How to Make Fruit Flavored Mead
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- Опубліковано 27 сер 2024
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NOTE: This information is meant for educational purposes only .I am NOT a doctor nor pretend to be one. Nothing I say should be used to replace professional medical counseling. Also, PLEASE do your OWN research!
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You know how to make so many things, from food, to clothes, to every objects, impressive
I made raspberry mead, and it came out amazing. I used a raisin ferment to do it with fresh and freeze-dried Raspberrys. Today I did a fresh blackberry and raspberry with a hand full of freeze-dried Raspberrys. I am going to do a pineapple mango one I have a lot of freeze-dried fruits I have in storage. I just love your videos.
I am so glad I stumbled on your channel. Last year we bought our homestead. Always been a city dweller but for the past 3 years felt a low level panic that we needed to get out of there and become self sustained. I'm learning foraging and medicinal herbs along with gardening techniques and raising dual purpose chickens. I started tincturing plants for medicinal use. I'm doing the folk method and using Everclear, nasty nasty tasting stuff. I'm going to start some mead: orange clove cinnamon and use the mead to cut into the Everclear instead of using water to make things more palatable. I have an orange peel fermentation starter and have to admit, after 3 days I got impatient because I wasn't getting that lovely fizz. I cheated, I put the smallest pinch of bread yeast in it, added a little more sugar and the next day, it was fizzing like a freshly opened soda pop can. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I adore your simplicity. Whatever did my grandmother do without these newfangled gadgets? I'm starting to think, all the must dos, and absolutely do not do, are intended to get people to pony up and pay for the latest thing-a-ma-jig, convincing them it is essential for success.
Gonna binge some of your pepper videos, I've been doing some serious prepping for 3 years and every day I go through my day thinking, how can I do this or that if I was living off grid. I want to compare notes.
☺️ thank you
All the time god is good
Thank you for all of this information. First, the fermentation starter. Secondly, the mead making instructions. I would not have even attempted to make mead had it not been for your channel. I started my first mead a few days ago, and the airlock started bubbling in about 16-17 hours. All is going well.
We were traveling thru northern Idaho and found a fantastic stand of service berry trees so made up a batch of wine. Well on the way home one of the guys with us had tightened the bottle cap on a gallon jug that was up on a roof rack...just as we drove through Denver on our way south I was behind that vehicle and saw the purple explosion....😆😢.
O my! And yes, I am sure that jostling around helped it quite a bit! haha
started one with apples almost two days ago. put it away in a cabinet overnight. went to check it the next evening, my cabinet was very sweet smelling. The fruit tried to push out of my jar. I was afraid it was about to burst. this video was in my watch later queue...I love watching your videos! You cover a great many questions. I will start another flavor today and will wait before I put it out of sight. THANK YOU!!!
Thanks for posting this, I just bottled up a mint vinegar for my hair, a herb vinegar to consume and a pine, spruce vinegar to clean with all from your video's. Now onto mead and wine, so excited and acv. Starting my fermenting starter of course first.
Wow you are good 😊
So my Christmas gift to myself is to make mead tomorrow. I am going to try using oranges, cinnamon, and cloves as you suggested. Wish me luck! Happy holidays!
Dear Heidi, 'm sooo excited about this video!! We are moving to a new appartment where we (finally!!) have a balcony to grow some plants and a bigger kitchen for my vinegar projects (which I started thanks to you 😉). And now it seems I also have to plan some space for mead-making 😅 Thank you so much for your instructions and advices!! 😘 Greetings from Germany ❤️
Tysvm
Thank you. I can see making this during the winter. So I'll plan on freezing some of my fruit this summer for it. My local orchard sells amazing raw honey. Also, FYI, I found a one gallon wide mouth glass jar with grommeted lid on Home Brew Ohio. Looks easy to clean and easy to add larger pieces of fruit, etc. And they have an airlock for it as well. Pretty cheap too. Thanks again.
Thank you for the lovely video. I hope you are feeling better. Prayers for you.
Thank you, I am healing up quite well! :)
Your skin is looking beautiful
Thank you!
G~Mornin Heidi. I cant wait to try this
I’ve made fermentation starter using your recipe. I made it with fresh blackberries and used the starter in my bread. Love the taste it lends. Rey subtle. I’ll have to try making mead.
I wanted to revisit this to make mead for gifts. I happened on some other videos, but most of them were too overwhelming. Thank you for this!
Some people add a lot more complication to wine and mead making then there needs to be. At least in my opinion
@@RainCountryHomestead definitely. Your video didn't come up at first, so i clicked on another one, and it made my head swim!
When I make wine I use balloons and use a small pin and poke a hole at the top. Has been working well for me
Yes, you can do that but if they are standard latex balloons, there is no need for the hole as they are already porous. My first batches I made years ago I used balloons but found I preferred the airlocks much better and they are very inexpensive and can be used over and over unlike a balloon that will get too brittle with use
I used your link and bought the jug and airlock together.
I'll be attending this!! Thanks for all the information. Have a blessed day!!
Great video! I have never try making wine before even tho I grew up with grandparents that had wineries. You have inspire me to try that. Looks so yummy!
Thank you very much, Miss.
Off topic but I gotta share this . I have lived here more than 40 years and always bothered by ticks, chiggers and such but this year I started using water kefir and so far no bites. Don't know any reason other than the water kefir . ( ??? ) Have a blessed day .
Had to check back since my mead is bubbly looking but wasn't bubbling in the airlock after two days. So relieved its okay. My wine is doing quite well. 😁
Thanks!
great video im picking blackberries right now early for our area next will be elderberries so busy busy busy
Watching this video again! I have tons of ferments going although some are already in the fridge. I have fermented salsa also. How do you think the starter would taste from that?? Spicy mead/wine! 😂
I would add boiling water to honey or close to boiling, not hot enough it kills the good stuff but hot enough. Im known to forget things on the stove haha
It only needs to be warm at most in order to blend the honey with water. Close to boiling can still be too hot to prevent the honey from staying in its raw form.
Thanks Heidi: Wish you would do a gallon using only store bought yeast and honey. Thanks for great video's.
Why would I want to do one with store bought yeast?
@@RainCountryHomestead Because I don't have fermentation starter and it would be easier to do it that way.
I see, though a fermentation starter is super easy to make and can be used for many other things, including bread making, but I want to save the bread yeast I have for that because it is so expensive right now. Also, I would have no idea how much to use for making a gallon of wine or mead, not that I couldn't look it up, just not interested in doing that. I do know you can buy packages of wine yeast in the brewing section of your local store but I have never used those either
Another great video once again! I wonder if you turned the balloon inside out if it would still have that flavor?
I did fire and flood restoration for 10 years and had to wear those latex gloves and hated the way they made my hands smell so I would just turn them inside out although then my hands would get sticky and sweaty😂
Thanks for all the information!👍😊
Does temperature affect the fermentation? Is warmer better or can I make it in a cool basement? Thanks you are so inspiring! May God richly bless you❤
It effects it in how quickly it ferments but it will still ferment.
You make so many interesting things. How do you find room to store it all?
It takes practice and constant rearranging! haha
Looks less complicated than I expected!
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge! Have you ever used mead to make your medicinal herbal extracts instead of wine?
Yes, I use either so when I say I use wine for making extracts, that includes mead.
My mead has been going for about seven weeks. It never really started bubbling, and the liquid in the airlock hasn’t really moved either. There is a very thin foamy layer on the top of the liquid. It smells pretty strong, and does have a taste like alcohol. Is it OK if the airlock doesn’t go through the bubbling process? It’s a lot of honey I don’t want to throw it all out! Thank you for sharing all of your knowledge…you have taught me so much!
7 weeks is a pretty long time and you had better check it. Did you put any water in your airlock? If so, it may not be seated properly and either way, this could mean your mead is being exposed to oxygen which could turn it to vinegar
strained my blue berry mead a few days ago turned nice and clear with very little sediment at bottom wanted to send picture before I rack and bottle but cant on here or your Facebook page . But thank you for the step by step instructions and for all you share with us.
Some fruits do create a much clearer mead than others :)
I
A immersion blender works great for mixing honey and water.
I have one but have found no need to mess with it for this. Honey dissolves quite quickly in the water just by stirring
Looks great. Would I be able to use a fermentation top as the air lock? It has a cross slit on top that lets out air but does not allow air to enter.
As long as it does not allow any oxygen in, it should work
@@RainCountryHomestead thank you!
Somehow I missed this video so much info, where can I buy honey by pound? All the places I know sell quarts and they are $23, quite expensive. I would like to try, we don't drink but would like to make for gifts. You always give such wonderful tutorials, thanks so much, blessings
I have been getting my more recent honey from Costco online. They sell in 1 gallon buckets. They may have the larger sizes too, I do not remember. I used to get the forty and sixty pound buckets from Glorybee when I was part of a co op here that saved us on shipping
@@RainCountryHomestead thank you Heidi, will check out Costco
We don't have a Costco close by, but Sam's club has honey at a decent price. You can also do a search online for honey close to where you live if you want more local honey.
Thanks Heidi, great video. I really want to make this. I have not used a fermentation starter before, but I am always brewing water kefir. Can I use it in place of the starter? Does it matter whether it’s first or second ferment?
I never found water kefir to be as active as my own homemade starter (which is super easy to make out of any fresh or dried, herb, fruit or vegetable that you have on hand) was always more active and produced better results. But, it might work
I have a friend that brews amazing beers. While I have enjoyed drinking many of them I will admit I've never learned much about it. Not knowing anything about brewing, fermenting or distilling is trying to make peach mead my first time out over ambitious?
No at all, my very first mead was strawberry. I do not believe I have ever made just plain mead without some kind of fruit to infuse into it
I love your tutorial video. I have a question here: how do we stop fermentation process at a certain stage before that is fully fermented?
Once you get it where you want it, strain, rack, and bottle up with a tight fitting lid that will not allow oxygen in and store in a dark place.
Here In the desert Southwest the wild yeast ferments like CRAZY but the wine I made was UNDRINKABLE. I laid in a supply of yeast of yeast from amazon.
I have not been able to buy yeast locally since April 2020.
Okay; You now have my full attention! So when it's finished it has a fruit flavor rather than just tasting like alcohol right? I abhor Vodka but I love fruit Juices..
Great Info...Thanks soooooo much!
Yes, it will usually retain the fruit flavor
I just made my first homemade mead and wondered if it is refrigerated after it's ready or can it be kept at room temp and for how long?
Keep well sealed in a dark cabinet it will last for years but I do find the flavor changes after a year. If you are drinking it for flavor, I recommend keeping the bottle you are working through in the fridge, it is one of those best served chilled
Sorry if I missed it but is it ok to use honey that is not raw or organic? I have a bunch of old honey that came with our house and no idea what to do with it
Yes, it sure is, but all the more reason you will need a starter.
What do you use to sanitize your bottles? Most people use the bought sanitizer tables or liquid... just wondering what other options are out there .
I just use soap and hot water
How do you clean your carboys etc? Do you put silver or anything in to sterilize at all? Thanks Heidi 😊💓 love your videos SO much! I wish I had your knowledge!
Just soap, water, and a bottle brush. I know a lot of people get very serious about the process and feel the need to sterilize everything, I never have.
@@RainCountryHomestead 💓 perfect thanks! I just got a bunch of new (to me) carboys and wasn't sure if there were any tricks to it! Guess good old soap and water is fine! Awesome 😊
@@katreichart97 if your carboy needs to be scrubbed and you can’t reach with a bottle brush it works really well to put pebbles, new fish tank rocks, pea rocks or I use sea glass I have collected when in Mexico !
Put the rocks in with a little hot soapy water and swish it around....it will scrub it for you and they easily pour out when rinsing. I just pour rinse water into a mesh strainer to catch them !!!
Good luck ☺️
Can you make mead with juice and honey? Do you have to have fruit too? I will be using my raisin fermentation. I’d like to make an apple juice mead and I could add some apple pieces. I suppose I could add some spices like cinnamon sticks, allspice, cloves etc.?
Mead can be made with nothing more than water and honey. No need to add juice or fruit unless you are doing so for flavor
When I have old honey..... 😄
Back when I was making mead all the time (always had several gallons going at one time) I had stocked up on a LOT of honey in 40 and 60 lb buckets. Then I quit drinking all together so I stopped making it. Now, besides all the other things I use it in when cooking, making extracts, et cetera, I have plans to barter for some fresh caught fish (salmon or steelhead) so we can keep our freezers stocked. Patrick rarely has time to go fishing, especially this time of year
@@RainCountryHomestead ahh, barter! Patrick has an endless to do list, I am aware😁 My hubby goes fishing for trout, but mostly comes home with nothing..... the honey do list just gets longer😁
I started my mead last week in a one gallon jug. My started was healthy and it started bubbling the next morning. Some of the honey is settled on the bottom. I'm assuming that it will gradually dissolve and be consumed? I'm temped to give it a stir but I don't want to mess it up. Thanks for your help!
Yes, it will dissolve
Do you have a video showing 30 days later, removing the pulp? (and what to do with the pulp?
In the full wine making series that I believe I linked to in the description box, I believe I show that in the 4th video
Thank you for this!! Can I use whey as the starter? I don't know what to do with the whey left over from making soft cheese.
While it should work, I personally would not use it for making mead or wine, whey is better used in fermenting veggies and making beet kvass. I would be concerned the whey may change the flavor of the mead and I think of it as something better used in savory type of ferment.
I’m in the process of making dandelion wine. It’s been in the 1 gallon jug with airlock since May 23rd. I think it’s ready for racking? It’s a beautiful amber color. It’s not bubbling much now. What advise would you suggest at this point. ( this is my very first time making any wine) I’ve read some add raisins now. Some leave it in the airlock jug. Some rake it & bottle it now. Help, if you can please. 🙃
I recommend checking out the wine playlist I linked to in the description box. In particular, go to part 4
Rain Country ty, I just finished it. I’ll rack it as you said on there. Have you ever made dandelion wine. If so, do u have a recipe you like? I got mine off the internet. 😊
Hello. My mead has been going for 24 days, and the airlock only bubbles about once every 2.25 minutes. Should I wait for it to finish, or should I go ahead and strain ...and eventually rack it? Thank you.
Taste it and see if you like the flavor of it now. I have had some I stopped that early because I liked the flavor. Otherwise you can allow it to sit longer
@@RainCountryHomestead Tastes decent, pretty sweet...I think I will add more raspberries next time (I used about a cup of freeze dried). Needs a little more berry flavor, but not a bad effort at all. Warms the stomach a bit...probably somewhat low in alcohol content. I think I will let it ferment for about 6 more days or so. Thanks!!!
Can you use kombucha As a fermentation started
I am sure it will work as long as it is still fizzy like soda and not like vinegar the way we used to drink it many years ago.
When you put the stopper and airlock on the bottle, does the stopper tend to ride up a bit? Is it because it is a new stopper? Thank you.
I forgot to mention it is a gallon jug with a size 6 bung.
Sometimes, yes
I’m going to buy a gallon of organic apple cider. Would I remove, say 4-5 C in order to dilute 3 C of organic honey and refill while enjoying the leftover cider? Oh, and cover with a cloth for 3 days before using the airlock. And, if I want apple, cinnamon, would it be 1 or two cinnamon sticks? Thank you, Heidi.
Are you planning on making mead with the vinegar?
@@RainCountryHomestead What vinegar?
@@michellemc4175 Sorry, Some how my brain added the word vinegar after apple cider when I was reading that last night, of course I see you edited it so maybe you had put it in there by mistake?
First of all, if you are making MEAD not WINE then you just need honey and water. To give it that apple flavor you can substitute a few cups of hte water with the cider but if you are making it more like a wine or fermented cider, you may only want to start with two cups of honey. I suggest if you are going to ferment in the container (assuming it is glass, not plastic) to take out a minimum of a half gallon. Take one quart and set it aside as you will not need that quart (four cups). Take the other quart for mixing in only TWO cups of honey plus your cup of fermentation starter then pour back into the gallon. You will be shy one cup to make it a full gallon but you will need that head space as you may want to add another cup of honey or sugar at one week
@@RainCountryHomestead Thank you for your response, Heidi.
I edited it twice: once pertaining to the airlock and the other about adding the cinnamon sticks. You’re a pretty busy lady and we often see what we expect to see, but all is good.
In another post, I’d mentioned buying cider and getting a glass jug for less than the link for a jug on Amazon cost, so, yes, it’s glass.
Thank you for your help. I’ll be making apple (possibly w/cinnamon) mead.
Have a wonderful day.
God is good.
How did your pumpkin spice mead turn out? I have never had mead, and wonder what the best beginner recipe might be?
The pumpkin spice was good but not as good as I had hoped it would be so I only made it once. Berry meads and the orange spice were our favorites
What can be done with the filtered out fruit, once the mead process is done? thank you
There is usually little flavor left and it is pretty mushy but you can taste it and see if there is anything you would like to add it to. I usually just compost it
So even if you “screw up” you get vinegar? 😊
It depends on the type of mistake really
Are you using a certain yeast? I know that certain yeasts can produce different APV% levels and also can help in the flavor of the mead. Do you use a hydrometer to determine your APV% or just go by the anticipated APV indicated for the yeast you are using?
You should have so many more subscribers than this.
Hi Heidi I have been handed a demi John with air lock and some honeyband a pet of yeast and been asked to make some mead for a mate. I have never done this but knew I knew a lady who has. I plan to get some sloes tomorrow and maybe damsons if any left as really gine past them here now. However I have a goji Berry starter and a lemon starter that I made a few weeks ago and once fizzy I put in the fridge and didn't know what I would use it for. Now I think I should use these instead of this yeast I was given as I know that they want to go old school as much as we can. How much fresh sloes would you say I need to one gallon demi John? Would you do they same (whizzing) as you did with the dried here ? I jave seen some people who make the mead then add the fruit in after a week of so them strain out 2 weeks later and decant ect and stabilise ect. I am currently half way through this video so javmt seen how its finished off
do you have a video on making your apple wine ?
Not specifically but I have a whole wine making series that should be linked in the description box. The process for all wines is the same. Except if your juice is real sweet, I recommend only starting with 2 cups of sugar per gallon at the beginning. I will be shooting a new part one video today explaining this. My grapes are very tart so I start with 3 cups of sugar at the beginning but the apple is sweeter so I believe I started with 2 then added a third cup a week in.
Could you make a wine or mead using fresh maple syrup or homemade maple sugar?
I do believe one could, the only possible concern is that the mineral content in maple syrup or sugar could slow or even prevent the fermentation but I kind of doubt it is high enough for it to be an issue. I have considered giving it a try as it seems it would have a great flavor
@@RainCountryHomestead I also think the flavor would be amazing. We're actually selling our current property and looking at larger properties and have been binge watching all your videos 😀 to prepare for our upcoming homestead adventure. I grew up on a farm and my neighbors had a huge maple syrup production. I learned how to make maple syrup and found an amazing video on how to turn the syrup into maple sugar. I was hoping to be able to use that as a substitute for cane sugar because of autoimmune issues.
What would you do if you don't have a gallon jugs but have 1/2 gallon Masson jars..what kind of air lock would you use? Is that even possible? I have wide mouth furmenting lids, can you use them?
If those fermenting tops allow gasses to escape while preventing air from getting in, they will work. When I wanted to experiment with quarts for some kind of wine or mead concoction (I forgot what it was), I had Patrick drill holes in a couple of canning lids that I could fit the airlock and bung into and that worked well.
@@RainCountryHomestead thank you!!😊 That's exactly what I want to do, try it out on smaller sizes before I commit to a gallon size.😅
@@mommybear8672 Right! I think I remember I was seeing if I could make an apple wine by simply putting chunks of apples into the sugar water like I would for vinegar making except putting an airlock on it instead of a cloth. It did work but the flavor was weak. Wine is actually made with juice rather than infused sugar water, which I knew but still wanted to see what happened.
I made strawberry mead and i waited too long and it turned to vinegar. My question is, because I used honey can I still us it for cleaning?
Yes, as long as it is not sticky
Oregon or Washington? I feel Oregon used to be rain country but not as much now. It has it's cycles. I love my home state of Oregon. Thanks for all your videos.
Peninsula of Washington. We get far more rain than the rainiest parts of Oregon
@@RainCountryHomestead Ohhhhh,that is why you are considered the green state💚💚💚. I swear it only took me 40 years to figure that out. 😂
Lovely Pacific Northwest...we are soo blessed.
@@mistystorythyme2452 The Evergreen State and Seattle is Emerald City. The thing is, much like Oregon, Washington also has a very dry side that is NOT evergreen. Once you go East of the mountain range, the climate changes dramatically
@@RainCountryHomestead I just traveled to the Painted Hills in Oregon and had to cross a desert. I love our area. In the future I have some questions about my garden but I have to get out while sun is out. Talk soon💚💚💚
Hello Heidi, I'm very curious of the alcohol percentages of some of your homemade meads using your own fermentation starter. I really want to get into making mead and am open to learn how to use my own fermentation starter if it can compare in strengths to like a wine yeast.
I do not measure the alcohol content so I cannot be certain about the percentage but it is not the starter that makes a difference in alcohol content, it is the amount of sugars and ferment time
I make my own kombucha, could I use that as the ferment starter? If so, how much kombucha?
As long as you are using it only in the active phase, when it is bubbly, not when it is vinegar
@@RainCountryHomestead got it, thanks for the fast response! 💗
If I don't have a starter do I do anything different? And does it take longer?
It will likely ferment without it but making your own starter is super easy from whatever fruit or herb you have on hand and a bit of sugar. Some people use wine yeast but instead of running out and buying that, you can make your own. Please see the video I linked to in the description box on how to make one
@@RainCountryHomestead thank you heidi. I received my bottle and air lock. I wanted to make strawberry mead. I have raisins so I'll just go ahead and make that.
Where do you find your bottles?
The swing top bottles I had purchased years ago. The dark green bottles are recycled avocado oil bottles and the jugs are recycled cheap wine jugs, some were given to me, some I had purchased back when I would buy it myself for keeping on hand for cooking and more, and some I found at garage sales
What’s the difference between kombucha, mead, shrub (just recently heard this one)?
Interesting you ask this because I just shot a video on these, well, not the shrub, I have heard of it but never made it. That video will be out in a couple of weeks but I will say that mead is honey wine, kombucha is more related to a vinegar or natural soda, depending on how long you let it run
I saw a falling chicken...
Hi, I started a batch of Mead with apple purees and followed your directions with everything including a fermentation starter I had made previously. It's on the 4th day and not bubbling yet. The water is pushed over in the carboy but just not bubbling. Does it take longer to start bubbling sometimes. Should I add a little more fermentation starter. I added the 1 cup previously at the beginning. Thanks I love you're videos.!
Sometimes it can take longer and I would assume with a 5 gallon carboy it could take longer but make sure your airlock is fitting snuggly inside the rubber bung and that there are no cracks in the airlock itself. If their is an air leak on the side where the gasses go from the carboy to the water in the airlock, then the gasses are escaping elsewhere which means oxygen is getting in as well so this needs to be dealt with if it is the problem
@@RainCountryHomestead thank you, I'm using the 1 gallon jug setup and everything looks to be snug. My fermentation starter was fizzy and bubbly. I'll keep and eye on it and hopefully it will start bubbling soon.
@@myhealingharvest Just to be certain, you are using a rubber bung that is about an inch or so tall and not a drilled plastic cap? I only ask because I have had people have problems getting theirs to bubble only for me to find out they used a simple plastic screw on cap they drilled a hole in instead of a rubber drilled stopper and that was their problem
@@RainCountryHomestead hi again, I got it to bubble slowly for a few weeks. Started mead 9-4 and since yesterday has stopped bubbling. Does that mean it's done and should strain now even though it hasn't been a full month.
@@myhealingharvest taste it to see if you like it as is, if you want it less sweet and more alcohol, allow it to brew for another week
Is there a way to adjust how sweet the finished product will be?
The fermenting process turns the sugars (honey in this case) to alcohol. If allowed to brew until it is totally done bubbling where there is no fizz at all, it should not be sweet but if you stop the process a little early, you can have more sweetness to it
You Can "backsweeten" with non- fermentable sugars...
I saw on another video u mentioned not caring for a pineapple mango wine or mead, was it this particular batch that resulted in the not so fantastic fermented?
Have u tried making a peach mango fermentation? If so, did u care for the result?
I think it was the honey that had affected the flavor and the fact that I let it fully finish out so it has a real strong alcohol flavor. I do not believe it was the fruit. The honey I was using is getting pretty old and now affecting the flavor of my meads so I will not be using it anymore for that. It does not taste bad, it just is not the same so I will just use it for things like honey infused garlic and so on.
I’m almost at 30 days but the bubbles have slowed down coming out of the air lock. Is it done when it slows way down? Or done when it doesn’t bubble anymore?
At this point you can stop it whenever you want. It will depend on if you want to keep it bubbly and sweet or allow it to be more flat and dry like a wine. I prefer my mead to be bubbly and sweet so rack it before the bubbling stops
What do I use if do not have a fermentation starter?
First, a fermentation starter is SUPER easy and cheap to make from whatever fruit or raw ginger you have on hand but you can use store bought bread or wine yeast if you must but since I have never done it that way, I do not know how much you would need per gallon
What proof is the finished mead?
Not sure, have never tested it but I know I have had some that had to be 15%. Others not so high.
Have you ever made maple wine? I’ve always wanted to try it.
Nope, I have not
@@RainCountryHomestead It originates from some of our Native, North American tribes. Iroquois I think. Some say it is handled similar to mead so I think I will try your mead method on it.
It would be nice to know how it went with the maple syrup 😊
@@kathyhirsch379 I didn’t think it was fermenting and in my inexperience didn’t taste test it or take specific gravity and added more than the original 3lbs of maple syrup to one gallon. I don’t remember how much more at this point, but it came out too strong. It isn’t good for drinking, but would probably be useful for tincturing herbal medicines. I have been too busy to get back and experiment with it more and just made vinegar out of it. So for table wine, I need to try again at some point, I would only do 3 lbs to make 1 gallon of wine. To make a stronger alcohol for tincturing probably an extra 1/2 lb to 1 lb more syrup. If I remember correctly each cup is 1 lb but don’t quote me on that ☺
So after I have strained the fruit out do I put the airlock back on or can I just use the lid on the jug. Made a blackberry and raspberry honey mead. My airlock also stopped bubbling before the 30 days so I just strained it. It was a good week early. Hope thats ok.
I just put the lid on and allow it to settle, then I will rack it, then do that a couple more times. Sometimes they can get done sooner than others. Had you used a full three cups of honey per gallon?
@@RainCountryHomestead yes a full 3 cups of honey is what I used then about 2.5 cups of the pureed berries then topped it off with my filtered water. It smells like the hard cider you buy at the store
@@melissamurphy1569 Yep, it is done then :)
@@RainCountryHomestead awsome! Thank you for answering my questions! Still waiting on my apple wine next. Really looking forward to making some extracts with it 😊
I stumbled upon your channel. Very educational. But Im Diabetic. Any ideas? And is store bought water chlorine FREE?
*Also the Liquor Stores sale Wine 🍇🍾🍷& Beer🍺🍻 making kits*
Last Question;
Apples Skins🍎🍏🥃make their own Yeast so no need to use a Wine Making Kit right.. i saw a video on UA-cam with Rick Steves
Rick Steves went to a Wine Making place & the Apple Wine maker told Rick Steves the Apple Peel make the Apple Jack & Apple Wine with no yeast added... is this true?
Also when making Apple Wine if we use Red Delicious Apples do we still need the Sugar to make it strong?
So you call it Mead with Honey🍯& if its made with Yeast then its called Wine? And how many days to make the Apple Wine & Apple Jack & Apple Juice???
While I do answer most of these questions in the above video and also in the playlist I linked to in the description box about wine making, I will go ahead and answer some of them here:
All wines are made with yeast, including mead. That is what the homemade starter is for. All fruits and veggies do have a certain amount of yeast present (if they are raw) so it is not necessary to add more yeast but to insure a good ferment, most people still add something like I do with the starter, which is super easy to make on your own with whatever fruits or herbs you have on hand. I made one the other day with dandelion and red clover flowers and then used it to make kimchi. Works great. Again, you can check out the video I linked in the description box on how to make the starter yourself and the many ways you can use it.
If you are diabetic, then alcohol of any kind is best to avoid as a drink but there are other ways you can use it besides that. I do not drink but make it for its many uses and I have a video in the description box above (be sure to click on "Show More" or the little grey arrow if you are on a smart device).
All wines take approximately 30 days be they honey wine (mead) or fruit wine.
You may not need to add 3 cups of sugar to red delicious juice but it is likely you will still need to add at least a cup.
Is mead considered an alcoholic drink? I’d like to try this but I don’t consume alcohol.
Mead is honey wine, ,so yes, it is alcoholic but I also do not consume it, I use it for many other things or for barter. Please check out the link in the description box of the many uses for homemade wine other than drinking
Can you stop the fermentation at a low alcohol ,mostly fizzy? I'm not a drinker either but I'm wanting to make mead as an experiment to turn into vinegar.
Do you put the airlock on right away? I see you did here, but in your wine making videos you let sit with a cloth on for 1 to 2 days then put airlock on. I put a cloth on my mead then realized you put your airlock on right away, I hope I didn't mess up my mead. The airlock is now on.
I always put it on right away but I believe what I had said is that you CAN let it sit for a couple of days with just a cloth. No, you did not mess it up, it will be fine
@@RainCountryHomestead ok great! Thank you for the reply😄
I love to work with kefir, is that ok...
Thank you....
It may but I have never tried it so cannot guarantee your results
Looks delicious. Do you sell the mead?
No, but I will use it for barter
What are some of the uses of mead?
The same as any wine. Here is a video I did on its many uses: ua-cam.com/video/frP2wgyOMDU/v-deo.html
@@RainCountryHomestead Do you think I could make vanilla extract with it like you do with wine?
I looked up airlocks at the mother earth store and it didn't find it in the search, is there another name for the S shaped airlocks?
I have a link in the description box for the air locks. The Mother Earth Products does not carry them, that is for the dried and dehydrated foods
amazon has them
Have you tried agave?
Not for making mead or wine but I would think it should work
@@RainCountryHomestead do you think that I can use the same ratio as honey?
I would assume so but I really do not know since I have not looked into it or used it myself
Thank you so much! I'll give it a try
Have you tried elderberries mead? How does it taste? What are your favorite flavors now?
I'm feeling a bit discouraged, a bottle of vinegar just exploded on me. It was good too made out of plum skins.
Was it a finished batch that you had bottled up? If so, you must not have allowed it to fully finish fermenting. It is best to wait until it is no longer fizzy before bottling. I only put the ones I am using in the kitchen into swing top bottles, the rest I store in mason jars with plastic lids
@@RainCountryHomestead I thought it had finished fermenting. It was bottled in a recycled Avocado oil bottle. The glass bottle broke on explosion. OK I'll try storage that way too. Thanks
What’s a car boy?
a carboy is a 5 gallon jug
Rain Country - Thankyou.. Where does that nick name come from?!
I have never heard of mead
oh no I just waited too long I think (38 days) and it's pretty gross. Only tastes and smell like alcohol yuck. (no sweetness at all) Could I use it for anything else, does anyone have any ideas? Hate throwing it alway.
Yes, there is plenty you can use it for because I get some like that from time to time and do not mind because the things I use it for is mostly why I make wines and meads in the first place. Here is a video just on that: ua-cam.com/video/frP2wgyOMDU/v-deo.html
@@RainCountryHomestead Thank You so much! You just made my day :D
I recently found you and am loving all your videos. But, just wanted to share, to save you money and effort, that honey had no expiration date. There is no reason for you to try to use up "old" honey.
O yes, I know this for certain, however, even though honey does not spoil, it can still change in quality (flavor and color) over time so yes, I try to use up older honey for things like mead, homemade medicines and extracts and save the fresher honey for when color and flavor matter more. And using up is NOT throwing out so I am not wasting money by putting it to a good use
@@RainCountryHomestead I apologize...my saving money statement was about you buying more, not throwing any out. And, thanks for the info on the quality change of honey as it ages. I'll have to do some research on that. :)