Joe Mattioli's Ancient Orange and spice Mead recipe

[fatbloke]

Will do, boss

Would you sweeten with honey or sugar? I would guess the former, but I'm not sure if this would make the mead cloudy.

Why would it do that ?

Honey is naturally clear. So even if you used "set" honey, the only reason why it should go cloudy again, is if it's got sediment in it or if it's unstabilised and the yeast cell's still present have enough energy etc to breed/re-ferment i.e. which could be the case if you've used a wine yeast.

hence if it's stable and sulphited then you should (theoretically) get a little hazing (like looking through a heat haze) when you initially start to mix the honey in, but as the viscosity drops and the honey mixes in, it should stay clear - especially if you've filtered it before hand.

The earlier comments about slight bitterness ?

I'd guess it depends entirely what Joe Matiolli was looking for when he developed the recipe. Was he just looking for a simple recipe or did he have a mind to make it less "jam like" in it's fruitiness or more "marmalade like" ?

Who know's (except Joe himself)? If it tastes good, who cares

regards

JtFB

[magicaardvark]

<Looks at the row of DJs in the utility room>

Hmm, plenty room for one more

So, after reading this gargantuan thread end to end, and.... salivating at the thought of the outcome, it's off to the HBS and Sainsbury's at the weekend to get the tools.

I reckon I'll stick to the original recipe, and see what happens, if it's as foolproof as it sounds, it should turn out just fine.

I'm looking forward to the aroma of this one.. very much.

Mike.

[lockwood1956]

looking in the supermarket recently....clover honey is on sale reasonably cheap


given a choice I'd use clover honey.....(everything else stays the same)

[goldseal]

John, it went cloudy

Racked (clear) mead to bucket, added honey, cleaned the DJ, racked back - cloudy.

No bother - it can sit there a while longer while it clears.

[lockwood1956]

I have always had cloudiness when i have sweetened with honey....mostly it drops clear again, but not always.

So I always sweeten with sugar, I think this is another reason that mead makers start with high gravities and either stop active ferments or put so much honey in at the start that they know it will end up sweet, personally I think thats bad practice but thats just me.....

I prefer to stabilise and then sweeten, gives me more control and more predictable results.

regards
Bob

[Darren]

Ive never done a mead and ive never tasted a mead but this one looks very nice looks ideal for xmas i think i will give it a bash ive a couple of empty djs

[Richard S]

Darren, if you are talking about xmas 2009 then you are fine. Read through the thread from the start, this mead can take 1 - 2 months to make and then it won't be ready to drink for at least another 6 months.

[Darren]

Hi Richard i haven't read the age 6 Months bit yet oops still will do for next year no problems i just fancy giving it a go with this been my first year wine making etc im hoping to get a few wines and the odd mead ready in the next couple of Months so i can start to age them for a while it would be nice to get some aged for next year

[Her Lushness]

Darren, my advice to you is in your 1st year of winemaking, make as much as you possibly can, and make as many varities as you can. Then then sit back, wait and then enjoy them 6 months or a year later.
Once you start tasting your wines that have been ageing for a while, you'll find out, what, if any, mistakes you've made, and hopefully have the skills to know what to do to rectify any mistakes you may have made in your early days. This way you will find out what recipes you really like, and want to repeat.
In the time that your stuff has been ageing, you'll have been making more wines, so at least you'll have a continuous supply of stuff for tasting.

The only downside is that you'll find a few wines that you love, and then have to wait another 6 moths to a year to have any ready for drinking again! (Ask Bob about how to turn into a patient person coz I'm d@mned if I know!)

Another tip is to make a few kit wines to tide you over for something to drink while you're waiting for other stuff to mature - I generally find that 2 months (or longer if you can wait) ageing for a kit wine changes it into something very drinkable.

And last but not least, KEEP NOTES ON WHAT RECIPES YOU USE, WHAT YOU DO WITH THE FINISHED WINE AND ANY TASTING NOTES.
Believe me, there's nothing worse than opening an unexpectedly gorgeous bottle of wine and finding that not only can you not find the recipe, but you have no idea what you put in it to make it taste so fabulous, and you won't remember your recipes after a few weeks, never mind a year or so...

Take it from one who knows!!!!

[Darren]

Thanks for the advice Her Lushness i do have a couple of djs that are ageing nicely i tend to make the wine no1s to drink now and try and leave the rest.I can't see any of my kit wines lasting 2 Months would be nice but would never happen thanks for the help i am going to start the mead at the weekend never done one or tasted one before so should be fun then i can put that aside for a good few Months

[Her Lushness]

i tend to make the wine no1s to drink now and try and leave the rest.I can't see any of my kit wines lasting 2 Months would be nice but would never happen

I know what you mean.... but why not try a 5 gallon kit wine, surely some of that will last longer than 2 months??????

[benarnold]

Darren, if you are talking about xmas 2009 then you are fine. Read through the thread from the start, this mead can take 1 - 2 months to make and then it won't be ready to drink for at least another 6 months.

I can vouch for this. I started one about this time last year thinking it would be a good Christmas bottle - I obviously missed the bit in the thread about maturing for 6 months.

Opened a bottle around the middle of December and boy was it rough. Opened a second bottle in about May this year and it is really quite tasty. A touch sweet for my liking really, but very drinkable indeed.

[magicaardvark]

Her Lushness, that is excellent advice, which I intend to follow fully, especially the bit about creating a pipeline of wines so that in 6 months time I'll have a continuous supply. I'll be making a wine No 1 in the meantime.

I'm in a bit of a quandary about which yeast to use in the mead though. My personal preference is definitely on the dry side, and I'm concerned that bread yeast might leave it a bit sweet. I think I might use wine yeast and back-sweeten once stabilized. Like Bob says, that way I have more control over the sweetness of the finished product.

Any thoughts?

[goldseal]

From what I have read, the bread yeast might give you a less-dry mead, but it should be drinkable earlier.

I found mine (on Hovis bread yeast) stopped at 1.006. I found it too orangey, and sweetening it to 1.011 ish smoothed it out.

[Her Lushness]

I'd use wine yeast every time, people used bread yeast in "olden" times, but these days we have yeasts that have been specifically developed for red wine, white wine, port wine, cider etc etc, and by using better yeasts, we can be assured of a better end result.

I'm not an expert on mead, having only done 2 gallons of the JMAO so far, but I'm sure you'll like the end result.

I wish my OH understood why there's in the region of 250 bottles of wine maturing in the garage and around the house, he seems to think I'm an alchoholic!