Thank you for your willingness to take one for the team, making the choice so we don’t have to. In one of your videos you called a chemicals-laden concoction that could just as well have emanated from a mad scientist’s lab a ‘Franken-brew.” I think this one just about hits the requirements for that moniker. This must be the first ever brew from your channel that isn’t ever going to hit my ‘to brew’ list. Congratulations for doing it and keeping me from ever considering it. I’d rather make a kilju and dump some flavourings in. The entire video had me chuckling though. And oh my stars and garters, the colour of that stuff! It’s almost radioactive! Using DAP: it never ceases to amaze me how much DAP some people chuck into their fermenters. I do have some (part of a brewing kit I’ve won). If I ever consider using it my precision scale would come out. Maybe it’s because as a European I’m used to weighing ingredients instead of using volumes. Maybe it’s because I’m an avid baker. Maybe it’s because I’m from a family that mainly consists of science nerds. I weigh stuff. When my regular scales don’t cut it, my precision scales are my next move. The smallest unit mine can measure is 2/100ths of a gram. Somehow that makes me happy. It certainly makes conversions easier when I’m working off a recipe for 5 US gallons and my batch is one gallon. Or when I’m reading up on research and the figures I get state an amount in grams per 25 litres, grams per 100 litres etc. I guess after reading this, people will understand why I often say I go through life celebrating my weirdness. 😂
I've done this and I've also fermented Hawaiian Punch. Of the 2, Kool-Aid wins, because Hawaiian Punch turned out to be a laxative with the sucralose and alcohol combined 😂
This would be great for bartenders needing to get rid of unruly customers- a complimentary glass of Hawaiian punch express wine ! 😂😂😂 next stop gas station bathroom on way home 😂😂😂
Yeah honestly every time I’ve been told to make koolaid wine it’s been basically make a kilju then pitch the aid. The fact you guys got it to do anything is kind of awesome.
I currently have a black cherry kool-aid mead going and it's turning up quite nice. I used WLP720 yeast and it's fizzy like champagne and right at 16%abv. Can't wait til it's ready to bottle!
The Kool aid with the sugar has more stuff in it. Your better off using all fresh sugar and the flavor packet with no sugar. Plus flavor aid brand mix tends to work slightly better. Personally I use a little hot water in beginning to melt everything better... Over all I like both ways but tend to get slightly better results and higher abv's by making a high abv water wine and adding the no sugar added flavor packet after the fact... But hey that's just my experience with it. No offense to anyone
I think not everything that made of sugar or honey will be a nice wine. Thanks for this experiment. It also show us how yeast have trouble with chemicals. Even when you put every possible nutrition.
As someone who literally used that same kool-aid flavor as a vodka mixer, I would probably love this! Though I definitely appreciate the advice to use kool-aid as a flavoring for mead instead; I think that is a better idea and should be something y'all try!
You two think of everything!!! Ive started building my supplies, but I still want to learn more ( and get all the right gear) before I start, but Im very excited!! Great video!
I saw this pop up in my feed today and my first thought was "Oh, this is gonna be a train wreck." One of my first brews was TANG wine. Somehow I managed to get it to ferment down to a 1.030. And it was NASTY. lol
I use 4L Carlo Rossi bottles. When I need to shake up the brew to oxygenate or melt sugar I just screw the cap on that the bottle came with, easy, works well and it is also a "thumbsaver"!
I think next time use the kool aid powder packs it might have less of the extras then the one mixed with sugar. Then you can regulate the amount of sugar better. Just my thoughts.
This is interesting, I've just tried a Arizona ice tea Mucho Mango with added sugar it came to 1.084. After a month it only went to 1.040. Same slow start compared to all my other brews.
Northern Brewer had a 5 gallon glass fermenter half price for $35. Hopefully I can make a months worth of mead at a time especially with half of my friends coming over just to steal some
Having seen how this went, if this ever gets attempted again, I'd consider step-feeding. Start with just the Kool-Aid and the fixing additives, then add sugar later once it's maybe starting to get somewhere.
@@CitySteadingBrews I'm thinking less preservitives. but I agree that making a Kilju and ading a paclet for flavor might be the best option :) again great video :)
Did this Kilju style and got about 12% and mixed it up as Strawberry Watermelon with those MIO squirt flavor drink mixes. Beautifully cheap and tasty over ice on a hot day.
would you guys ever do a fan submitted mead tasting? Maybe just for VIPs or whatever (not for me to enter! I just started) - Obviously rules for packing, sealing, ect-I just think it would be interesting
If you want to make fun easy hooch, try 14.1oz Zuko packets ($2.48 locally) and Arizona drinks in 1 gallon jugs ($3.48 locally), most don't seem to have preservatives and the jugs are pretty heavy duty and work for primary fermentation by cracking the lid just slightly so air can escape. Pour out about 1.5 cups out of the jug and put in all 14.1oz of the Zuko packet and some yeast that can tolerate high alcohol with low nutrient like 71B, EC1118, distillers active dry yeast, or if you don't have any other option Fleischmann's, although the end result will be pretty sweet. Mucho Mango combined with Zuko Pineapple or Mango is one of my favorites.
With preservetives, in the lab if you can't neutralise it, the second best way is to overwhelm it, so either fermenting it first then adding it or adding more packets could help.
We did a snapple apple wine and it tastes like liquid caramel 2 years later.. no apple to be found in smell or taste but its very good if you like caramel
im glad you did this video, however id like you to try compare this ith another method. making an alcohol base (water,sugar, yeast) and once its done add the coolaid
I literally just finished a 6 gallon batch of blue raspberry kool aid and it turned out great, little bit of sulfur on the nose but the taste is right on point, was a bit rough to get started, was too low of a ph but I fixed that a few days later and it took off like a rocket fermenting haha
Just wondering if maybe it would have been more cooperative, had the entire kool aid container not been dumped in. Thinking more powder = more preservatives. Just a thought. May have to give this a whirl as I gre up on tropical punch and black cherry Kool aid
I am out of Lalvin 71b so I will be attempting this with yeast nutrient, nutrient energizer, and bread yeast. Lets see how this little experiment goes!
@@CitySteadingBrews Do you think it would be better just to make a sugar wine and add the cool-aid powder to it after fermentation? I'm pretty good with getting sugar wines to ferment to dryness.
Just a small comment before watching the whole video so I might have to edit it. LOL. I have successfully fermented juice with BHA in it before. Time cures all ( at least in my case ). It sat for about a month and didn't do much of anything. Then in the 5th week it took off with a ferocity that caused me to have to put a blow off tube on it. My theory ( no proof ) is that BHA is to preserve it on the shelf and once it is opened and mixed it starts losing it's potency. Similar to how chlorine will evaporate from tap water that just sits out for a while. It took a while but turned out to be one of my best wines in the end. In case anyone is wondering it was V8 Splash Blue Razzberry.
Appreciate your videos, they are so helpful! Just curious, have you tried the Brewsy bags? I bought some for shiggles, but I was wondering what your thoughts are on them. Thanks! 🧡🧡🧡
Thanks for the experiment. Until I watched your video, every once in a while I thought about doing a brew with a german citrus crum tea that sitting on my shelf since a couple of years (basically since I decided to live a bit healthier and to loose some weight 😂) . Its ingredient list reads similar to coolaid. I guess I´ll leave it on the shelf 😅
"Interesting note of brick wall... Must have been dust from when the Kool-Aid Man came through the wall..." 😏 (Or maybe children's red lips from drinking that sh..tuff!" 🤣)
New to the channel I watched a whole bunch of videos and I love them. You guys are awesome and master's of your craft. This video has led me to ask this question, does Brian have diabetes? I myself have type 2 diabetes. Sorry if I am being nosey.
@@CitySteadingBrews diabetes sucks. I probably won't be doing a cool aid brew though, I'm from Australia. We ain't got no cool aid here. Probably for the best. Thanks again I've learnt heaps! LLAP
You guys inspired me to do my first mead which turned out great, and while that was fermenting i got a little creative and did 2 more brews, one with sprechers root beer syrup and another with jolly ranchers. I aged the root beer with a vanilla bean pod and after a bit of sweetening it turned out amazing, i definitely think its worth trying out, keep up the good work i love your videos 👍
I am making a Sprecher rootbeer mead right now. Almost at 2 weeks fermenting. Seems to be going very slow. Vanilla bean pod is a great idea. Did yours ferment slow?
@@RingerDaClown I dont remember my brew being slow, i did use a large 6.5 gallon bucket along with the entire jug of syrup. I did 2 abv readings and gave it a thourough mixing each time. What were your measurements for ingredients?
@justinbranson4171 I didn't use the syrup. I used their bottles, which had preservatives. It's going. Just not as quick as I thought. I see lots of bubbles in it. I used 112 fl oz of Sprecher rootbeer, and one and a half pounds of wild flower honey. Used red star premiere cote de blanc and 10 grams of fermaid-o
@@RingerDaClown The preservatives could be to blame, hopefully just slowing it down and not adding any funky flavors. Also using soda with already present carbonation might've had an impact although i'm no expert.
@justinbranson4171 I stirred most of the present carbonation out of it. I think the preservatives are the main cause. But seems to be going so, fingers crossed it all works out.
I love watching your videos and have learned a lot about mead making from you in the last few years 🙂. Koolaid is quite acidic. I wonder if the acidity could have played a role in inhibiting fermentation. If so, perhaps buffering the acidity might be worth trying to see if that helps it ferment better.
Hi. For few months I have followed your channel, that motivated me to start the different fruit wine making. I have a doubt and I'd very happy if you can help with your experience: after fermentation, my wines usually taste strong alcohol both in nose and mouth feelings. Does this characteristic smooth with age time? My oldest wine is only 6 months age and it is bottled already. Should I expect this alcohol to smooth along the ageing?
Hey guys! I have been binging all your videos and I love them! I have one question: I understand how you use the hydrometer to give the potential alcohol percentage, but how to be sure that you have enough yeast in there to reach that potential alcohol percentage? Thanks!
The amount of yeast really has nothing to do with abv. If you notice, we tend to se either a half packet or whole packet. The yeast you add ends up being a small percentage of the total colony as they multiply.
If I understand you right… the amount of sugar determines the alcohol content. Having enough yeast for a viable and strong colony is all you need. More yeast does not mean more alcohol.
I did an unintentional kool aid Wine. I made a watermelon wine. I wasn’t happy with the flavor or acidity. So I added a envelope of watermelon Kool aid and it’s been a big hit from all who tried it. Tasted just like a watermelon Jolly Rancher!!! Good luck with yours
I’ll be honest I have thought of doing this… but after watching this that thought was quickly put to death ☠️. Anyhow great video nonetheless very entertaining thanks.
I was inspired (humored) by this and my adult son who loves lemon-lime Gatorade. So I made a kilju (CitySteading stylish) with 2 lime and 2 lemon peels. Fermented to dry, ABV 13%, and back sweetened with about a lb of lemon-lime Gatorade powder. The result (still v. young) tastes too limey to be confused with Gatorade. Not …horrible. May soften in time. Tempted to have another go at it, (but lighter on the peels), since I got no other use for the rest of the powder. Plus… it’s silly and fun! 😂🎉
Kinda sad you guys didnt let it keep going until it either stalled or finished. I was curious if it actually would finish or not. Either way I think I might have to try a low ABV version of this just for the novelty.
Is there a reason why you'd put a whole pack of powder plus extra sugar in, when the recommended dose is like half a pack, no extra sugar? With all the worry about preservatives, wouldn't a lower starting gravity help prevent overstressing the yeast? You couldn't get a high ABV but dry hydromel territory seems perfectly respectable to me. Would it change your choice of yeast? Maybe there's a very tolerant ale or cider yeast you could use here. Just thinking out loud and wondering what your thoughts are.
Og was in the typical acceptable range and we will not ever consume this stuff. Ale and cider yeast won’t do what we needed here. Sure if you want a lower abv you can do many things differently. :)
@@CitySteadingBrews I totally get that, just wondering what could be done to make a well-fermenting brew out of a kool-aid base. Different goals I suppose.
Now this, on ice, sounds like what I would want on a hot summer afternoon 👍. I also grew up on Kool aid and remember dipping a wet plastic spoon in the powder and seeing who could keep a straight face 😂. I think I'd stick closer to the two quart(x2) amount, a whole bottle of mix in one gallon seems like a bit much flavor 😁. Keep up the great suggestions, we're loving it 👍❤️🙏 BTW, kilju wine finally finished on June 22 at 11.47 abv. (Started 6/11/23, at 1.095sg, ended 6/22/23 at 1.010sg, in 7/8 gallon batch). I used red star premiere classique yeast and added extra yeast hulls on the 14th because I didn't see any activity. I also shook the bajesus out of it every three days or so ( yes, I've got a bunch of slow relaxing retirement days 😁). I really think keeping it degassed did a lot to keep it fermenting nicely. The taste straight up is almost like watered down vanilla icing and a bite of alcohol, so I added three drops of starburst water sweetener, and I think I got drunk. I remember making the second one 😅 but my wife says I had at least four six ounce glasses. Thanks again for all of your great videos 👍🙏❤️
I tried fermenting a batch of passion tea (used in Starbucks Passion tea Lemonade) and the color dropped out of it. I'd be interested in seeing that done right. (Brewed 3 bags in 1 gallon water, dissolved sugar to 1.1sg, fermented about 2 weeks, 71b)
Red 40 is a synthetic dye. In Europe products containing it must have a health warning stating that it can cause hyperactivity in children. So yeah, all kinds of wrong 😮
I recently sent you a letter about something similar. I tried this with an old family recipe using Tang and Sweetened Iced Tea with lemon mix, spiced with ground Allspice, clove, and cinnamon. Scoop some in a cup and serve hot or cold. Added enough for a gallon of each. SPG1.070, yeast nutrient, and RS Cuvee. Nothing happened for 24hours, checked the PH and added 1tsp baking soda. Went crazy and is still fermenting after 9 days. Will spice in conditioning with Brian's group of spices. Then force carb. We'll see.... What could be used instead of the powers and get the similar orange and teas flavors?
Tang is such an artificial flavor... I don't know of anything that would naturally give that flavor. I mean, it's fake orange so you can try orange maybe.
When I read Jack Kellers book he did suggest cleaning some fruits off with Potassium Sulphate, then waiting 24 hours. THEN add the yeast. I wonder if you added the water and fermaid O waited 24 hours and then added yeast if you would have had better results. This would let the preservatives dissipate out first, oar at least reduce the amount of them.
I have a question not about this video, but a question nonetheless. I had made a mango applewine just out of fruit juice. I wanted to stabilize it before bottling and use potassium sorbate and a campden tablet. Now I feel like my wine is bitter. Is there any way to fix it?
Derica went from oh yeah to oh no😅
LOL, totally.
Thank you both for your service. Making the tough choices so we don't have to... 😂
Lol
Make a popsicle out of it??
Thanks, Kool aid was invented in Nebraska. My home state
Not a horrible idea!
Thank you for your willingness to take one for the team, making the choice so we don’t have to.
In one of your videos you called a chemicals-laden concoction that could just as well have emanated from a mad scientist’s lab a ‘Franken-brew.” I think this one just about hits the requirements for that moniker.
This must be the first ever brew from your channel that isn’t ever going to hit my ‘to brew’ list. Congratulations for doing it and keeping me from ever considering it. I’d rather make a kilju and dump some flavourings in.
The entire video had me chuckling though. And oh my stars and garters, the colour of that stuff! It’s almost radioactive!
Using DAP: it never ceases to amaze me how much DAP some people chuck into their fermenters. I do have some (part of a brewing kit I’ve won). If I ever consider using it my precision scale would come out. Maybe it’s because as a European I’m used to weighing ingredients instead of using volumes. Maybe it’s because I’m an avid baker. Maybe it’s because I’m from a family that mainly consists of science nerds. I weigh stuff. When my regular scales don’t cut it, my precision scales are my next move. The smallest unit mine can measure is 2/100ths of a gram. Somehow that makes me happy. It certainly makes conversions easier when I’m working off a recipe for 5 US gallons and my batch is one gallon. Or when I’m reading up on research and the figures I get state an amount in grams per 25 litres, grams per 100 litres etc.
I guess after reading this, people will understand why I often say I go through life celebrating my weirdness. 😂
I've done this and I've also fermented Hawaiian Punch. Of the 2, Kool-Aid wins, because Hawaiian Punch turned out to be a laxative with the sucralose and alcohol combined 😂
Oh dear… ex-lax wine…
Although… it might be an attractive concept for people suffering from constipation. 😂
So, you got a Hawaiian Punch to the gut, eh?
This would be great for bartenders needing to get rid of unruly customers- a complimentary glass of Hawaiian punch express wine ! 😂😂😂 next stop gas station bathroom on way home 😂😂😂
Another weird idea use the unsweetened Kool-Aid and honey Kool-Aid mead
Yeah honestly every time I’ve been told to make koolaid wine it’s been basically make a kilju then pitch the aid. The fact you guys got it to do anything is kind of awesome.
Took that kool aid like champs. Let's cross that one off the bucket list.
Agreed.
Well done with the "OH YEAH!!"
I currently have a black cherry kool-aid mead going and it's turning up quite nice. I used WLP720 yeast and it's fizzy like champagne and right at 16%abv. Can't wait til it's ready to bottle!
Brian is definitely from the Northeast. We crushed Kool-Aid as kids!
Yup!
*Brian moves there fermentation vessel moving the funnel*
*Derica* "Why? Why?"
*Me* "Whyyyy? Delilah!"
Lol
My husband and I grew up on Kool aid. I think I'll give this a try for funzies.
The Kool aid with the sugar has more stuff in it. Your better off using all fresh sugar and the flavor packet with no sugar. Plus flavor aid brand mix tends to work slightly better. Personally I use a little hot water in beginning to melt everything better...
Over all I like both ways but tend to get slightly better results and higher abv's by making a high abv water wine and adding the no sugar added flavor packet after the fact... But hey that's just my experience with it. No offense to anyone
My family grew up on the grape kool-aid. I bet my younger brother (32 now) would enjoy the heck out of this. LOL
I made a sugar wash and added grape crystal lite after. Came out pretty decent. Purple passion.
fun videos. very cute time you have together and also informative to many, including me. Thank you.
Like how you switched to the red towel the second time you took a reading 😂
You guys are so wicked Awesome, and funny please have a grand day.
Thanks you too!
One of my favorite Kool aid flavors
Derica's face in this one was pretty priceless. 🤣
I think not everything that made of sugar or honey will be a nice wine. Thanks for this experiment. It also show us how yeast have trouble with chemicals. Even when you put every possible nutrition.
As someone who literally used that same kool-aid flavor as a vodka mixer, I would probably love this! Though I definitely appreciate the advice to use kool-aid as a flavoring for mead instead; I think that is a better idea and should be something y'all try!
You two think of everything!!! Ive started building my supplies, but I still want to learn more ( and get all the right gear) before I start, but Im very excited!! Great video!
Probably quicker and cheaper to go get a bottle of Mogen David 20/20 😂
You just took me back lol but you know what they say about grocery shopping vs going out to eat?
I saw this pop up in my feed today and my first thought was "Oh, this is gonna be a train wreck." One of my first brews was TANG wine. Somehow I managed to get it to ferment down to a 1.030. And it was NASTY. lol
Lol I just felt my blood sugar shoot up watching this. Interesting video to see how it worked. Lol fortifying makes everything better.
I did have luck with tang and brown sugar. It kinda tasted like flat blue moon... I did step feed it with the sugar later.
I use 4L Carlo Rossi bottles. When I need to shake up the brew to oxygenate or melt sugar I just screw the cap on that the bottle came with, easy, works well and it is also a "thumbsaver"!
I made a sugar wine, fermented dry, backsweetened with sugar and added kool aid for flavor after fermentation. It was delicious
That color reminds me of my fruity pebbles acerglyn. Tasted kinda weird but wasn't bad.
You guys should attempt a Mexican fermented drink known as Tepache aka fermented pineapple
FYI - Red 40 is made as a petroleum biproduct, not bugs.
That’s so much better, lol.
I think next time use the kool aid powder packs it might have less of the extras then the one mixed with sugar. Then you can regulate the amount of sugar better. Just my thoughts.
It's possible.
Doing gods work! Great video
I once made Ribena wine, it tasted bad after fermentation but after three years in a bottle it tasted like port wine with dates.
She gave me memories yelling ''oh yeahhh!" from all the 90s ads lol
Been watching all the videos of yours I can to learn I started my first batch 2 days ago of a basic mead thanks for all the knowledge!
Glad to help
This is interesting, I've just tried a Arizona ice tea Mucho Mango with added sugar it came to 1.084. After a month it only went to 1.040. Same slow start compared to all my other brews.
Northern Brewer had a 5 gallon glass fermenter half price for $35. Hopefully I can make a months worth of mead at a time especially with half of my friends coming over just to steal some
Having seen how this went, if this ever gets attempted again, I'd consider step-feeding. Start with just the Kool-Aid and the fixing additives, then add sugar later once it's maybe starting to get somewhere.
"crack for yeast"
that would explain why my bochet is so active when degassing gently 🌋
Derica, you crack me up! Oh yeah!
You should try making a traditional mead then adding the Kool aid and honey to back sweetin
Blue raspberry could be awesome
I might try this. One thing I have started doing is adding all my dry ingredients at the same time. Yeast and nutrient too.
Do you think it woiukd have been "easier" to just use the kool-aid packets? As always a great video :)
Not sure it would make a difference.
@@CitySteadingBrews I'm thinking less preservitives. but I agree that making a Kilju and ading a paclet for flavor might be the best option :) again great video :)
gave you a thumbs up just for the OH YEAH lol
Thanks!
Did this Kilju style and got about 12% and mixed it up as Strawberry Watermelon with those MIO squirt flavor drink mixes. Beautifully cheap and tasty over ice on a hot day.
I started out using DAP and still use it today. Yeast nutrient really helps overall but a little DAP helps out :).
Not my favorite thing to use. Only did it as a hail mary here.
It’s not something we want in our food. Just personal preference.
would you guys ever do a fan submitted mead tasting? Maybe just for VIPs or whatever (not for me to enter! I just started) - Obviously rules for packing, sealing, ect-I just think it would be interesting
Likely no due to legal reasons.
A valiant effort.
In honor of the "weirdest brew you've ever made", I say... BINGO 😂
You wanna see the new bingo cards. This game is gonna be fun!
@@Kat_Andrews Looking forward to it Kat !
You need to drink that with some Elios Pizza.
If you want to make fun easy hooch, try 14.1oz Zuko packets ($2.48 locally) and Arizona drinks in 1 gallon jugs ($3.48 locally), most don't seem to have preservatives and the jugs are pretty heavy duty and work for primary fermentation by cracking the lid just slightly so air can escape. Pour out about 1.5 cups out of the jug and put in all 14.1oz of the Zuko packet and some yeast that can tolerate high alcohol with low nutrient like 71B, EC1118, distillers active dry yeast, or if you don't have any other option Fleischmann's, although the end result will be pretty sweet. Mucho Mango combined with Zuko Pineapple or Mango is one of my favorites.
Many years ago I made kool aid wine from the unsweetened packets by adding twice the amount of sugar called for and using caked bread yeast lol.
With preservetives, in the lab if you can't neutralise it, the second best way is to overwhelm it, so either fermenting it first then adding it or adding more packets could help.
Lol I can't wait to see how this turns out.
We did a snapple apple wine and it tastes like liquid caramel 2 years later.. no apple to be found in smell or taste but its very good if you like caramel
The only thing that could have driven this point home stronger is if you used the Ecto-cooler Kool-aid for that neon green toxic waste appearance.
Well, that would just be over the top, lol.
im glad you did this video, however id like you to try compare this ith another method. making an alcohol base (water,sugar, yeast) and once its done add the coolaid
May as well just use vodka for that.
I literally just finished a 6 gallon batch of blue raspberry kool aid and it turned out great, little bit of sulfur on the nose but the taste is right on point, was a bit rough to get started, was too low of a ph but I fixed that a few days later and it took off like a rocket fermenting haha
Just wondering if maybe it would have been more cooperative, had the entire kool aid container not been dumped in. Thinking more powder = more preservatives. Just a thought. May have to give this a whirl as I gre up on tropical punch and black cherry Kool aid
Maybe!
Hey guys.. have y'all made anything from watermelon yet? Love the vids
We have not… yet.
I am out of Lalvin 71b so I will be attempting this with yeast nutrient, nutrient energizer, and bread yeast. Lets see how this little experiment goes!
Are you sure you want to do this?
@@CitySteadingBrews Do you think it would be better just to make a sugar wine and add the cool-aid powder to it after fermentation?
I'm pretty good with getting sugar wines to ferment to dryness.
Just a small comment before watching the whole video so I might have to edit it. LOL. I have successfully fermented juice with BHA in it before. Time cures all ( at least in my case ). It sat for about a month and didn't do much of anything. Then in the 5th week it took off with a ferocity that caused me to have to put a blow off tube on it. My theory ( no proof ) is that BHA is to preserve it on the shelf and once it is opened and mixed it starts losing it's potency. Similar to how chlorine will evaporate from tap water that just sits out for a while. It took a while but turned out to be one of my best wines in the end. In case anyone is wondering it was V8 Splash Blue Razzberry.
Very likely. :)
Appreciate your videos, they are so helpful! Just curious, have you tried the Brewsy bags? I bought some for shiggles, but I was wondering what your thoughts are on them. Thanks! 🧡🧡🧡
Nope. Waste of money imho.
@@CitySteadingBrews
I agree, but they say that you can have something drinkable in a week, so curiosity got the better of me. We shall see 😆
Drinkable /= good, lol.
Thanks for the experiment. Until I watched your video, every once in a while I thought about doing a brew with a german citrus crum tea that sitting on my shelf since a couple of years (basically since I decided to live a bit healthier and to loose some weight 😂) . Its ingredient list reads similar to coolaid. I guess I´ll leave it on the shelf 😅
Derica's "ooh yeah" was more macho man than Kool aid man 😆
I’ll tell her to work on it for next time…
Where did you get that gallon glass jug?
There’s links in the description.
"Interesting note of brick wall... Must have been dust from when the Kool-Aid Man came through the wall..." 😏 (Or maybe children's red lips from drinking that sh..tuff!" 🤣)
New to the channel I watched a whole bunch of videos and I love them. You guys are awesome and master's of your craft. This video has led me to ask this question, does Brian have diabetes?
I myself have type 2 diabetes.
Sorry if I am being nosey.
I do, yes.
@@CitySteadingBrews diabetes sucks. I probably won't be doing a cool aid brew though, I'm from Australia. We ain't got no cool aid here. Probably for the best.
Thanks again I've learnt heaps! LLAP
You guys inspired me to do my first mead which turned out great, and while that was fermenting i got a little creative and did 2 more brews, one with sprechers root beer syrup and another with jolly ranchers. I aged the root beer with a vanilla bean pod and after a bit of sweetening it turned out amazing, i definitely think its worth trying out, keep up the good work i love your videos 👍
I am making a Sprecher rootbeer mead right now. Almost at 2 weeks fermenting. Seems to be going very slow. Vanilla bean pod is a great idea. Did yours ferment slow?
@@RingerDaClown I dont remember my brew being slow, i did use a large 6.5 gallon bucket along with the entire jug of syrup. I did 2 abv readings and gave it a thourough mixing each time. What were your measurements for ingredients?
@justinbranson4171 I didn't use the syrup. I used their bottles, which had preservatives. It's going. Just not as quick as I thought. I see lots of bubbles in it.
I used 112 fl oz of Sprecher rootbeer, and one and a half pounds of wild flower honey. Used red star premiere cote de blanc and 10 grams of fermaid-o
@@RingerDaClown The preservatives could be to blame, hopefully just slowing it down and not adding any funky flavors. Also using soda with already present carbonation might've had an impact although i'm no expert.
@justinbranson4171 I stirred most of the present carbonation out of it. I think the preservatives are the main cause. But seems to be going so, fingers crossed it all works out.
I love watching your videos and have learned a lot about mead making from you in the last few years 🙂.
Koolaid is quite acidic. I wonder if the acidity could have played a role in inhibiting fermentation. If so, perhaps buffering the acidity might be worth trying to see if that helps it ferment better.
Could be!
Hats off in the ' Oh Yeah' bonus points for the accompanying facial expression... you took me back lol.
Sorry im working my way backwards through your videos, i love them all so far. As soons as i read kool aid wine i immediately thought "Mad Dog 2020" 😂
I think MD2020 is better really.
@CitySteadingBrews i think it was my first hangover as a kid, makes me shudder 🤣😂
Hi. For few months I have followed your channel, that motivated me to start the different fruit wine making. I have a doubt and I'd very happy if you can help with your experience: after fermentation, my wines usually taste strong alcohol both in nose and mouth feelings. Does this characteristic smooth with age time? My oldest wine is only 6 months age and it is bottled already. Should I expect this alcohol to smooth along the ageing?
Normally yes, they should mellow with age.
Hey guys! I have been binging all your videos and I love them! I have one question: I understand how you use the hydrometer to give the potential alcohol percentage, but how to be sure that you have enough yeast in there to reach that potential alcohol percentage?
Thanks!
The amount of yeast really has nothing to do with abv. If you notice, we tend to se either a half packet or whole packet. The yeast you add ends up being a small percentage of the total colony as they multiply.
@@CitySteadingBrews so whatever quantity of yeast you add the potential alcohol of the sugar quantity will be reached?
If I understand you right… the amount of sugar determines the alcohol content. Having enough yeast for a viable and strong colony is all you need. More yeast does not mean more alcohol.
@@CitySteadingBrews and how do we know we have enough yeast ? 🥹🤗
You put in the amount we suggest.
Cole aid vine!! That is funny😅!! But why not!! I dont drink it😂 haha
I did an unintentional kool aid Wine.
I made a watermelon wine. I wasn’t happy with the flavor or acidity. So I added a envelope of watermelon Kool aid and it’s been a big hit from all who tried it.
Tasted just like a watermelon Jolly Rancher!!!
Good luck with yours
You are defined by your choices and actions.
Pardon?
I feel like I need to see Tang wine. 😂
I’ll be honest I have thought of doing this… but after watching this that thought was quickly put to death ☠️. Anyhow great video nonetheless very entertaining thanks.
This was worth watching to answer the never ending question.
Hmm?
I was inspired (humored) by this and my adult son who loves lemon-lime Gatorade. So I made a kilju (CitySteading stylish) with 2 lime and 2 lemon peels. Fermented to dry, ABV 13%, and back sweetened with about a lb of lemon-lime Gatorade powder. The result (still v. young) tastes too limey to be confused with Gatorade. Not …horrible. May soften in time. Tempted to have another go at it, (but lighter on the peels), since I got no other use for the rest of the powder. Plus… it’s silly and fun! 😂🎉
Wow, that colour looks like something out of a mad scientist's lab... and my diabetes just went ballistic, lol
Kinda sad you guys didnt let it keep going until it either stalled or finished. I was curious if it actually would finish or not. Either way I think I might have to try a low ABV version of this just for the novelty.
It stalled. We showed that :)
Is there a reason why you'd put a whole pack of powder plus extra sugar in, when the recommended dose is like half a pack, no extra sugar? With all the worry about preservatives, wouldn't a lower starting gravity help prevent overstressing the yeast? You couldn't get a high ABV but dry hydromel territory seems perfectly respectable to me. Would it change your choice of yeast? Maybe there's a very tolerant ale or cider yeast you could use here. Just thinking out loud and wondering what your thoughts are.
Og was in the typical acceptable range and we will not ever consume this stuff. Ale and cider yeast won’t do what we needed here. Sure if you want a lower abv you can do many things differently. :)
@@CitySteadingBrews I totally get that, just wondering what could be done to make a well-fermenting brew out of a kool-aid base. Different goals I suppose.
I don’t know if that exact product can do it.
Now this, on ice, sounds like what I would want on a hot summer afternoon 👍.
I also grew up on Kool aid and remember dipping a wet plastic spoon in the powder and seeing who could keep a straight face 😂. I think I'd stick closer to the two quart(x2) amount, a whole bottle of mix in one gallon seems like a bit much flavor 😁.
Keep up the great suggestions, we're loving it 👍❤️🙏
BTW, kilju wine finally finished on June 22 at 11.47 abv. (Started 6/11/23, at 1.095sg, ended 6/22/23 at 1.010sg, in 7/8 gallon batch).
I used red star premiere classique yeast and added extra yeast hulls on the 14th because I didn't see any activity. I also shook the bajesus out of it every three days or so ( yes, I've got a bunch of slow relaxing retirement days 😁). I really think keeping it degassed did a lot to keep it fermenting nicely. The taste straight up is almost like watered down vanilla icing and a bite of alcohol, so I added three drops of starburst water sweetener, and I think I got drunk. I remember making the second one 😅 but my wife says I had at least four six ounce glasses.
Thanks again for all of your great videos 👍🙏❤️
Dr. Strange Brew has nothing on you 👍 heck 🤔 I'm going to try to ferment Blue berry pie filling 🤪 wish me luck 🤞
Ah the death of a childhood on Derica's face 🤣
Ooooh, would Swedish Red Fish be a flavor possibility? Like add it after fermenting?
No idea.
I tried fermenting a batch of passion tea (used in Starbucks Passion tea Lemonade) and the color dropped out of it. I'd be interested in seeing that done right. (Brewed 3 bags in 1 gallon water, dissolved sugar to 1.1sg, fermented about 2 weeks, 71b)
Red 40 is a synthetic dye. In Europe products containing it must have a health warning stating that it can cause hyperactivity in children. So yeah, all kinds of wrong 😮
You should have boiled the bejevers out of it first to drive off the preservatives. Iv'e done it with a cordial type drink and it ferments just fine.
Boiling doesn’t get rid of preservatives.
@@CitySteadingBrews If it's potassium metabisulfite and potassium sorbate it does.
It was neither of those.
That initial color reminds me of Tomato juice.
What do the yeast hulls do exactly?
They provide some nutrients for the yeast.
I recently sent you a letter about something similar. I tried this with an old family recipe using Tang and Sweetened Iced Tea with lemon mix, spiced with ground Allspice, clove, and cinnamon. Scoop some in a cup and serve hot or cold. Added enough for a gallon of each. SPG1.070, yeast nutrient, and RS Cuvee. Nothing happened for 24hours, checked the PH and added 1tsp baking soda. Went crazy and is still fermenting after 9 days. Will spice in conditioning with Brian's group of spices. Then force carb. We'll see.... What could be used instead of the powers and get the similar orange and teas flavors?
Tang is such an artificial flavor... I don't know of anything that would naturally give that flavor. I mean, it's fake orange so you can try orange maybe.
I have a lot of flossing sugar. I have wanted to try making something out of it. This may help ..
When I read Jack Kellers book he did suggest cleaning some fruits off with Potassium Sulphate, then waiting 24 hours. THEN add the yeast. I wonder if you added the water and fermaid O waited 24 hours and then added yeast if you would have had better results. This would let the preservatives dissipate out first, oar at least reduce the amount of them.
Having Capri-Sun in the house instead of Koop aid, for the boys, I’ve constantly thought how it would be if turned into wine….
I have a question not about this video, but a question nonetheless. I had made a mango applewine just out of fruit juice. I wanted to stabilize it before bottling and use potassium sorbate and a campden tablet. Now I feel like my wine is bitter. Is there any way to fix it?
I should specify that prior to adding the potassium and campden, I really enjoyed the flavor of the wine and it wasn't bitter at all.
Sorry, have never used those to stabilize.