# Orange Blossom Honey



## gaudet (Oct 13, 2008)

Today I got 6 pounds of Orange Blossom Honey. What can I make with it? I liked Waldo's lime mead recipe. Would the citrus flavors of the lime and the OBH mix? Anyone try lime mead with OBH?


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## Wade E (Oct 13, 2008)

I would go with a straight mead myself whether it be sweet or dry.


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## gaudet (Oct 13, 2008)

That sounds like a good idea. Now I need to look for a few recipes to guide me.


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## Wade E (Oct 13, 2008)

*Mead Recipes*


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## Waldo (Oct 14, 2008)

I agree wiith wade gaudet, I would make a plain mead from that. I think you would want it finish a little sweet too.
I think Masta made mead from this honey, maybe he will drop in and give you some tips/hints.


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## gaudet (Oct 14, 2008)

I want to just do a 1 or 2 gallon batch. I have a few different yeasts to choose from. I have lavlin d47, lavlin kv1-1116, Montrachet, Red star Pasteur Champagne. And I want to finish it sweet. I am awaiting an order for George (I'm out of campden tabs and pectic enzyme).


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## Wade E (Oct 14, 2008)

I would even think of using this yeast but must say I havent tried it.
<table ="Catalog" id="products" width="100%" align="center" border="1" bordercolor="#000000" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"><t><tr><td ="table" width="2%" align="default"><div align="center">WLP720 </td>
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Sweet Mead/Wine Liquid Yeast
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<td width="2%"><div align="right">$8.99</td>
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</td></tr></t></table>If I were going to use 1 from the list of yeasts that you listed then I would go with the Montrachet.


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## gaudet (Oct 27, 2008)

I am plotting to start a 5 gallon batch on Friday. Here is my initial recipe.

8 pounds Orange Blossom honey
2-4 pounds clover honey
juice and zest from4 large oranges
Yeast nutrient as recommended
Yeast energizer as recommended
Water to bring to to 5.5 gallons

What SG should I shoot for? I'm thinking 1.085-1.090 (b/t 11-12% ABV). I want to finish it semi-sweet to sweet. Would it be advisable to ferment dry and then back sweeten with the clover honey?


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## Wade E (Oct 27, 2008)

I have started with a high SG and finished where I wanted on 2 batches leaving it sweet but it is risky as if it does not stop you will have a very high SG or worse if it stops early you will have a very sweet wine so fermenting to dry is best.


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## vcasey (Oct 27, 2008)

I agree with Wade it is easier to let it go to dry and back sweeten later. I have also been pretty lucky and started with a high SG and ended where I wanted but you never know. If you do start with a high SG be very careful what yeast you use, Champagne yeast will eat through everything. I bottled a batch of straight Orange Blossom Mead in May and started with 4 lbs. of honey per gallon the starting SG was 1103 and it stoped at 1002 using d47. Its right at 15% which is about the yeasts limit and pretty good at bottling.
The only thing that I see with your recipe is that you may need more honey just to reach your target starting point. Also you may want to make sure you have a good starter because sometimes meads can be slow to start.
VPC


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## gaudet (Oct 27, 2008)

Thanks for the input guys. I really want to do it right. I have 18 pounds of honey just waiting for fermenting. I was thinking of using either Montrachet or D47 Lalvin.


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## gaudet (Oct 31, 2008)

Done

Orange Blossom Mead (6 Gallon)
9#'s Orange Blossom honey
6#'s Clover honey
1 pint orange juice (fresh squeezed)
Zest of 3 oranges

Initial SG 1.090 PA 12.7%
1 TBS Pectic enzyme 
1TBS Yeast energizer
2 TBS Yeast Nutrient</span>
D47 Lavlin Yeast rehydrated in a cup of the must.

Wish me luck. Any advice is greatly appreciated as usual.

Mike

<a href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CMichael%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" target="_blank">
</a>*Edited by: gaudet *


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## Wade E (Oct 31, 2008)

If you havent added the nutrient yet then do so in steps. I usually do 1/2 up front and the rest at 1.035 but Dean just posted what he does in another topic and I like his idea better. He does 1/3 at start, 1/3 at 1.050 and the last 1/3 at 1.020.


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## gaudet (Oct 31, 2008)

I added it all up front. I noticed Dean's advice after I had mixed and pitched yeast. I will remember it for the next time I make a batch.


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## gaudet (Nov 2, 2008)

Opened it up today. I stirred and took the SG 1.072

It smelled awesome......................

Shot of must pre yeast




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*Edited by: gaudet *


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## Wade E (Nov 2, 2008)

Waft it over here as I can barely smell it!


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## gaudet (Nov 2, 2008)

Doing the best that I can. You might be smelling the Boston Butt I got in the smoker running on pecan smoke right now.


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## Wade E (Nov 2, 2008)

I hope thats "Boston" Butt!


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## gaudet (Nov 2, 2008)

That it is........ Its hit a plateau at about 165 degrees, and I keep feeding the fire. Might have to change tactics and move the fire closer to the chamber. 

Back to mead though. When should I rack this to glass(what SG)? When I do rack it should I transfer all the lees with it? I read that you should leave it on the lees for a while as they make it more flavorful unlike regular wine.

*Edited by: gaudet *


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## Wade E (Nov 2, 2008)

I would rack around 1.025 and take almost everything especially since there is really nothing to go bad here like rotting fruit. Just stir it every day or other day.


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## gaudet (Nov 2, 2008)

Well there is orange zest and some pulp from the juice. I wonder if it will all dissolve with the pectic enzyme I added. I can always strain it when I rack to get the pulp and zest out. Plus the first rack should be a splash rack anyways right?


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## Wade E (Nov 2, 2008)

Just racking normally will be fine and it will typically revive fermentation so dont top up the carboy.


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## gaudet (Nov 2, 2008)

I will be racking to a 5 gallon and a 1 gallon for this batch since I am out of 6 gallon carboys




. All 3 of em are in use, I only have a 5 spot free.


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## gaudet (Nov 4, 2008)

Stirred the must just now and took another SG 1.048. At this rate it will be ready to transfer on Friday or Saturday.


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## gaudet (Nov 5, 2008)

Stirred again, took another SG 1.034... Getting close to putting this baby in the glass.


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## Wade E (Nov 5, 2008)

Getting there buddy!


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## gaudet (Nov 6, 2008)

SG this morning was 1.024

Racking time............ I racked it into a 5 gallon and a 1 gallon. Crappy pic from my razr phone. I will get better ones later.


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## gaudet (Nov 9, 2008)

Here are the better shots as promised.

How long should I let them sit on the lees before I rack these again. The 5 gallon and the 1 gallon are the OBH as crudely marked in dry erase on the carboys.






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*Edited by: gaudet *


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## vcasey (Nov 10, 2008)

A lot of mead makers will let it sit until it clears. But at the very least let it sit for 2-3 months. Why don't you experiment a little and use a light oak on the gallon one - just to play. Oak and honey really do well together. Or mix some lime in there or both. What ever you do just be patient. 
VPC


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## gaudet (Dec 8, 2008)

I thieved a sample this morning to get a sg reading. Its now below 1.000, kind of hard to get an accurate reading but it looked like 0.994 or 0.996

Based on the starting gravity of 1.090 I figure its got 12.2% abv now.

The 1 gallon is starting to clear, but the 5 gallon is no where near the clarity of the smaller batch. I plan to let it set another month or two before racking off the1.5 inches of lees it currently resides on.


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## uavwmn (Dec 23, 2008)

gaudet, I am using one of those "Carlos Rossi" 1 gal jugs for my mead. What stopper will fit that jug?


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## NorthernWinos (Dec 23, 2008)

Are the jugs in your area a gallon...ours are 4 Liters.....the half sized jugs are 1½ Liters, also a handy size to have around. 

I like the #6 bungs best....those may differ from manufacturer....#6½ are a bit large, but hold on tight......Have some unmarked bungs fit good but could get pushed in....


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## gaudet (Dec 23, 2008)

#6 like Northern said.


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## gaudet (Dec 26, 2008)

On 12/24 I combined the 5 gallon batch with the 6 gallon jug and racked off the lees. Needless to say the crystal clear 1 gallon jug became part of the semi-murkiness. I stabilized it with 1/4 tsp k-meta and 1 tbs k-sorb. I placed it in the dark recesses of the closet to "fuggitboutit"


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## gaudet (Dec 26, 2008)

Ok mead experts.......

I want to back sweeten this baby. I intend to get another 3 pounds of orange blossom honey for just this purpose. What is the best way to add this to the 6 gallon carboy? 

Not knowing any better way, I would just heat up the honey ( to loosen it up) and add it 16 ounces at a time and stir it into the carboy. Taste to see the effect and add more if desired.

Any tips or suggestions?


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## vcasey (Dec 26, 2008)

I usually remove some of the mead and mix the honey into the liquid then stir it into the batch. Taste and go from there, make sure you take the SG so you'll have a target for next time. I never heat the honey because I think it loses some of the aroma. 
VPC


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## gaudet (Dec 28, 2008)

Here is the most recent shot of this one: It was racked on 12-24-08


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## gaudet (Jan 14, 2009)

Today I got off my lazy butt and racked this off the lees again. There was a good bit of sediment on the bottom and I just wanted to get it off of there. I also had the ulterior motive of backsweetening with 3 pounds of Orange Blossom Honey. Since I stabilized it almost a month ago I did not add any more K-meta this time. I placed my 3 pound carton of honey in a warm water bath (very hot tap water) for 15 minutes and it loosened it up very nicely. I proceeded to rack from the carboy to a primary bucket. I poured the honey in at the half way mark and stirred it gently with the mix stir on at low speeds for a couple minutes (to prevent any oxidation) I finished racking the OBH and placed the lid on the bucket and proceeded to clean the carboy of all sediment and residue. After appropriate sanitzing, I reracked the obh back to the carboy and put it back the airlock filled with K-meta. There was enough for 2 glasses and I poured them for me and the Mrs's. I think it is pretty good now, so I can't wait to see what it will be like when properly aged. This was started on 10-31-08 and I hope to have it bottled after it clears, so I am not rushing this one at all.


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## montyfox (Jan 14, 2009)

That's a very pretty color you have there. I love the way meade looks (and the way it tastes!). I'm in the planning stages of making a blueberry meade using raspberry flower honey.


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## gaudet (Jan 14, 2009)

Thanks Monty,

After backsweetening, it has a lot of floral notes to the flavor. Considering this is my very first attempt at a large batch of mead, I am pretty pleased with the results so far.


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## vcasey (Jan 14, 2009)

I'm glad you liked the mead. My OB mead has been bottled since May and I'm looking forward to tasting it in a couple of years. We have a local winery that makes an OB mead and mine was a very close match, maybe a bit sweeter. 
VPC


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## gaudet (Jan 14, 2009)

vcasey said:


> I'm glad you liked the mead. My OB mead has been bottled since May and I'm looking forward to tasting it in a couple of years. We have a local winery that makes an OB mead and mine was a very close match, maybe a bit sweeter.
> VPC



Just out of curiosity, what was your time line from secondary to the bottle?


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## vcasey (Jan 14, 2009)

I racked it to the secondary on 9/25/2007 and bottled it 5/2/2009. I cleared it on March 1. Originally this was started to top off my son's graduation mead, so I started with 1 1/2 gallons. Shockingly we only needed 1/2 gallon to top off his. In case anyone is interested mango, papaya, and pineapple can throw off a LOT of lees. He still has enough to make 3 gallons of wine but is not interested in battling the mush. Maybe we can steam juice the rest? 
VPC


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## dfwwino (Jan 15, 2009)

I made an Orange Blossom Mead in 2006 and bottled it a few months ago. Last night, I opened a bottle. The nose was outstanding, with a citrus honey scent. I don't know why mead is not more popular.


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## vcasey (Jan 15, 2009)

I don't know why either. Most everyone likes it when they taste it. Perhaps there is a preconceived notion its honey so its going to be sweet. Plus for meads to be really good you need to just forget about them for a while. Yours is great now but give it a couple and it will be awesome. We have 2 local wineries that make mead. One of them is the OB mead and its fantastic along with all their wines. I'm trying to convince them to make both a cranberry and a lime mead. The other place is just awful and they pedal it at the Renaissance Fair. I've had it several times and its just off balance and way too young. I think that is just their style because all of their wines taste off.
For those that have never made any mead. Make some and then put it away for a few years. It's addicting. 
VPC


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## dfwwino (Jan 15, 2009)

It is also a good idea not to lose your wine/mead making journal. I lost my 2006 winemaking journal. When I tasted the mead after bottling, it tastes good but is a bit watery/thin tasting (even though I used fifteeen pounds of honey). I just remembered that I was supposed to acid test the mead and forgot to do that. I'm going to add some acid blend to a glass and see if it makes a difference. This is the first batch of mead where I followed Ken Schramm's advice not to add acid until after fermentation because an accurate acid reading cannot be obtainedprefermentation in a honey must. I know that I wrote down in my notes to do such a test, but missed that step. I think an acid adjustment would have improved this batch. Live and learn.


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## vcasey (Jan 15, 2009)

I've completely forgotten about that as well. I've started just adding it in any way at the start.

Years ago my hard drive crashed and we lost everything. Most of it could be duplicated but it was time consuming. After that I became as my family puts anal about backing everything up. I usually make about 4 backups plus 2 DVD copies. We have a yahoo group family site and I keep a back up of my wine and mead notes there as well. 
VPC


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## gaudet (Jan 29, 2009)

Here comes my newbie impatience.....






Its been back sweetened for two weeks and showing no signs of clearing at this point. I know I should just wait it out. But how long should I wait until clarifiers might need be used?


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## gaudet (Feb 28, 2009)

6 weeks and its still showing no signs of clearing. Should I superkleer it?


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## vcasey (Feb 28, 2009)

Depends on how much in a hurry you are ........ But all you are doing it letting it age. I usually wait until close to when I want to bottle the mead/wine, but its not going to hurt anything to clear it now. 
VPC


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## gaudet (Feb 28, 2009)

I want to see about bottling in either in April or May. I'd like to have that carboy back for duty in June for Blackberries or Mulberries.


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## vcasey (Feb 28, 2009)

You could always buy a new carboy. At least that's the excuse I using to buy 2 more 5 gallon &amp; 2 more 3 gallon carboys soon. I think I'll even surprise my husband with them. After all its hard to return something if its already full.


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## gaudet (Feb 28, 2009)

I have two empties right now that are reserved for 12 gallons of muscadine wines as I pitched yeast yesterday. I might buy a couple more but I really would be stretched for space without renovating my wine closet. I want to get two 3 gallon carboys since there are a bunch of limited editions I'd like to try.


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## vcasey (Feb 28, 2009)

That's where that cellar thing would come in handy. Although bottling a gallon and storing the rest in a keg does save some space, lets you drink some and age some. 
VPC


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## gaudet (Apr 3, 2009)

vcasey said:


> You could always buy a new carboy. At least that's the excuse I using to buy 2 more 5 gallon &amp; 2 more 3 gallon carboys soon. I think I'll even surprise my husband with them. After all its hard to return something if its already full.



Dang it vcasey, you made me buy two I got a 3 gallon and 5 gallon on order from my LHBS......... There was a buy in special on 5 gallon carboys $23 a piece, and I don't have to worry about shipping.


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## vcasey (Apr 3, 2009)

We aim to please! BTW the key lime honey was flavored - not the direction I wanted to go. But I found some coconut water during one of my "lets see how many health food stores we have around here trips." So my new game plan is to use the coconut water with key limes and "put de lime in de coconut, and drank 'em bot' up" Eventually! I have everything but the limes and an empty car-baby.
Still need to pick up a couple more carboys but I am not in a hurry since I am not ready to start the ABC mead until fall - or maybe for Mead Day (the first Saturday in August).
VPC


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## gaudet (Apr 4, 2009)

Got off my duff and washed and sanitized some bottles this morning in anticipation of bottling this mead. I had to drive out to the LHBS to get some more corks since I was out. When I got home I proceded to rack this one straight into the primary bucket for bottling. Once it was in, I got my bottles set and started that familiar process. I added 1/4 tsp k-meta for good measure. When all was said and done there was still a good bit left in the original carboy so I bottled it and placed it in the fridge for consumption in the near future. I got 29 and 1/2 bottles, not counting the 1 whole bottle that had the lees in it. I think that one will probably yield a half bottle of mead. After backsweetening it with 3 pounds of orange blossom honey, it rested with a final SG of 1.014. A small glass was tasted and I think that it is way too early to tell how this will be. I don't want to open a bottle for at least a month. But I'm sure I will open one in the next few weeks.

This was started in Oct/Nov 2008 so I would expect it to come of age after October.


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