Ours are Caught.. and Bought.. Caught Split.. & Bought Split.. tomorrow there will be another Caught Split.. don't know iffen it'll be C/S the 2nd.. or what.. any suggestions?
To prove your point on sweetness being something you tell by taste... I did a cherry wine and a cherry mead a few months back, same juice, yeast, and original SG. Both went dry, back sweetened both, the wine with sugar and the mead with honey. When the wine was done, it tasted right to me at like 1.024. The mead, on the other hand, I ended up taking to about 1.05 before it tasted right and honestly I like it better than the wine.
I made a chia mead a while back. The way I did it was brewed a straight mead, so to speak, then hung some tea bags from my favorite tea. I’d planned on letting them soak for a few days and then taste. However life got in the way and the tea bags soaked in mead for about two weeks. That was a bit stronger than I’d aimed for but it came out to be one of my favorites I’ve ever made. That said I also really like JAOM… so take that as you will.
This was a fabulous idea because even though I used different honey and yeast, my numbers were exactly like y'all's. When I added the honey to taste, I was only 2pts away from yours at 1.044. It's like you were right here with me helping ❣️
Thank you! This IS my first video. So I appreciate you repeated for we first-timers. I don't even know what racking or pasteurization process is, so I am going to go watch those videos next.
It is really amazing how much 'art' and preference there is in this. I routinely make meads (Polish Trojniaks) with a OSG of 1.14 and never have a stall. I am NOT sayng you guys are too cautious because I don't live in Florida and as you always say, 'your mileage may vary'. It just works for me so I don't even start to consider worrying unless it gets over 1.15
for the record, as a person who gets relaxed by repetition, I enjoy that you give the same spiels every time - it's a pleasant familiarity for me video to video, and also definitely helps me cement it in my brain for when i make something
A meadery next to my house moved locations recently that had an amazing blueberry chai mead, and Ive now taken up mead making to compensate. Im bottling my first brew soon (a blackberry cyser), and have already bought more equipment and started both this chai recipe and your earl grey recipe, I just need to keep telling myself this will save money in the long run lol. Your videos have been a huge help in beginning my mead making journey though. Thank You!
Long time watcher and newer mead maker here, thanks for the awesome videos! I love chai flavorings and think i found my next attempt at this fun new hobby! Thanks again!
Lol, I have the same affinity for allspice as you Brian! At the same time I have a strong aversion to anything anise, whether it's the European or the Asian version. If I ever do this and it doesn't stall, now I know I'll need to have cinnamon, allspice and at least a pound of honey ready. Probably some nutmeg too! 😆
Just racked and backsweetened mine today... gotta say, this is prob my fav so far. Started it on 8 Jul. Also added (today) 6 allspice berries, 6 juniper berries, one cinnamon stick, and a sliver of vanilla. Let that sit a week or so and bottle it up.. or drink it..
I'm so glad that you did a chai mead. I actually use chai spice tea bag for one of my cyser and it's not ready yet so i dont know how it will turn out. But seeing the product you made, give me a little bit of hope 😅
I’m working on a chai mead now!! Decided to use individual tea bags with spices and black tea instead of chai concentrate. I’m sure both will do great but I figured I’d make it complicated and see if it’s worth it :)
Jenny loves Chai Lattes so she's excited for me to make this... Was wondering if it would be similar to your Spiced Metheglin... Glad to hear you say it.
I have done this mead back in 2020 but with Tazo yea bags in which I made some tea and used it to make the mead. I also added some vanilla and lactose sugar to give it the chai latte flavor and texture. Turned out really good but three years later it was amazing
Have 3 gallons of this stuff going along with a mead that I hope will end up tasting something like pecan pie. Both have been going for about a month and are still bubbling slowly. Really looking forward to both the chai and the pecan pie mead.
Another great video 👍. I've never been one for spicy drinks. Even at Christmas 😅. I'm happy to see you extending the "Finnish" on the brew. I've actually been doing this for a while now. I'll make a brew and split it into at least two containers and add extra flavors, then let it meld for a few weeks. My favorite has turned out to be the BANANA!!!😅. And I've had no complaints 😅👍❤
The word bejesus is quite old. According to the Etymology website - bejesus (interj.) mild expletive, 1908, probably from by Jesus. Compare bejabbers (by 1821 in representations of Irish dialect), from the same source. To beat the bejesus out of someone is a transferred sense from 1934. "Shake the bejesus" sounds like it would line up with the transferred sense from the 1930's - This is quite amusing :)
I've gotten pretty much all of your references the happy Gilmore one here, mega maid (Spaceballs), bejesus (Beavis and Butthead, and I do actually use that in my life from time to time), and others. Remember the flight speed of a coconut laden swallow is a closely guarded secret.
This sounds really tasty to me and, since I tend to enjoy metheglin alot, I can't wait to see how it turns out with c The cinnamon and all spice. I LOOOVE all spice!
Just finished your chai mead using tazo tea and wanted to give you an update on my "winey" beer. Finished out ok at 9%abv. But the 1 gallon of apple juice and brown sugar to my amber beer did NOT enhance the flavor. My "accidental" apple jack turned out really good though. I've got a 2 gallon brown sugar, cinnamon and apple wine about to finnish along with a 2 gallon brown sugar grape wine. Both finished at my highest abv to date. 13 and 14% respectfully. Once secondary is done I am getting 1 gallon of Vintners Best Sangria to which I will add 1 gallon of Red Grapefruit juice in place of 1 of the gallons of water. I am going to add 1 gallon of blackstrap mollases for a rummy wine. I love experimenting now. Even if I have a failure now and then. So far I havent had a must dump brew. Knock on wood. Ow ow ow!😂 Thank you for expanding my horizons.
It's actually pretty easy to pour the honey into the carboy without a funnel. As a beekeeper, i've become quite good at pouring honey from one container into another.
My first batch i made after being inspired by you guys was a Chai mead and I've been making it since. Great stuff. The spices definitely mellow with age but I tend not to bottle them expeditiously.
Okay officially inspired! I have some Stash brand double spice chai and some red chai (rooibos chai) to make a batch with. Hopefully it turns out as good as yours 😊
as someone just starting to look into mead, but who does home make chai masala, you might consider making the tea concentrate yourself, to more thoroughly control sugars. it's mostly just cardamom, ginger, vanilla, fennel, cinnamon, black peppercorn, and a hint of chili.
How funny. I just did a Chai mead the exact same way and thought I was being creative. Geniuses think alike. I was afraid to over spice though, so only used one container.
I don't think you can really over spice with this method. The spices are nice and extracted already so it's not really going to get more potent than what you started with I think. I make my Chai mead with loose leaf/spice blend. First I make tea to taste and use that in place of water. In my experience the spices are kinda potent while young but tone done quite a bit after a couple months.
@@Knightmerica I personally really liked the way mine came out as far as the spice level. It will be interesting to see how it fairs in 6 months or so. You can always add more during conditioning, but it's hard to remove. I was also concerned about a clean fermentation with all the spice.
Hey it’s me again! I started a cider on the 25th this month with an OG of 1.050, and it stopped bubbling about yesterday. So today I took a reading and it’s approximately at 1.001. I stirred it to see if there was a CO2 accumulation, but there wasn’t. Do you believe it’s done fermenting? Right now I’m trying to cold crash it to remove some sediment
The only thing wrong with a Little Big Mouth Bubbler is the shipping costs. Sending a big glass jar across the country costs as much as the bubbler itself. I've been looking for a reasonable substitute, but that's not as easy as it would seem. The Chai Tea mead sounds awesome.
I still use the cheap plastic paint buckets as primary fermenter. Plenty of room and easy to clean.a week or 2 later its racked to a narrow mouth glass fermenter.
New to brewing, haven't done any yet... Noticed that you said it was a bit bitter... Salt actually counters bitter flavors in cooking, have you ever tried salt in you brews? Can't do too much before or it could kill the yeast, but after?😊
I bought the equipment to make this and the raisin mead for my first home brews. After 14 days they seemed to be done fermenting so I decided I should rack. Unfortunately though I don't think I started either with the right amount of headspace. The Chai mead had a lot of lees and upon racking I felt a little uncomfortable with the amount of headspace afterwards there was probably like 2/3 a gallon. I then racked the raisin mead and because of the amount of raisins, that one ended up being even worse. I only ended up with about maybe 2 liters of that. I probably could've saved some mead from the raisins but alas. I wasn't really sure what to do with that amount of headspace when I don't have any smaller containers and only 2 1 gallon fermenters and 2 airlocks. I don't know if I made the right decision, but what I decided do was sacrifice some of the raisin mead into the Chai mead to the point where I was comfortable with the amount of headspace. I then had a 1 liter bottle that the airlock would fit on so I racked the rest of the raisin mead to that and still had a little left so I ended up putting that in a bottle with the cap open and putting it in the fridge. I'll end up drinking it tomorrow probably. I did sample both and they were pretty great even at 2 weeks. The Chai one was ~12% and the raisin was ~13.5%. I hope the Chai one improves with age even after mixing it now. Anyways all this to say thanks for introducing me to this hobby! I learned some lessons like 1. start with less headspace so when I rack there isn't too much headspace. 2. Purchase more airlocks. 3. Purchase the little big mouth bubbler for meads with a lot of raisins/fruit in the must. I'm excited to continue with this and I think the next one I make will be a little more traditional.
@@CitySteadingBrews Well that's great to hear haha Yeah I've got a hydrometer! That's how I came to the ~12% and ~13.5% ABV. I basically bought everything you guys recommend. Thanks again :)
I use.... 🎶 the CLEAR BIN OF SANITIZATION. lol.... this looks real good. I will have to look for that stuff in the store. BTW.... I FINALLY got to racking my manderine mead. THIRD TIME. It ran SO DRY it could strip paint off my car! I added more honey and letting it go a third time. But I think it's still going to need sweetening. In fact several recent brews really ran dry. I think it some killer yeast. Lalvan forgot the number, you use it all the time. I'm going to try using more of a cider yeast.
Mmmm… 71B? EC-1118? Both have a reputation for chewing through anything you throw at them up to 18-20% alcohol despite their tolerance being lower according to the manufacturer.
@@eddavanleemputten9232 Yea, I gotta start recording what I use. I think it was the EC 1118 Chews though, yea.... seems so. VERY happy yeast for sure. On the upside though, I've tried making coffee wine several times and so far those came out SO sweet, like syrup. I think it's yucky but my daughter loved it so gave it to her. BUT... my latest batch with the same "chewing through" yeast, that one actually came out perfect this time. Sweet but not too much. Can taste the coffee. So YEA. Got that one down. Finally. Maybe there is a use for a tough yeast. Something about the coffee might be causing it to stall before.
@@artmakersworlds - You don’t need to make it chew through everything until it gives up. You can decide what ABV you want (for example around 12%), give your must the corresponding SG, let it ferment to complete dryness, sweeten to taste and stabilise it before it can re-ferment. I do that quite often. One method of stabilising is to pasteurise (kill the yeast with heat). Another is to use chemical stabilisers. My preference goes to pasteurising. This channel explains quite well how to do it, they have videos on how to do it with an immersion circulator (aka a ‘sous vide stick’) but also on how to simply do it with hot water on a stove or in a cooler-box.
@@eddavanleemputten9232 Yes I have watched them do pasteurization. Never did it myself. I won't do the chemical one ever. If a chemical kills yeast it also kills your gut flora, not good. (Though I doubt alcohol is much good for it.) I also started out taking readings on everything and don't do that as much now. (A few recipes always work so just do the same.) I taste, rate according to my taste and basically when the airlock is balanced and has been for weeks, it's done. When I bottle for storage, I use screw top wine bottles and just leave the caps on slightly loose, just enough to let any gas escape should there be some fermentation still going on yet it will keep any creepy things out. My trick for those peel paint dry wines is to simply mix them with a batch that came out too sweet. Viola! Example, I really like shocktop hard apple ciders. BUT I find them all to be a bit too sweet. However I can buy a gallon jug of motts apple juice, a half pack of my killer yeast, slap on an airlock, NO added sugar or anything and it will come out good and dry. Mix half cup of that with a half bottle of shocktop and that is perfect for me. OR just add some honey, that works too. My very first attempt at Jalepeno mead came out dry enough desert winds were blowing through it. BUT I took that bottle to a local guy who teaches wine making, HE said it's actually not bad, mixed a glass with a bit of honey and wow, it was actually good. I've since adjusted my recipe and that is now one of my favorites. Side note, tried it with cayenne peppers last time, NOT a good idea. HOT AND DRY, no amount of honey can fix this, yikes. Need to find something sweet to mix that in. OR use it to cook with, deglazing a pan with wine really kicks up the flavors. Save my cayenne peppers for chili and have some better wine with it.
Really enjoy your videos. I have just started brewing and am eagerly waiting for my first mead to finish. Quick question, as a rule how much Fermaid O do I add per gallon?
This is definitely my next mead! Do you think you would get th3 same flavor if I was fermented.with the dry tea.instead? About a dozen teabags worth per gallon?
Is it normal with a brew bag to have sediment build on top of it or would that be a question of mold? I was making your Vikings blood 2020 and racked it since I didn't think it was mold, however I wanted to ask what you think as well before I get to bottling in the next month or so. Doing some research it didn't looked anything like mold on other individuals brews.
I am so excited to try this idea, I love chai lattes! If I order a latte I tend to add vanilla flavoring. Do you guys have any recommendation to add vanilla flavors to mead brews? Also, since there was some sugars in the box mix, does that give it a different brew name as it’s a mix of sugar and honey?
So I want to create something like this but being in Spain I dont have access to Tazo's Latte - was wondering if you could do something similar with an alternative recipe?? Obviously it wont be the same but a close alternative?? Thanks - Great Episode.
Could you have used less chai mix to begin with to help with the sweetness/spiciness problem mentioned at around 21:34 or is backsweetening the only way?
Just finishing mine off. Like you guys I felt it needed a little extra flavour. I added allspice, cloves, cinnamon and coriander seeds. I would have to agree with Brain in this is even better than his methylglen! I make and love a version of his methylgen all the time but wow this is so f ing good.
I'm totally hooked on your videos. Now, I owe amazon my first borne. Waiting on my brewing supplies. I have lots of questions. Mostly want to brew mead that is sweet and lower alcohol. I don't like dry, anything and don't really want to back sweeten. 🤷 Would that be a yeast thing. Seems like you use yeast that are more tolerance to higher alcohol. Or am I thinking is the wrong direction?🤔
I like to back sweetin a little bit then let me sit for a bit. Because I back sweetened and it didn't seem sweet at all I let it sit for 2 sweet came back and tried it and it was almost to sweet. I'm 99 % sure I got it mixed in completely. But it got sweeter over that week I let it sit at least to my pallet it seems a lot sweeter
Probably but there was no grit from the sugar is why I thought it should be mixed all the way but I'm less then a year in the hobby. I truly appreciate all the feedback you two have given in this process and before thank you
Very excited to see how the additions change this. I've been thinking about getting into brewing for a while and have had my heart set on a spiced mead. I was gonna do your metheglin but never got around to it, I drink that tazo on the regular though so I might end up making this my first and deciding later if I wanna add the stick or cloves lmao. That being said, if it turns out well, would incorporating them into the inital brewing be beneficial do you think? Or would it definitely be more of a firm 'add in during conditioning' kind of thing 🤔
@City Steading Brews I understand it was fermented. I was referring to the cinnamon stick and allspice cloves, as far as I'm (limitidly) aware, stronger spices tend to come out more muted if they are added during primary fermentation, as opposed to during conditioning or secondary fermentation where they would be much more present and forward. So my question was less what you did with it or if you would change it but rather how you think it would have been if that cinnamon stick and the allspice cloves had been in primary from the start rather then added after it'd been pasteurized and left in conditioning, if that makes sense?
Ahh, thought you meant the chai mix. Honestly the difference is minor for flavor if any at all. By adding later you have greater control over when you remove them.
The tazo Chai doesn't have any alternative/fake sugars, but it does have citric acid that could have contributed to a slower fermentation. I'm curious about how to use either lactose or a shelf stable milk in a brew like this. Chai needs a milk aspect in my opinion and I wonder if those spices would have been toned down with one added.
Chai doesn’t always have dairy, but you can certainly use lactose if you like. I wouldn’t mix with milk for storage though… it’ll spoil. Shelf stable is only so until opened. It’s a packaging, not really the milk itself. That said, you could mix in the glass just fine.
This made me curious. I was on Amazon looking for the Chai concentrate but also saw pumpkin spice concentrate. And then, pumpkin spice emulsion/extract and gingerbread concentrate etc. If I were to experiment with a standard mead recipe but add an extract or other concentrates, would anything in an emulsion cause problems in fermentation? It would open a whole host of inexpensive new "spice blend" flavors. Or, could you use a coffee syrup ie irish cream coffee syrup in the pump bottles...in a ferment?
@CitySteadingBrews ewww! No, I meant those pump bottles of sugar syrups like they use to flavor coffees at Starbucks like peppermint, Irish cream, vanilla, pumpkin spice. Non dairy- the sugar syrups w all of the yummy artificial flavors. I'm wondering if the preservatives or artificial flavor agents would ruin a brew....they are very concentrated so you wouldn't have to use much. Or an extract- I know you have used vanilla. But peppermint extract or pumpkin spice emulsion. If the oil or alcohol used in those would harm fermentation. I promise I will never ferment dairy. Unless I am making some funky cheese, but that's a hobby for another time.
When you make a batch of TRBOS how long does it keep? I used a five gallon bucket from Lowe’s with a lid. Can I seal it and use it again at a later time?
Just wondering. Are you thinking about doing a Lactose fermentation in the future? I've seen a few videos on the lacto-fermention, and it seems right up your alley because it almost reminds me of a cooking process mixed with brewing. If you decide to make a lacto-brew, I would Definitely watch it, and mimic your process 😁
Lactose is a non-fermentable sugar. Lacto fermentation makes things like pickles… if you mean making something like blaand where the whey from milk is fermented into alcohol… it’s not something we are planning to do at this time. However my friend Bearded and Bored did it: ua-cam.com/video/nCPjpS7gWjM/v-deo.html
@CitySteadingBrews And that's probably why I didn't really understand the process lol Thank you. I thought it was the lactose being fermented. It's weird, the 3 videos I've watched so far didn't mention it was a Whey fermentation. And Thank you for the video/channel recommendation
What are your thoughts of boiling the tazo down like you would a syrup and use it to backflavor a mead? I'm experimenting with a spiced pear mead and the chai didn't come through from primary fermentation.
@@CitySteadingBrews The goal would be to add as much Chai flavor with the least amount dilution! Thanks for all your amazing videos - really helping me with this hobby
I noticed your comment about the little big mouth bubbler seals not being good enough and leaking. I've noticed slight leakage during some of my brews? Is this dangerous for the brews? Can it cause oxygenation?
im sure you youve answered thi before but how do you store your half packets ie. fridge or cabinet?? and happy gilmore is one of my favorite sandler movies
@CitySteadingBrews I've gotten some to stall at the 1.020 They were some of the best meads i've ever made. And that was using my e c 118 eighteen percent alcohol so therefore it went over the tolerance of the yeast.
@dragonshoarddesign3094 it's not actually a stall. The yeast is hitting its alcohol tolerance. A stall is when the yeast should be fermenting more and there's sugars to ferment, but for some reason they stop. Also... going dry and sweetening to taste is my recommendation still. You can replicate your past results or efficiently and reliably sweeten to taste. And you can even use different yeast that may offer more flavor and have more balancing options.
I'm currently brewing the khajit blood meade ...its been going for several weeks...now all the sudden yesterday it started to foam slightly...now it's covered in foam...ive made many of your recipes and never had this happen...any insights
When naming your bees remember two things. #1 Do it alphabetically and start at the queen with "A queen". Name the rest "B".
Had me in the first half, not gonna lie 😂😂😂
I don't name my queens.. I name my colonies.. because queens change but the colony as long as it's alive doesnt
Ours are Caught.. and Bought.. Caught Split.. & Bought Split.. tomorrow there will be another Caught Split.. don't know iffen it'll be C/S the 2nd.. or what.. any suggestions?
I dont understand. Please forgive me, but anyone care to explain to me abour naming bees?
It was a joke.
I got the Happy Gilmore reference immediately. You have not gone on unappreciated.
The quotes in every video resonate with me as well - I was waiting for a followup of: "The ABV is WRONG, bi***!"
To prove your point on sweetness being something you tell by taste... I did a cherry wine and a cherry mead a few months back, same juice, yeast, and original SG. Both went dry, back sweetened both, the wine with sugar and the mead with honey. When the wine was done, it tasted right to me at like 1.024. The mead, on the other hand, I ended up taking to about 1.05 before it tasted right and honestly I like it better than the wine.
Yup, too many get caught up in the numbers. It's all about taste.
I made a chia mead a while back. The way I did it was brewed a straight mead, so to speak, then hung some tea bags from my favorite tea. I’d planned on letting them soak for a few days and then taste. However life got in the way and the tea bags soaked in mead for about two weeks. That was a bit stronger than I’d aimed for but it came out to be one of my favorites I’ve ever made. That said I also really like JAOM… so take that as you will.
This was a fabulous idea because even though I used different honey and yeast, my numbers were exactly like y'all's. When I added the honey to taste, I was only 2pts away from yours at 1.044. It's like you were right here with me helping ❣️
Thank you! This IS my first video. So I appreciate you repeated for we first-timers. I don't even know what racking or pasteurization process is, so I am going to go watch those videos next.
Happy to help!
Yaaay! TRBOS jingle returns. Put a big smile on my face
I would love to see a cocktail video. Just a few favourites.
We did! ua-cam.com/video/8HqDjEm12Cs/v-deo.html
It is really amazing how much 'art' and preference there is in this. I routinely make meads (Polish Trojniaks) with a OSG of 1.14 and never have a stall. I am NOT sayng you guys are too cautious because I don't live in Florida and as you always say, 'your mileage may vary'. It just works for me so I don't even start to consider worrying unless it gets over 1.15
You 2 are cute …extremely cute,keep us happy and happier✌🏾
for the record, as a person who gets relaxed by repetition, I enjoy that you give the same spiels every time - it's a pleasant familiarity for me video to video, and also definitely helps me cement it in my brain for when i make something
Thanks :)
I just got the batch to secondary and I added some vanilla extract and I have to say it gives the creaminess sense and flavor ☘️
A meadery next to my house moved locations recently that had an amazing blueberry chai mead, and Ive now taken up mead making to compensate. Im bottling my first brew soon (a blackberry cyser), and have already bought more equipment and started both this chai recipe and your earl grey recipe, I just need to keep telling myself this will save money in the long run lol. Your videos have been a huge help in beginning my mead making journey though.
Thank You!
Long time watcher and newer mead maker here, thanks for the awesome videos! I love chai flavorings and think i found my next attempt at this fun new hobby! Thanks again!
Happy Gilmore is one of my favorite movies
You guys are great! I started brewing my first batch of mead a month ago. Been binge watching your channel since then
Lol, I have the same affinity for allspice as you Brian!
At the same time I have a strong aversion to anything anise, whether it's the European or the Asian version.
If I ever do this and it doesn't stall, now I know I'll need to have cinnamon, allspice and at least a pound of honey ready. Probably some nutmeg too! 😆
Just racked and backsweetened mine today... gotta say, this is prob my fav so far. Started it on 8 Jul. Also added (today) 6 allspice berries, 6 juniper berries, one cinnamon stick, and a sliver of vanilla. Let that sit a week or so and bottle it up.. or drink it..
One of our VIP's love this one too. 👍
"But I got better"!!!!! I caught that, and I love it.
This is a very good idea. I'm looking forward to making it.
Love your sense of humor Brian ❤ can't wait to make this. I love all things chai.
I'm so glad that you did a chai mead. I actually use chai spice tea bag for one of my cyser and it's not ready yet so i dont know how it will turn out. But seeing the product you made, give me a little bit of hope 😅
I’m working on a chai mead now!! Decided to use individual tea bags with spices and black tea instead of chai concentrate. I’m sure both will do great but I figured I’d make it complicated and see if it’s worth it :)
I am in love with your channel! Complete newbie here. Taking in all of this fantastic information! Thank you!
Jenny loves Chai Lattes so she's excited for me to make this... Was wondering if it would be similar to your Spiced Metheglin... Glad to hear you say it.
I have done this mead back in 2020 but with Tazo yea bags in which I made some tea and used it to make the mead. I also added some vanilla and lactose sugar to give it the chai latte flavor and texture. Turned out really good but three years later it was amazing
Have 3 gallons of this stuff going along with a mead that I hope will end up tasting something like pecan pie. Both have been going for about a month and are still bubbling slowly. Really looking forward to both the chai and the pecan pie mead.
I think I'm gonna make this one. I'm a fan of anything that works well with cinnamon.
The very first sweet mead I made I used a nice chai tea and it was fantastic.
Another great video 👍.
I've never been one for spicy drinks. Even at Christmas 😅.
I'm happy to see you extending the "Finnish" on the brew. I've actually been doing this for a while now. I'll make a brew and split it into at least two containers and add extra flavors, then let it meld for a few weeks. My favorite has turned out to be the BANANA!!!😅. And I've had no complaints 😅👍❤
I've been making chai mead for a while now and always use a whole banana, peel and all, in primary.
The word bejesus is quite old. According to the Etymology website - bejesus (interj.)
mild expletive, 1908, probably from by Jesus. Compare bejabbers (by 1821 in representations of Irish dialect), from the same source. To beat the bejesus out of someone is a transferred sense from 1934. "Shake the bejesus" sounds like it would line up with the transferred sense from the 1930's - This is quite amusing :)
I've gotten pretty much all of your references the happy Gilmore one here, mega maid (Spaceballs), bejesus (Beavis and Butthead, and I do actually use that in my life from time to time), and others. Remember the flight speed of a coconut laden swallow is a closely guarded secret.
This was a favorite! I made it, it turned out perfect, and now it’s gone lol. Need to make it again.
Lol
This sounds really tasty to me and, since I tend to enjoy metheglin alot, I can't wait to see how it turns out with c
The cinnamon and all spice. I LOOOVE all spice!
Just finished your chai mead using tazo tea and wanted to give you an update on my "winey" beer. Finished out ok at 9%abv. But the 1 gallon of apple juice and brown sugar to my amber beer did NOT enhance the flavor. My "accidental" apple jack turned out really good though. I've got a 2 gallon brown sugar, cinnamon and apple wine about to finnish along with a 2 gallon brown sugar grape wine. Both finished at my highest abv to date. 13 and 14% respectfully. Once secondary is done I am getting 1 gallon of Vintners Best Sangria to which I will add 1 gallon of Red Grapefruit juice in place of 1 of the gallons of water. I am going to add 1 gallon of blackstrap mollases for a rummy wine. I love experimenting now. Even if I have a failure now and then. So far I havent had a must dump brew. Knock on wood. Ow ow ow!😂 Thank you for expanding my horizons.
It's actually pretty easy to pour the honey into the carboy without a funnel. As a beekeeper, i've become quite good at pouring honey from one container into another.
My first batch i made after being inspired by you guys was a Chai mead and I've been making it since. Great stuff. The spices definitely mellow with age but I tend not to bottle them expeditiously.
I would like to see you try a dragon fruit mead. I made one and it was very good.
This whole video is very interesting. It's great to see what you can do with a brew.
Thank you.
Okay officially inspired! I have some Stash brand double spice chai and some red chai (rooibos chai) to make a batch with. Hopefully it turns out as good as yours 😊
The spice must flow. Grin
as someone just starting to look into mead, but who does home make chai masala, you might consider making the tea concentrate yourself, to more thoroughly control sugars. it's mostly just cardamom, ginger, vanilla, fennel, cinnamon, black peppercorn, and a hint of chili.
Oh we do. Just wanted to offer a simple method.
Ahh you beat me to it! I’ve been gathering all the spices for chai cider.
I have made several chai meads but never using Tazo but I am going to.
Still *HATE* that Starbucks has something called "Chai tea" .....
I make a mead from the tazo passion tea from the same cartons. Would be interest to see you guys do your version with the same tea blend.
Ok!
How funny. I just did a Chai mead the exact same way and thought I was being creative. Geniuses think alike. I was afraid to over spice though, so only used one container.
I don't think you can really over spice with this method. The spices are nice and extracted already so it's not really going to get more potent than what you started with I think. I make my Chai mead with loose leaf/spice blend. First I make tea to taste and use that in place of water. In my experience the spices are kinda potent while young but tone done quite a bit after a couple months.
I came to the comments to see if this was done or mentioned.
@@Knightmerica I personally really liked the way mine came out as far as the spice level. It will be interesting to see how it fairs in 6 months or so. You can always add more during conditioning, but it's hard to remove. I was also concerned about a clean fermentation with all the spice.
Wondering about using one carton too.
Hey it’s me again! I started a cider on the 25th this month with an OG of 1.050, and it stopped bubbling about yesterday. So today I took a reading and it’s approximately at 1.001. I stirred it to see if there was a CO2 accumulation, but there wasn’t. Do you believe it’s done fermenting? Right now I’m trying to cold crash it to remove some sediment
ua-cam.com/video/DHqgdkHIt8g/v-deo.html
Awesome video. If i get a kit one day I'll definetly do this. I love chai. My question is how do you guys pasturize?
ua-cam.com/video/zWBU3EI-EFo/v-deo.htmlsi=gGOMJ9nO7A59ybOw
The only thing wrong with a Little Big Mouth Bubbler is the shipping costs. Sending a big glass jar across the country costs as much as the bubbler itself. I've been looking for a reasonable substitute, but that's not as easy as it would seem. The Chai Tea mead sounds awesome.
Check your local recycling center. I have found quite a few. Just need to order the bums and airlocks. Considerably cheaper.
I had 2 come broken as well. Took 3 attempts to get my first one.
I personally don't like using plastic, but the buckets are much cheaper
I still use the cheap plastic paint buckets as primary fermenter. Plenty of room and easy to clean.a week or 2 later its racked to a narrow mouth glass fermenter.
I'm thinking the gravity might be inaccurate due to the Chai mix. Maybe do a reading on the mix then calculate what it would be minus the sugar.
Why would the mix alter the gravity in a way that is not read with a reading?
New to brewing, haven't done any yet... Noticed that you said it was a bit bitter... Salt actually counters bitter flavors in cooking, have you ever tried salt in you brews? Can't do too much before or it could kill the yeast, but after?😊
I haven’t tried no.
4:07 same way as with oil! 😁
I bought the equipment to make this and the raisin mead for my first home brews. After 14 days they seemed to be done fermenting so I decided I should rack. Unfortunately though I don't think I started either with the right amount of headspace. The Chai mead had a lot of lees and upon racking I felt a little uncomfortable with the amount of headspace afterwards there was probably like 2/3 a gallon. I then racked the raisin mead and because of the amount of raisins, that one ended up being even worse. I only ended up with about maybe 2 liters of that. I probably could've saved some mead from the raisins but alas.
I wasn't really sure what to do with that amount of headspace when I don't have any smaller containers and only 2 1 gallon fermenters and 2 airlocks. I don't know if I made the right decision, but what I decided do was sacrifice some of the raisin mead into the Chai mead to the point where I was comfortable with the amount of headspace. I then had a 1 liter bottle that the airlock would fit on so I racked the rest of the raisin mead to that and still had a little left so I ended up putting that in a bottle with the cap open and putting it in the fridge. I'll end up drinking it tomorrow probably.
I did sample both and they were pretty great even at 2 weeks. The Chai one was ~12% and the raisin was ~13.5%. I hope the Chai one improves with age even after mixing it now.
Anyways all this to say thanks for introducing me to this hobby! I learned some lessons like 1. start with less headspace so when I rack there isn't too much headspace. 2. Purchase more airlocks. 3. Purchase the little big mouth bubbler for meads with a lot of raisins/fruit in the must.
I'm excited to continue with this and I think the next one I make will be a little more traditional.
I don't think you did anything wrong per se. I would highly recommend a hydrometer though.
@@CitySteadingBrews Well that's great to hear haha Yeah I've got a hydrometer! That's how I came to the ~12% and ~13.5% ABV. I basically bought everything you guys recommend. Thanks again :)
I use.... 🎶 the CLEAR BIN OF SANITIZATION. lol.... this looks real good. I will have to look for that stuff in the store. BTW.... I FINALLY got to racking my manderine mead. THIRD TIME. It ran SO DRY it could strip paint off my car! I added more honey and letting it go a third time. But I think it's still going to need sweetening. In fact several recent brews really ran dry. I think it some killer yeast. Lalvan forgot the number, you use it all the time. I'm going to try using more of a cider yeast.
Mmmm… 71B? EC-1118? Both have a reputation for chewing through anything you throw at them up to 18-20% alcohol despite their tolerance being lower according to the manufacturer.
@@eddavanleemputten9232 Yea, I gotta start recording what I use. I think it was the EC 1118 Chews though, yea.... seems so. VERY happy yeast for sure.
On the upside though, I've tried making coffee wine several times and so far those came out SO sweet, like syrup. I think it's yucky but my daughter loved it so gave it to her. BUT... my latest batch with the same "chewing through" yeast, that one actually came out perfect this time. Sweet but not too much. Can taste the coffee. So YEA. Got that one down. Finally. Maybe there is a use for a tough yeast. Something about the coffee might be causing it to stall before.
@@artmakersworlds - You don’t need to make it chew through everything until it gives up. You can decide what ABV you want (for example around 12%), give your must the corresponding SG, let it ferment to complete dryness, sweeten to taste and stabilise it before it can re-ferment. I do that quite often.
One method of stabilising is to pasteurise (kill the yeast with heat). Another is to use chemical stabilisers. My preference goes to pasteurising. This channel explains quite well how to do it, they have videos on how to do it with an immersion circulator (aka a ‘sous vide stick’) but also on how to simply do it with hot water on a stove or in a cooler-box.
@@eddavanleemputten9232 Yes I have watched them do pasteurization. Never did it myself. I won't do the chemical one ever. If a chemical kills yeast it also kills your gut flora, not good. (Though I doubt alcohol is much good for it.) I also started out taking readings on everything and don't do that as much now. (A few recipes always work so just do the same.) I taste, rate according to my taste and basically when the airlock is balanced and has been for weeks, it's done. When I bottle for storage, I use screw top wine bottles and just leave the caps on slightly loose, just enough to let any gas escape should there be some fermentation still going on yet it will keep any creepy things out.
My trick for those peel paint dry wines is to simply mix them with a batch that came out too sweet. Viola! Example, I really like shocktop hard apple ciders. BUT I find them all to be a bit too sweet. However I can buy a gallon jug of motts apple juice, a half pack of my killer yeast, slap on an airlock, NO added sugar or anything and it will come out good and dry. Mix half cup of that with a half bottle of shocktop and that is perfect for me. OR just add some honey, that works too. My very first attempt at Jalepeno mead came out dry enough desert winds were blowing through it. BUT I took that bottle to a local guy who teaches wine making, HE said it's actually not bad, mixed a glass with a bit of honey and wow, it was actually good. I've since adjusted my recipe and that is now one of my favorites. Side note, tried it with cayenne peppers last time, NOT a good idea. HOT AND DRY, no amount of honey can fix this, yikes. Need to find something sweet to mix that in. OR use it to cook with, deglazing a pan with wine really kicks up the flavors. Save my cayenne peppers for chili and have some better wine with it.
Really enjoy your videos. I have just started brewing and am eagerly waiting for my first mead to finish. Quick question, as a rule how much Fermaid O do I add per gallon?
We use more lately. 5g for lower abv brews and 10g for wine strength and higher.
Was the "water water "at 8.06 a Pecos bill reference I love that cartoon
It may have been… it’s been so long since I saw it but a lot of things are just ingrained in me now!
This is definitely my next mead! Do you think you would get th3 same flavor if I was fermented.with the dry tea.instead? About a dozen teabags worth per gallon?
Couldn’t say.
I'm gonna try since as far as I know the stuff in the box is just Chai years with sugar. Great video!
Is it normal with a brew bag to have sediment build on top of it or would that be a question of mold? I was making your Vikings blood 2020 and racked it since I didn't think it was mold, however I wanted to ask what you think as well before I get to bottling in the next month or so. Doing some research it didn't looked anything like mold on other individuals brews.
It happens all the time.
Ooooohhh… curveball… pasteurised, do a tasting, and then work on it some more. I love that because I tend to do this to my meads. 😊
I am so excited to try this idea, I love chai lattes!
If I order a latte I tend to add vanilla flavoring. Do you guys have any recommendation to add vanilla flavors to mead brews?
Also, since there was some sugars in the box mix, does that give it a different brew name as it’s a mix of sugar and honey?
It's by far still honey being fermented, so it's a mead. Vanilla... well, extract is the easiest and most controllable.
So I want to create something like this but being in Spain I dont have access to Tazo's Latte - was wondering if you could do something similar with an alternative recipe?? Obviously it wont be the same but a close alternative?? Thanks - Great Episode.
I didn't write up an alternative recipe, sorry.
Could you have used less chai mix to begin with to help with the sweetness/spiciness problem mentioned at around 21:34 or is backsweetening the only way?
Maybe? But it wouldn’t be sweeter without adding sweetness, just less flavor if you use less mix.
Just finishing mine off. Like you guys I felt it needed a little extra flavour. I added allspice, cloves, cinnamon and coriander seeds. I would have to agree with Brain in this is even better than his methylglen! I make and love a version of his methylgen all the time but wow this is so f ing good.
Digging the Happy Gilmore reference!
I'm totally hooked on your videos. Now, I owe amazon my first borne. Waiting on my brewing supplies. I have lots of questions. Mostly want to brew mead that is sweet and lower alcohol. I don't like dry, anything and don't really want to back sweeten. 🤷
Would that be a yeast thing. Seems like you use yeast that are more tolerance to higher alcohol. Or am I thinking is the wrong direction?🤔
Why do you not want to backsweeten?
Glad I'm not the only one that says yeasty. Only one step further I call um yeasty bois.
Heya! Just started watching recently! Love the content! You said that honey is from pinellas? Are you guys located in Florida? I m in Saint Pete!
We are in St Pete.
I like to back sweetin a little bit then let me sit for a bit. Because I back sweetened and it didn't seem sweet at all I let it sit for 2 sweet came back and tried it and it was almost to sweet. I'm 99 % sure I got it mixed in completely. But it got sweeter over that week I let it sit at least to my pallet it seems a lot sweeter
Sounds like not mixed thoroughly.
Probably but there was no grit from the sugar is why I thought it should be mixed all the way but I'm less then a year in the hobby. I truly appreciate all the feedback you two have given in this process and before thank you
Very excited to see how the additions change this. I've been thinking about getting into brewing for a while and have had my heart set on a spiced mead. I was gonna do your metheglin but never got around to it, I drink that tazo on the regular though so I might end up making this my first and deciding later if I wanna add the stick or cloves lmao.
That being said, if it turns out well, would incorporating them into the inital brewing be beneficial do you think? Or would it definitely be more of a firm 'add in during conditioning' kind of thing 🤔
We fermented it. I would do it the same way if I was to do it again.
@City Steading Brews I understand it was fermented. I was referring to the cinnamon stick and allspice cloves, as far as I'm (limitidly) aware, stronger spices tend to come out more muted if they are added during primary fermentation, as opposed to during conditioning or secondary fermentation where they would be much more present and forward. So my question was less what you did with it or if you would change it but rather how you think it would have been if that cinnamon stick and the allspice cloves had been in primary from the start rather then added after it'd been pasteurized and left in conditioning, if that makes sense?
Ahh, thought you meant the chai mix. Honestly the difference is minor for flavor if any at all. By adding later you have greater control over when you remove them.
Chai=tea. Masala= spice.
Sounds good to me either way
The tazo Chai doesn't have any alternative/fake sugars, but it does have citric acid that could have contributed to a slower fermentation. I'm curious about how to use either lactose or a shelf stable milk in a brew like this. Chai needs a milk aspect in my opinion and I wonder if those spices would have been toned down with one added.
Chai doesn’t always have dairy, but you can certainly use lactose if you like. I wouldn’t mix with milk for storage though… it’ll spoil. Shelf stable is only so until opened. It’s a packaging, not really the milk itself. That said, you could mix in the glass just fine.
@@CitySteadingBrewsmaybe mix with some Irish cream!!
Powdered, nondairy coffee creamer does a similar dairy feeling and texture with some shelf stability, especially if in high enough abv’s
This made me curious. I was on Amazon looking for the Chai concentrate but also saw pumpkin spice concentrate. And then, pumpkin spice emulsion/extract and gingerbread concentrate etc. If I were to experiment with a standard mead recipe but add an extract or other concentrates, would anything in an emulsion cause problems in fermentation? It would open a whole host of inexpensive new "spice blend" flavors. Or, could you use a coffee syrup ie irish cream coffee syrup in the pump bottles...in a ferment?
Emulsions may be a bad idea. Usually they are made to thicken.
Anything with dairy in fermentation could spoil before it ferments properly.
@CitySteadingBrews ewww! No, I meant those pump bottles of sugar syrups like they use to flavor coffees at Starbucks like peppermint, Irish cream, vanilla, pumpkin spice. Non dairy- the sugar syrups w all of the yummy artificial flavors. I'm wondering if the preservatives or artificial flavor agents would ruin a brew....they are very concentrated so you wouldn't have to use much. Or an extract- I know you have used vanilla. But peppermint extract or pumpkin spice emulsion. If the oil or alcohol used in those would harm fermentation. I promise I will never ferment dairy. Unless I am making some funky cheese, but that's a hobby for another time.
When you make a batch of TRBOS how long does it keep? I used a five gallon bucket from Lowe’s with a lid. Can I seal it and use it again at a later time?
One session for us. It’s cloudy by that point.
Just wondering. Are you thinking about doing a Lactose fermentation in the future? I've seen a few videos on the lacto-fermention, and it seems right up your alley because it almost reminds me of a cooking process mixed with brewing. If you decide to make a lacto-brew, I would Definitely watch it, and mimic your process 😁
Lactose is a non-fermentable sugar. Lacto fermentation makes things like pickles… if you mean making something like blaand where the whey from milk is fermented into alcohol… it’s not something we are planning to do at this time. However my friend Bearded and Bored did it: ua-cam.com/video/nCPjpS7gWjM/v-deo.html
@CitySteadingBrews And that's probably why I didn't really understand the process lol Thank you. I thought it was the lactose being fermented. It's weird, the 3 videos I've watched so far didn't mention it was a Whey fermentation. And Thank you for the video/channel recommendation
"Have fun storming the apiary."
Lol
Woo-hoo nice guys
What are your thoughts of boiling the tazo down like you would a syrup and use it to backflavor a mead? I'm experimenting with a spiced pear mead and the chai didn't come through from primary fermentation.
It's already really concentrated but I guess you could?
@@CitySteadingBrews The goal would be to add as much Chai flavor with the least amount dilution! Thanks for all your amazing videos - really helping me with this hobby
I noticed your comment about the little big mouth bubbler seals not being good enough and leaking. I've noticed slight leakage during some of my brews? Is this dangerous for the brews? Can it cause oxygenation?
Nope. Pressure is pushing gasses out. No chance for oxygen to even get near the brew let alone in it.
@@CitySteadingBrews Thank you, you've eased my mind and saved me stress during future brews, haha.
SQT ( Stupid Question Time) You said the spice was too strong or over powering. Would time mellow that sharpness back?
A little maybe.
Would you also do a London fog mead with the same method?
Not sure how you'd get the foamy milk.
Would using a chai powder mix also work? Or would you just recommend the premade?
We never tried. The premix worked quite well.
im sure you youve answered thi before but how do you store your half packets ie. fridge or cabinet?? and happy gilmore is one of my favorite sandler movies
Always folded and refrigerated. We store unopened yeast in the fridge too.
@@CitySteadingBrews i figured just double checking lol mainly make sure I'm not being overly cautious lol
Do you guys have an online store or anything where I can purchase some of these? I want to try it!
We do not sell alcohol no.
Have you done a video on pasteurizing?
Several. Here's the latest. ua-cam.com/video/zWBU3EI-EFo/v-deo.htmlsi=R303nS-AC-mBfcKu
@@CitySteadingBrews thank you!
You had me at "chai"
gotta love the happy gilmore reference LOL
Well my list of brews to make just grew by 1 again.
What yeast would I use to get a stall? Say OG is 1.120 and I want it to stall at 1.020. What yeast would you recommend?
That's not how it works really. Don't aim for a stall. Aim for dry and sweeten after. Much more efficient and reliable.
@CitySteadingBrews I've gotten some to stall at the 1.020 They were some of the best meads i've ever made. And that was using my e c 118 eighteen percent alcohol so therefore it went over the tolerance of the yeast.
@dragonshoarddesign3094 it's not actually a stall. The yeast is hitting its alcohol tolerance. A stall is when the yeast should be fermenting more and there's sugars to ferment, but for some reason they stop. Also... going dry and sweetening to taste is my recommendation still. You can replicate your past results or efficiently and reliably sweeten to taste. And you can even use different yeast that may offer more flavor and have more balancing options.
Can I use nutritional yeast instead of yeast hulls? I can't seem to find pure hulls around here.
Yes, work a bit better actually.
The seals on my big mouth bubblers leak too. What did you do to remedy this?
We started finding alternative fermenters!
Having an issue with a sulfur smell. How do you remedy this?
More aeration at startup usually prevents it, but it should age out in time.
I made 2 meads, they are both my first. And they kind of have a foot smell. They are both 3 weeks old. Is this normal?
It happens, give them time.
How would lactose have worked?
It's a non fermentable sugar that sometimes can five a creamy feel.
@CitySteadingBrews I was thinking instead of adding the additional spices to add the lactose to make it more like a Chai would be?
@@matthewbooth4873 chai is just spiced tea. Americans made it a chai latte which you could kind of replicate with lactose. It might help anyway.
Yea that’s the one. I think that mix has some lactose in it.
Nope. We checked.
Nice reference to Happy Gilmore when he tried to put the ball in the hole
I'm currently brewing the khajit blood meade ...its been going for several weeks...now all the sudden yesterday it started to foam slightly...now it's covered in foam...ive made many of your recipes and never had this happen...any insights
It’s just foam created by yeast, proteins, etc. nothing to worry about.
@@CitySteadingBrews thanks 😊 🙏
Happy Gilmore 12:30
WHAT OTHER YEAST CAN I USE ON CHAI MEAD I DONT HAVE THE ONE YOU USED
Any good wine yeast will be fine. There are differences but, use what you can find. Also no need for all caps :)
Alright Happy.