Joe Mattioli's Ancient Orange and spice Mead recipe

[happymondays]

Is this mead heated or boiled while setting up the must? This is going to be my first attempt and I have read enough to be compleatly confused. I have seen this recipie on various sites and other recipies as well quite a few of these sites say to heat a mead must and skim off the foam others say boil a mead and a couple say you loose too much heating or boiling and say not to any recomendations?

Hi RB its really up to you there are pro's and con's in a few of the methods I personally go for the cold method. Have a look here for some ideas,

http://www.gotmead.com/index.php?opt...=333&Itemid=14

You could if you were worried about contamination sulphite the must before adding yeast for 24hrs. I just warm the water slightly lukewarm to help dissolve the honey and bob's yer uncle

Hey happy,

No not half, whole lemon and lime together and tastes simply divine.

For comparison will taste the Orange version soon, need time to bottle though.

Just hope Bob can pluck up the courage to give it a go.

Cheers Axl will try another with more next time, I couldn't wait and had a couple of glasses of the JAO last night and although it was strong in flavours it still was drinkable,

Regards Scott.....

[sb44]

I found this thread yesterday and I'm thinking of giving the basic recipe a go.

I've been looking for cheapish honey.

I found the Tesco Value at 69p for 340g which is the cheapest but I think I may go for the South African clear honey in Netto which was 99p for a 450g or 500g jar, can't remember which.

I did see some greek honey in Lidl but it was about £1.56 for 500g.

Can't wait to give it a try.

[rjb222]

mixing

Thank you all for your response. I believe I will use the pasteurization method as this will give an easier mix to the honey must. I am also using a common liquid home bought in bulk it is clover though. I read the links and found what I was looking for. Thanks again.

[lockwood1956]

Just hope Bob can pluck up the courage to give it a go.

one step at a time Axl, just started 2 show meads to try to better understand the arguments that rage between mead makers over timing of acid additions, but it does sound very tempting dude, its on my list of to do brews (vints)

[rjb222]

sulphites

Hi when it comes to adding suphites most everything I see here is in campdon tablets. Which size is the one being used or is there a chart to get measurements from. All I have is crystals so I need to get this right.

[lockwood1956]

the ones used here in the UK contain 44 grains potassium metabisulphite..........enough for 1 UK gallon, but they contain carrier medium (flour and such) which can cause cloudiness in finished wine

so my preferred method of adding sulphite is to use a 10% sulphite solution........5ml of this gives me 50ppm in a UK gallon I make it up by taking 100g metabisulphite powder and adding water to 1 litre mark. I use it for everything, including in a spray bottle for spot sanitising, it goes into my airlocks and it is used to sanitise hoses etc (dont soak hoses in it though, it makes them go opaque) as well as sulphiting my musts and finished wines, I add 5 ml of this solution at every other racking during bulk ageing and my cleaned DJ's and buckets have some of this solution in them (they are then sealed).....and this keeps them sweet till they are needed again.

Adding some citric acid to the solution makes it more effective, but this diminishes its shelf life, I think however a 10% solution needs no extra help, so I dont add the acid. Store it in an airtight container when not in use, it will last for months.

so its pretty versatile stuff


regards
Bob

[Zebedee]

) my cleaned DJ's and buckets have some of this solution in them (they are then sealed).....and this keeps them sweet till they are needed again.

this stuff certainly clears out the sinuses..

when you come to unseal your dj's etc..has the smell disappeared ?.. or is it a case of open at arms length in the open air ?

[lockwood1956]

yes...open at arms length...it stays potent

[StockeyDAW]

My opinion when using citrus like oranges, limes, grapefruit is: peel the fruit and remove as much of the pith as possible (toss these in the waste basket after removeing the zest of the peel) - remove all the pits - if lef on these will impart a bitter flavor to the mead. Use the zest of the orange, lime or grapefruit these add concentrated flavor. Stay away from the raisins use a white grape concentrate or a malic fruit such as apricot or apricot juice at 10% the overall concentration of the fruit used. Daw

[rjb222]

resulphites

Thanks I mix up the same solution as Lockwood and use the same method for sanitizing and storing (God forbid when one is empty one has to find something to ferment) an empty fermenter. I had not thought of using the mix as a addition. If my math is right then for a 5 IMP Gal batch there would be a 25ml addition of 10% solution to get the right ppm?

[rjb222]

My opinion when using citrus like oranges, limes, grapefruit is: peel the fruit and remove as much of the pith as possible (toss these in the waste basket after removeing the zest of the peel) - remove all the pits - if lef on these will impart a bitter flavor to the mead. Use the zest of the orange, lime or grapefruit these add concentrated flavor. Stay away from the raisins use a white grape concentrate or a malic fruit such as apricot or apricot juice at 10% the overall concentration of the fruit used. Daw

What about for the basic given here is the zesting Etc. going to make a large improvement? I am using a rather large seedless Navel orange.

[StockeyDAW]

The zest of the citric fruit is where much of the flavor is contained. It will add immensely to the overall flavor of the must. As will the pith, peel and the pits if you use them except it will be a bitter a flavor and that is one that you do not want. Also suggest that a straining bag is used to contain the fruit much easier to get a clear must when it has completed fermenting. Also other malic fruits such as peach, apple or a tropical fruit such as mango would also work. Daw

[sb44]

Well, I bought all of the stuff to make this today (already have some Dove's breadmaking yeast in) so shall give it a go tomorrow.

Didn't want to spend loads in case I don't like it so I bought Teso Value honey which was 61p per 340g jar, bought 5 jars and used money off coupons so reduced that to 90p for the lot! So if it's awful I won't have lost a lot.

Fingers crossed it all goes ok.

[lockwood1956]

If my math is right then for a 5 IMP Gal batch there would be a 25ml addition of 10% solution to get the right ppm?

absolutely correct sir!

[Axl]

Well, I bought all of the stuff to make this today (already have some Dove's breadmaking yeast in) so shall give it a go tomorrow.

Didn't want to spend loads in case I don't like it so I bought Teso Value honey which was 61p per 340g jar, bought 5 jars and used money off coupons so reduced that to 90p for the lot! So if it's awful I won't have lost a lot.

Fingers crossed it all goes ok.

Anybody with half decent taste buds will love this, don't worry you will not be disappointed.