We Use 3 Honeys to Make Mead - What's The Difference?
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- Опубліковано 25 сер 2024
- Testing Honey! We use three different types of honey to make mead and well, taste to see if there's any difference! It's our totally biased non-scientific conclusively inconclusive test!
Test Ingredients:
1.5 lbs Sourwood Honey: amzn.to/3Dxly0r
1.5 lbs Wildflower Honey: bevyshoneybees@gmail.com
1.5 lbs Blackberry Honey: amzn.to/40jsfgs
1 gram Fermaid O: amzn.to/3wOUt5o
1/4 teaspoon Wine Tannin: amzn.to/3DvTudU
Mangrove Jack's MO5 Yeast: amzn.to/3DuCMLS
Bottled Spring Water
Airlocks and Blowoff Tubes: • Airlocks and Blowoff T...
Cranberry Orange Mead: • Easy Cranberry Orange ...
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Star San: amzn.to/3XWz46b
1/2 Gallon Fermenters: amzn.to/3DwGDsa
Lids with Airlocks: amzn.to/3kQntqq
Scale: amzn.to/3jgLpDb
Brewer's Elite Hydrometer Kit: amzn.to/40mcqpq
Baster: amzn.to/3jtLzH8
Glencairn Glasses: amzn.to/3Rqfrkc
CS Brews Hat: city-steading....
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Im brewing for 4 years and back the day before. My english was not that much good. So i didnt understand what you guys saying. But now . My english and brewing skills much better. You guys are the best couples i seen in my enitre life. I love your channel . Keep the tests , love you all ♥️
Awesome! Thank you!
None of your videos are too long. it is like you are inviting us into your home for a chat and it is very comfortable listening to the two of you.
One of my hobbies for a while now has been sampling different exotic honeys. As honey, I mean, not strictly for making mead. I like honey quite a bit and like the enormous variety we have access to in this day and age. The three honeys you chose for this are all nice, but, except for the blackberry in my experience, are fairly bland. The blackberry honey I used to get here in Hampton Roads VA always seemed to me decidedly brambly in flavor, a slightly tannic with a vague prickly sensation in the back of the throat, very nice and I always liked it. One honey I am really curous about vis a vis making mead, is chestnut blossom honey. As a honey, it is truly awful, but the awfulness, so far as I could tell, was due to the tannin content. Chestnut honey by itself almost tastes like your chewing on a block of oak. But, as a base for mead, it might well be quite brilliant, as youd would not have to add any tannin. Blueberry blossom honey tastes like caramel, and that might be interesting to make mead with. I once made a mead with wild rose blossom honey which I like quite a lot, but since the honey was on the pricey side, I couldn't use as much as I would noramlly, so the mead came out drier than I really like. I personally like my mead a little on the sweet side, though not as sickeningly sweet as they make most commercial meads. I usually start my mead with a gravity of 1.120 and that ferments out to just level of sweetness I prefer.
Test suggestion: test fresh honey compared to fully crystallized honey. With moisture being reduced in the crystallized honey it would be interesting to see if there is profile differences.
It will be identical. Crystallized honey is still honey. Once mixed with water it decrystalizes and ferments.
You guys got me into brewing and it's my new favorite hobby! I would be interested to see a test between using a half packet of yeast and a whole packet. Thank you guys for the great videos!
Ultimately no difference.
You’d need to use an insane amount of yeast for any difference
The reason for the different sugar levels is due to the nectar collected by the bees. They all have different moisture levels/components. So my Bevy's Honeybees honey always gives me different og to a degree or 2 or 4. I'm still very partial to Mangrove honey mead, then oaked. It gets rave reviews when I share. Great video!
Redstar premier cuvee is very low foaming if anyone ends up almost full to the brim, it has saved me a few times. Great video you two, thanks.
I have sooo many honeys here and I taste them all before choosing the brew they go into, BUT I have come to the conclusion that after 90% of them go through fermentation they all kinda even out and can lose those big differences between them. So in an effort to keep the flavors and floral notes all perked up I have just started using the "special" honeys for back sweetening, to reinforce the honey notes of choice in the brews. it seems to work well and as a diabetic I am also mixing in nonfermentables to lessen the impact on my blood sugar. That has been great. I just buy bulk wildflower honey and ferment that even clover is good there. Then use the nicer flaver honey on the end and all is right in my world lol. LOVED this video and I really want to try sourwood honey, its on the list haha
Locust honey is amazing. I've had both honey locust and black locust. Equally amazing.
PS, science requires specificity. That's a fancy word there.
Love ya'lls videos, can't really watch anyone else's videos on home brewing, glass breaking when you toss something never gets old
I love that sound effect, lol.
thanks for doing this. i've been debating about types of honey and finally decided something similar. i did a couple gallons and found that they were very similar.
Au contraire, mon ami. You CONCLUSIVELY demonstrated that under the same conditions, with the same yeast, and the same additives (wine tannins), 3 different honeys will produce meads that are very similar to each other. As others have commented, you've proven that home brewers do not need to sweat the honey choice. Good test!
Great point!
Great video guys, totally agree that the vast majority of honey will give similar results in meads. One I've found that gave a hugely wonderful difference was macadamia honey. Wonderful subtle sweet flavour and light yellow colour. I know this may not be of use to anyone but Australians, since the macadamia plantations are found on the Nth east coast of Australia, but if anyone ever finds an artisan beekeeper in New South Wales or Queensland selling the honey at markets or roadside stalls, BUY IT ALL! .... Edit : I just did some research and the US also are a major Macadamia nut grower, so you may be able to get the honey over there, I would encourage you to try. You won't be disappointed. (You may know the macadamia nut as the Hawaii Nut in the US)
Always appreciate your videos. Been brewing since 25 and now 40. Here In Colorado we have Ambrosia wildflower honey and it has strong rich flavor (high country flowers) My favorite though was mesquite honey from New Mexico, it gives a smoky character to mead.
I used Mangrove Jack for my 1st mead with your recipe. It went from 1.11 to 1.03. Not gonna complain about the little sugar. First tasting was amazing.
I love my sourwood mead. It has a butterscotch flavor and a nice sour finish. One of my favorites.
Thank you for this video. I was contemplating asking for this video. I'm glad you did it. We have a local honey in this area which is far surperior to store bought, yet is a bit more expencive. I have been using the lesser priced while I have been learning, yet now I feel it's time to take it up a knoch. And again thanks
Test suggestion: A regular bochet vs. a spectrum bochet.
With a spectrum bochet you would pull a specific fraction of your honey from the crock pot (or what ever cooking apparatus your using) on a set time increment and place it in your fermenter.
Example 32oz of honey to start
- @ 10 minutes of cooking remove 8oz of honey and place it in the fermenter
- @ 20 minutes of cooking remove 8oz of honey and place it in the fermenter
- @ 30 minutes of cooking remove 8oz of honey and place it in the the fermenter.
- … etc.
Something I plan on trying out myself one day but it would be really cool to see it tried here as well to compare results.
Thank you both for the video! I had some misconceptions about honey that this cleared up and it's good to know that the type of honey isn't so important that it would make it to where I can't make certain recipes because the honey might not be available to me! Keep up the awesome work!
My meads have all been based using Saw Palmetto honey. (I had 5 gallons I had forgotten about after losing my hives with Hurricane Irma). I am now curious about using Brazilian Pepper Honey for a mead. No, it's not hot or peppery, has more of a hint of Starfruit. Great Video as always.
Hey Gregory! the wildflower in this video is brazillian pepper honey from Alva Fl. I would know, Bevy here. My hives will not be gettting orange blossom anymore because all the groves in that area are dead or almost dead from greening.
I have a batch of Tupelo and a batch of Meadowfoam going. Almost done fermenting. They look and smell wildly different. Both are incredible. Tupelo is like premium "reserve" honey, the meadowfoam is strong on marshmallow and vanilla flavors. Can't wait to try them!
Really want to try that meadowfoam honey in a vikings blood
Great overview! Thanks!
I have some sourwood honey from a local beekeeper and I already plan on making a traditional out of it. When I saw you were doing this I was intrigued. Thank you for providing your tasting notes on it, as it has me really looking forward to getting it made. I hope you keep a small bottle for a year and revisit them.
I'd like to see you do another yeast test, this time using some of the prevalent Lalvin yeasts (71B, QA23, and a couple of others). I have personally found that QA23 elicits a very "clean" fermentation, which allows other flavors to come through. It has become my go-to yeast for any of my meads that don't have a predominant orange/citrus flavor (I have a Christmas Orange mead I made with Kveik Voss that I let ferment hot and with orange blossom honey and orange zest; as a result, the orange flavor was strong, but well-balanced with the spices I included.).
I appreciate you guys a whole bunch.
Interestingly, your initial proportions of 1 part honey, 2 part water is the very ratio for the Polish mead known as Trojniak which is what I focus my mead making on. the OSG s/b around 1.14. Tastes great and never had a stall!
I just bottled 3 1gal traditional meads made from 3 different Hawaiian honey's. (monkey pod, lehua, macadamia) I got 10lbs of each from Shawn Harris. Very interesting comparison and all 3 very good.
No thack today. Was hoping for the triple thack... hahaha
It seems jar capacity is usually measured to within like 1/8th of an inch from the brim. It's probably wise to fill a new jar to an appropriate fermentation level with water and dump it into your amazing pitcher ahead of time to figure out its useful volume 😉
We did a video on that! ua-cam.com/video/jyge_GOTqE0/v-deo.htmlsi=PBS2w6gNulffMKEf
I have that same red spoon! 🤔😆
Also, bottle converter received. Thanks much! 👍
Okay scientifically definitive test! Got it. Totally cannon!
Lol. Without a hundred trials I would never make that claim.
Another fun video 👍. I've done what Brian did and mixed different honey leftovers with good results and to me they had distinctive differences. My wife made two fermentations and I thought, "oh wow, they are totally different". Then she told me that they were the same honey in the same recipe just the age was different. I know that sucrose (sugar) is like an acid and can break down molecular compositions given time. So, I am guessing that a lot of the "taste" difference is from the amount of sucrose left over after fermentation has stopped and the melding time.
No matter how or what, I LOVE the sweet creaminess of honey compared to sugar and I wonder 🤔? Two sugar, two honey, heads up blind taste test? Wonder if they all would have their own character 😁👍❤️$!!
Well, what can be said? Another great video from two of the best brewers "Ever"! Great job and thank you for all the content and hard work. Thank you very much for the brewing fun and sharing with the community. ☺
Brian, what happened to Whiskey Wednesday's? It's Wednesday....
Truly science happens, enjoing learning with you.
I appreciate y'all doing this video, I have been doing different wine homebrews and wanted to do mead and my favorite honey is sourwood so knowing that it tastes good gets me excited to make sourwood mead.
Oh yeah, sourwood is really nice for mead.
Great video!!! Thank you! I have been brewing based on your recipes since summer 2022. I was definitely wondering how much the honey type would affect the taste. Very good discussion!!!! 😊
That was a great test. I’m making some blueberry wine at the moment and wondering how this would taste as a mead with blueberry honey. Thank you for the idea guys
Very encouraging. Im making an acerglyn and have access to awesome syrup but just wildflower honey.
BTW, "conclusive inconclusive, yup" would have made a GREAT title for this video 🤣😂👍🙏
Most samples of honey contain detectable levels of yeasts. Although yeast counts in many honey samples are below 100 colony forming units per gram, yeasts can grow in honey to very high numbers. Standard industry practices control yeast growth. Honey's can ferment on their own especially if their moisture content is very high. You could measure the moisture with your refractometer.
I love this channel. You guys do the experiments so I don't have too. Lol
Thanks, great video.
Good test! Keep making mead!
Assuming you used 2 500ml bottles of water, that's 39.2 oz
A pound and a half of honey is about a pint in volume, give or take
39.2+16=55.2, those containers must be around half gallon/64oz measured from the very top
We are doing this same experiment with 3 of our honeys.
I got to tell you. Has I watched your video I was enjoy some wine I made from one of your video. The Grape juice video. It is good.
I used Sevierville local honey since I live in Tennessee and my brew is going strong so fat is bubbling stron and I'm excited for when time come to bottle
Bahaha I just read my post I had a stroke apparently
Hey CS
I like your channel very much😊
A question from Denmark 🇩🇰 Have you ever tried brewing a mead with a honey were the fermentation is already started?
Looking forward to see more cool mead brewing videos in the future 😃
You mean partially fermented honey? Nope, have never done that.
Yup.
That tennessee honey is really good!
Agreed!
One Yeast to rule them all.
I did a test like that last year, and I kinda came to the same conclusion that you did with one exception: Acacia Honey. It just didn't taste right.
Can you please show us how to clean mesh bags? Say, after banana wine? Or whatever? Thanks 😊
We just wash them like you would anything else. Run the tap and wash it off.
@@CitySteadingBrews ok so don’t put them in the washing machine?
We have. Some are machine washable but not all of them.
@@CitySteadingBrews ok ty ..what I did was wash it out with some hot water and then gave it a good wash in Star San
I was wondering about this, too. Please show us. This was a great video.
Last year I make a classic mead with Portuguese Wildflower honey. There the honey really makes a difference. The mead smells and taste like marzipan. I think the honey have a big influence on the mead. Of course the yeast have also a big influence on the end product.
Did you taste the home before fermentation. Maybe they all wear really similar in taste before.
Honey means a lot more than the yeast but both play a part, for sure!
I can get wildflower honey here but not the others.
I prefer clover, but most of the time I use the 5lbs jugs at wally marts
Enjoy your videos like that you do different things if you get the time can you please do a golden syrup wine
I just noticed that you switched back to a baster instead of the syringe. Did you change it because the baster is easier to clean?
Easier to clean and easier to use really.
I love tearable puns.
Perhaps an off topic question, but does the same weight of sugar and honey have the same sugar content?
It was in a previous video, sugar is about .042 per pound, honey is about .35 per pound in a gallon jar
.035*
White table sugar is at about 0.042 points of specific gravity per pound per US gallon. Honey varies but generally it has about 0.035 points of specific gravity per pound per US gallon.
Also aren't there some non fermentable sugars in honey that are adding to that SG?
White sugar is more like .046 really.
Have ya'll ever tried gallberry honey, an Palmetto honey. An in your opinion how did they taste in meads?
I don't think we have, sorry.
1 lb each of those honeys, the rest of that yeast, water to 1 gallon, boom. =D
I think you should put a bottle of each away for an extended time for science sake...
We normally do.
Looks like y'all need to invest in multiple spoons... 🤣
It would be interesting if there was a similar experiment to the fruit additions video (during, conditioning or half and half) but for the addition of fancy honey to back sweeten..
It's my theory that during ferm. maybe lots of the subtleties are lost? I dunno.. Maybe it will be so subtle it will be literally useless there is an A B comparison.
You don’t backsweeten until ferm is done…
@@CitySteadingBrews This is true.
But I was just wondering what how a late addition of a different honey to the one used during the ferm would do to change flavour. Apart from just the sweet taste of honey.
But I suspect the effect would be sooooo subtle, it would end out with a "yeah, sort of.. but not really.." verdict.
@@rorrt Perhaps you mean a step-feeding experiment?
Hey this was my idea, kind of lol
I'm starting up brewing. Got all my equipment ordered and now I'm looking for juices to ferment. At the moment it seems like I only have access to apple juices from concentrate, and also pasteurized. Would that be a problem? No other ingredients in the juice.
Butting in here… sorry. As long as it’s 100% juice, no -ites or -ates (citric acid for example is perfectly fine), you’re good to go. Apple juice based meads are really tasty. You’d basically be making a cyser. If you want to add another flavour, I can recommend adding solme whole/chopped/crushed other fruits, or teas, or flowers etc. I’ve had really tasty results with:
Frozen mixed berries
Raspberries
Blueberries
Strawberries
Blackberries
Rose hip (tea)
Hibiscus flower (tea)
Raisins (chopped)
Orange (zest)
Passionfruit (pulp)
Tart cherries
Various spices
…
The list is only limited by your imagination. Please do note that apple juice does contain malic acid. That might be a little sour to your palate. It can age out a lot but that takes several months. If you do not feel like waiting for a long time, back sweeten your mead/wine to taste, then either stabilise (chemicals) or pasteurise.
I’ve made very nice brews using natural syrups, like the IKEA blueberry syrup. 50%-60 of the gravity came from honey. The rest from the syrup. Topped up with water. I added 1lb of thawed, slightly crushed blueberries and a little vanilla in secondary, then back sweetened to taste. It was amazing.
Happy brewing!
Thank you so much for the great answer! So much good information in there 😁.. just received all my equipment and think I will get starter this weekend. Thank you so much 😊
what is the difference between cyser and melomel?
Cyser is just a type of melomel. So a cyser IS a melomel.
Did the Oregon honey die of dysentery?
Lol
Can/should you use kombucha in mead?
Probably not. It's a different fermentation type.
Try black sage honny its pure glucose.
All honey has fructose and glucose. Black Sage honey happens to have a slightly higher concentration of these two do it doesn’t crystallize.
Have you ever used melter honey from gardener bees
No but it sounds a lot like a bochet.
What if you add juice instead of water in a mead
It should ferment too... it would also raise the gravity so you have to be cautious.
I just found out that there is granulated honey have you tried using it for mead would it make a difference
I would rather use unprocessed honey. I would imagine the subtle flavors of honey would be lost in the process.
Never stop using the glass breaking sound effect.
If honey crystallises.... is that a problem for mead making?
Also, thanks for the video... I'm going to he starting my first ever brew this week and I'm loving the methods you guys use over any other that I've seen!
No problem at all, just mix it up.
When you rsck in bottles, do you use corks or caps? Or does it make a difference?
As we show in all our videos, mostly swing tops and screw caps. Any of those mentioned work fine though.
Where did ya'll get the half gal wide mouth fermenters?
We got them from Amazon: amzn.to/3XRDhXN
How much wine tannin per 1 gal?
Half to a tsp per gallon.
I have made an apple wine; it fermented for 2 weeks and showed signs of slowing down. After racking it there is a little more than 1/2 gallon left. I don’t have anything other than a gallon carboy at the moment, can it sit with all that head space(1/2 gallon of head space) for a few days until I get a container that will suffice? It reads .998. The airlock started to bubble again after a swirl, so the question is- should I be worried ? will it fill with carbon dioxide again and be ok or will it turn to vinegar?
I would get a smaller vessel asap. There's no guarantee either way if it will oxidize or not.
@@CitySteadingBrews it’s more like 3/4 of a gallon so it won’t fit into handle without leftovers 😳 still a lot lot of head space, like Paytons forehead space.
Either get a smaller vessel or add sanitized marbles or glass weights to fill the space.
Hey call me paranoid but I rather be prepared if it does happen I know that fermentation does slow down as time passes but in off chance it's stalls watching it go and im wondering is normal for it to slow down around the 3rd day or so? It's still going so I'm confident that's its doing its thing.
But I really am just a paranoid dude and perfectionist so I really did everything in my power to add yeast nutrient sanitize the whole nine yards I just really don't want it die is my main concern if it's stalled or a bit slow im fine with it but I hope it's alright it's blowing bubbles to this day (3rd) but I has slowed so I'm really curious if it's normal
It will slow over time, yes. To be sure if it’s done or stalled: ua-cam.com/video/2FqCLcYDlo8/v-deo.html
I've never seen a mead made with set honeys. They have a deep rich creamy flavour, is there a reason they aren't used? could we see a brew using them?
Set honey?
@@CitySteadingBrews yes. Set honey has a creamy taste and a wax like appearance. Quote: “Soft set honey is, in essence, honey that has granulated, and where the crystals are very small. It is creamy in texture and is sometimes referred to as whipped or creamed honey. The terms creamed honey and whipped honey suggest that something has been added or manipulated. Thus, soft set honey is the correct phrase to use for this natural process.” It isn’t creamed or whipped, but you’d be forgiven for thinking so. Have you never heard of it?
@@stoatyboy Oh you can totally use that. Just make sure to mix it in really good!
at what age is it drinkable..??? I'm about 2 start my first ever mead
You can drink it right away. However, I normally wait at least a few months after fermentation before sharing with others.
I've drank them after primary, and I've had some that's 20+ years old... depends on your tastes.
I say drink it when it tastes good
There’s a rule of thumb floating around that you “have to” wait 1 month per percent of alcohol before your mead is nice. That’s counting from after fermentation is done.
My take on that: a pound of utter hogwash with a pinch of truth. The ‘cleaner’ your fermentation is, the earlier it will be nice. That being said, a higher ABV beverage will need more ageing that a low ABV beverage. ‘Session’ meads/ciders will be nice almost immediately (3%-8% ABV? Sources vary). Sack meads (16% and above?) typically need a year to even two years. That is: in my experience.
Typically I tend to allow for at least 3 months after my mead/wine/cider has cleared and is bottled before I start popping bottles. Once I hit ‘wine strength’ and above, I let them sleep for roughly a year.
This however, is my own, personal preference, I’m a rather lazy brewer who has over the 30-odd years that I’ve been playing around with meads, wines and ciders has built up a rotation/schedule that provides me with a steady supply of aged-to-my-tastes bottles. I’ve always got anywhere between 1 and 4 fermentation vessels (1-2 gallons per fermenter, roughly) in various stages going. That suits the speed at which my loved ones and me drink the end result. Mileage may vary.
Remember to taste your product when it has cleared, then remember not to think it’s ruined, back sweeten it to a pleasant level of sweetness TO YOUR TASTE, stabilise it (either chemicals or pasteurising), bottle it and let it sit for a month. Or two. Or three. As you’re starting out, consider using small-ish bottles (25-33 cl bottles) that will allow for multiple tastings. It’ll enable you to find out how much you like your product as it evolves. Meanwhile, as it evolves, have fun setting up other wines/meads/ciders. Keep notes on each brew, adding those tasting notes as you go back for new tastings.
Soon, you’ll find your preferences, your ‘sweet spots’ where age-vs-ABV-vs-ingredients are concerned. It’s fun to look back. I’ve had fermenters that to me seemed to contain the most acrid witches’ brew when fermentation was just done ending in 1-year bottles of amazingly good stuff I keep making again. I’ve had stuff that was ‘meh-but-drinkable’ that after a year became a different brand of ‘meh-but-drinkable’.
Happy brewing and enjoy the adventure you’re embarking on! I sincerely hope you find it as rewarding as I do.
@@Indian0Lore if it's like wine it's a headache hangover if drank before a few months
This is not true, lol
How come you guys never made kvas? Is it a nice idea for a video?
I have made it, just not in a video! We were not all that impressed.
Have you ever combined different kinds of honey in one mead?
I think we have, but it was just to use them up...
Id let these age and test again later. Id then also blind taste.
You can certainly do that. We just wanted to give an idea of the difference in honey. Blind wouldn’t have mattered since preconceived ideas were proven to be inaccurate.
It's a terrible packet.....lol