# first mead



## deadhead (Feb 7, 2010)

any advice on starting my first mead? jaom recipe.


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## summersolstice (Feb 7, 2010)

If you want to make a JAOM the best advice I can give is to follow the simple directions to the letter and don't deviate from them. Really it's a very easy mead to make.


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## Wade E (Feb 7, 2010)

I agree, and dont use too much of the cloves as they are strong and can take over the taste very fast, dont use wine yeast with this either or it will finish very dry unless thats what you want but I think the bakers yeast does a better job with this recipe.


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## deadhead (Feb 8, 2010)

thanx ill be starting my first mead today (well actually my first thing other than liquor) WISH ME LUCK!


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## deadhead (Feb 8, 2010)

do i have to use glass to ferment my jaom or is there another material jug i can use???


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## fatbloke (Mar 23, 2010)

deadhead said:


> do i have to use glass to ferment my jaom or is there another material jug i can use???


Depends on what you're gonna do with it once the ferment has finished........

Yes, you could normally use something made of HDPE, PET or Polycarbonate. Leave it till the fruit has dropped and then decant/rack into glass for ageing.

I do like to get mine off the yeast - so it's up to you, if you start it in glass, then still rack it off the yeast/fruit once the fruits dropped. You'll find that bread yeast is probably the best, as someone else already pointed out, wine yeast will ferment it dry. IMO it's better sweet. 

Bread yeast doesn't flocculate very well, so rack off as much as you can that is clear, then syphon off the rest of the mead (not the yeast of course), and if it's cloudy you can just put the last bit of cloudy mead into a jar and let it settle for a couple of days. That will reduce any racking losses.

Dunno if that's any help or not........

regards

fatbloke


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## Dennis_S (Mar 23, 2010)

I started jofm on jan 20th 2010. Almost all the fruit , raisins, ect. ect. are still on top. It will be 9 wks tomorrow. The mead is so clear I can read a letter from the other side. It is still working though cause I can still see bubbles in the wine. My air lock hardly ever bubbles though. My temp. here has been cool this winter and I don't have heat belts. so my temp has ranged from 60 - 75. GL on your mead........


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## Wade E (Mar 23, 2010)

If your wine is that clear thats not fermentating any more, thats just trapped C02 in your wine escaping.


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## nursejohn (Mar 24, 2010)

I just bottled my first 2 meads last Sunday. One was a JAO mead and the other a raspberry melomel. Both tasted pretty good. Can't wait to taste them later on. They are not hard to make but it sure is hard being patient and waiting on them to mature, John.


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## Dennis_S (Mar 24, 2010)

I just racked my mead. I had 2 1/2 gal. to start I ended up with almost 2 gallon but when I was racking I picked up a lot of junk. That stuff was messy. I'm thinking about fortifying with 1 cup of vodka. with a cup of water. That should give me 2 complete gallons. Is that to much or should I be ok? Guess I'll need to let it set for a month again and re rack


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## Malkore (Mar 26, 2010)

why in heaven's name would you add vodka to mead?


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## Dennis_S (Mar 26, 2010)

I thought people did that. Well I didn't, I was just thinking about it.


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## fatbloke (Apr 3, 2010)

Malkore said:


> why in heaven's name would you add vodka to mead?


How do you think port and sherry are made ? it's called "fortifying".


Dennis_S said:


> I thought people did that. Well I didn't, I was just thinking about it.


They do, but you just need to remember, that where a sherry or port might have brandy added to fortify them, they'd be considered "sympathetic" additions.

Whereas, with mead, you're likely to give it an "alcohol hot" taste. That's not a problem per se, but you might need to age it for longer so the alcohol in the vodka gets time to mellow into the mead, so that you just end up with a stronger mead and there's little to no evidence of you adding the vodka. Oh and it also increases the shelf life........


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