I just have a question one how do you know when the wine is done the air like is slow down significantly it’s been about 12 or 13 days since I made the wine from Welches grape juice
As we show in our videos, the best method of knowing if your brew is done is by taking gravity readings. If you do not do this, then when you guess it might be done, wait a bit longer and hope for the best.
I like the reference. It was actually Vilod who made the mead with juniper berrys, he was a guy. It looked as if it was the same person he was talking about but the dialogue should have been separated.
@Vlad Xavier Now I started to wonder, if one would make mead with juniper berries in it. Should it be dried juniper berries like the ones often used in cooking or should it be unripe juniper berries which are used in making gin. Quite different flavor.
I’ve been making meads, wines, and ciders with your help over the past couple years now! A year ago, I made 3 gallons of your basic mead (with honey from my bees! and 71 BEAST instead of bread yeast), sweetened it to my taste, and pasteurized it. I let it age for a year (I have never waited that long because I am impatient), and we all toasted with it at my wedding over the weekend. It was AWESOME. We saved one bottle that we are going to have on our one year anniversary. It’s been so exciting and rewarding learning this craft from you. Thank you!!!
Hi. I recently ended up with a Red Star Yeast sampler pack. Has a Cote des Blancs, Premier Rouge, Premier white, Cuvee and a Classique could I use any of these for Mead?
I started making mead about 3 yrs ago thanks to you. So far i've made 12 batches.. i started with bread yeast ( fleshmans dry active). Then i tried some of the other wine yeasts, my friends noticed the difference. Sooo they prefered the bread yeast. Been using bread yeast ever since. Thanks to you very much.
My buddy and I went to renaissance fair this weekend and drank copious amounts of mead. We looked up the brand we had, and were happy to find it was available at the local grocery store (in very small quantities). After digging in to the topic, and your video giving us encouragment, we've spent about $200 on buying a starting setup to run two brews at a time. We figure it's a fun, more economically viable way of having something we enjoy. And we'll have it for our Dungeons and Dragons nights. Thanks for such a thorough tutorial, and for helping break down the apprehension for this new hobby.
Great video as always. Yeah some people say you talk too much but i agree with you, i want more detail, not just add this, add this, add that. You’re videos are ten times more helpful because you go into detail, you explain the why’s and how’s. Its not just a recipe it’s an education. So keep doing you and never change. 👍🏻
I do find it comical when people say, "You talk too much." when watching a free video. You can always stop listening! If you have paid for an education, you have a right to provide constructive feedback. If someone is offering free education, they can provide it in the style of their choice. Take what is of interest to you and leave the rest. For the recorded, I love the detail you provide. You are both extremely generous with your knowledge. Through your instruction, I have just made my first mead. I watched 6 of your brewing videos (a few times) and believe I have gotten it right. Thank you.
So I made my first Mead 6 months ago using this recipe and honestly haven't had time to mess with it until yesterday. I finally racked and bottled AND IT IS AMAZING!!! Its SOO GOOD!!! Thanks for the videos!
I have been binge watching you guys for a few weeks now and I am officially starting my first mead next week! Thank you both for all your hard work and explaining everything so well.
Hey guys. I'm from South Africa, so I use rooibos tea (a very popular local tea) in my mead. I included it in my caramel orange mead... I caramelized orange slices instead of using dried citrus. Also used bread yeast and I really can't fault it at all. After maturing for about 4 months, the resulting mead was awesome :-) Thanks for the video! :-)
My wife is from Latvia she learn me to make fruit wine and her aunt have allot of honey bees so also allot of honey thanks to you wonderful people I’m learning to make Mede 👍🏼❤️greeting from Europe
I just broke into some of my first batch that I started 4 months before they made this video. I learned most of what I used to make it from them, and I can say, they know what they are talking about.
For those that argue about which year to use: both brewers and wine, and beer for that, are Saccharomyces cerevisiae. They are pretty much the same thing, just they have been bred to produce slightly, and I mean slightly, different characteristics. Signed: A Microbiologist.
thank you! we made wine in my microbiology class using bread yeast and i was surprised that people online said bread yeast cannot be used for brewing. thank you for clearing this up!
Derica made a very nice layman’s comparison in another video: she said the different strains of yeast are a lot like dogs. They’re bred for different purposes and are good at different things but they’re all... dogs. Granted, dogs can interbreed. Yeasts... not so easily. But for lay people, the comparison is sufficient to understand the idea.
I never would have tried making mead if not for this video! You made the whole process seem so simple! And your more laid back approach made me feel comfortable trying something new! Definitely saw the “elitism” you mentioned in other similar instructional videos
With my first mead I got the glass jug, yeast, and airlock as a mead making kit for around $20. Honey costed $16. Was one of the best drinks I have ever made.
Was sure it was going to go like this: What do I mean about shake the bejesus out of it? Look there *points at the honey in the bottom* you see the bejesus there? Shake it until you don't see it no more!
Took my second reading today (after the 1.110 OG), 1.040, 3.5 weeks in. And I tasted it. I didn't use tea like you guys just because I wanted to see how mead develops from honey without additions. Nonetheless, man this tastes so incredibly good. And it's not even done fermenting. Exactly as you said in the racking video it's obviously still boozy but it's absolutely drinkable as is. Rich, full-bodied, sweet, floral. Your guidance is really precious. Thanks for all you do!
Two bottles of mead in my fridge that I made last year...and 5 carboys in my pantry fermenting that I made at the beginning of this year....should rack those soon.
Just wanted to show my appreciation for all the work you guys have done. Very easy to understand videos, VERY charismatic way of delivery and I can't stress it enough: THANK YOU for putting the list in the description. Been watching you guys for a while and would encourage you to keep making more great videos!
Total noob homebrewer. I tried this and started June this year. Tasted it yesterday when I took a reading to check if it was done and OH WHAT THE HECK, this is one of the BEST things I've ever tasted in my LIFE! And its not even in secondary fermentation yet! Thanks for making such an easy to follow and honestly, super delicious recipe. Props to you guys!
I have to give you guys props for your videos. I got interested in making mead because of your videos last December. Since then, I have successfully brewed around 14 gallons of mead using your recipes, all with success. Thank you so much for your time and for sharing your passion for this.
Now I know why you are called Odin. You teach how to make mead without a Kitchen and give us the knowledge of how to do it cheaply, efficiently, simplistic, and effectively!! Thank You!! and looking forward in making it in my Assistance Living Facility Room!! HAZEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!
This inspired me to make a mead again. Just finished racking yesterday. Smell and taste was wonderfull. One reached 13.1% and the other 10.8%. Both using the same generic supermarket breadyeast. Really fun to do. Thanks for the clear instructions and explinations
My first experiment has been successful thus far. I'm 19 days into a Blackberry Mead and racked it today. OG was 1.115 and todays was 1.012. The flavor was lighter than expected with floral honey taste and hint of citrus. The alcohol was hidden until exhale, I can't wait until it settles and ages a bit. Thankyou for the inspiration.
I made this today, 2020-11-05, yeast was pitched around 1930PST. A couple of minor differences... 1. I made a lot, should net at least 5gal when it's time to keg/bottle. 2. I got my honey, all 15 POUNDS of it, from a farmer I know that lives nearby who has a pretty large apiary, so... not from the grocery store. Other than that I closely followed your recipe, just X5... The O.G. was really close to yours at 1.1 and I had activity in the airlock inside of the first hour, I'm so stoked. It's been a long time since I brewed anything. So glad I didn't sell off or get rid of my brewing equipment. I'll post an update here and on the "How to Make your FIRST Mead - Racking and Bottling" video when I get to keg/bottle this one. Thank you so much for the inspiration!
I really hope that you two see this comment ... I may have come up with another reason to comment. Soon, maybe 6 months, after making this batch of mead that I'm talking about in the above comment I thought it had gone bad because it tasted off and I almost threw it out. Then there was some chaos in my life and I just didn't deal with it but all my info, brew date, original gravity, etc., got lost... except I put the important info up there in my comment from wayyyy back. It's 2023-05- 06 now and there's that old comment of mine. Encourage people to comment with their brewing notes. Not only to share them but in case they loose them! Oh, and I still have that forgotten batch of mead. It's still in the secondary fermenter. I should get around to bottling it sometime soon.
I’m excited to try this and my supplies just showed up. I hope I’m still on recipe here in the Philippines. They sell honey in 750ml bottles, so I’m using 2, which is 1.5 liters. They don’t have Fleishman’s Yeast here and the cheap Chinese yeast sold in the market is kinda sketchy, so I found a quality “beer” yeast. In the gas valve, I’m using a coconut vinegar as it’s a natural preservative that insects tend to avoid. If you think I’ve left the recipe or am on the edge of a disaster, let me know. Thanks for the channel. I am a big fan. If this works well, I plan to offer it in my restaurant. All the love!
I almost couldnt find this video because I think they changed the thumbnail and I was panicking because this is the BEST recipe ever... I'm taking notes this time.
I started my first batch about a week ago and uncorked it to check the gravity yesterday and have a little taste test. The ABV is already at 7.5 and it actually tastes ok, after 1 week! I can’t wait till it is done! Thanks guys for this recipe.
I followed your recipe with a few differences - I used mandarin peel instead of orange and ambrosia honey instead of orange blossom. I made two 1 gallon batches, side by side, with one having just plain black tea and the other having spiced black tea - hubbies idea (Indian spice blend from Frontier). Husband and I racked both yesterday after 6 weeks and will let ferment a bit longer before bottling. Wow, the flavor was amazing. We were both blown away by how simple this is. What a treat. Thank you.
@@colemon so far, so good I believe. I have it the swirl on day 15. Activity is low at this point on day 2 1 so I'm going to let it settle for the next week or so before moving it to secondary fermentation. Thanks for asking.
I just bought that fermenter, I went to many grocery stores and it was ONLY at Publix. I had a very nice British Gent help me find it. Although that Apple juice was on the expensive side, the glass gallon jar was still cheaper than buying one from Amazon/Walmart (Mead kit). I was so excited to find it I bought 3 I'm thinking I should use them to make the strawberry 🍓 cider, spiced cider and something else. Thanks for saying Publix!
I started my first two meads yesterday - a simple mead using this recipe and a blackberry, raspberry and cherry mead. All bubbling nicely in my cupboard. Thanks Brian and Derica
Racked my blackberry, raspberry and cherry mead last night. ABV around 12. Fermented out to 0.998 and so sweetened it to just above 0.010. Very clear, minimal foot smell and very little degassing. I've English Oaked two bottles of it. The was enough left for two large glasses. Nicely dry, a good hint of blackberry, lovely tannin mouth feel and cherry in the middle, blackberry hint on the finish. A nice surprise 5was the returning cherry note that occurred a couple of times a few minutes later. Although it's young it tastes surprisingly complex. Thanks Brian and Derica.
I racked the traditional last night. It still seems to be off gassing. It fermented out to 0.996 gravity for an ABV of 13.77%. I put it into two bottles that I cold crashed to drink soon and racked the rest into a two litre demijohn with oak chips while it conditions. We had about nearly a bottle left to test. It. Is. Amazing. Already it's the best mead I've had. No off smells or flavours. It has a hint of citrus at the start. Very refreshing. There is tannin but the tea smell it had has has completely gone. There is a on aftertaste that I cannot place, not suite citrus, not quite honey, not floral or herby... very mysterious. Thanks Brian and Derica.
I've learned so much from you guys. I wanted to say thanks for helping to reduce my stress. About 6 weeks ago, I started two 4 gallon batchs, in 5 gallon buckets. One of black cherry coffee wine, and one of pomegranate mead. Then I broke my elbow. There's no way I can work with 40lb buckets right now. But, because of your channel, I know that it's ok. I'll probably rack them off next week, and then they'll sit for another 6-8 weeks, until I can actually lift the buckets. And I know that my wine will be just fine, so it's one thing I don't have to stress about. Considering I have about $200 total into these 2 batches, that's a good thing! Thanks!
Thanks to you both, I went from no brew experience in January to being a semi-confident mead maker now with a few pretty awesome brews under my belt. I just wanted to say thank you! Its been a real joy and I've learned something new every video!
this is the video that helped me get started. I made my first batch and it turned out great! just finished drinking it this past week and now I'm back for a refresher before I start batch 2. of all the "how to" videos on youtube, this one was by far the most helpful.
Want to share that we have officially finished our first meed using this video as a basis and it’s come out looking like a yellow stained window it’s so clear! We accidentally put a little too much honey is as a slip up haha but over all it’s a very strong and sweet meed came out at 19% because we used ec1118 as I couldn’t find the same yeast and the only one a local brew shop had was it. We have since made a Vikings blood with the exact method and ingredients as you have for the 2020 video hoping it is as good as it looks thanks
I made my first mead last week. I have another carboy on the way for a cider project. You guys have certainly gotten me bit by the bug in a good way, thank you for making the process fun and simple for newbies!
I made my first mead 2 weeks ago and it is at 12%. I was surprised and thought maybe I read the hydrometer wrong...until I tasted it...yep, definitely alcohol. We have a lot of wild blackberries, dewberries, farkleberries, and muscadine grapes on our land. I started the muscadine and roselle hibiscus wine 2 weeks ago, and will start a farkleberry mead tomorrow using your blueberry mead recipe. My husband has been accommodating (more like absorbing the cost haha) my gardening and now wine/mead hobbies, and just bought me the auto siphon to complete my kit. I really love y'alls no frills and down to earth attitude about home brewing. Love learning from your channel, it's kind of addicting. Blessings to you both.
Hey, wanted to thank you guys for such informative and encouraging videos! At the end of August I started my first brew(s) using this recipe. Instead of doing it as one gallon, I split it into quarts with half using the same bread yeast used here, and the other using ec-1118 champagne yeast, just as an experiment. (I also split half of each between fresh and dried orange peel, but my hypothesis is this will make no discernable difference). So far all is going well! I don't see any more bubbles so took a hydrometer reading in the hopes of racking next weekend. Bread yeast brew appears to have reached an ABV of 12.6%, and the champagne yeast 14.31% and 14.57% (slightly different starting gravities between those quarts).
Update: Racked it earlier with a friend of mine, as the gravity readings held stable. Poured a little bit of into two shotglasses from the bread yest brew and champagne yeast brew we got the most fluid out of, and sampled, along with my other half. We agreed it's tasting pretty good so far, and are excited for the final product to be ready! Even more, excited to get started playing with flavor/ingredient ideas we've been throwing back and forth.
@@champagnelewis7049 - Brewing is tons of fun... with a great reward over a longer period of time. I’ve got my birthday later this month and guess what’s on the wish list my loved ones requested from me? Carboys (wide mouth and narrow mouth) Stoppers Airlocks Yeasts Honey Swing top bottles 🤣🤣🤣
For shoving the raisins in the bottle, I had luck sort of rolling the raisins like a cigar in some parchment paper. Once rolled, I squeezed the cigar tightly in my fists and then unrolled it. The raisins now looked like, um, something I wouldn’t wanna eat, but they easily plopped right into the bottle.
I made this as my very first mead and only second alcoholic drink ever. I have had three friends use the following words with this exact recipe; fire, excellent and fantastic. The only difference was I used K1-V1116 yeast. They also praised it when it was young and barely finished so not aged at all. Thank you for the recipe and this channel
My started my first Mead on June 23rd, 2020 it's an Apple Pie Mead, with 5# Gala apples rough chopped, slightly carmalized with a 1/2 cup sugar then cinnamon, and 3 cloves. Brought to a boil for 5 min. Then off the heat covered and cooled down below 100f. Then added to a 2 1/2 gallon fermentation bucket added 3# raw wildflower honey added enough cold water to bring it up to a gallon and a quart of water total, and added 2 1/2 oz. of raisins (chopped). Spgr @1.110 smells really good, fingers crossed.
First, love the channel. Second, made some using your recipe and it turned out GREAT. Third; tried it again but added spices- found out later that cardamom will KILL YOUR YEAST DEAD, just for everyone's info who might try making a spiced mead. Thinking of adding it after fermentation to aid in killing off the yeast. Hope you all are doing well!
I’m a week into my first try at mead, using this recipe. It’s looking good, consistently bubbling, and the occasional diver! I plan on making your Vikings Blood 2020 soon. Thanks for your awesome instructions for mead! ☺️🐝
Started watching your videos about a week ago. Binged probably 50% of them. Its amazing learning about this field, and I will definitely be making this (in a few days when my airlock comes in😂). Excited to see how it comes out!
Thank you for this wanted to get into home brew (6 kids trying to figure out zoom calls enough reason) this video has given me the knowledge and courage to start. So thank you again!
I started my first ever mead after this recipe two days ago. As a beekeeper I have a lot of leftover honey that isn't quite good enough to sell, but perfectly fine for mead. Not the bottle is in my bathroom, happily bubbling away. I am quite excited about the outcome of this 😁
Great information guys. I've been brewing various things for... too many years, and I love your attitude. A great intro for noobs. And I'll take a few of your ideas and play. :) For example, I'd have jumped to wine yeast, unless I was making a mead ale. Experimentation is what brewing is all about.
I have no clue how many videos of your guy's I've seen at this point but I threw together my first mead april 10th with little research about 4.5 gal water and 16lbs honey in a 6 gallon brew bucket transferred to 5 gallon glass carboy after about 3 or 4 weeks and it ended at 0.992 idk the original gravity... it's not the best still has a little "fartyness" but I happened to look at my second batch this afternoon I started on april 25th and noticed it had finally naturally cleared beautifully.... this one is a citrus raisin that started at 1.125 and ended at 1.006 used 4lbs honey and almost a gallon of water and its delicious Then I have a few more things going Thanks for the videos
I figger mead is most local far easiest...here in FL honey is accessible year round and from local farmer's markets...in case the SHTF and beer/spirits are unavailable...Ill gave mead...until I can cultivate...
I rarely ever leave comments, but wanted to say thank you so much for teaching me how to make my first mead. My mead initially came out kind of bad (I left the orange peel in too long before racking, which made the citrus taste overpowering). After studying your other videos, I was able to not only save my mead, but actually make it taste good. As a bonus, my mind has been opened to the possibilities of fermenting in general. Again, thank you both! I look forward to watching more of your videos and trying other recipes.
Love the energy guys. Great video and good instruction. Appreciate the rants as well. Its nice to see some brewers that remember what its like to start the hobby. Will be starting a batch next weekend. Hopefully will be ready for thanksgiving 2023.
This is genuinely the best beginner mead video, the talking makes it easier to digest info because I have some time to think before they move onto the next info bite, they list out everything you need in the beginning and as someone who’s starting out and has no gear yet I don’t feel like I need to buy a bunch of expensive stuff before I know if I even like mead/the hobby itself. Thank you!
Made a start on my first ever mead, following this recipe yesterday! Thank you for the video and making the content so accessible and understandable. I've used some locally sourced honey a few miles from home, I hope my brew does it justice!
For a first attempt, it was decent! I over oaked it slightly (I was impatient and put the oak chips in while the brew was still warm after pasteurizing so it extracted a little too much of the oak flavour). Even so, it was a great brew and I still enjoy drinking it on a weekend with some sport on the TV! I've learned my lessons (mainly patience) and have made some even better brews since.
Hey...its the Alton Brown of brewing! 😆 I absolutely like the narrative with the video. That being said I have to chuckle. My last batch of meade I went way out on the limb and used....wait for it! Buckwheat honey! So how did it turn out? Hmmmm....kind of a ohh...errr....uhhh....hmmm....yeah. Justvlike that. Lets go with woody? Very sweet and woody leaning towards coffee if that is even possible. I used Madagascar Bourbon vanilla beans as my tannin source. Kind of wished I'd left them in longer though. 3 for a 3 gallon batch. Also used 6 pounds of honey for the 3 gallon batch. Some other things here and there. Currently sitting in the secondary getting happy.
I know Im about a year later on my comment but I keep referring to this one as a go to step by step for my Mead making. Thank you guys so much. I thoroughly enjoy all of your videos but Mead and Rum is where my heart is. Just wanted to drop in and say thank yall. You guys are awesome!
I just came here to say I've always learned best from people who teach the way you two do. I about noped out of mead making because so many videos were making it way too complex.
Hey Derica and Brian! I first saw this video about a year ago and I was so inspired to start brewing my own mead. I just started my first brew little over a week ago, my SO got me a mead brewing kit for my birthday :) Now I have watched so many of your videos the last few weeks and I'm exited to try so many of your recipes. I saw your one year tasting video of this batch today and I loved seeing the smiles on your faces! I really want to make this mead now, I'm pretty sure this is the next brew to try. My question is though, do you think Lalvin 71 BEAST would work with this recipe? I'm asking since I already have a packet of Lalvin 71, and I can't get the bread yeast that you are using here in Sweden, unless I commit to 24lb... Thank you both for the amazing content! Best wishes from Simon in Sweden.
Any yeast can make mead... that said, it's going to be more dry. However, we have done videos on backsweetening and pasteurizing if you want it sweeter.
Started this today after more than 20 years since I last made mead. Used honey that has been in the basement for about 25 years and which took over two hours to de-crystalize! The process was put on hold after adding the raisins and grapefruit zest. Yup... bought a small, orange, grapefruit instead of an orange. Did not realize it until my wife ate the "orange". This will be an interesting drink!
So I finally racked this at 7 weeks - started at 1.094 and stopped at 1.036 about two weeks ago. This is pretty sweet and at only 7.6% I expected more fermentation. I waited the extra two weeks just to make sure it was not just very slow. I was about halfway through racking when I noticed that there was an air leak in my new auto-siphon and I was adding air...lots of it. That is what I get for paying all my attention to the primary and not having my wife help me. How worried should I be about the low ABV + remaining sugars + adding O2 back into the mix? As an additional note, this tastes primarily of grapefruit and honey... I do not see myself drinking this at all :-(
My first mead I just made had me worried… around day 5 the bubbling slowed and by day 8 there was 0 activity, so I thought it stalled. Turns out it just fermented fast as hell because the OG was 1.092 and the specific gravity on day 8 was 0.995. Onto secondary fermentation/aging!
I wish I had found you guys years ago. Your videos are brilliant. Thank you so much! I just started my first mead, last night. It is happily bubbling away currently. Thank you!
I've wondered what it would be like to use Red Tea (rooibus tea). In fact, I've thought of brewing up a whole gallon of tea and making a mead out of it...red tea seems a bit weaker in flavor than traditional tea, and no caffeine, so I think it would work. I think it would be interesting, but just haven't done it.
I’m really glad I found this channel. My dad is buying me a mead making kit for my 21 birthday here in a couple months and I’m excited to hopefully make something we can enjoy together
We made our first two meads yesterday and my girlfriend said "everything is sanitised in the silver sink of sanitisation." Ooh it would be the SSoS. I don't think I'd should say that out loud I might accidentally summon an Elder God.
I just started making some last night!!!! Tne only thing i did was upgrade to d-47 yeast for potentially better flavor but also to make racking a little easier further down the line 😅 The airlock is active, and everything is looking great! Im super excited to see how it turns out! One question though: ive read about degassing your mead. Some people say its important and others say its unnecessary. Is this something i should worry about? Would degassing make a better end product, or is it a waste of time? Again thank you for such an easy to understand video and for inspiring me to try this for myself! I cant wait to see the end product :)
your fermentation could be over but its just degassing and releasing co2 and other base created by the yeast which I a good thing as those gasses could alter the flavour :P good luck in your future brews.
I started this brew yesterday. I was not expecting the bubbling to start within a couple of hours. I am super excited. This is so fun! Thank you both for these awesome tutorials. I have learned a lot.
PROTIP: MAKE SURE YOUR RAISINS ALSO DO NOT HAVE PRESERVATIVES :( I made this mistake... I checked everything else, sanitized, got everything together and forgot to check the raisins... which had potassium sorbate and nearly killed off my yeast. It managed to come back eventually but took a long time for fermentation to begin.
Hi. So I live in nola. Any chance you can tell me where I can go buy some of this honey? I'd very much like to get my hands on some real local honey for myself
You can really tell how passionate they are about this, seeing the guy hold his tongue to stop him from speaking over her 😂 I can tell he really enjoys what he's talking about
Started this batch couple days ago with my hive wildflower honey along with a half gallon batch with some citrus honey from my sons hive 100 miles away... The wait begins. Thanks for all the videos and laughs... You guys are great.....
I just racked my first batch of mead using your recipe (basically, I used ec-1118 yeast and lemon peel instead of orange). It tasted great! Just a little alcohol taste, I calculated I ended up at 16% ABV. But drinkable as is, just needs to age and clarify a bit. Thanks for your entertaining and informative videos!
I've brewed a few times at home (ales) and stopped for a bit. I discovered your channel late last year and have been binge watching religiously. You've re-sparked my brewing creativity as well as added a new dimension. Thanks for all you do.
thank you for your intro into mead making and this recipe. I used wine yeast instead and I just bottled my first batch after about 5 weeks. I can't wait to taste the finished product.
This was the first mead I made that i was proud of. I started 3 separate 1gal batches of it on June 8th 2021 using 3 different kinds of yeast (Lalvin 71-b, Fleishman's bread yeast, and Lallemand CBC-1) just to see if there might be differences in them due to the high temp summers in my area. Two turned out great! The Lallemand CBC-1 had an off flavor, but i think it was stressed in my 90' Apartment... Thank you so much for teaching me, I continue to enjoy watching your videos and have tried several other recipes that have turned out great.
If you want to learn more about this mead, how to finish and bottle it, here's the next video: ua-cam.com/video/06qguYaQGkE/v-deo.html
Does the ratio of ingridients stay the same if you make a larger ammount of mead lets say 60 liter batch?
I just have a question one how do you know when the wine is done the air like is slow down significantly it’s been about 12 or 13 days since I made the wine from Welches grape juice
yes
As we show in our videos, the best method of knowing if your brew is done is by taking gravity readings. If you do not do this, then when you guess it might be done, wait a bit longer and hope for the best.
I started it June 11, racked July 10, bottled Aug 15.
I really appreciate your long rants and explanations. I like know the WHY of things, it builds a foundation.
I was happily surprised too
Me too
Used to be sweet on a girl who made it with Juniper berries mixed in.
I'm dead
@@dillonmundy3185 hi dead i'm dad
ski rem
I like the reference. It was actually Vilod who made the mead with juniper berrys, he was a guy.
It looked as if it was the same person he was talking about but the dialogue should have been separated.
@Vlad Xavier Now I started to wonder, if one would make mead with juniper berries in it. Should it be dried juniper berries like the ones often used in cooking or should it be unripe juniper berries which are used in making gin. Quite different flavor.
I’ve been making meads, wines, and ciders with your help over the past couple years now! A year ago, I made 3 gallons of your basic mead (with honey from my bees! and 71 BEAST instead of bread yeast), sweetened it to my taste, and pasteurized it. I let it age for a year (I have never waited that long because I am impatient), and we all toasted with it at my wedding over the weekend.
It was AWESOME. We saved one bottle that we are going to have on our one year anniversary.
It’s been so exciting and rewarding learning this craft from you. Thank you!!!
Fantastic!
“If you want more alcohol, drink two glasses!”
Truer words have never been spoken.
Hi. I recently ended up with a Red Star Yeast sampler pack. Has a Cote des Blancs, Premier Rouge, Premier white, Cuvee and a Classique could I use any of these for Mead?
@@lettuce_b4885 For sure dude, even beer yeast would work.
I started making mead about 3 yrs ago thanks to you. So far i've made 12 batches.. i started with bread yeast ( fleshmans dry active). Then i tried some of the other wine yeasts, my friends noticed the difference. Sooo they prefered the bread yeast. Been using bread yeast ever since. Thanks to you very much.
That's very interesting, a lot of people trash bread yeast
What did they say the difference in flavor was?
@@agrillo3401 According to them the bread yeast gives the mead a smoother and less bitter flavor. I also prefer the bread yeast.
Thanks so much, I splurged on champagne yeast, which worked well, now I'll have to try bread yeast!
I didn't know making mead was so easy.
My buddy and I went to renaissance fair this weekend and drank copious amounts of mead. We looked up the brand we had, and were happy to find it was available at the local grocery store (in very small quantities). After digging in to the topic, and your video giving us encouragment, we've spent about $200 on buying a starting setup to run two brews at a time. We figure it's a fun, more economically viable way of having something we enjoy. And we'll have it for our Dungeons and Dragons nights.
Thanks for such a thorough tutorial, and for helping break down the apprehension for this new hobby.
Awesome!
I literally want to try make mead specifically fir dnd nights so we can enjoy an accurate type of brew that was drank during medieval times
Then you should drink beer and wine too. They were more common in medieval times. ;)
Mead for D & D nights
Pretty authentic
Great video as always. Yeah some people say you talk too much but i agree with you, i want more detail, not just add this, add this, add that. You’re videos are ten times more helpful because you go into detail, you explain the why’s and how’s. Its not just a recipe it’s an education. So keep doing you and never change. 👍🏻
I do find it comical when people say, "You talk too much." when watching a free video. You can always stop listening! If you have paid for an education, you have a right to provide constructive feedback. If someone is offering free education, they can provide it in the style of their choice. Take what is of interest to you and leave the rest.
For the recorded, I love the detail you provide. You are both extremely generous with your knowledge. Through your instruction, I have just made my first mead. I watched 6 of your brewing videos (a few times) and believe I have gotten it right. Thank you.
@@grahammills197 thank you Graham!
So I made my first Mead 6 months ago using this recipe and honestly haven't had time to mess with it until yesterday. I finally racked and bottled AND IT IS AMAZING!!! Its SOO GOOD!!! Thanks for the videos!
Wonderful!
did u ever take the orange peels out mines 7 days in and I'm wondering if I should take them out
You can take them out if you wish. Orange doesn't tend to over extract so we normally remove them with the first rack when fermentation is done.
I have been binge watching you guys for a few weeks now and I am officially starting my first mead next week! Thank you both for all your hard work and explaining everything so well.
How did it go?
@@shawnlewis9607 it is still in secondary but just listening to the bubbling in primary was so satisfying 😁
@@amandacampbell9450 Yeah, there's nothing quite like a bubbling airlock to make your day. 😃👍
So is it done? How was it?
How did it turn out? Any suggestions for starters?
This takes me back. It's like the early days, but with the benefit of better filming equipment and more experience.
Hey guys. I'm from South Africa, so I use rooibos tea (a very popular local tea) in my mead. I included it in my caramel orange mead... I caramelized orange slices instead of using dried citrus. Also used bread yeast and I really can't fault it at all. After maturing for about 4 months, the resulting mead was awesome :-)
Thanks for the video! :-)
My wife is from Latvia she learn me to make fruit wine and her aunt have allot of honey bees so also allot of honey thanks to you wonderful people I’m learning to make Mede 👍🏼❤️greeting from Europe
I just broke into some of my first batch that I started 4 months before they made this video. I learned most of what I used to make it from them, and I can say, they know what they are talking about.
Thanks for the feedback!! I'm so excited to try this myself!!
For those that argue about which year to use: both brewers and wine, and beer for that, are Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
They are pretty much the same thing, just they have been bred to produce slightly, and I mean slightly, different characteristics.
Signed: A Microbiologist.
thank you! we made wine in my microbiology class using bread yeast and i was surprised that people online said bread yeast cannot be used for brewing. thank you for clearing this up!
Derica made a very nice layman’s comparison in another video: she said the different strains of yeast are a lot like dogs. They’re bred for different purposes and are good at different things but they’re all... dogs. Granted, dogs can interbreed. Yeasts... not so easily. But for lay people, the comparison is sufficient to understand the idea.
Thank you
Thank you! Very helpful! That was my thought too!
@@jaicabardo4357 Weird, where im from it's all we use to brew :D I'm astonished to find all these yeast's that I apparently need ::D
I never would have tried making mead if not for this video! You made the whole process seem so simple! And your more laid back approach made me feel comfortable trying something new! Definitely saw the “elitism” you mentioned in other similar instructional videos
Glad I could help!
With my first mead I got the glass jug, yeast, and airlock as a mead making kit for around $20. Honey costed $16. Was one of the best drinks I have ever made.
Where did you purchase your kit ?
Was sure it was going to go like this:
What do I mean about shake the bejesus out of it?
Look there *points at the honey in the bottom* you see the bejesus there?
Shake it until you don't see it no more!
Lol I missed an opportunity!
Took my second reading today (after the 1.110 OG), 1.040, 3.5 weeks in. And I tasted it. I didn't use tea like you guys just because I wanted to see how mead develops from honey without additions. Nonetheless, man this tastes so incredibly good. And it's not even done fermenting. Exactly as you said in the racking video it's obviously still boozy but it's absolutely drinkable as is. Rich, full-bodied, sweet, floral. Your guidance is really precious. Thanks for all you do!
Two bottles of mead in my fridge that I made last year...and 5 carboys in my pantry fermenting that I made at the beginning of this year....should rack those soon.
Just wanted to show my appreciation for all the work you guys have done. Very easy to understand videos, VERY charismatic way of delivery and I can't stress it enough: THANK YOU for putting the list in the description. Been watching you guys for a while and would encourage you to keep making more great videos!
Much appreciated!
Total noob homebrewer. I tried this and started June this year. Tasted it yesterday when I took a reading to check if it was done and OH WHAT THE HECK, this is one of the BEST things I've ever tasted in my LIFE! And its not even in secondary fermentation yet! Thanks for making such an easy to follow and honestly, super delicious recipe. Props to you guys!
Happy to help!
Since I started brewing mead, I have always used bread yeast and it has always been tasty. Thank you for inspiring us to break the standard. 🙏🙏🙏
I have to give you guys props for your videos. I got interested in making mead because of your videos last December. Since then, I have successfully brewed around 14 gallons of mead using your recipes, all with success. Thank you so much for your time and for sharing your passion for this.
That is awesome!
Now I know why you are called Odin. You teach how to make mead without a Kitchen and give us the knowledge of how to do it cheaply, efficiently, simplistic, and effectively!!
Thank You!! and looking forward in making it in my Assistance Living Facility Room!! HAZEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!
Not sure I have been called that... lol.
Than You!!@@CitySteadingBrews
This inspired me to make a mead again. Just finished racking yesterday. Smell and taste was wonderfull. One reached 13.1% and the other 10.8%. Both using the same generic supermarket breadyeast. Really fun to do. Thanks for the clear instructions and explinations
We made this exactly as described (except lemon peels) and it's amazing. Better than store bought and so much fun.
My first experiment has been successful thus far. I'm 19 days into a Blackberry Mead and racked it today. OG was 1.115 and todays was 1.012. The flavor was lighter than expected with floral honey taste and hint of citrus. The alcohol was hidden until exhale, I can't wait until it settles and ages a bit. Thankyou for the inspiration.
I made this today, 2020-11-05, yeast was pitched around 1930PST. A couple of minor differences... 1. I made a lot, should net at least 5gal when it's time to keg/bottle. 2. I got my honey, all 15 POUNDS of it, from a farmer I know that lives nearby who has a pretty large apiary, so... not from the grocery store. Other than that I closely followed your recipe, just X5... The O.G. was really close to yours at 1.1 and I had activity in the airlock inside of the first hour, I'm so stoked. It's been a long time since I brewed anything. So glad I didn't sell off or get rid of my brewing equipment. I'll post an update here and on the "How to Make your FIRST Mead - Racking and Bottling" video when I get to keg/bottle this one. Thank you so much for the inspiration!
I really hope that you two see this comment ... I may have come up with another reason to comment. Soon, maybe 6 months, after making this batch of mead that I'm talking about in the above comment I thought it had gone bad because it tasted off and I almost threw it out. Then there was some chaos in my life and I just didn't deal with it but all my info, brew date, original gravity, etc., got lost... except I put the important info up there in my comment from wayyyy back. It's 2023-05- 06 now and there's that old comment of mine. Encourage people to comment with their brewing notes. Not only to share them but in case they loose them!
Oh, and I still have that forgotten batch of mead. It's still in the secondary fermenter. I should get around to bottling it sometime soon.
Wow… hadn’t thought of that!
I’m excited to try this and my supplies just showed up.
I hope I’m still on recipe here in the Philippines.
They sell honey in 750ml bottles, so I’m using 2, which is 1.5 liters. They don’t have Fleishman’s Yeast here and the cheap Chinese yeast sold in the market is kinda sketchy, so I found a quality “beer” yeast. In the gas valve, I’m using a coconut vinegar as it’s a natural preservative that insects tend to avoid. If you think I’ve left the recipe or am on the edge of a disaster, let me know.
Thanks for the channel. I am a big fan. If this works well, I plan to offer it in my restaurant.
All the love!
I almost couldnt find this video because I think they changed the thumbnail and I was panicking because this is the BEST recipe ever... I'm taking notes this time.
I started my first batch about a week ago and uncorked it to check the gravity yesterday and have a little taste test. The ABV is already at 7.5 and it actually tastes ok, after 1 week! I can’t wait till it is done! Thanks guys for this recipe.
I'm really just commenting to boost your YT algorithm, as I think your video is more highly valuable than many others. Liked and subbed.
Wow, thank you!
I followed your recipe with a few differences - I used mandarin peel instead of orange and ambrosia honey instead of orange blossom. I made two 1 gallon batches, side by side, with one having just plain black tea and the other having spiced black tea - hubbies idea (Indian spice blend from Frontier). Husband and I racked both yesterday after 6 weeks and will let ferment a bit longer before bottling. Wow, the flavor was amazing. We were both blown away by how simple this is. What a treat. Thank you.
I began this today. I used fresh orange peels and everything else was as instructed. I'm looking forward to the results.
Thats what I'm using now fresh orange. Happy brewing.
@@colemonthanks! I think it's of to a good start. Day 6 and it has a very kombucha-ish scent.
@@TheJasonCrystal I just bottled mine today that has fresh peel. I wish I used a little less. Still good, but will surprise you if you’re not ready.
Hey buddy how's your brew going?
@@colemon so far, so good I believe. I have it the swirl on day 15. Activity is low at this point on day 2 1 so I'm going to let it settle for the next week or so before moving it to secondary fermentation. Thanks for asking.
I just made one, but I used voss kveik yeast, it is fermenting at 35°c... fast and clean. You have to try it... thanks for the learning.
An actual simple and clear video with no fancy chemical powders. Well done
To be fair, we don't use a lot of chemical powders!
Yeah exactly!
I just bought that fermenter, I went to many grocery stores and it was ONLY at Publix. I had a very nice British Gent help me find it. Although that Apple juice was on the expensive side, the glass gallon jar was still cheaper than buying one from Amazon/Walmart (Mead kit). I was so excited to find it I bought 3 I'm thinking I should use them to make the strawberry 🍓 cider, spiced cider and something else.
Thanks for saying Publix!
I've been looking, and have only found plastic. Publix here I come!
I started my first two meads yesterday - a simple mead using this recipe and a blackberry, raspberry and cherry mead. All bubbling nicely in my cupboard. Thanks Brian and Derica
Racked my blackberry, raspberry and cherry mead last night. ABV around 12. Fermented out to 0.998 and so sweetened it to just above 0.010. Very clear, minimal foot smell and very little degassing. I've English Oaked two bottles of it. The was enough left for two large glasses. Nicely dry, a good hint of blackberry, lovely tannin mouth feel and cherry in the middle, blackberry hint on the finish. A nice surprise 5was the returning cherry note that occurred a couple of times a few minutes later. Although it's young it tastes surprisingly complex.
Thanks Brian and Derica.
I racked the traditional last night. It still seems to be off gassing. It fermented out to 0.996 gravity for an ABV of 13.77%. I put it into two bottles that I cold crashed to drink soon and racked the rest into a two litre demijohn with oak chips while it conditions. We had about nearly a bottle left to test.
It. Is. Amazing. Already it's the best mead I've had. No off smells or flavours. It has a hint of citrus at the start. Very refreshing. There is tannin but the tea smell it had has has completely gone. There is a on aftertaste that I cannot place, not suite citrus, not quite honey, not floral or herby... very mysterious. Thanks Brian and Derica.
when did you add the rasberries to the mix
@@andhislilmonkey it was all added in at the start. It was a bag of mixed frozen berries
I've learned so much from you guys. I wanted to say thanks for helping to reduce my stress. About 6 weeks ago, I started two 4 gallon batchs, in 5 gallon buckets. One of black cherry coffee wine, and one of pomegranate mead. Then I broke my elbow. There's no way I can work with 40lb buckets right now. But, because of your channel, I know that it's ok. I'll probably rack them off next week, and then they'll sit for another 6-8 weeks, until I can actually lift the buckets. And I know that my wine will be just fine, so it's one thing I don't have to stress about. Considering I have about $200 total into these 2 batches, that's a good thing! Thanks!
Whoah, take care of yourself. Hoping for a speedy healing for you. But yeah, your brews will be fine.
Thanks to you both, I went from no brew experience in January to being a semi-confident mead maker now with a few pretty awesome brews under my belt. I just wanted to say thank you! Its been a real joy and I've learned something new every video!
You are very welcome!
Thank you so much for this video!! You made mead making seem much more possible and less intimidating than so many other instructional guides 😁
Glad it was helpful!
this is the video that helped me get started. I made my first batch and it turned out great! just finished drinking it this past week and now I'm back for a refresher before I start batch 2. of all the "how to" videos on youtube, this one was by far the most helpful.
Thank you so much! We are happy to introduce new brewers into the fun and exciting hobby.
Want to share that we have officially finished our first meed using this video as a basis and it’s come out looking like a yellow stained window it’s so clear! We accidentally put a little too much honey is as a slip up haha but over all it’s a very strong and sweet meed came out at 19% because we used ec1118 as I couldn’t find the same yeast and the only one a local brew shop had was it. We have since made a Vikings blood with the exact method and ingredients as you have for the 2020 video hoping it is as good as it looks thanks
I made my first mead last week. I have another carboy on the way for a cider project. You guys have certainly gotten me bit by the bug in a good way, thank you for making the process fun and simple for newbies!
I made my first mead 2 weeks ago and it is at 12%. I was surprised and thought maybe I read the hydrometer wrong...until I tasted it...yep, definitely alcohol.
We have a lot of wild blackberries, dewberries, farkleberries, and muscadine grapes on our land. I started the muscadine and roselle hibiscus wine 2 weeks ago, and will start a farkleberry mead tomorrow using your blueberry mead recipe.
My husband has been accommodating (more like absorbing the cost haha) my gardening and now wine/mead hobbies, and just bought me the auto siphon to complete my kit.
I really love y'alls no frills and down to earth attitude about home brewing.
Love learning from your channel, it's kind of addicting.
Blessings to you both.
Sounds like you have the perfect supply for lots of brews! Happy Brewing!
Hey, wanted to thank you guys for such informative and encouraging videos!
At the end of August I started my first brew(s) using this recipe. Instead of doing it as one gallon, I split it into quarts with half using the same bread yeast used here, and the other using ec-1118 champagne yeast, just as an experiment. (I also split half of each between fresh and dried orange peel, but my hypothesis is this will make no discernable difference).
So far all is going well! I don't see any more bubbles so took a hydrometer reading in the hopes of racking next weekend. Bread yeast brew appears to have reached an ABV of 12.6%, and the champagne yeast 14.31% and 14.57% (slightly different starting gravities between those quarts).
Update:
Racked it earlier with a friend of mine, as the gravity readings held stable. Poured a little bit of into two shotglasses from the bread yest brew and champagne yeast brew we got the most fluid out of, and sampled, along with my other half. We agreed it's tasting pretty good so far, and are excited for the final product to be ready! Even more, excited to get started playing with flavor/ingredient ideas we've been throwing back and forth.
@@champagnelewis7049 - Brewing is tons of fun... with a great reward over a longer period of time. I’ve got my birthday later this month and guess what’s on the wish list my loved ones requested from me?
Carboys (wide mouth and narrow mouth)
Stoppers
Airlocks
Yeasts
Honey
Swing top bottles
🤣🤣🤣
For shoving the raisins in the bottle, I had luck sort of rolling the raisins like a cigar in some parchment paper. Once rolled, I squeezed the cigar tightly in my fists and then unrolled it. The raisins now looked like, um, something I wouldn’t wanna eat, but they easily plopped right into the bottle.
"Plopped" hehe
I made this as my very first mead and only second alcoholic drink ever. I have had three friends use the following words with this exact recipe; fire, excellent and fantastic. The only difference was I used K1-V1116 yeast. They also praised it when it was young and barely finished so not aged at all. Thank you for the recipe and this channel
My started my first Mead on June 23rd, 2020 it's an Apple Pie Mead, with 5# Gala apples rough chopped, slightly carmalized with a 1/2 cup sugar then cinnamon, and 3 cloves. Brought to a boil for 5 min. Then off the heat covered and cooled down below 100f. Then added to a 2 1/2 gallon fermentation bucket added 3# raw wildflower honey added enough cold water to bring it up to a gallon and a quart of water total, and added 2 1/2 oz. of raisins (chopped). Spgr @1.110 smells really good, fingers crossed.
What yeast?
@@CitySteadingBrews Bread yeast.. I wasn't expecting to get any other yeast, but two days later I go some 71B.
First, love the channel. Second, made some using your recipe and it turned out GREAT. Third; tried it again but added spices- found out later that cardamom will KILL YOUR YEAST DEAD, just for everyone's info who might try making a spiced mead. Thinking of adding it after fermentation to aid in killing off the yeast.
Hope you all are doing well!
Noted thanks
Yep, many spices are good preservatives, they are antibiotic, they kill microbes like bacteria and yeasts.
Interesting! This makes me wonder if cardamom could be used as a natural alternative to sulfites to stabilize a mead before back-sweetening.
Mead is my fave traditional British drink, especially any from Cornwall. Just amazing.
Bottled the mead yesterday! It has turned out really good! Thank you for the recipe! Now it's time to start experimenting! 😁💛
I’m a week into my first try at mead, using this recipe. It’s looking good, consistently bubbling, and the occasional diver! I plan on making your Vikings Blood 2020 soon. Thanks for your awesome instructions for mead! ☺️🐝
I had my first mead in 20 years visiting my brother. Now that I’m back home I want to make some. This helps immensely.
Started watching your videos about a week ago. Binged probably 50% of them. Its amazing learning about this field, and I will definitely be making this (in a few days when my airlock comes in😂). Excited to see how it comes out!
Thank you for this wanted to get into home brew (6 kids trying to figure out zoom calls enough reason) this video has given me the knowledge and courage to start. So thank you again!
Glad it was helpful!
I started my first ever mead after this recipe two days ago. As a beekeeper I have a lot of leftover honey that isn't quite good enough to sell, but perfectly fine for mead. Not the bottle is in my bathroom, happily bubbling away. I am quite excited about the outcome of this 😁
Great information guys. I've been brewing various things for... too many years, and I love your attitude. A great intro for noobs. And I'll take a few of your ideas and play. :) For example, I'd have jumped to wine yeast, unless I was making a mead ale. Experimentation is what brewing is all about.
Love that you guys are making these beginner videos and concepts!
More to come!
I have no clue how many videos of your guy's I've seen at this point but I threw together my first mead april 10th with little research about 4.5 gal water and 16lbs honey in a 6 gallon brew bucket transferred to 5 gallon glass carboy after about 3 or 4 weeks and it ended at 0.992 idk the original gravity... it's not the best still has a little "fartyness" but I happened to look at my second batch this afternoon I started on april 25th and noticed it had finally naturally cleared beautifully.... this one is a citrus raisin that started at 1.125 and ended at 1.006 used 4lbs honey and almost a gallon of water and its delicious
Then I have a few more things going
Thanks for the videos
Following this recipe right now for my first mead. I'm so excited!
How did it turn out?
HOW DID YOU KNOW? I've been investigating what my first homebrew should be, and I've been leaning toward mead. SORCERY!
We have microphones in everyone’s house.
I figger mead is most local far easiest...here in FL honey is accessible year round and from local farmer's markets...in case the SHTF and beer/spirits are unavailable...Ill gave mead...until I can cultivate...
I rarely ever leave comments, but wanted to say thank you so much for teaching me how to make my first mead. My mead initially came out kind of bad (I left the orange peel in too long before racking, which made the citrus taste overpowering). After studying your other videos, I was able to not only save my mead, but actually make it taste good. As a bonus, my mind has been opened to the possibilities of fermenting in general. Again, thank you both! I look forward to watching more of your videos and trying other recipes.
That's awesome! Happy we could help.
Started making my brew based off this video yesterday. Really hoping it turns out well
Fingers crossed
If you did as we did... it will be fine!
Love the energy guys. Great video and good instruction. Appreciate the rants as well. Its nice to see some brewers that remember what its like to start the hobby.
Will be starting a batch next weekend. Hopefully will be ready for thanksgiving 2023.
Cheers and happy brewing!
This is genuinely the best beginner mead video, the talking makes it easier to digest info because I have some time to think before they move onto the next info bite, they list out everything you need in the beginning and as someone who’s starting out and has no gear yet I don’t feel like I need to buy a bunch of expensive stuff before I know if I even like mead/the hobby itself. Thank you!
Made a start on my first ever mead, following this recipe yesterday! Thank you for the video and making the content so accessible and understandable. I've used some locally sourced honey a few miles from home, I hope my brew does it justice!
How did it turn out?
For a first attempt, it was decent! I over oaked it slightly (I was impatient and put the oak chips in while the brew was still warm after pasteurizing so it extracted a little too much of the oak flavour). Even so, it was a great brew and I still enjoy drinking it on a weekend with some sport on the TV! I've learned my lessons (mainly patience) and have made some even better brews since.
@@michaelg8179 Excellent! Glad the first one went well!
Just bought everything I need to start this brew. I'm really excited for it!
I found your channel years ago from your first 42 minute Mead extravaganza. I'm glad you released an updated thorough Mead video.
Hey...its the Alton Brown of brewing! 😆
I absolutely like the narrative with the video. That being said I have to chuckle. My last batch of meade I went way out on the limb and used....wait for it! Buckwheat honey! So how did it turn out? Hmmmm....kind of a ohh...errr....uhhh....hmmm....yeah. Justvlike that. Lets go with woody? Very sweet and woody leaning towards coffee if that is even possible. I used Madagascar Bourbon vanilla beans as my tannin source. Kind of wished I'd left them in longer though. 3 for a 3 gallon batch. Also used 6 pounds of honey for the 3 gallon batch. Some other things here and there. Currently sitting in the secondary getting happy.
Currently making a batch with fireweed honey, how did it turn out?
I know Im about a year later on my comment but I keep referring to this one as a go to step by step for my Mead making. Thank you guys so much. I thoroughly enjoy all of your videos but Mead and Rum is where my heart is. Just wanted to drop in and say thank yall. You guys are awesome!
Glad it was helpful!
I just came here to say I've always learned best from people who teach the way you two do. I about noped out of mead making because so many videos were making it way too complex.
Just curious how much you would swirl/degass during primary?
Love your videos by the way.
Ehh, once every day or two for a couple weeks.
I'm glad I saw your comment. I was scrolling through before I asked a question that may have already been answered.
Hey Derica and Brian!
I first saw this video about a year ago and I was so inspired to start brewing my own mead.
I just started my first brew little over a week ago, my SO got me a mead brewing kit for my birthday :)
Now I have watched so many of your videos the last few weeks and I'm exited to try so many of your recipes.
I saw your one year tasting video of this batch today and I loved seeing the smiles on your faces! I really want to make this mead now, I'm pretty sure this is the next brew to try.
My question is though, do you think Lalvin 71 BEAST would work with this recipe?
I'm asking since I already have a packet of Lalvin 71, and I can't get the bread yeast that you are using here in Sweden, unless I commit to 24lb...
Thank you both for the amazing content!
Best wishes from Simon in Sweden.
Any yeast can make mead... that said, it's going to be more dry. However, we have done videos on backsweetening and pasteurizing if you want it sweeter.
@@CitySteadingBrews thank you for the feedback!
Started this today after more than 20 years since I last made mead. Used honey that has been in the basement for about 25 years and which took over two hours to de-crystalize! The process was put on hold after adding the raisins and grapefruit zest. Yup... bought a small, orange, grapefruit instead of an orange. Did not realize it until my wife ate the "orange".
This will be an interesting drink!
So I finally racked this at 7 weeks - started at 1.094 and stopped at 1.036 about two weeks ago. This is pretty sweet and at only 7.6% I expected more fermentation. I waited the extra two weeks just to make sure it was not just very slow.
I was about halfway through racking when I noticed that there was an air leak in my new auto-siphon and I was adding air...lots of it. That is what I get for paying all my attention to the primary and not having my wife help me.
How worried should I be about the low ABV + remaining sugars + adding O2 back into the mix?
As an additional note, this tastes primarily of grapefruit and honey... I do not see myself drinking this at all :-(
My first mead I just made had me worried… around day 5 the bubbling slowed and by day 8 there was 0 activity, so I thought it stalled. Turns out it just fermented fast as hell because the OG was 1.092 and the specific gravity on day 8 was 0.995. Onto secondary fermentation/aging!
"I'd be alot warmer and alot happier with a belly full of mead."
I wish I had found you guys years ago. Your videos are brilliant. Thank you so much! I just started my first mead, last night. It is happily bubbling away currently. Thank you!
Happy to help!
Brian really reminds me of Altan Brown! has anyone else thought this?
More like Leonard Hofstadter from the Big Bang theory
Yes....
They live on the other side
of the state...Florida...Honey is easy to get here especially Orange blossom...
His voice is similar
I can use Black Tea then use another tea for flavor beeee cause I can. IT"S MY MEAD AND ITS NOW OR NEVER
If you wish.
I've wondered what it would be like to use Red Tea (rooibus tea). In fact, I've thought of brewing up a whole gallon of tea and making a mead out of it...red tea seems a bit weaker in flavor than traditional tea, and no caffeine, so I think it would work. I think it would be interesting, but just haven't done it.
@@TheMonker2 , Celestial Seasonings makes a hibiscus tea called "Red Zinger". I am tempted to try using that. That tea is one of my favorites.
@@TheMonker2 ua-cam.com/video/qr8T5byOo_k/v-deo.html
@@TheMonker2 You can actually make rooibos wine and thats pretty good, I bet a mead version would be fantastic.
I’m really glad I found this channel. My dad is buying me a mead making kit for my 21 birthday here in a couple months and I’m excited to hopefully make something we can enjoy together
Enjoy!
I saw a yellow bucket of sanitization in my local hardware, I was so tempted.... woohoo, TYBOS!
lol
Update. Ok, I brought the TYBOS...
Long may she live!
I invested in a Green Bucket of Sanitization!
I just bought a blue one and am calling it Beebos! (BBOS)
We made our first two meads yesterday and my girlfriend said "everything is sanitised in the silver sink of sanitisation."
Ooh it would be the SSoS. I don't think I'd should say that out loud I might accidentally summon an Elder God.
I just started making some last night!!!! Tne only thing i did was upgrade to d-47 yeast for potentially better flavor but also to make racking a little easier further down the line 😅
The airlock is active, and everything is looking great! Im super excited to see how it turns out!
One question though: ive read about degassing your mead. Some people say its important and others say its unnecessary. Is this something i should worry about? Would degassing make a better end product, or is it a waste of time?
Again thank you for such an easy to understand video and for inspiring me to try this for myself! I cant wait to see the end product :)
The hardest part for me is the waiting 1 month in and mine is still sending out bubbles
Same here... coming up to 6 weeks now. tap-tap-tap.
This is why I'm brewing many....wait time at least seems like less.
your fermentation could be over but its just degassing and releasing co2 and other base created by the yeast which I a good thing as those gasses could alter the flavour :P good luck in your future brews.
@@mo2wavy414 it finished in 6weeks and tastes good but now aging
put more yeast.
1 tablespoon is an infinitely small amount
well lol maybe not that much but yup.
Me at 0:10, "What's all this mead stuff about?"
Me at 25:30, "Amazon... Here I come."
lol
I started this brew yesterday. I was not expecting the bubbling to start within a couple of hours. I am super excited. This is so fun! Thank you both for these awesome tutorials. I have learned a lot.
Happy to help!
PROTIP: MAKE SURE YOUR RAISINS ALSO DO NOT HAVE PRESERVATIVES :( I made this mistake... I checked everything else, sanitized, got everything together and forgot to check the raisins... which had potassium sorbate and nearly killed off my yeast. It managed to come back eventually but took a long time for fermentation to begin.
Is sunmaid raisins good?
I just got several pounds of speciality New Orleans graveyard honey that now has a new purpose!
Hi. So I live in nola. Any chance you can tell me where I can go buy some of this honey? I'd very much like to get my hands on some real local honey for myself
Mmmmm..... Haunted mead!
My mead is now nearly 2 years aging. As of Feb it will hit 2 years. I followed this same recipe to make it and right now its amazing.
The long explanations are the main reason you're my go-to tutorial videos
Thank you.
You can really tell how passionate they are about this, seeing the guy hold his tongue to stop him from speaking over her 😂 I can tell he really enjoys what he's talking about
Started this batch couple days ago with my hive wildflower honey along with a half gallon batch with some citrus honey from my sons hive 100 miles away... The wait begins. Thanks for all the videos and laughs... You guys are great.....
I just racked my first batch of mead using your recipe (basically, I used ec-1118 yeast and lemon peel instead of orange). It tasted great! Just a little alcohol taste, I calculated I ended up at 16% ABV. But drinkable as is, just needs to age and clarify a bit. Thanks for your entertaining and informative videos!
Just ordered everything I need to get started with my first ever brew. Thanks for the guide, tips, and inspiration.
I did this recipe and it is aged about 6 weeks now since racking it tastes great. Thanks for all the vids
Glad you enjoy it!
I've brewed a few times at home (ales) and stopped for a bit. I discovered your channel late last year and have been binge watching religiously. You've re-sparked my brewing creativity as well as added a new dimension. Thanks for all you do.
I made this mead. Holy crap its awsome. Going to increase quantities enough for a 5 gallon batch. Awsome video thanks.
You are most welcome!
thank you for your intro into mead making and this recipe. I used wine yeast instead and I just bottled my first batch after about 5 weeks. I can't wait to taste the finished product.
This was the first mead I made that i was proud of. I started 3 separate 1gal batches of it on June 8th 2021 using 3 different kinds of yeast (Lalvin 71-b, Fleishman's bread yeast, and Lallemand CBC-1) just to see if there might be differences in them due to the high temp summers in my area. Two turned out great! The Lallemand CBC-1 had an off flavor, but i think it was stressed in my 90' Apartment... Thank you so much for teaching me, I continue to enjoy watching your videos and have tried several other recipes that have turned out great.