When to Add Fruit - Primary? Conditioning? Both? 

3 lbs of honey in the store here is 15 to 20 bucks so that much honey.... is a very nice gift indeed

If you need help drinking that 3gallons of mead you just let me know

Recently, I made bottled up a brew I called a 3-way mead. I brewed in a 3 gallon carboy, a dessert mead with 4lbs of honey per gallon, then in secondary, I split up to individual gallons, one I added strawberries and ginger, the second I added goji berries, and the third I left didn't add anything. It turned out great. And a simple way to make different recipes with the same brew.

You two are so stinking cute! Happy Belated Anniversary 🎉

I've watched this a few times, and this is so interesting. I would expect that the fruit added to the *fermented* mead would lead to a sweeter mead because there's a lower colony of yeast to convert sugars to alcohol. Likewise, alcohol is so good at leeching flavor out of fruits and spices, I expected the fruit added in conditioning to have a stronger fruit flavor. I'll be testing this soon and felt like rewatching this again! I enjoy this channel's spirit of experimentation.

It was cool to see that when you added the fruit in secondary, it sank to the bottom instead of floating like the fruit did in primary. That makes sense, since the solution of the liquid is much lighter in secondary (due to the ethanol) than the solution in primary (which is denser than water due to the dissolved sugars). Then, at the end of fermentation, the fruit was floating again. I assume that’s because there was minute quantities of CO2 trapped in the fruit matrix.

I’m guessing there would be a more marked difference if you had pasteurized between primary fermentation and conditioning. I’m making a Melomel soon, so maybe I’ll try exactly that and let you know if it makes a difference.

Amazing experiment! Thank you for taking the time to do this!

Excellent test and done as scientifically as possible. I say that because I worked as an R&D tech and chemical engineer in my job but am now retired. I had always assumed that all fruit in primary would "scrub out" some of the volatile essences and flavors during fermentation but from your test, I do not believe that anymore. My fruit meads have all been made with all fruit in primary and had not gotten to doing this test but had planned to try something similar. Thank you for doing it for me! 🙂

Thank you. I love these comparisons in technique

This test is one I have thought about for so long. This has answered so many questions I had. Thank you both.

Happy anniversary guys and thank you for this test and your work in general, you make this whole thing so much more approachable than most creators. One thing i'd like to mention: this should only be part one of your experimentation. I'd guess that spices would work in a whole different way, so maybe thats an idea for the future ;)

This was a great test and video - will certainly change how I think about adding my flavors!

Thanks for the experiment. 👍 I really like those VS tests and did a few in the past as well (not that one but others) 😅

Edit: Happy Gilmore!! I've been doing your general rule (that you haven't explicitly mentioned, I just took it to heart) of using fresh fruit/previously frozen fruit in primary and dried fruit in conditioning, sometimes both. I think the general idea has served me well.

That was an awesome video. Thank you both for doing this time consuming and even more so space consuming experiment for us. I think from now on I’m going to put my additions into secondary/conditioning. Amazing colour as well!

Thanks for this. I always put fruit in primary, but I get a few overflows. So now I can avoid that by adding most things in conditioning.

This was excellent. Thanks for doing this video. Like Brian, it gives me so many ideas. Happy brewing, everybody!

Love the happy Gilmore reference, love the save ferris t-shirt and the video! Gave me a lot to think about as I am new to brewing mead! Thanks guys!

Great episode, please do more of these kinds of things, the learning experience is off the charts into science land. cheers

THANK YOU! I was so curious about this!

I've been wondering this exact question. Thank you so much for covering it. I'll stick with adding fruit at the beginning because I think it's easier that way.

I was waiting for this! I just finished making a Melomel, and after much deliberation I went with a 1/2 in primary and 1/2 in secondary. I am conditioning now and hoping for the best.

Not even finished the vid yet, but wanted to say 2 things: Firstly - Happy Anniversary!!!! Secondly - Loved the Happy Gilmore reference, made my night (yeah, I'm in Australia). Thanks again guys, and keep up the good work!

i came here to learn the different between fruit in 1st stage & 2nd stage but awww.... that kiss soo sweet.. make the mead become sooo sweet congrats for 12 years (13 now) of happiness & struggle. i pray & hope all the best for you both

This was great for me . I posed this question under a more recent posting and was referred back to this video from 2022. I guess I'm also going to have to experiment but would love to avoid blowouts in primary. For now I'm going to continue to stick to secondary for adding flavors (esp spices or acids) and fruit. Thanks for producing this.

what a great experiment thank you

That's awesome! I like these comparison videos.

I was recently wondering if I should add my fruit to secondary for my fruit wines too. This should allow the fruit flavor to remain. I also wonder at what point my fruit wine would just become a seltzer Another awesome thing that this opens up is I can make 5 gallons of alcohol from sugar. Then divide into 5 1-gal carboys and add the fruit then.

Happy anniversary you two! You two of my favorite home Brewers

I was looking for exactly for this topic and you couldn't have made a more helpful and thorough video covering it. Thank you!

I absolutely love this experiment. After I tried this for myself at home, achieving the same results. I now make a 5 gallon batch of mead and then flavor in four 1.4 gallon big mouth bubbler. So happy you two made this video!!!

This was really helpful to see as a new fermentologist. I love having the option for before or after. Good stuff!

Very good test, thank you

Great video as always, with interesting results. Wish we could get the little big mouth bubblers here in the UK. Always find I have to top up after racking to reduce head space using the standard one gallon demijohn. Anyway, great content, keep them coming.

Thank you, this was so helpful as I've been torn between when to add my fruit in a Pear Mead I am planning. I think I am going to go with 1/2 and 1/2.

Love your content!! So glad I found your channel ❤

Thanks so much for doing this! No more overflows, baby! From now on all the fruit goes in the secondary. I've kinda already drifted towards doing that anyways, because I got tired of the mess and blow off tubes, plus I've intuited there's no relevant difference by tasting same type of batches done differently...and they'd be the same even 6-9 months later. Still, now I know it for sure! Scientifically. 👍👍 Happy anniversary, lovebirds!

Great Timing!! I am planning on flavoring three different gallons of mead in conditioning in December using Raspberry, Mulberry and Serviceberry.

Did they start fermenting again after you added fruit the 2nd time

I tried to a similar test when I first started. But I only had one big mouth bubbler, and then forgot what I was doing cause I don’t weight anything down… don’t be like me, write it down. But instead of fruit before and after. I did whole fruit before, then in secondary I took the fruit, added water, and heated it in a pan and then ran it through a food mill for all the juices. Then just added the juice. It’s my wife’s favorite. Then I did a tropical fruit one but just fruit at the start. And it was missing something so I threw in some rum oak chips. That was good but then never did a third one lol. So glad you did this test lol. The first time I did the tropical my airlock blew off. So had to make a blow off tube. That was a fun clean up. Happy Anniversary!!!

Congratulations on 12 years and super video guys learning is fun

I would suggest the reason for initial overflow of 2 in the primary is because they both had higher volumes in the jars because of the added fruit.

This was so interesting and has answered something I was curious about, thank you 😊 I’d be interested in seeing a similar test for florals like a rose petal or lavender flower

My old mother made wine for over 40 years and she always said all you need to make alcohol was sugar water and yeast ............ everything else was for flavouring, I would add to that some additions were to change the condition eg stop fermentation or alter acidity.

this was awesome i can't wait for the 6 month to a year follow up

Excellent test! Stay safe from the storm headed your way!

Thanks that gives me a better understanding I’m going to add canned mix of blueberries in natural apple juice

Great video and what an Amazing couple of humans you two are. Thank you for making this in depth "how to" and for keeping it simple... Happy Anniversary! There is something about this that makes me want to hit the links... Peace and Cheers

Thank you for doing this. I am always looking for ways to better my meads, and this kind of information is invaluable.

Happy anniversary you two!

Happy Anniversary to the both of you.

Ok, I'm a bit late finding this video. I would be hard pressed (that is NOT an intended pun!) to find a more interesting, clear video for this kind of a test. You didn't ramble but you definitely made it interesting, entertaining, clear and concise. And you made it 100% understandable the purpose of the test. Incredible.

Happy anniversary guys hope it was a great one! I would like to see a test on the comparison of the effects different types of honey may cause.

She is just too darned cute! I enjoy your videos so much. I had previously just had a fleeting thought of learning this fun and tasty... hobby? But your videos have inspired me to dive in. 💜 Happy anniversary, from the oldies in north Florida.

First: Happy anniversary! Second: I loved the content of this video. I'm new to brewing and have not had the opportunity to experiment. This was very interesting!!!

We are about to make our first mead for our Shriner's competition for next year, thank you for making this video!

I say the "Too good for you home" reference weekly at work. Non of my coworkers get it and I refuse to explain in. Also, as a long time viewer, these experiment videos are my favorite. Keep up the good work.

I would be unable to articulate after all that tasting.

Happy late Anniversary (when I am posting this comment)! Thank you for all the videos you have done for the mead community! This is an awesome test. Glad you did it. Definitely saves me the space of doing it myself. 😁

First off...Happy (belated) Anniversary! Also, I love your content and how well you connect to your audience. I haven't seen any questions on the refractometer. You used it to check the brix when you first made the test bottles and used a converter app to get the SG. Can you not use this latter when checking FG? I work at a factory that used an older style refractometer (light and few drops of honey mix) for sugars (honey coating) and all that was used was the brix data. Would it be too low to use if the FG was below 1.00?

Quality content, right here.

did I miss you saying what the ABV was for each one? Happy anniversary.

Great job limiting the variables. 👍 Going to link this one in my Discord. 👰🤵Happy anniversary.

I am making a mead right now. It has a whole pound of blended cranberries. A bunch of mini candy canes I got from a dispensary. Two cinnamon sticks. A tiny amount of cloves and nutmeg in primary. I am about 5 days in. Color looks super cool.

I was wondering if it mattered with flavour. Found your video and now I won’t worry about it. So thanks for that❤

I have made many fruit wines, all with great bouquets. I prefer my wines on th dry side rather than sweet but they always had limited flavor (very subtle) and not really any legs. I experimented with mixing Bananas into the wine as they make a wine with very neutral flavor but a lot of body and legs. This works great! I now always mix the bananas in a the start. Making a wine 4 parts fruit 2 part banana win a final alcohol around 13% The results flavor boost are amazing without a hint of Banana in the taste or Bouquet.

awe!!! happy anniversary!!

Thumbs up, I have wanted to see this for quite some time.

This came out at the perfect time. I am in the middle of my second attempt at making mead. This one has Saskatoon berries in. I was only able to get half the berries I wanted into primary, so it's good to know it will have the same flavor profile when I add them in conditioning This weekend with a step feed. My mead went to a .997 spgr, which is way to low for my liking.

I woke up to news about a hurricane warning for Florida and thought of you. I hope you and your fur babies are safe and stay that way.

You guys are adorable, grettings from Brazil!

Thanks for this. I love using real fruit and I feel like I haven't been getting full extractive value.

This is great I've been wondering about this myself because I am hoping to get a one gallon starter kit for Christmas from northern brewer and a recipe I want to try after I get a couple batches under my belt is a cherry chocolate stout using tart cherries and cacao nibs

First off: Happy anniversary! Loved this video and I’m hoping we’ll see a one year tasting. My MO usually is half in primary and half in secondary to avoid blow-offs and because I’m a greedy guts for flavour and like A LOT of fruit flavour in my melomels. The honey character usually only surfaces around the 1-year mark of my meads. Before that, they’re all fruit. I might try a secondary only brew at some point but for now I tend to stick to the Goldilocks approach. More often than not because I tend to go with what’s available/in season/cheap to start a new brew, have a taste when I remove the brew bag with fruit, and then tweak in secondary: more of the same? Something else? If I haven’t got more of the same I’ll see what’s on offer/in season/cheap that’ll enhance my brew. If there isn’t anything, I’ll let it sit and wait for something to come along I can pop in there without breaking the bank. I’ve never been sorry for that approach. I call it The Rhumtopf method’ because that.s pretty much how my Granny and me used to make Rhumtopf: Start a pot with rhum, sugar and fruit. Wait for another fruit to come available. Add that with more rhum and sugar. Rinse and repeat. Then, let it sit once enough fruit was added. A few weeks/months later, let the party begin… In my meads the only difference is that I don’t addd sugar and remove the previous batch of fruit. Unless I want to step feed. Then I’d remove the previous batch of fruit, and add honey and fruit.

Happy Gillmore. Happy Belated Anniversary. I'd like to see a spice version of this test. Maybe a pumpkin cider also.

I think you might get a better/ clearer result if you pasteurized after primary/ ferment to completion in primary, because they might have refermented in conditioning

Came for the mead .... staying for the dymanic between you two .... heres hoping i manage to find my Derica by the time Im Brians age :)

Really cool test. I would think maybe the difference would be more pronounced with some kind of higher sugar fruit, something like Mangos that might even kick up another fermentation if you added them in secondary.

You guys are awesome!

Congratulations on your anniversary. My 12th is also coming up later this year.

Fascinating!!

I'm just gonna comment before the end of the video. I've had the best luck with a pound in primary and a pound in secondary, but I've also had great results adding to secondary. I'll shut up now and watch the video 😄

You guys are great! Making some blueberry wine right now!

Well that was interesting!

I think what this video really shows is the difference between secondary and conditioning. The two that got fruit or more fruit after 19 days. Had a second fermentation( 18:24 Easily seen by the yeast build-up on the bottom). Where the one that had all fruit up front, after 19 days was put in conditioning. At tasting this one didn't have yeast build up, so no refermentation.

Hey nebraska! That's where I'm from also sorry I hadn't made it that far happy anniversary you two

Happy Anniversary! You guys are too cute. Thanks to you both I currently have a sweet red and a cider fermenting, with plans to make a spiced apple wine for thanksgiving and a mead shortly after that. I look forward to every new video!

Happy Anniversary! Guess if most of the fruity flavor comes from volatile organics, they would be extracted by the ethanol regardless of when it is present - primary or conditioning? Interesting video

That is a useful topic

Hello! You have no idea, but you have been living in our house for about the last 8 days while we binge watch and rewatch so much of your content. 1. You ROCK. 2. Question: We want to make some mead adding fruit in the CONDITIONING (secondary or whatever if fermentation kicks back up) phase. But we ALSO want to backsweeten w honey AFTER as needed. We don't want to use the chemicals OR pasteurize twice (unless you say to!) So our IDEA is....make standard mead in primary. Rack it to a wide mouth fermenter. Add frozen fruit in a bag. Put the lock back on and let it sit for 2 weeks, watching for signs of renewed fermentation. Rack it to a pitcher to taste and backsweeten. Rack it to a carboy and pasteurized it. And then final taste and bottle it. Does this sound appropriate?

Happy Anniversary and thanks for enduring the mess to prove we can add fruit during conditioning.😀

That was a great experiment and I appreciate you guys taking the time for this. I make beer and want to make a fruit beer. I think the key is not letting the fruit ferment too long as the sugars just go into alcohol and there’s no benefit. Were you not worried about adding yeast and moulds?

I work in a lab and I love how scientifically you did this 🤣 thanks for looking in to this!

Very cool test!! This really does make things simpler when looking at fruit being added. What are your thoughts on candy being used in mead? I saw a video using candy corn, but I'm thinking of trying out one of caramel, one of butterscotch and one of candy canes. These would all be hard candy crushed into powered and added based on the amount of sugar in conjunction with the honey.

Happy Anniversary!! 🎉

Happy Gilmore love it. Also your tattoo on your wrist keeps making me think of 5th element. I keep thinking its one of the elements wavy symbol things lol

Berry interesting experiment

Nice to see the technology in use again. Since you're last video with it, I've stumbled upon the ispindel project, a wifi hydrometer, and it's commercial alternative tilt hydrometer. I thought it was a clever application, and am curious if you or any of your community have used one?

I was afraid that all my fruit wasnt going to fit in primary so I have some leftover and was wondering to just add it into secondary to get rid of it😂. You have a video for all my questions great job . Love it