Chocolate Orange Mead - Start to Tasting!
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- čas přidán 20. 08. 2024
- Hello everyone! This is the long-awaited chocolate orange mead I've been promising to make for forever! This video takes you through the ENTIRE process, so I hope you enjoy it!
What I did:
2lb OB honey
Half a packet of Mangrove Jack 05 yeast
2 tsp sweet orange peel
SG: 1.080
Racked & stabilized
Added OJ to taste + 1/4 cup toasted cocoa nibs + 1/8 tsp malic acid & tannin + almost a cup of OB honey
G: 1.024
Removed nibs after 9 days (could have sat longer)
Added 1/2 tbsp sweet orange peel + 1/4 cup toasted cocoa nibs + .16 oz mocha oak chips.
Left for about a week.
Added another 1/2 cup OB honey
G: 1.042
Added sparkloid
BOTTLED!
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Nice! I always make an extract of cocoa powder with white rum to add in secondary. I'll have to try toasting my cocoa powder.
If you have haze from fruit, like orange juice, a trick I use is to add 1 tbsp pectase in secondary and wait a week. It comes out gem clear. For non-fruit haze, I pour into my brew 1/2 tbsp gelatin dissolved in 1/2 cup hot water and then I wait a week.
Oooo I never thought of adding pectase in secondary! Great tips, thank you!
@@FaewoodMead you need to do way more pectase (after fermentation) than what is called for (pre-fermentation). That is because the alcohol denatures the enzyme. Usually a tablespoon will clear the brew in a week or two.
@@KenJohnsonUSA Oh beautiful, thanks for the tip!
I remember when you mentioned that you made this. I am happy that you recorded it for us. I am actually on my way to the local brewers store now. I am going to check out cocoa nibs for my next brew. Peanut butter & chocolate. Thanks again for your inspiration.
Cheers
That sounds amazing!!!
Nice to see everything in one video. I might need to try this one!
Thank you!
I like the all-in-one video. I really like the idea here and will add it to the things to try. I've used toasted cacao nibs in a Mexican chocolate mead (with cinnamon and dried chiles) that I was really happy with. I just toasted them in a dry skillet and left the house smelling of brownies. The oven might be more consistent though. Wow, 1.042 sounds really sweet, but I haven't done any oaking yet.
That Mexican chocolate mead is now on my list.
Oooo that sounds amazing!!!! What a fabulous idea for a mead!!!
Defunkify is a perfectly OK word in this context. Like how "Melty" isn't a word, but it's OK to say it when discussing cheese.
Haha, thanks Tim!
Artist..
Sounds cool 🎉
Must do this! I already have experience with orange from when I made orange dandelion mead this spring. Totally know what you mean about orange needing time, because when I initially tried it, it was disgusting. I honestly thought I screwed it up, but here we are...half a year later and it's one of my favorites!
I also made chocolate cherry late last year and...yeah, that's completely gone before a year has passed (my wife had her girlfriends on one night, lol).
Anyhow, time to finally fuse chocolate with orange, it is time...this inspired me.
Btw, I also used a clearing agent for the first time ever just the other day! Used bentonite on a stubborn plum wine that just wouldn't clear and I watched it start to work within literal minutes. Next morning the wine was crystal clear.
That's some dark magic...or science or whatever. Pretty cool tho!
Omg so glad I’m not alone when it comes to orange tasting really odd in the beginning! Some things just take a while to age out I suppose!!!
Omg chocolate cherry would be delish 🥰
Funny chocolate and especially orange didn't go well with brewing but for Mead it was one shiny star!
I would love to tried that out! Nice job I like your style!
It works really well! My friend Christina recently tried this and said it's pretty amazing - it does take some aging time though!
@@FaewoodMead So I heard in case of most Meads.
Only time chocolate doesn't mix well with brewing was either cider or wine. I find out it tastes gross.
Good to know about toasting the cacao nibs. I've got a pomegranate cacao wine going now, and I'm just waiting on the cacao flavor to deepen. If I'd toasted it first, it might have been done already.
Oooo yes that could be the missing secret!
This looks so good. My wife makes mead, so I sent this to her. now she wants to try this.
Haha, awesome!
Very beneficial, chocolate and orange unleash some nutrients as chemical infusion reaction that isn't possible by chocolate only or orange only. Taste will make people in another country shiver and convulse from your goosebumps, but your body will absorb very good energy.
Killer Video as always Fae!
Yay for the chocolate orange mead! It’s been quite the journey but it was worth it! Great to know how much of a difference toasting the cacao nibs makes.
Looks like I’m going to have to make a chocolate orange mead. It sounds delicious to me. 😊
Hey Edda. This video gave me an idea to try and mimic the flavor of a chocolate covered cherry. What do you think? I'm thinking chocolate up front and the cherry in back.
@@littlebones88 - Oh wow! That sounds utterly delicious! I’d advise tart cherries, loads of them. If you’re using sweet cherries, opt for a combination of sweet cherries and tart ones, with at leadt 2/3rds tart ones. A vanilla pod in secondary, too, to up the chocolate AND the cherry flavours. Yum…
@@eddavanleemputten9232 Do you think the vanilla will help meld the chocolate and cherry? How would you make sure that the chocolate was dominant, but not overpowering? Tart cherry juice in primary? I'm just looking for input as I've never worked with these ingredients. Thanks!
@@littlebones88 - I’d ferment honey, tart cherries (frozen, thawed and roughly chopped) and either cherry juice or apple-cherry juice or straight apple juice together. OR a grape juice or grape-cherry juice. Remove fruit after a week. Then I’d add more tart cherries in secondary, remove after another week. Fruit in a brewing bag for easy removal and I’d perhaps add pectic enzyme to make sure I don’t get pectic haze although this isn’t as much of a problem with cherries as with berries, so it isn’t really necessary. If fermentation isn’t done, I’d wait ‘till fermentation is done. Then I’d toast cacao nibs (in a brew bag), add those and drop a split vanilla pod straight into the fermenter. Funnily enough, the cheapo really dry pods seem to work better in brews than the expensive ones. If pods are too expensive, I’d use vanilla extract/paste. Taste every now and again to see how the chocolate aroma develops. Then I’d taste and see if the brew needs tannin. If it does, in goes a handful of medium toast French oak chips. Again, taste, taste, taste. Depending on the size of the chips and how much you add, extraction goes fast or slow. Usually 1-2 weeks does the trick. Back sweeten, bottle, allow to age. As an alternative to French oak, medium toast cherry wood is also an option. You could also add tannins upfront, either powder or in the form of strong black tea.
That would be my MO. Multi-step brew for the patient at heart, but it’s worth it IMHO. And yes, vanilla tends to up the chocolate and rounds out the cherry, which can be a bit… sharp? Best way to describe it for me, as English isn’t my native language, is that it kind of brings the full flavour of Summer into the fruit. Does that make sense?
@@eddavanleemputten9232 Makes perfect sense and thank you for your input. I think I'll keep this one in the 14% - 16% range. I am about to go into full blown production mode in the next few weeks and I'd really like to add this one in too! What do you think about cherry juice and cacao nibs in primary, with additions/adjustments of cherries, vanilla, nibs, and medium toast cherry as needed after ferment and tasting?
My first go with orange mead is on it's way. Did it different and probably a bit more aggressive. 😂 almost 5 litres (about 1.25 gallons), 2 kgs (4 punds) of local no-idea-honey and two chopped up oranges. I like my mead sweet.
But this makes me want to up the game for next batch... cacao nibs will be ordered. 😀😀
lol! Good luck!!! Did you add the oranges in primary or secondary?
Cacao nibs add a nice layer of complexity, vanilla would be good too!
@@FaewoodMead Thanks! 😊 In primary. 🙂 I got the tip from a mead producer here in Sweden to let the orange one stay in secondary for at least 6 months. She had learnt the hard way and kegged to early after 4 months. 19 out of 32 kegs blew up. ☹️Yeah I'll have to try that. Ooh! Chocolate and a small piece of vanilla... 😋
Good additives! Keep making those batches of mead,!
Haha, thank you!
Legendary, I’m wanting to make a date, cocoa, rice & cinnamon(in the form of horchata mix), coconut tea blaand and this is inspiring. Most likely I’ll start with coconut tea and milk dates, horchata, honey, and then finish with cacao nibs infusion.
I want to know how this turns out, sounds delightful!!!
FIRST TIME HERE!!!!
Welcome!
I'd love to produce my mead but my family members are drugging it so i stopped making.... my brother got me a factory moonshine. I stopped going there for holidays. Thank you for making this video
You make me laugh 😆 don’t worry about time!
Interesting recipe! I do prefer the all in one videos.
Really Enjoyed your Video , Thanks ! I like Your Long Video . If I have Time to Watch a Video at all , I have Time to Sit 🪑 Down and Enjoy a Good One. 🐯🤠
P.S. Nice Beret , with Visor .
Thank you so much!
Are you german?🤔
@@balazskardos7167 English & American Indian .
I see that you shop at Wegmans too! Glad to see that this one had a happy ending.
Weggies is the best!
@@FaewoodMead Indeed. Just went there yesterday and might stop there today.
I like the all in one videos. I think I will try something like this but raspberry or cherry as I don't like orange and chocolate together.
That sounds delicious!!!
Made a banana honey (syrup) from One day one recipe channel which came out good. I think it would be amazing if used to make a chocolate banana braggot mead. I think using a combination of 2-Row chocolate brewing malts, aromatic munich malt, and roasted coco nibs could be amazing brew.
Ummm yes. Definitely do that!
i really like to try your method for making that mead but i got serious problem with some stuff unfortunately honey is super expensive in my country so can i replace the suger with honey ? or fermentation will go wrong ? also we got no access to none of those chemical so I'm a little bit confusing here i would be appreciated if help me thanks .i following your content from iran 💗
You can definitely use sugar - the drink would be called a country wine instead of mead, but the methods are basically the same! You can ferment until dry, let the wine sit for a while and then bottle it, or you can pasteurize your wine. There are several methods, email me and I can send you some videos and give tips. Faewoodmead@gmail.com
I'd love to produce my mead but my family members are drugging it so i stopped making.... my brother got me a factory moonshine. I stopped going there for holidays.
How did you sanitize/prep your oak chips?
Hi Heather! Usually there are instructions on the package, but just in case, I soak them for about an hour in sanitized water. Aka a Starsan solution!
Hi
When you will show us full video about grape stomping and video about homemade wine?
Clear mead is better!
You put orange juice in it so its going bitter
This is ridiculous. It sounds delicious but this is for people with tons of experience in distilling. Not for Novice.