# jaom recipe Q



## deadhead (Feb 8, 2010)

can u substitute the orange in the ancient mead recipe with another fruit like blueberry and still use the same recipe? how would i convert the 1 large orange to other fruits?


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## Malkore (Feb 8, 2010)

its going to be different. teh spices in Jaom may not play well with blueberries...or they might.
blueberry skin has tannins in it, oranges don't...so you'll have more tannins in a blueberry mead.

the amount of fruit used is dictated by the type of fruit and how much fruit flavor you want in the finished mead. anywhere from 1lb per gallon to 4lbs per gallon is not uncommon.


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## deadhead (Feb 8, 2010)

thanx for the input. can i halve that recipe and put it in a half gallon jug???


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## arcticsid (Feb 8, 2010)

Dead, I don't remeber if I sent you thins link or not. Tons of info about meads, lots f recipes. Look in the Cats Meow and take a look at their blueberry recipe. Seems to involved for me, but there are other mead recipes that may spark some ideas for you.


http://brewery.org/brewery/MHall.html

Troy


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## deadhead (Feb 8, 2010)

no i didnt get that yet thanx that'll help me out alot


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## arcticsid (Feb 8, 2010)

Thats a good site all around, lots of info on beer, wine, mead and other alcohol recipes.
go to their homepage and have a look around.


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## deadhead (Feb 8, 2010)

just started my jaom batch in a half gallon with a few fresh rasberries thrown in


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## Wade E (Feb 8, 2010)

Just a half gallon? by the time you rack off the sediment theres going to be barely anuthing left. I wouldnt make anything less then a galo batch and even thats almost senseless. Its just as much work to make that then a 3 or 6 gallon batch.


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## deadhead (Feb 8, 2010)

alright i took your advice and poured my half gallon into a 4 gallon i was starting with blueberries rasberries and blackberries. i just finished it will that work?


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## St Allie (Feb 8, 2010)

deadhead?


poured your halfgallon into a four gallon?


what did you add?

Allie


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## arcticsid (Feb 9, 2010)

Excellent Dead!!!!

You are now a Mad Wine Scientist!! LOL.

So, what in the world did you create?  Tell us, we want to know.

What are you going to call it? Be sure you keep notes on everything you added, starting SG, etc. This will be helpful to duplicate it, troubleshoot it, etc.

Good Luck, keep us posted.

Troy


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## Julie (Feb 9, 2010)

deadhead said:


> alright i took your advice and poured my half gallon into a 4 gallon i was starting with blueberries rasberries and blackberries. i just finished it will that work?



I used this recipe once and replaced the orange with lemon and added raspberries and blackberries, no spices. It came out very sweet. Actually too sweet for me. I keep it for family members who like think sugar on a spoon it great. 

Julie


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## deadhead (Feb 9, 2010)

well i started a half gallon batch by halving the jaom recipe. i had added a few fresh rasberries just to see what would happen. then i was told that is pointless at the same time i read that i was working on a 4 gallon batch with 6 ounces blackberries, 6 ounces blueberries and 6 ounces rasberries so i just poured the half gallon i had started an hour or so before into the 4 gallon when it was time to add the yeast. i hate doing things by the book and it might be my downfall in the future hehe but so far the recipe is as follows:


9lbs wild honey (raw)
3 oranges
6 ounces rasberries
6 ounces blackberries
6 ounces blueberries
4 cinnamon sticks
3/4 teaspoon all spice
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
4 cloves
3 1/2 teaspoons fleischmans bread yeast


all in a 5 gallon jug. any comments??? it would be greatly appreciated


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## arcticsid (Feb 9, 2010)

Oh Boy!:<

First of all do you have a hydrometer? If not, get one! It is the magic wand. Heres why...

I have no idea how much sugar 9# of honey is equal too, so there is no way to know what the starting specific gravity is, or the potential alcohol.

Secondly. Most berry wine calls for like 8# or more of berries per gallon.

So at this point you are going to end up with a very weak wine with no alcohol.

But don't despair. You can make something happen still at this point.

First you need more juice or fruit. And you definitely need more sugar or honey. Quite a bit more.

For juice, I would add undiluted frozen concentrate. How many? Hard to tell without knowing what the SG is. I have made lots of concentrate wine and it's pretty much(for 4 gallons) 12 cans of juice, water to make 4 gallons, and 8# sugar, give or take, to make a wine of about 12%.

For fruit, I have no idea what you have available, but you are going to need a lot more, no matter what you choose.

So either way, the additions you will have to make to save this will not fit in a 5 gallon vessel. You will need to split it.

If you were to continue on the mead path, I don't know how much more honey you would need. I'll let one of the others more familiar with mead to chime in on that one. Nor do I know what to suggest as an addition to give it a little more body. And nor do I know if the addition of honey/fruit will fit either.

You may or may not need to pitch fresh yeast.

What kind of temperature are you keeping this at? Is everything been sterilized? Did you add any additives, sulfites, pectin enzyme, yeast nutrient?

Tell us more. Thats all I can suggest for now. I am sure some others will be around to add to this.

Hang in there.

Troy


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## Malkore (Feb 9, 2010)

Just so you know, those quantities of fruit (6 ounces each) is VERY low.

when making a fruit mead (melomel) you typically start at a pound of fruit per gallon, give or take. 2 or 3 lbs will give you a lot of fruit flavor.

6 ounces won't give much flavor, some aroma...but mostly color.


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## arcticsid (Feb 9, 2010)

Even a pound per gallon is very low!! Really low!!!!


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## deadhead (Feb 9, 2010)

so as a mead is it doing alrite or do i need to add more yeast or sugar/honey my calculations were a lil wrong and it is 4 gallons all together 9 pounds of honey the fruit and seasonings. i sterilized it all and have a space heater keeping the closet at about 78 to 82 degrees F fluctuating back and forth. WHAT DO I DO IM FREAKIN OUT AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:<:<:<:<


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## arcticsid (Feb 9, 2010)

I THINK, only think, the honey might be enough, I just peeked at an apple mead Wade has posted and it uses 12# for 6 gallons, but he used apple juice so their is sugar in the juice as well as the honey.

Your temp sounds okay.

You will want to add something in there for flavor, thats why I suggested undiluted frozen juice, but I still think you should start looking for another container, I really think you will need to divide this into two.

Stand by, I want to give others a chance to toss their ideas at you. We can help you on this, but I don't want to do it alone. The rest of the troops will be around before long.

So for right now, look for another fermenting bucket and start considering what you can add for flavor, ,juice,fruit etc. Because of the spices, apple might be the best way to go.

I'm pretty sure you're gonna need more honey or sugar. Do you have any on hand? Brown sugar can work to, all or some.

Lets see what he others say before you do anything else.

Troy


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## deadhead (Feb 9, 2010)

OH MY GOD IM SO SORRY MY CALCULATIONS GOT ALL SCREWED UP SOMEWHERE! i guess thats y u should be sober when you do this sort of thing its 9 1/2 lbs of honey in 3 1/2 gallons of water and all other additives the same. i was measuring the amount in the jug after all was added hehe my bad that has to be right for a mead right? i kno the fruit is low though could i just throw sum more oranges or apples or bananas in there? is three and 1/2 tspoons of yeast enough? should i add more honey/sugar? its been bubbling constantly since last nite


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## arcticsid (Feb 9, 2010)

If its bubbling away you are probably in good shape, yeast multiplies. It wouldn't hurt to put more fruit in there, all three mentioned would be fine or all three. Don't panick I think you'll be just fine. Go ahead and toss some more fruit in there and be patient for the others to respond. I would boil the apples and bananas in a little water and then smash them up before adding them, but thats just my opinion. 

And don't worry, I am willing to bet alot of wine has been made in the non-sober state.LOL. And probably alot of errors as well. Sometimes I wonder how many "buzzed" experiments turned out fantastic!!


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## deadhead (Feb 9, 2010)

haha alright thanx sid i really appreciate it now i just gotta wait for the hair i pulled out to grow bakCHEERS!


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## deadhead (Feb 9, 2010)

alright i now have 6 ounces blakberry, 6 ounces blueberry, 6 ounces rasberry, 3 apples, 3 oranges and 3 bananas hehe this is turning into quite the cocktail mead if it works maybe ill call it sex in valhalla instead of sex on the beach hehe


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## Wade E (Feb 9, 2010)

You sure need to get a hydrometer cause you dot know what abv you will have, if its really low you wont be able to keep it long without it spoiling. You are low on fruits but meads are fine thos way as youll be more like a traditional mead which are very good also.


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## deadhead (Feb 9, 2010)

so this batch should turn out alright then? i wanted more of a traditional flavor to it with just an undertone of fruit. is that what i have percolatin in my closet or do i have sumthin thats gonna turn into a big jug of mold? where can i get a hydrometer at? and what should the reading be at for a batch like that?


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## arcticsid (Feb 9, 2010)

Any win supply place is going to have one Ryan, and they're only like ten bucks. Most will have three scales on them, one for temp., one for SG, and one for brix. Allin the same glass tube. Theyre pretty fragile, if you can, I would order two.

I remeber you saying you don't like banks, me neither. but now a days you can buy those pre paid debit cards almost anywhere you can buy phone cards. They come in 10 skins, 25, and 100. I usually get the $25 one and you can order off the internet just like a regular credit card. Something to consider if you don't have a home brew shop close to you. While your at it, consider getting some wine yeast, it to is cheap as bread yeast and will allow you to get the alcohol up there for your next batch. Than you can really blow yourself up!!! LOL. Kidding of course. Most wines you want around 12-14%, otherwise the alcohol will really effect the flavor of the fruit used, but making rocket fuel is fun sometimes. I made a batch of hard cider a while ago and cranked it up to 16%, holy cow!! Not much on flavor but that 4% difference was quite noticable. It wasn't really that bad actually, just pretty high ABV.

I'm not certain, but bread yeast will go to about 10% before the alcohol kills it, thats one reason we use a specific yeast strain designed for wines, they can tolerate a higher alcohol. If I am correct, most yeasts formulated for beer only have a tolerance of 8-10%.

From what I've noticed, alot of those making cider like to use beer yeast.


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## deadhead (Feb 9, 2010)

16%! thats sounds fun hehe. i didnt kno u could use those prepaid cards on the internet, thanx for the tip now i can blow myself up in a multitude of ways if i got sum better yeast in lets say a month could i add that to the mead to beef its abv up or would that screw it up???


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## arcticsid (Feb 9, 2010)

Here is a thread Smurfe posted that outlines some of the most used yeasts in wine making. Don't let it intimidate you, but take a look at it and you will see that different yeasts serve different purposes.

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3554

I admit, I know little about the different yeasts, I usually ask.

Cuvee and Champagne yeast are both good for restarting a stuck fermentation, always good to have a pack on hand, kinda like spraying ether into the carb is the way I look at it. LOL. And I have a couple times, the cuvee has fired up a couple stuck ones for me.

Different yeasts have different alcohol tolerances, champagne yeast can go as high as 18% in ideal conditions. But 12% or so is really what you want for most fruit wines. That makes your starting SG around 1.090.

Get a hydrometer, one of the most important tools, and it is essential.


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## arcticsid (Feb 9, 2010)

What you have brewing will be done fermenting way before you get more yeast. What you have going is what you have going.

You really need to be adding sulfites to your wine or you are really risking spoilage. I would suggest you start looking at some of the on line catalogs and get an idea of what is available, and remeber to consider shipping charges.

Everyone in here can offer links to supply "houses" and wine making and related sites. You need to study on your own too! I'll post a few for you, take a look around at them and confuse yourself more!!LOL


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## deadhead (Feb 9, 2010)

how much those usually run?


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## arcticsid (Feb 9, 2010)

I haven't orderd anything(wine making) online my LHBS is willing to offer me, or order for me at close to the price I can find online, very nice of them, I like the idea of keeping the money close to home. As far as online supplies, I will let the others recommend who they have used.

But heres a couple sites to learn you a bit.

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/ we all know this site, good place to start, alot of the recipes call for to little fruit, but good other stuff here.

http://www.winepress.us/

http://www.grapestompers.com/product_details.asp?SubcatID=55&ProductID=761&internal_index=0

http://www.winemakermag.com/stories/article/indices/34-sulfite/634-solving-the-sulfite-puzzle

http://www.winemakermag.com/stories


http://www.happymountain.net/table of contents.html

http://www.eckraus.com/wine-making-recipes.html again some of the recipes in here are not without question. If you want to experiment or try something new, don't hesitate to post the recipe and let the gang critique it, will save you trouble in the end.

All of the above links not only have recipes but offer some good general wine making info. I don't want to be google in here but this is somewhere to start. You may as well create a folder now called wine making stuff or what ever to keep all your links in, you will need it.

Later

troy


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## deadhead (Feb 9, 2010)

thanx a million troy


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