Ancient Orange and Spice Mead

[Marrsy86]

Hi guys,

Im going to try this brew this weekend as I have always wanted to try mead and with anyluck it should be ready just in time for Christmas.

One thing that I asked here......

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=17901

but noone seemed to know what I was referencing is what do you mean in the ingrediants list as 1 whole clove ?

Many thanks

Shaun

edit - typo

 

[Moley]

but no-one seemed to know what I was referencing is what do you mean in the ingrediants list as 1 whole clove ?

Well if you had posted a link to the recipe you were thinking of, that might have helped.

It means one whole clove, a spice, not crushed or ground.

They look like this and are about 1cm long

 

[Marrsy86]

Cheers Moley,

I couldent remember what thread I saw it in and after looking and having no luck finding it I though I might just have imagined it cos your comment about garlic but its all cleared up now :)

Cheers.

 

[Moley]

Well I knew what cloves were, but quite frankly I couldn't think of a recipe which called for them, and I've never used one in winemaking. Then again, I don't like mulled wines or sangria.

They are VERY strongly flavoured, which is why one whole one would probably be quite sufficient. You can also buy ground cloves, but you would probably only need about the size of one match head. Try sucking one, they are great if you've ever got toothache.

 

[Marrsy86]

Thanks for the info Moley, think I might stay clear of them for now then.

Cheers Marrsy

 

[Marrsy86]

Had a bash at this today minus the clove and once put in the demijohn the honey seems to have swallows all the raisins and orange and sank to the bottom somehow, is this normal with mead ?

Thanks for any help.

 

[smoothlager]

Had a bash at this today minus the clove and once put in the demijohn the honey seems to have swallows all the raisins and orange and sank to the bottom somehow, is this normal with mead ?

Thanks for any help.

Ive done a few meads and sounds like either 1. the honey may not have been disolved properly OR 2. (this is what happened to me once) the fruit all dropped because of a change in temperature (it dropped) rightly or wrongly i stuck it by a radiator for an hour and it rose again and it continued to ferment and was fine.

I suggest giving it a really good shake with cling film over the top and then replace airlock if you think the honey has not disolved: this wont do it any harm anyway; if it doesnt go after this you could always replace yeast if the fruit has rose to the top.

BTW: I always put 2 cloves in it.

Not sure if this helps, hope so

 

[Moley]

Be careful with shaking because if it has already started fermenting there will be dissolved CO2, so it could get messy. I would suggest you put your washed hand over the mouth of the DJ and just gently invert the jar a few times, releasing any pressure while it's the right way up. The fermentation process tends to stir the jar, so don't worry about it too much. If the fruit does rise to the top, just give the jar a gentle swirl every now and then to get things mixed in again, but in that case there's certainly no need to add more yeast.

 

[Marrsy86]

Thanks for the help guys, done what you said mole seems to have sorted it right out :)

Cheers

 

[marc]

yes you can use cloves in mead,as suggested only use 1 as it has a strong flavour.

 

[oldbloke]

9 months after starting this one, the bitter tang from the orange peel/pith is still slightly unpleasant.
I think it will come good eventually