Love it. Living overseas in a country where alcohol is prohibited, we do a lot of DIY here. I once ran a five gallon batch of mead in a glass carboy and woke up one morning to find that the yeast had gotten VERY energetic overnight, blown the bubbler right off, and coated my kitchen ceiling with a sticky foam. Fortunately, I got it cleaned up before my wife woke up and murdered me. For now, I'm just taking notes on your work so that I can be a bit more prepared the next time around.... ;)
You're not really a homebrewer unless you've had to mop a ceiling! :) I prefer doing primary in buckets with the lid just placed on for the first couple of days, it stops building up pressure and blowing off. If you have an issue with flies, a cheesecloth over the lid works well.
Was introduced to you from Still It. after watching a couple episodes I would have to say this is the content I enjoy. Definitely going to watch the rest of the parts you have and hitting that bell for your future episodes.
I actually made this though without the apple and I only left the star anise in for a couple of days. For texture I gave it a cuppa tea and half a nutmeg and I bottled it over a month ago. Had a small tester bottle so gave it a taste test, totally amazing and I will certainly make this brew again.
I’m making 2 mead recipes I found online right now both are very simple and one is supposed to have won some awards. I added honey and just tasted a little the other day and was surprised by the flavors I’m already tasting. Can’t wait to see how they turn out.
By the way, a mead made with Blueberries is called a Bilbemel. It wasn't a super common one, so it got left out of the video I did on the varieties of meads.
I find that 1lb of honey adds about 30/35 gravity points in 1 UK Gallon. i.e. 3lb in 1 gallon give around 1.090-1.100 as an original gravity; 2lb gives about 1.060. Just what I’ve found in my own mead making so far. Hopefully that might help some others coming up with new recipes.
That's roughly the ratio I'm finding, I'm going to try to dial it in, but there's always SOME variable that's getting thrown off, so I'm probably gonna work through a few test batches with everything locked down to ensure I'm getting the right amounts.
Honeys very.That is why I usually use a step approach. Starting with my lower estimate and alternatively adding honey and water to reach my desired potential ABV. It's a bit tricky though. I'm thinking next time I'll mix enough water and honey to determine the gravity of the honey and adjust my recipe from there. To me every brew is an experiment, even if I have made it before.
@@johnshaw6702 This is a pretty reasonable approach. Some honey gets stuck in the funnel, or you're not QUITE at the volume you were expecting. It'll also allow for extra aeration.
Great vid. Would adding a vanilla pod to the carboy at the start add any noticeable flavour or would the honey overpower it? Regards, Jas. VK4FJGS Rocky Qld.
I can tell you from experience that a vanilla pod gets incredible flavor extraction. So much so, that I would maybe caution against using a full one if you're doing a single gallon.
im super new to this but your channel makes me wanna try out this hobby alot. can you use like dried herbs or seasonings in mead too? like dried fennel seeds and apple sounds like a super interesting mead. Super warm and aniseed flavor with fruity apples. ive never made mead or anything else before.
Yes, absolutely. You should be aware that when you add the herbs/spices/flavors DOES impact the final product. If you want a more pure flavor, you'll want to add in secondary when the bulk of fermentation is already done. If you want to see what happens to those flavor compounds during fermentation (you'll often get fun-funky flavors here). My only warning is don't add orange juice to primary and don't add mint in primary. unsqueezed Orange chunks and orange zest are fine, but orange juice itself does not taste good with the sugars gone 😂
Champagne yeast is excellent, and depending on the strain, can be an aggressive fermenter. It tends to be a pretty clean ferment with little flavor coming from the yeast itself (with proper nutrition, temperature and starting aeration).
I've looked into this, and it looks like Brewer's yeast (like the kind you find at walmart) refers to spent yeast that has been deactivated for nutritional purposes. This will be good for nutrient as your live yeast will cannibalize it but it won't ferment. You'll want to look at a homebrew supply store (or online) to find packets of live yeast made for beer or wine. Either will work and get you a more complete fermentation than bread yeast.
When I initially started brewing, I was following a guide that said that Raisins were a good way to get additional nutrients for the yeast. I've since learned that the amount required to actually impart enough nitrogen into the mix would be an overwhelming amount. That said, raisins are an excellent source of tannins and can balance out a mead. For this purpose, craisins are absolutely fine.
I hope your mead will not be spoiled by the balloon thing... I now you use it for educational purposes, but you should insist on the necessity to have a real airlock, or at least a blow-off tube in a bottle of sanitization liquid. I think it's way safer. But still, I always love your videos.
For primary for sure, the balloon is fine. I'm not certain about secondary, but if the contraction of the balloon emptying of CO2 contracts the latex enough at an air pressure equilibrium, it might be fine. I'll probably switch to using the cap that came with the jugs at that point though, and burp just in case.
Never when buying ingredients, but sometimes I've found it served with food. On its own, it's a pretty convincing facsimile, but I imagine the fermentation process would probably reveal some surprises. If I get my hands on enough of it, it might be worth an experiment.
The vinegar is going along pretty slowly. I wanted to make it more easily replicable by using the inoculated Apple Cider Vinegar, but I probably should've gotten my hands on some actual vinegar mother.
@@MethodtotheMeadness Oh really? I did about the same thing as you and I *think* it’s worked. I have no idea how to measure the progress other than smell though.
@@gagegilbert4409 It's definitely workING. I should probably have purchased some pH strips or a pH meter to measure the progress accurately. I'm glad it's working for you!
Love it. Living overseas in a country where alcohol is prohibited, we do a lot of DIY here. I once ran a five gallon batch of mead in a glass carboy and woke up one morning to find that the yeast had gotten VERY energetic overnight, blown the bubbler right off, and coated my kitchen ceiling with a sticky foam. Fortunately, I got it cleaned up before my wife woke up and murdered me. For now, I'm just taking notes on your work so that I can be a bit more prepared the next time around.... ;)
You're not really a homebrewer unless you've had to mop a ceiling! :)
I prefer doing primary in buckets with the lid just placed on for the first couple of days, it stops building up pressure and blowing off. If you have an issue with flies, a cheesecloth over the lid works well.
Was introduced to you from Still It. after watching a couple episodes I would have to say this is the content I enjoy. Definitely going to watch the rest of the parts you have and hitting that bell for your future episodes.
Same here!
I'd love to drink some mead while simultaneously playing Skyrim with you. That would be a vibe.
"Mild poisons for fun and profit" 😆
Good one!
Good stuff. simple. easy replicate. make easy for spread the craft. i like these things.
I'm gonna try this out. I dont have all the fancy equipment yet, so this works for me
Do let me know how it goes! I'm always interested to hear how these turn out when other people do them!
I actually made this though without the apple and I only left the star anise in for a couple of days.
For texture I gave it a cuppa tea and half a nutmeg and I bottled it over a month ago.
Had a small tester bottle so gave it a taste test, totally amazing and I will certainly make this brew again.
You love to see it. Making things easy for the average girl or guy.
This was a great one. Thank you!
I'm making some mead on Monday, thanks for the awesome advice. From England, Sussex
Let me know how it goes!
@@MethodtotheMeadness I will definitely
@@MethodtotheMeadness I will definitely
I’m making 2 mead recipes I found online right now both are very simple and one is supposed to have won some awards. I added honey and just tasted a little the other day and was surprised by the flavors I’m already tasting. Can’t wait to see how they turn out.
Always enjoyable to watch this.
Yes love to see mead being made
mead being mead
I have never made the old jug glug, but, this video makes it look like a lot of fun. Going to have to give it a try!
I think the first 8 meads I made were done using this method. Then I switched to Apple Cider jugs with actual airlocks and bungs.
Just fired up my first mead 2lbs honey and 1 qt blueberry concentrate fir a 1 gallon brew
That sounds like a delightful mead! Blueberry always seems to get excellent results!
By the way, a mead made with Blueberries is called a Bilbemel. It wasn't a super common one, so it got left out of the video I did on the varieties of meads.
I just found your channel from Still it channel.
Welcome to the channel! You happened to arrive while I was taking a bit of a sabbatical, but I should start filming again soon!
I find that 1lb of honey adds about 30/35 gravity points in 1 UK Gallon. i.e. 3lb in 1 gallon give around 1.090-1.100 as an original gravity; 2lb gives about 1.060.
Just what I’ve found in my own mead making so far. Hopefully that might help some others coming up with new recipes.
That's roughly the ratio I'm finding, I'm going to try to dial it in, but there's always SOME variable that's getting thrown off, so I'm probably gonna work through a few test batches with everything locked down to ensure I'm getting the right amounts.
Honeys very.That is why I usually use a step approach. Starting with my lower estimate and alternatively adding honey and water to reach my desired potential ABV. It's a bit tricky though.
I'm thinking next time I'll mix enough water and honey to determine the gravity of the honey and adjust my recipe from there. To me every brew is an experiment, even if I have made it before.
@@johnshaw6702 This is a pretty reasonable approach. Some honey gets stuck in the funnel, or you're not QUITE at the volume you were expecting.
It'll also allow for extra aeration.
Great vid.
Would adding a vanilla pod to the carboy at the start add any noticeable flavour or would the honey overpower it?
Regards, Jas.
VK4FJGS
Rocky Qld.
I can tell you from experience that a vanilla pod gets incredible flavor extraction. So much so, that I would maybe caution against using a full one if you're doing a single gallon.
Do you work out? As your friendly neighborhood gym bro, I couldn't help but notice the slightly capped delts and traps popping.
Pre-pandemic I did a bunch of cardio. Now I just swim and do pushups from time to time.
im super new to this but your channel makes me wanna try out this hobby alot. can you use like dried herbs or seasonings in mead too? like dried fennel seeds and apple sounds like a super interesting mead. Super warm and aniseed flavor with fruity apples. ive never made mead or anything else before.
Yes, absolutely. You should be aware that when you add the herbs/spices/flavors DOES impact the final product. If you want a more pure flavor, you'll want to add in secondary when the bulk of fermentation is already done.
If you want to see what happens to those flavor compounds during fermentation (you'll often get fun-funky flavors here).
My only warning is don't add orange juice to primary and don't add mint in primary. unsqueezed Orange chunks and orange zest are fine, but orange juice itself does not taste good with the sugars gone 😂
@@MethodtotheMeadness ty so much I'm definitely gunnuh give it a try. Your videos are very informative and very fun to watch!
Let me know what you end up doing, or if you want any assistance. I'd love to help you get started in this hobby 😊
Ive seen some makers using champagne yeast… what are your thoughts?
Champagne yeast is excellent, and depending on the strain, can be an aggressive fermenter. It tends to be a pretty clean ferment with little flavor coming from the yeast itself (with proper nutrition, temperature and starting aeration).
Great video. Will any brewers yeast work? Like from walmart?
I've looked into this, and it looks like Brewer's yeast (like the kind you find at walmart) refers to spent yeast that has been deactivated for nutritional purposes. This will be good for nutrient as your live yeast will cannibalize it but it won't ferment. You'll want to look at a homebrew supply store (or online) to find packets of live yeast made for beer or wine. Either will work and get you a more complete fermentation than bread yeast.
Why raisins? Do crasins work?
When I initially started brewing, I was following a guide that said that Raisins were a good way to get additional nutrients for the yeast. I've since learned that the amount required to actually impart enough nitrogen into the mix would be an overwhelming amount.
That said, raisins are an excellent source of tannins and can balance out a mead. For this purpose, craisins are absolutely fine.
So basically, I love you
I hope your mead will not be spoiled by the balloon thing... I now you use it for educational purposes, but you should insist on the necessity to have a real airlock, or at least a blow-off tube in a bottle of sanitization liquid. I think it's way safer. But still, I always love your videos.
For primary for sure, the balloon is fine. I'm not certain about secondary, but if the contraction of the balloon emptying of CO2 contracts the latex enough at an air pressure equilibrium, it might be fine. I'll probably switch to using the cap that came with the jugs at that point though, and burp just in case.
Have you run into fake cheap honey?
Never when buying ingredients, but sometimes I've found it served with food.
On its own, it's a pretty convincing facsimile, but I imagine the fermentation process would probably reveal some surprises. If I get my hands on enough of it, it might be worth an experiment.
Star anus? 😂
Great video. How’s your vinegar going?
The vinegar is going along pretty slowly. I wanted to make it more easily replicable by using the inoculated Apple Cider Vinegar, but I probably should've gotten my hands on some actual vinegar mother.
@@MethodtotheMeadness Oh really? I did about the same thing as you and I *think* it’s worked. I have no idea how to measure the progress other than smell though.
@@gagegilbert4409 It's definitely workING. I should probably have purchased some pH strips or a pH meter to measure the progress accurately.
I'm glad it's working for you!