# orange mead



## dcrnbrd (Feb 23, 2008)

I started the orange mead up this morning.It looks very nice with the oranges sitting on top. I couldnt get a sg reading on it though. The question is how thick will it be when it is done? When do I rack off of the fruit?


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## Wade E (Feb 23, 2008)

Not much thicker then any other wine.


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## dcrnbrd (Feb 23, 2008)

do I rack over at any time or wait til I am ready to bottle?


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## Wade E (Feb 23, 2008)

If using the Ancient Orange mead recipe then follow direction s as they dont rack at all but me, I cant follow those instructions. I did it in primary bucket and racked over to glass at 1.025 along with all the fruits. I just racked again after sg was stable for 4 weeks straight and will add fining agent maybe tomorrow as it doesnt want to clear on its own.


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## dcrnbrd (Feb 23, 2008)

Really, I thought I should rack off of fruit and letit fine for a while on its own. I think I will leave it alone for a couple of months to see what happens. According to directions I got was to leave it alone for a couple of months then top off and leave it for another couple of months.


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## Spidy67 (Feb 24, 2008)

I started Joe M's Anciant Orange on 12/31 I am following the directions. It has been almost 2 months so im close to bottleing. I believe leaving it on the fruit will add to its flavor. I could be wrong since i am a mead newbe. Here are a couple picts of mine. It will be ready to bottle in about a week.





I put the label i will be using behind the picture to show how clear it is. It has cleared very well without any help from me..


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## Wade E (Feb 24, 2008)

Nice Spidy, mine looks more like O.J.


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## Spidy67 (Feb 24, 2008)

It's gota nice orange hew but im not sure if its from the oranges or from the honey. Heres another pic with the oranges and raisins floating on top. They are suppose to settle to the bottom. I'm not sure i want to wait that long to taste it .. but i may.


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## dcrnbrd (Feb 24, 2008)

It looks great. I am making this because I really want to know how it taste. It just started fermenting this morning so I have a long time to wait.


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## PolishWineP (Feb 24, 2008)

I made mine in a jug, but pulled the fruit after a while because it was still floating and looked just too gross. I topped it up and left it. I did rack a few times before bottling.


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## Spidy67 (Feb 24, 2008)

There is alot of lees on top of the fruit. That is why i think ill wait till it sinks.. According to the directions it should settle in just over a 2 months.
Im about 1 week from 2 months, whats another week........


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## dcrnbrd (Feb 24, 2008)

Acording to the recipe I got you are suppose to leave it alone for a long time. But I cant keep my hands off of any wine .Very impatient.


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## Spidy67 (Feb 24, 2008)

lol dcrnbrd i understand. I think the recipe says after a couple months and a few days.. I keep it coverd with a towel in my bedroom, the warmest room in the house, every week or so i take a look at it and it looks so good and i remember the smell when it first started. I cant wait to try it...but i do want to know what it would be like if i leave it. If i do like it my next batch will be 3 gallons.


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## Spidy67 (Feb 24, 2008)

Since starting my Joes AO i have a facination with mead's. So i am trying a recipe i found that was also posted by Joe M. Its called a quick mead using 64oz juices. When they say quick they mean about a month and they are sweet. Here is a picture of both meads. on the left is from a 64oz polmogrante/cranberry on the right if from a frozen juice concentrate apple/grape/cherry, this was my own creation. I just racked these this am and you can see they are clearing very fast just the way i like it. 




oh .. under the green towel in the back is my Joes AO.. lol...


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## Wade E (Feb 24, 2008)

Those look good. I have a raspberry melomel still in 6 gallon carboy that was made with 18lbs of raspberries and 18 lbs of honey and it smells so good. The only reason I havent bottled it is that I want to back sweeten it with fresh garden berries as thats what I made with from my parents garden.


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## Spidy67 (Feb 24, 2008)

sounds great... wade. That is what i want to try. I have blueberrys that grow on my property, but this time of year all i can grow is snow.. I think this year i will pick berries and freeze them so i can experiment during the winter months.


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## dcrnbrd (Feb 24, 2008)

Looks awesome. Where is a good place to get mead recipes? I would like to try a couple of different ones.


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## masta (Feb 25, 2008)

A great Mead resource:


http://www.gotmead.com/smf/index.php


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## Spidy67 (Feb 25, 2008)

That is where i got my recipes. gotmead.com Alot of interesting stuff there.


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## dcrnbrd (Feb 25, 2008)

Thanks masta. This mead stuff really gets to going. It has blown the cap off of my airlock twice. I am going to hve to use some tubing into a mason jar of vodka to keep the mess under control. Smells really good though.


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## Wade E (Feb 26, 2008)

Spidy, I did my blueberry with the same 18-18 and have bottled it a few months ago and it is already awesome with lots of body and flavor. 1/2 of the blueberries were frozen store bought and the other 1/2 were fresh from a farm.


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## Spidy67 (Feb 28, 2008)

I will be making one from fresh Maine blueberries raked driectly from my lawn..lol...I might freeze a few for something to donext winter as well.I'd also like to try a multiberry mead. like Blueberry,blackberry,rasberry. or some combination of that.


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## Wade E (Feb 28, 2008)

That sounds very good!


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## dcrnbrd (Feb 29, 2008)

Masta I have tried to get into gotmead several times but they wont send me an activation code. Turned off spam also


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## dcrnbrd (Apr 28, 2008)

al right I have had my mead covered for 5 weeks without peeking. I uncovered today out of curiosity and wow that is beautiful stuff. The fruit is still floating but the mead is very clear. I might try to rack this weekend, but what can I top off with?


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## Wade E (Apr 29, 2008)

Mead does not really have to be topped up as much as wine does as honey in itself is basically anti-microbial and therefore never really goes bad. It will crystalize over time but warmed up it will return to its liquid state.


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## dcrnbrd (May 3, 2008)

how about topping up with some vodka? Just to offset the sweetness of the honey.


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## Wade E (May 3, 2008)

You absolutely can if you want.


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