RiceReport

12/1/23 (Day 1)
2 lbs Golden Lake Honey
2 tsp Sweet orange peel
4 g Fermaid O
DV10 yeast
O.G. = 1.074 9.8% possible
Spring water up to (a little more) a gallon

Mixed all ingredients, shook the bejesus out of it and pitched yeast.

12/4/23 (Day 3)
I added 1/2 tsp yeast nutrient and shook.

12/22/23 (Day 21) Stabilized
1/2 tsp metabisulfite
1/2 tsp Sorbate
1/2 cup Nibs toasted at 350 for 10 minutes
1 campden tablet
Racked

12/28/23 (Day 27)
Chocolate comes through nice.  Needs more orange flavor and sweetening.  Added 1/2 oz more sweet orange peels.

1/4/24 (Day 34)
Racked off orange peels and nibs.  Added about 1 cup orange juice and 1 pound of Trader Joe’s Organic Unfiltered Honey from Uraguay.  Gonna let it oak for about a week.  F.G. = 1.041 after back sweetening.  9.8% ABV.
1/17/24 (Day 47)
Bottled today.  I got 3 full bottles and 5/8 of a small bottle.  Labels printing at work and will label tonight.

 

Original creation day is 10/16/23.  This is a split from John Handy Traditional

11/5/23 (Day 1 of split)
1 gallon yield

This is the split mead.  I used Lahua honey for a traditional mead and separated a gallon off of it.  I added 2lb frozen black berries and 1 oz American Oak and .5oz whiskey oak chips.  I’m planning on letting the berries go clear.

11/10/23 (Day 6 of split)
I tasted this beast today.  Needs more time on the oak and the berries.  Giving it another couple weeks before racking and back sweetening.  The blackberries really shine nicely though.  It’s gonna be a great one.  Just like Jelly Roll Morton!

12/1/23 (Day 27 of split)
Racked off blackberries and stabilized.
1 crushed campden tablet added as well as 1/2 tsp Potassium Metabisulphite & 1/2 tsp Potassium Sorbate (for stabilization)
Now we just let it clear for a couple of weeks to bottle it.  It’s not close to a full gallon

12/4/23 (Day 30 of split)
This is gonna need cold crashed.  I’d like to bottle this on Friday.  Still floaties and a lot of sediment.

12/22/23 (Day 47 of split)
Back sweetened with Eurthrotyl till I liked it.  It’s still not very sweet and blackberries don’t come through much.  This one will just be kind of OK.
Bottled and labeled.

 

10/26/23 (Day 1)
3lbs Menards Honey
3 lbs Sam’s club Honey
2 Navel Oranges
2 Cinnamon Sticks
3/4 tsp Ginger
3/4 tsp Clove
2 tsp bread yeas
2 Gallons Spring water

I mixed all the ingredients.  In the original JAOM recipe it says mix and let sit.  No gravity, no swirling, nothing…That’s what I did, but I’ll estimate the gravity to 1.070.  If it goes dry (which it might) it would be around 9.2% ABV.

11/30/29 (36 Days)

I’m entering this for Roland, but it wasn’t created on Roland’s week.  I just needed to wait to get to a good artist to name this.  I’m going to take a gravity reading and taste tomorrow 12/1/23.

12/8/23 (44 Days)
This has been cold crashing outside for about 24 hours.  It’s only about 44 degrees outside.  That should be cold enough.

12/22/23 (58 Days)
Racked into pitcher, back sweetened with 1/2 cup honey and bottled.  There was 2 gallons so there was 2 pitchers full.  Tasted great!  Hope it was stable though.  F.G. = .992 (actually 10.3% ABV)

MRM ~ John Handy Traditional

10/16/23
2 Gallon recipe:
6 lbs Lehua Honey
1/2 tsp Fermaid O
2 Tsp Bentonite
Mangrove Jacks yeast
2 Gallons Crystal Gyser water from dollar tree

Mixed all ingredients.  O.G. = 1.102
My plan is to split this batch and do 1 gallon traditional and 1 gallon blackberry.  Blackberries will go into secondary for several weeks while the traditional will bulk age the same time before bottling.

**Self notes.  It’s got no acid or tannins.  Those will have to be added in secondary.  This is NOT the actual week we were studying John Handy, it’s just the week I documented it.  I actually didn’t name this until I documented. It was the Lehua honey that should shine on this one so I will also be back sweetening with Lehua.

11/5/23 (21 days)
Primary fermentation is complete.  S.G. = .994.  That’s right, it went completely dry.  I racked 1 gallon into glass carboy and put a mix of oak chips.  1oz American oak and .5oz whiskey barrel oak.  Will let that set on the oak for a week before tasting. 14.3% ABV
11/10/23 (26 days)
I tasted with the oak.  Still needs more time.  It’s good even as dry as it is.  A little back sweetening and clearing and this will be ready to go.  Not going to do anything else with this today.  Next week maybe rack off oak and use clearing agent.It needs some tannin too.  I’ll add that next week.

***I’m going to start another post for the blackberry.

 

11/20/23 (36 days)
1/2 tsp potassium metabisulphite
1/4 tsp potassium sorbate
1 campden tablet
It’s clear.  I haven’t tasted it yet but tomorrow may be bottling day.

11/21/23 (37days)
1/4 tsp tannin
1/4 tsp acid blend
.5 lb honey for back sweetening
F.G. = 0.018

Bottled and labeled