Habanero Pineapple Mead - 18% Alcohol and Spicy Sweet! 

I'm stopping in the middle of this video to say thank you for the chalkboard animation. It really helped somebody like me that has trouble visualizing numbers in space. I've always wanted to suggest to add a whiteboard to your videos as a bit of an omage to the chemistry motif. But I just cringe suggesting more work to a couple that has done so much to help the community. Thanks for all that y'all do

I love the red bucket of sanitization. It's the only reason why I watch this channel.

I'm with Brian on this one. I made this and added another quart of pineapple juice and less rum and I think it's the right balance. Waiting for it to sit another two weeks and the pineapple bits to fall out of suspension for bottling and we'll see where it's at flavor wise.

As a winemaker I can feel your joy in seeing you’ll enjoying the final result in clarity and taste.

The chalk board and visuals of the hydrometer on the side are SO HELPFUL! Helps me track the math so I can do it on mine! Thank you!!!! Please keep doing this!!!!

I’ve been making an Apricot/Habanero mead for a few years. It is a very nice combination.

As a grower of peppers and a maker of fermented hot sauces, This sounds amazing! Orange Habs are my all time favorite pepper flavor. Well done!

My absolute favorite part is at 22:15 "Where she goes, nobody knows" Ded, kilt me sooo bad!!!😂😂😂❤❤❤

i love the hydrometer readings on the side now!! really makes me feel involved!

I usually slice up a jalapeno into my mac and cheese. It's so good! I want to try this one.

To make the honey easier to get out of the container, heat it up in hot water. Almost like you would use a double boiler. The heat will de-crystalize it so it's easier to pour and get all the residuals out. Well done!

Going to be making my very first Mead today. Everything I've watched is super helpful. I don't care too much about the ABV at the end, I just wanna do it to make something yummy for me, my friends, and family can enjoy.

I was just thinking about trying a mango habenero mead. Nice to see we are on the same wavelength

I’m not even a spice fan but I really want to make this! The math part was really helpful guys! Thank you for another great video and another teaching moment. You guys rock as always

Love the chalkboard math and the hydrometer zoom-in/graphic additions. This brew is also definitely getting made later this summer when I get enough ripe habranero though I may skip fortification.

At one time Sams club had a Pineapple Habanero sauce that was great on baked, roasted, grilled anything. Put it on chicken throw it in the oven and WOW. This looks great.

Derica, try the Mac & Cheese with diced Jalapeno Spam; I find it very nice.

I can’t wait for the one year tasting

If the Universe were kind, we should have been friends. My wife & I enjoy your vids, and remind us of friends.

Pineapple habanero mead is my favorite!!

So... I did it. I tweaked your recipe a little. Got started on my first capsicumel (3rd brew ever)... only made 3 litres (reduced to 2.2 litres afterwards) but hey... three full bottles and some spillage aint too bad. I went with a scotch bonnet and Polish forest honey capsicumel base, fermented almost dry with high tolerance mead yeast. Then before fermentation was complete, i removed the chillis and racked off to a new vessel containing some warm water and dried date paste (throughly mixed). Continued fermentation for another 10 days. After fermentation was completed, i racked that brew off into a larger container with 1kg of pineapple chunks and a little more honey. It's been like that for almost 14 days. Soon i will degass, bottle and pasturise. Thanks for all the inspiration and motivation.

Singing everything like Zoidberg in Futurama “I’m a singing bus boy! 🎶Dishes dishes dishes, I’m cleaning up the dishes!🎶”

Beekeeper here. A full jar of crystalized honey has the same amount of water in the jar as before it was crystalized. However, if only part of it crystalized, the liquid part can have more water than the crystalized part which will have less water if I am making sense. If you used only the liquid part in one batch and then scraped out the crystalized part for another batch, you would have different water/sugar amounts in each.

Loved the pictures you put up of the hydrometer! Keep up the good videos!

I just used my circulating heater to liquify 2 gallons of honey. 4 1/2 gal jars in the hot water bath. I’m excited to get this one going!!! I’ve been wanting to smoke some jalapeños to do a raspberry chipotle mead.

The chalkboard is a nice addition to your videos.😊

Love your guys videos. I’ve been watching them for several years just want to say thank you for the great content from here in Iowa

In a year that stuff is gonna be so deep and complex. I genuinely think its gonna taste caramelly cooked fruit. I bet the sweetness comes up and the astringency of the fresh pineapple will drop out.

Have you considered a "Scots Mead"? Almost as your Irish recipe, but using Heather and lemon. (Just throwing ideas out there)

I can't wait to try this!!!

I like the hydrometer pictograph 👍

I just got back from the brew store. I'm real excited to try this recipe. Thank you for your videos.😊 First specific gravity reading gets thrown back in "because it hasn't reached its final destination". 😉 I thought you belly was the final destination! 😂

This looks fabulous and I can't wait to make it!!!

Love your videos and decided one of my retirement hobbies will be making meads (I’m on a Swedish heritage kick 😊). Going to try your Dragon’s Breath Mead first since my basement tavern is called Drakhålan (Dragon’s Hall) but just saw this video and was intrigued. My favorite margarita is from Tacos & Tequila at the Luxor in Vegas. It’s a Chipotle Pineapple margarita. Have you tried using chipotle in a capsicumel?

Love when I see a new video has dropped. And this is a recipe idea I absolutely love.

A bochet habanero pineapple mead also sounds delicious.

Good afternoon from not so sunny England!! I’ve had slightly different results in primary to yours, difference may be that I added 2lb pineapple along with the habaneros… Airlock was still after 6 days so thought stalled like yours. Tested today and 71Beast has chewed through 0.114… in 6 days!!! I’m going to leave it a couple of weeks for the flavours of the fruit and peppers to infuse more - unless you suggest otherwise. Thanks to you both for continued entertainment, information and inspiration! 👍👍

Use a double boiler method to melt the honey back into a liquid, it is less likely to brochette the honey. No, the sugars are not concentrating more so developing. Creamed honey is a crystallization of honey where the crystal is round instead of blocky.

What was the purpose of not adding the pineapple during primary fermentation? Does pineapples get funky when fermented? Love the videos, you guys taught me everything when it comes to home brewing keep up the awesomeness.

This is making me nostalgic for the fruit-pepper barbecue sauces of the early aughts. I remember a raspberry-chipotle one that was amazing. This is definitely right up my alley.

Ok then, looks like I have my second brew to make this year. First is Rose Petal wine then this Pineapple Habanero. ( fingers crossed )

Hi! I think I’d be with Brian in wanting more of a pineapple taste - would putting fresh fruit in primary achieve this along with then adding the juice after?? Thanks 🙏

Gotta say, I like the mad scientist feeling too

If you add a tube to your funnel and run it to the bottom of your fermenter you can make liquid additions with no splash.

I like the idea of the mango habanero mead, that sounds really good.

I just commented on your Welch's Wine, It is Awesome, but wanted to tell you here that we just did our 1st taste of the Habanero Pineapple Mead(haven't added pineapple juice yet) but the taste of this was damn good!!!! Super excited about how this one will turn out!!!

my wife would love this. me on the other hand, is a wimp and cant do sipcy

Okay, but seriously how good would a spicy pineapple upside down cake be?!

I'm inspired to make a capsicumel now. Just a base though, I can add fruits and flavors to the next batch. I'm not a huge fan of pineapple alcoholic beverages but the combo of habanero and pineapple intrigues me. Kind of wondering about sweet cherry though. 🤔

Hey there! Love your videos they have helped me make my first wines in the past month. Question: I am getting ready for blackberries in my area to ripen. What kind of yeast would you recommend for a blackberry wine? Thanks!

"If you like your friends, share it with your friends. If you don't, keep it to yourself because they are not worthy!". Derica had quite the smile on her face by the end of this video, almost like a few glasses of this contributed to it xD I can't wait to make this, just waiting for a carboy to be available!

You should appreciate the singing! When my partner is sad she stops distractedly singing, so if the house is quiet that's a mood indicator.

Peppers and hot sauce are always in my future, so i will definitely be trying this one! I may even substitiute Lemon Drop peppers for their citrusy notes. Great video, thank you both! 🤜☢️🤛 🌶️❤️

Would rimming your glass with Tajín add or take away?

Something that I started doing when pouring my reading samples back in is I will put the turkey baster into the brew and pour out the sample on the turkey baster so that it just flows into the brew.

I’m definitely trying this once habaneros are in season in the UK! Please would you tell me, did you discard the seeds or did they go in too? Cheers 👍

Crystallized honey, assuming it's been in an airtight container is exactly the same as liquid honey of the same volume... Not more concentrated. The only way fir it to get more concentrated would be for it to be further dehydrated...

Have you ever tried freezing and removing the ice to make the mead stronger?

Everytime I see a capsicumel I want to turn it into vinegar to make it the base for a hot sauce but this one could be super special

I am addicted to the drink already and I haven't even made it yet...

umn.... if you dont like them how are they your friends? :)

😂I do the same thing. Parody song with what happening in the present

Thanks to Vinolab but another formula to figure out how much to add of 63% is ---> FORMULA FOLLOWS ---> Vol to add= Current volume / ((Spirit ABV - Desired ABV)/(Desired ABV-Current ABV)) Gives you 29.44oz of rum to get 18%. The 1/2 ounce difference is the ABV variance of .13... GOOD STUFF! Thanks for making me think,and google, Brian!! 🙂

Seems to me this one is very much how my BIL describes my sister: She’s strong, she’s sweet but not too sweet, she’s exotic but familiar, she’s mesmerising, she’ll knock you on your *ss in the blink of an eye, she’s mesmerising, she’s addictive, she’s badass, she rocks. Methinks that I need to make this as soon as I find the right chile (not all that easy where I live) and brew up a batch… and then check in with BIL to find out if he’ll call this The Ariane. LOL.

I’ve been wanting to do a chocolate jalapeño. Just been a bit worried about how the heat from the peppers would withstand the fermentation without making an overpriced hot sauce.

I really want to give this a go! Love that you folk cover start through to tasting in one video.

Wray & Nephew is really good, and it's a really classic funky Jamaican rum with a signature overripe banana flavor. Maybe not the best to use if people want something with a neutral flavor to fortify a mead, but that's the kind of flavor that works perfectly with the rest of the flavors in this particular mead. For a more neutral flavor overproof rum, I might suggest just using something like a Bacardi 151

You are so excited about this one. I'm getting in a party mood! 🎉

You know what yeast boils in the packet without getting all wet and gloggy? Fleishmann's Active Dry stays dry even if you boil and microwave the crap out of it. This has been my experience, anyway.

I'm surprised Derica didn't dance on the table. I love to see girls when they are happy. It makes me smile. This is something I'll really need to make when I get back from doing FEMA stuff in Mississippi. Well... that is if mother nature allows it, she been flat out nuts this year.

new to brewing, I have a few questions, how much yeast should I be using per gallon of mead, I have seen some put an entire packet and some only put 1/3, what is the difference there? oh also for melomels when do I add and remove the fruit/spices? Any advice would be great as I want to get some ready for some summer gifts

I wonder if you put pineapple chunks in with the habenero to steep along with it Before taking it all out and continuing with the pineapple juice

Hi Guys, Such a wonderful recipe, kudos !!! A few questions (as usual) - 1. What's the scoville rating on the habaneros you used ? We have an indigenous pepper famous as the Naga Ghost Pepper which has an average of about 1 million Scoville Heat Units (SHU), compared to a jalapeño with around 8,000 SHU or a habanero with up to 350,000 SHU. Hence quantification needed if I use these instead, please ? 2. Can we skip the rum and just pasteurize ? Thoughts please ? 3. What's the expected shelf life of mead? If I don't bottle and rather use a tetra-pack packaging and store it away for a few seasons (say 1-2 years) AFTER pasteurizing, am expecting this to last at least 3-4 years ? Hopefully with taste improvements ? Thanks again, and keep up the good work !!! Best Regards from India

Would lavlin d47 work for this? I have a finished khajit blood a black briar mead and I'm going to make this today if the d47 will be ok

The title of the video gives me a Mango salsa mead without the green herb I can't spell the popular Mexican parsley looking stuff

23:42 At this point, since there are two of you... I would have had my helper hold a large round spoon in the surface of the liquid in the jar (that you dont want to disturb) and then pour the bottled liquid over the back of the spoon. Like your making a giant layered cocktail.

I've made some capsicumels, but I used Cayenne pepper in powder, never had the vegetable taste, just the heat

Guilty speaking here I was seriously beginning to become sad that you had not yet said it by time you said it! Lol

Can I use scotch bonnet instead? Where I’m from, habaneros aren’t so popular.

I want to make this with a couple of carolina reapers I've got saved in my freezer.

excited to try this one! As a lifelong fire breather, I look forward to the heat. Loving the hydrometer graphic too btw

Do you have access to Everclear? If so, it might be a better choice than a flavored alcohol with a high ABV. If not, I would like to recommend a neutral spirit with a small amount of sweetness: River Baron, by Mississippi River Distilling Company. And OMG! Derica's brain works like mine! I also randomly use odd voices and sing songs based on real music but use new lyrics based on what I'm doing at the moment. BRAIN BUDDIES!

I've not made a mead or wine close to a year now. Probably because I had to much in aging in 18, gallon carboy's. Along with 2, 3 gallon carboy's and a 1, 6 gallon carboy's. Think it's time to bottle what I have. And make this mead you just interested to your viewers. And I, too like a spicy mead myself. That way I get to drink it myself, all of it.

I did a blueberries and black berry jalapeño cap and omg soooo good!! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

wrey and nephew is my favorite white over proof rum

I was wondering if you’ve ever thought about doing a meet with agave nectar

Why do you need to pasteurize it? Is that necessary with all meads or was this a special case?

Best way to either prevent or turn your crystallized honey back to liquid? Leave it on top of your fridge. The warmth from the coils will warm the honey just enough to keep it from crystallizing and warm enough to soften honey that's already crystallized.

Would this be good as a wine instead of mead?

This sounds delicious! At a bar I went to in Albuquerque I had a pineapple beer that had Serrano pepper slices floating in it. It stung a bit but I absolutely loved it!

Going to have to agree with Brian here that yeast like something about hot peppers. I made a version of this and it went NUTS. I have done quite a few meads of various honey and juice mixes, but this is my first one involving peppers and seriously day one was pretty normal, day two got serious but nothing CRAZY, however the morning of day 3 I came in and it was overflowing even though I had left as much if not more than the normal amount of headspace. It was forming thick mats on top of what I assume were yeast, like THICK mats, and also after a few days it was spicy as heck so I scooped out all the peppers and thick stuff to slow it down, and a bit of the liquid to give it more head space. Since I had the peppers and kinda funky looking but good tasting spicy goo I decided to throw all that in the blender with some smoked pineapple I had and some other mixed fruits I had in my fridge, a little vinegar, some salt and spices, and make a fruity hot sauce. Tasted great so I put it all in a big jar in the fridge with PLENTY of headspace thinking after it chilled and was stunned I would divide it up into some squeeze bottles and freeze all but one. NOPE 8 hours later in the fridge and it had already overflowed 3 times and was STILL fermenting like CRAZY even though it was down below 40F. I have a couple biology undergrad degrees, but no clue what all that is about. My wife has a Ph.D and teaches Microbiology at a college, I might set up a test for her to see it as well with identical base mead and add peppers to one and leave the other as a control.

I'm curious why you didn't use the pineapple juice in primary rather than water and then added the juice after primary?

So my brew has bee percolating for 2 weeks now. SG 1110 today's first check it is 1020. Added yeast hulls as you did. I am thinking of adding a couple more Habanero. I am leaving for Florida on Friday so will check again before I leave. Seems to be following the same path as your brew did.

Question, though, when you had 128 ounces in the picture if you didn’t have the little big mouth to put it in could you have just split the total contents into two separate

I really suck at math... But I'm pretty good at following instructions. I hope I get the math right because I have to make this recipe in a 3 litre volumetric flask (or actually a series of them). Really hoping the wide flat bottom will help with the settling of sediment. Otherwise there is zero upside besides the free glassware.

For the editor when you do the calk board math to figure out the 18% ABV you should let that sit on the screen for a few seconds. it flashes back to the video as soon as the hand is done writing and its a little hard to see. (Yes... I know I'm splitting hairs here but my OCB just requires me to read everything on the screen)

If your 1.122 mead ferments out to 1.022, is it safe to bottle after months and months of no activity? Or can it start going live after a year? Thanks!

Take the crystallized honey jar and put it in a pan of boiling/near boiling water. You can microwave it as well, yet I prefer the slower method.

I am adoring your videos. ordered the stuff to make a simple mead first. I have some other ideas down the road, but ...walk before run! Saved this for later. We visit your neck of the woods sometimes (friends live in St Pete). I can totally seeing this being a festive Summer drink!

Please, Please make some Kiwi fruit wine, I now live in New Zealand and when I first came here I had some made by the restaurant and it was so deliciously easy to drink. It's those pips that baffle me, they are small, plentiful and bitter as you know and also very hairy. I can't afford a fancy juicy and to be honest I don't know where to start with the juicing and the care of the pips. Also I don't want it to be too sweet. The fruit is just so plenty full and I so want to have a go at it but I haven't yet seen a recipe which takes my fancy.