JAOM flavor flaw

[vahallasbrew2]

I started a JAOM batch on the 31st of January and I wanted to have a little taste, so I took a little and it's super strong I let my dad have a taste and he says it taste like the sap from a mesquite tree. I presume it taste like that cause of the clove. Any ideas? I hate how it taste but,dad loves it. It might be cause I used the recipe for a one gallon batch in a half gallon.

 

[Arpolis]

If you used 3.5lb of honey in a half gallon batch I bet that is one super sweet puppy. You’re looking at an original gravity of like 1.25+ with that. That & if you put in two cloves in that small space I might see it as Mesquite tree sap. To thin it out a bit you might try and make a traditional hydromel mead to match the JAOM and mix into it to make a full gallon.

Something like:

1lb of honey
Water to half gallon
One packet of fleischmann's active dry yeast
Yeast nutrients like Fermax or boil some yeast & drop in a small handful of split apart raisins for nutrients.

Let that ferment dry and mix in with your JAOM and it would thin it out and make it a bit more palatable for you.

 

[vahallasbrew2]

Well I thought I followed a gallon size recipe, I used a pound and a half of honey, 25 raisin, stick of cinnamon, pack of redstar yeast it's bread yeast, whole orange and a single clove. That's my exact recipe I used

 

[dummkauf]

I'm assuming when you say Jan 31st, you mean 2012???

If so, my advice would be to put that bad boy back in the closet and forget about it for a while. It's only 1 month old, which is far too young for any mead. The taste will change and flavors will mellow over time. You need to let it age for a bit before you can make any sort of judgement one way or another as to how it tastes.

 

[vahallasbrew2]

That probably would be best I'm just gettin in a rush to drink it, Im gonna go bury it jn a safe in the back yard so I'll leave it alone.

 

[dummkauf]

That probably would be best I'm just gettin in a rush to drink it, Im gonna go bury it jn a safe in the back yard so I'll leave it alone.

Guessing you're new to this. I recall doing the same thing with my first couple batches.....eventually I learned and now I don't even bother sampling until it's been atleast 3-4 months, or lately more like 6 months.

 

[vahallasbrew2]

Relatively I've been brewing for about 2 months, JAOM was my first batch and now I've got 2 others and one in testing by another brewer

 

[fatbloke]

So you pretty much split the recipe in half. Which should be fine.

Your next tutorial, will be that the one thing that you need in abundance, when it comes to mead making, patience.

Joe's original text, suggests that it's drinkable once the fruit has dropped and the liquid is clear. Well clear is relative, usually defined as being able to read a newspaper through it.

Plus I've never found JAO to be drinkable at that stage. I find it still needs at least 6 months of ageing, though I usually leave mine for about a year or so. Then it's usually good. Any up front flavours from the spices, or fruit will have mellowed to allow some of the honey flavour to catch up.....