom as it will make it more traditional, but the reason for getting out of the bucket, or maby the plastic water bottle is O2 intrusion. That is why glass is preferred, or http://www.better-bottle.com/ if you want plastic.
it not an issue for beer, but for the longer ageing times of meads and wines its helpful (better taste) to age in somthing that is not 02 perimbul
if you look at the recycling number in the triangle on the water bottle and its a 1 your good, 2 is not much better then the bucket, anything else replace. not an issue while it bubbleing and out gassing co2


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## rookie2531 (Jul 28, 2014)

yes, the plastic carboys have the number 1 in the triangle recycling mark. I will have to look at the bucket. I get them from walmart bakery, food grade icing buckets.


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