Great video. Not overly technical. Really enjoyable. And frankly, I'm all over this. In your book case to your right, you have First Edition Dungeons and Dragons books. Very excellent.
Remember when I said I was trying to make a lighter mead for testing and not wasting good amounts of red raw honey doing a bad batch right? So here we are after a month (using Fleischmann's yeast), my 1 liter batch (0,26 US Gal) suddenly stopped bubbling in one day and started clearing itself quite fast on the next day, I've used a mead builder calculator targeting a sweet mead using 350 grams for 7% ABV but my guess is that I've reached 14% ABV since I've let it fermeting to dry and no more bubbles came up after 30 days. I've already racked from the primary to the secondary a day ago and I gave it a taste (never tasted Hydromel/Mead before) and it was quite good actually, powerful with a good mouth feel (thanks to your tip on the other Mead video using boiled black tea with raisins) and with such nice finish with fruity notes and a bit of a medicinal note (courtesy of Eucalyptus Raw Honey I guess...) A question: If I want to reach a sweet mead, should I stop the fermenting process until I reach the desired gravity? Or let it ferment until dry and backsweetening it with more honey on the secondary after pasteurizing it?
I would fement dry, then backsweeten, but your yeast is the one thing you want to know it's tolerance... if you are at yeast tolerance, you can usually backsweeten without worry.
You should make a Mead with black mangrove honey, when I lived in Florida this by far was my favorite honey, it's a darker honey with a pretty pungent flavor.
Watching this old video i just realized you live in the same city as me.. I had been watching yalls videos for the past year now and when i first started i had this weird feeling i had seen you guys before. Thought i was crazy but I guess not
It's really low alcohol, like under 2% and takes less than 2 days. I'm in. I'll make some this week off camera so I can sound like I know what I'm doing on camera :)
Lemon juice isn't really a direct replacement for raisins... it can change the pH of a brew and alters flavors, though, the rind itself does offer a bit of nutrients.
Hi, I am making the Viking Blood mead and plan to make this Hydromel Mead over the weekend. I am new to making anything mead, wine etc... I am worried that I might have screwed up in using distilled water for my Viking Blood mead you show how to make. Should I not use distilled water? Really enjoy your channel.
I am going to start making meade and cider. I was curious though. What books would you recomend and are there any other youtubers you would give props to that keep the process as simple as you do? I am very excited about getting this going but it's my first time so I'm nervous too and want to get as much info as possible. Thanks in advance.
I read a few books, most weren't all that helpful in the end. I looked on RU-vid, found lots of videos, some helped a little, some not so much. It's very hit or miss. Not to toot our own horn, but we have several wine/mead videos and some are designed to go into detail on how to brew, so you might find most of what you need right here.
I am using balloons but this is my first time making mead it came in handy when one of the bottles did not have enough yeast and the balloon was deflated
For the tart cherry mead you used a bucket for primary fermentation. Why did you stop doing that? I always use buckets for primary because they are way easier to clean and like you said, you can easily make a little bit more to fill a carboy in secondary.
@@CitySteadingBrews Same, but as long as it's reusable i'm ok with it. Just if you use regular buckets they will get scratches etc which aren't good. that's why recently i upgraded to a decend (plastic) fermenter. they have them in a brewing class i go to and been using them for years without problems.
Would this recipe be successful if I substitute Fleischmann's yeast from making the sweet grape juice wine? In the spirit of being cheap, ya know. I did order another carboy, poly-seal caps, & some Star San. 👍 This hobby is a bit addictive.
What are your thoughts on using something other than raisins to add the nutrients and tannins? I know you used black tea in one of your videos too, could other types of dried fruit be used in place of raisins in conjunction with black tea?
@@CitySteadingBrews Awesome, I'm gonna give it a shot. Never brewed any alcohol before so here goes nothin! I've watched several of your videos to help me get started so thanks for all the info!
Can I use the same method you have used in the traditional recipe video? You know, boilling chopped raisins with black tea and adding it to the mix instead of putting the raisins directly into the fermenting jar? Is there any difference at all? I'm going to get this Hydromel as my first try, I don't wanna waste extra honey on something that I don't know yet to make (raw honey is quite expensive these days).
Honey does not need to be pasteurized because it is naturally antibacterial. Also boiling it can ruin the flavors, honey is quite mellow in taste so you want to keep all of it in your brew and not let them go up in mist.
Okay, this recipe is intended to be lower ABV. If you want to make something stronger, watch this one: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_O9VKyoy-l4.html or this one: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ildRSUSWmc8.html or this one: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-agZB1jRkkqM.html
Don't use golden raisins they are bleached. That's why they are yellow instead of the usual red/brown colour, you need to get some organic figs or dates also it's a good idea to add Lemmon juice to give it some acid, aka tannings. I use 4 sliced dates/figs and two table spoons of lemon juice per gallon.
Okay... I hate having to correct people but... Golden raisins are not bleached. They are treated with HO2, which is a preservative and keeps them from turning brown in the sun. As a result, they have a more fruity flavor and taste better as well as being more healthful. Yep, I said preservatives. It was a conscious choice since I didn't want to color the mead, and I know the teeny amount of HO2 still in those raisins won't change much of anything. I was right, the fermentation started quickly, and is nearing the end as I write this. Acid and Tannin are different things. You don't get tannin from lemon juice. You get tannin from leaves, bark and some fruit skins. Acid alters how we taste the food, tannins add mouth feel. Yes, of course you can use dates and figs and lemon juice in your hydromel. I never said my way was the only way, just a simple way.
Still, that purges all the yeast nutrients. The whole reason you use them, also Tanning are the bitterness that is in grape skins, hops, tea and yes citrus fruits like lemons. Sima, a Finnish style of mead has been made for over 4,000 years use these ingredients for this reason as well as a good source of vitamins.
Okay, yes... lemons and oranges do have trace amounts of tannins when ripe, but it's in the skins. Juice has pretty much no tannins. Adding SO2 doesn't purge the nutrients it merely prevents browning as they dry. Golden raisins have been used for many years for fermentations. Sima has many variations yes, and they add rasins... they also replaced the honey with sugar nowadays and it's not even alcoholic... I really do appreciate your input, but I research all my statements, so I do have a bit of fact on my side.
You talk a lot about how people back in viking times didn't really clean their stuff. That is true, but they also had a life expectancy of around 40 years...
That’s not entirely accurate. The high infant mortality rate reduce their life expectancy average substantially. It was not uncommon to live well into their sixties!
Fun fact: green grapes or white grape juice can be used in lieu of golden raisins if you're not that worried about the flavour being imparted into the mead from them.
You take a reading at the beginning of fermentation and at the end. Then, use either an app for your phone, any online ABV calculator or a complex formula to calculate ABV in a finished beverage. I'll be doing a video on this soon.
Normally, I do the first racking at a month, or I don't rack it for like 5. Racking will simply take it off the lees. Some say the lees can impart off flavors over time, so I do it, just not religiously. If you rack it every month or so, you can actually stop fermentation early and keep some residual sweetness if you watch your hydrometer.
Well, the quote is that Violence is the question, with the answer being "Yes", so it would go something like: Violence? Yes! I first encountered it in a long running web comic called "Schlock Mercenary" by Howard Tayler (yes, that's Tayler with an E not an O).
In regards to mead being older than beer: aboriginal australians have a continuous culture of up to 60000 years as understood at this point... And many mobs (nations) drank water fermented with honey and natural yeasts formed in bark (natural tannins) at the base of trees as a long term tradition: Mead. I'm not culturally aboriginal but just wanted to add to the argument of mead being older than beer. I love both!
There is still a lot of debate as to whether that's legal or not. My own research makes it... iffy at best. There was some blogger that the TTB told him it was legal for home use, but... meh, I don't really want to get arrested since... doing it is one thing, making a video and putting it out to the whole world is another.
Chris- Federal law states that it is legal to own a still of any size. It doesn't matter if you have a 1 gallon still or a 100 gallon still. According to the feds, it is legal to have a still for decoration, distilling water, distilling essential oils, etc. The still does not need to be registered with anyone and no permits are needed as long as it is being used for the aforementioned purposes. However, be advised it is illegal to distill alcohol without having either a "distilled spirits permit" or a "federal fuel alcohol permit." It does not matter if the alcohol is for personal use only, not for sale, etc. If a person wishes to legally distill alcohol, they have two options. The first option is to obtain a Federal Distilled Spirits Permit. This is the permit that industry giants like Jack Daniels and Makers Mark distilleries possess, which makes it legal for them to distill and distribute to the public. As one might imagine, this permit is very difficult to get. In short, unless you're opening a distillery with the intention of selling your product in liquor stores, don't even bother looking into getting a distilled spirits permit; it's way too expensive and complicated for a home distiller to obtain. Instead pursue a fuel alcohol permit (which we'll describe next). Option two is a Federal Fuel Alcohol Permit (link below), which is free and easy to get. We've never heard of anyone being denied the permit and have never heard of anyone even being checked up on. Just be advised that the feds will expect that you're putting your alcohol in you lawnmower, and not drinking it!
Yup. The discussion was on freeze concentration though, known as "jacking". I've said MANY MANY TIMES distilling is illegal in the US. In fact, in Florida, it's illegal to own the still.
I'm laughing so hard at your wine thief....when at that point you could have just poured it into the hydromeyer tube......glad you upgraded to the master baster....
I get the scientist feel. I'm not THAT big a fan of alcohol. But I work in a laboratory and really enjoyed starting my first mead att home a few weeks ago. Just like the best part of my lab work x)
I just discovered your channel and love it. I love mead and I'm looking forward to making your recipe. After reading Ray Bradbury's "Dandelion Wine", decades ago, I've always wanted to make some. I've made a batch 3 years ago and it is great but I was wondering if you had a recipe or if could recommend one. Thanks for your great videos.
There is so much conflicting information about raisins being nutrients if I may ask why do you think they are I’m trying to get information from both sides
In household recipe too, we don't measure each gram or ml of ingredients. We estimate it using spoon, hand or drinking glass/cup which is just a good rule of thumb. The exact measurements are necessary if you run a company for particular brand. There consistency is more important for every batch.
Followed your recipe. Just bottled my first batch of hydromel. I.G.: 1.054 and F.G.: 0.994, which gave me 7.88 ABV. It has light golden color. And a light taste of vanilla with a very clean mouthfeel. Added a different tea to each bottle. Will let them age for a month or two. I enjoy your videos. Very instructional.
I just remembered that American gallons are smaller than ours as well, so will have to make sure I have the correct amounts, less I end up with some budweiseresq pisswasser.
I'm trying this but with the "traditional mead tea" plus 1 cinnamon and 1 clove like JAOM recipe, so its like a JAOM with "mouthfeel tea" but low ABV, hope it turns out well hahaha.
I just made some mead using roughly 7kg of honey to roughly 16L of water, but I only had a 1.076 og and a predicted ABV of roughly 9.5% which seems quite low. I thought about it for 2 days then thought maybe there was some at the bottom of the carboy that settled. I shook the carboy to say to mix it and didn't notice anysettled at the bottom, but it's possible that it just dissolved in mixed up its own with the yeast bubbling isn't it? I was hoping to get a just mildly sweet Mead in the end that was not Superdry but still really dry with a little bit of flavour leftover. What are your thoughts on allowing the primary ferment to finish completely, then adding some sweetness back into it after racking it in the form of Honey or fruits? Also, do you think thatthe OG I got was wrong based on the volumes that I used?
When i was starting out as a home brewer i didnt have an aire lock, but the carbines came with caps. So i used the caps. 2/3 carbines exploded after a few weeks of fermenting😂😂 it took days clean up. I kept finding sticky spots all over the place
I live in Vermont and Groenfell Meadery is really good stuff! They also make the wine versions. They put the recipes on their website as well for free!
Wow you've really come far in the 5 years since you made this! I stumbled up your channel a few weeks back and have been binging a bit. I have one of your apple wine recipes going and the new ginger beer. Thanks for all your advice. This vid is so vintage now I love it!
Lol I wish I had you're channel when I started out. What you're making here I did on pure accident and my friends and I call it yard mead because we had made a mead. Added it to a Apple juice and forgot about it for two weeks in my yard. When I went to go now it the plastic jug was swollen and it made an awful hiss when I opened it. Lol damn good stuff... And so I modified my 5 gal to mimic what you're doing and probably the same amount of honey scaled up. About 12 lbs of honey, and I made a pint of black cherry blood Orange and raspberry marmalade just a couple of months ago. I will send you a photo it tastes amazing!!!! Thank for showing this. People gauf at my yard mead till they try it! I'm using ale yeast for mine and I'm getting 20% abv. I don't understand why it's so high it just comes out that way.
I used regular raisins, my hydromel has been brewing for three weeks now and the raisins are still floating, there's no mold or anything like that but they look a little funky. Is this normal?
Just FYI... don't know how much the honey is at Whole Foods, BUT... if you google for your local honey bee supply store, I'm sure you can get close to whole sale depending on if food items in FL are sales taxed. Up here near Winston Salem, NC... a pint is $11 from my bee supply store.
Hello my friend. Tomorrow I will start my first attempt at producing mead. I would like to ask you in a 5 liter container how many grams of yeast to add? Greetings from Greece!
I know you probably get this all the time but my hydromel has stopped bubbling after 1 week through the airlock. Am I just to leave it for another week or 2 before I rack? This is my 1st time doing this.
I tried this recipe. OG is 1.050 using Clover based honey and has been fermenting for 14 days. I used raisins (rather than sultana's) and they are all floating at the top. Is this normal? I did cut them up prior to fermentation. If they dont sink, can I assume I just rack normally rather than sieve, then rack?
Watching all your videos has really helped the anxiety of "perfect" . You're correct our ancestors did this forever ago with way less. I think I will be okay.
Everything is going to be alright. The important thing is to enjoy the process and hopefully enjoy the end result. There will always be room for improvement regardless of how "perfect" you are. Happy Brewing!
Is the turkey baster better than the wine thief? I see you using the baster more often in your recent videos. I’m getting ready to take the plunge! Another question, is how big of a stockpot would you recommend for maybe a two gallon beer brew? Keep up the good work. Thank you.
For me it's easier. Our wine thieves are either too small and breakable or too big for the fermenter. For a 2 gallon brew, I'd use at least a 3 gallon pot.
Like what you guys do, one question about Hydromel Mead, can you add flavoring to this brew like spices, dry fruit (home dried) and so on in the start or is it better to do it later. By the way I have watch the other episodes connected to this video
I’m trying to make kombucha, but I’d really like to take a reading on my brew and no one dose. I have looked it up and did a lot of research, from a brewers veiw what should I be doing
I've done both, I think it would be hard to tell the difference in taste or fermentation. In some of their videos they cut them, in others they didn't. They did make a raisin wine and didn't cut any up and it turned out pretty good.
Hi there I just watched this vidio I have just made 5 gallons of plain mead it has been sitting for 2 weeks and was wandering if I could add raisins at this point or anything else for flavor or is it too late for that
i should have watched this video before i started my first mead i didnt know about the nutrients when i started it 4-5 days ago so i added them now and now i have less mead and a mess but i know there's alcohol in the mead ;)
I'm a new bee keeper (only 2 years old) and will be making a mead from my very first harvest of spring honey. Thank you for an uncomplicated look at this project! So many of the other videos I have watched are more like a chemistry lesson than a craft project! I won't be bothering with the hydrometer or all the calculations you captioned and will be going on how it tastes. Currently living in northern Kentucky, but used to live in the panhandle of Florida. Really miss the weather!
Well... I have lots of experience at this, and I don't go by taste. I measure things... for a reason. It's not just a craft, it's actually science. Lots of ways to go wrong, and using just a few tools keeps me from wasting honey, which isn't really all that cheap.
@@CitySteadingBrews Thank you for the reply -- I have decided to invest in a hydrometer so I can get an idea of the alcohol content of my mead and how the fermentation process is coming along. I followed your directions yesterday and now have my first batch bubbling away in the dining room! I just did a first racking of some pear wine I made following your videos and it is promising to be very nice. Just saw the "last video" and appreciate the specialties you have divided into. Thanks again for replying.
