i actually work at a Kelloggs cereal plant and my job is making Froot loops (at least one step of the process). glad to see you used the proper spelling! Enjoying the videos guys (new subscriber)
Derrica goes on a rant, and fails to point out, Brian's Rant . Lol love watching and learning about meads but really enjoy just the way these two complement each other . Great content.
The reason I watch you guys. You say it for what it is. and when it doesn't work the way you want, I try it a little different. and your taste buds and advice have never led me a stray thank you so much and keep it real
Thanks Darius! Conrad... you've never seen the "white wine with honey added" things calling themselves meads? that's what I was talking about. That's totally not mead, and it's not a language thing... it's white wine with honey.
You guys said it exactly right, as long as what you're showing us is right (and it always is!) thats what we r here for! And we most definitely appreciate it!
You guys are awsome. Thanks for the video. Making fermented drinks is my hobby and I really appreciate all the experiences and insights you share. Entertaining and informative.
Ok love you 2 only found your videos other day n watched a load since , had thought about making my own home brew in the past but not done. Now after watching you 2 making me want to try it again :-)
I absolutely love your Bob Ross shirt!! Okay, so besides the epic shirt that mead looks gorgeous, sounds like it smells really good and judging by the taste, it sounds well balanced.
I know you guys probably already realize this (since this video is over 3 years old) but the reason your gravity measurement is likely high is because of the temperature you are measuring the mead at. Since this was cold crashed, the solution is more dense, likely giving a higher reading than your previous measurement. This could also be in combination with the fact that most brewing hydrometers are calibrated to 68 F. This is the opposite of some of your other videos (mainly beer) where Brian takes a measurement on wort that is over 100 F. Since the solution is less dense in this case, it will likely give a low reading on a 68F calibrated hydrometer. With all that being said, love the videos and have gotten much inspiration from you two! Cheers!
had a flavor idea pop into my head as I was watching this and maybe you will agree that it may be a good if not interesting combination. Lemongrass and Ginger mead.
Knowing what you know now, how would you do this brew differently? I am starting to make mead with my friend and I am very interested in trying this one. Your videos have helped us out a lot!
LOTS more lemongrass. I'd probably use about 4 times the amount of lemongrass in the tea, steep it overnight and add a bunch of raw lemongrass into the brew too. The yeast strain was weak and didn't ferment well, so I would hope for a better strain, and give it all the natural nutrient from the lemongrass. Also, the Froot Loops flavor was lost, so using a lot more should help the flavor considerably.
Since you did a mead with tea, here is a recipe for a 1 gallon lemon green tea saison. 1.5lb 2-Row, 0.5lb White Wheat, 0.5lb Munich 60min boil At 30 min add-0.1 oz Sorachi Ace Hops, 40 min add-0.1 oz Sorachi Ace Hops, 45 min add-1 tsp Irish Moss, 55 min add-0.1 oz Sorachi Ace, 58 min add-8 tsp Matcha Tea Primary Dry hop for 7days 0.2 oz Sorachi Ace Hops, 2 lemons sliced thin OG should be around 1.070 and FG 1.010-1.015 If you try it, I hope you enjoy.
I wonder if you need to really overextract the lemongrass to account for the dilution with the water and honey. You could grind the lemongrass before steeping, or perform multiple extractions with the entire water supply.
I've been thinking about making mead for some time. I've read where you can let it brew for weeks, months, or even up to a year. For a first time attempt, I believe I would go the quickest route to gain experience. I really want some now !! The only complaint I have with the Dansk Mjod is, you don't realize how much is left until you turn it up; the bottle's weight is deceiving, but I do like the ambiance of it, plus it makes an excellent paper weight, rolling pin, or a door stop.
I was wondering if you have ever made beer bread or used spent grains to make bread. I went to the Jack Daniels Distillery about 3 years ago. It was a interesting tour. All the smells through the grounds were amazing; it smelt like artisan bread. I live in a area with several microbreweries and gastropubs. I'm always looking for new brews to try. I enjoy dark beers and milk stouts.
I'd imagine it would be much the same. They're not tremendously different flavors really. Though lemon balm is even more of fungicide/antibiotic so it might not work well.
So random request if possible. How would you do a rose bud infused mead? Reason I’m asking is because Valentine’s Day is coming up and I think a rose bud mead would a good romantic drink for the occasion. Plus it would give us viewers time to actually make it. Or just how would you do it?
I'm not sure about doing this one... I'll have to think about, and get over the 'drinking a good version of lemon pledge' idea! I currently have a batch of ginger beer in my closet, and am hoping that you'll be getting to the racking video fairly soon... hint... hint ;). I believe that I messed up already, but it'll be interesting! My OG started at 1.1 instead of 1.094, so it's going to be... different! I obviously can't measure sugar for crap!
@@MikeP350 thank you... it seemed like an order of magnitude when I saw it at 1.1 instead of 1.0??? I'm really looking forward to serving it for Christmas if all goes well.
@@CitySteadingBrews we really need a sarcasm font! It was intended to be a bit tongue in cheek rather than a serious comment.. It sounds pretty nice, and I think the better half would probably enjoy it... BUT... I have no idea where to find lemongrass around here... there's snow on the ground, ice on the roads, and it's gonna look a lot like Christmas until about May or June!
I have a blackberry Earl Grey tea that tastes/smells exactly like Froot Loops. Agree. Have used it in mead brews with great results. We've also made a triple lemon (balm, grass, & zest) mead that was so good.
One practice by the winemaker is to ferment separately and to completion, two or more batches of the same kind of must/juice, using a different unique yeast strain in each separated fermenter. Why? To obtain aroma or taste characters particular to each yeast strain without the competition of the other yeast strain. Then later (many months), measured and tested amounts of each wine are blended together to create a finished wine product. That kind of happened when you made your fruit loop mead. By starting the original fermentation with the unknown wild yeast, and when it stalled/completed, adding the beer yeast, each unique yeast was able to impart its own characteristics upon the must. Was it controlled? No... Is your fruit loop mead reproducible? Maybe, or maybe not. Was it interesting to watch? Yes.... Just some food for thought.
The back sweetening of my boring and dry wine kit i had worked well thanks. Have you every tried a wine filter, the ones like a coffee filter do they clear sediment, do they effect taste?
What would your impression be of a mead infused to be a warm/heat like mead. Using cinnamon stick, ginger, maybe some pepper flakes and paprika? Or would that be too much heat-to-sweetness?
I understand why you cold crash. It cools the yeast and makes it dormant so no more alcohol. but once you take it out once you bottle it wont it reactivate when it warms back up sitting on a shelf and blow the bottle?
It will as long as there are still sugars to ferment and the abv is not past the yeast tolerance. I rarely cold crash and only do it for clearing usually.
Just watched your fruitloops mead. Since you mentioned lemongrass is a natural insecticide or insect repellent, I am wondering if you think it would be better to make a mead first. Then flavor on the back end? Because I am very interested in making a lemongrass beverage.
Q: How do you find out which yeast is for which drink? I'm getting confused about all the different kind of yeasts out there especially sitting in Germany having a hard time getting alle the yeasts you guys are using.
Okay, even cheap white wine is better, cheap low-quality white wine. Winking Owl is a great cheap wine brand that is good and you can find it at Aldis. (We have 3 here in Sioux Falls)
Hi Brian, just a question about time. You said you wondered how this would taste after a year. Is that a year in the gallon container or after bottling. Also once you cold crash it do you have to keep it cold. Great videos!
A year after bottling. As for keeping it cold... that depends on your reason for crashing. If you are trying to stop fermentation, then yes, if you don't stabilize somehow, it will just ferment again once warmed up. If you are cold crashing just to clear it out.. no worries.
Do you have to use honey? Would it be possible to use, pure cain syrup? I'm asking this because a buddy of mine works for the local sugar mill, and he hooked me up with 6 gallons of pure raw cain syrup.....it"s crystal clear, and smells strongly of molasses. I'm not exactly sure what to do with it, but I don't think it ever goes bad. Any suggestions? = )
If you don't use honey, it's not mead. I'm not saying you can't do it, just saying it won't taste anything close to the same. Fermented sugar is relatively flavorless, where mead tastes like honey. If you do this, keep in mind you will need many months of aging for it to taste good. Molasses tends to be harsh in brews.
You guys ever had problems with your bungs lifting as your mead brewed? My last batch turned slightly acidic, almost toward a vinegar tasting and I think air got to it...I got discouraged and threw it out. I plan to try again soon. Any advice?
Dry the stopper and the interior of the fermenter where the bung goes. That's usually the issue. If it still pops up, I put a rubber band around it to hold it down.
Late to the party but I was wondering if the honey was the cause. Honey for lack of better term is hypertonic and antimicrobial this is reason it never goes bad. When an organism lands on the honey the honey pulls the water out of the organism and destroys it. Just a guess any comments are welcome.
@@CitySteadingBrews Boo! It was good! I think mine was a little sweeter though. I have one small bottle that's been aging for 5 or 6 months and one large bottle for the year. I only do 1 swing top per recipe so I don't accidentally drink the last one, I wanna see how each ages for a year.
Question I just started my first 2 gallons of mead last week How long should I let it ferment before initial racking? And is secondary racking neccessary? No hydrometer, balling on a budget Thanks in advance
Each mead is different. Lower ABV meads take less time to age, and some of mine were ready right after primary. Some higher ABV meads take much longer. General rule... if you let mead age for 6 months, it will improve in nearly every situation. Mead will oxidize if left to the air. A partially empty bottle will oxidize faster.
How can I counter pre-added citric acid? I got my hands on A LOT of raspberry preserves and...they used citric acid. I think it best to make wine from these, but I want to mitigate that issue. I currently have bread yeast and EC1118.
@@CitySteadingBrews No idea. The acid is the last ingredient, so probably minimal. I probably have 20 8 ounce jars of good quality jam. After the spiced cyser...
Question - Making my own mead using your formula with the orange/raisen/tea. Mixed it yesterday and last night the brown froth came out of the top of the air lock. I am assuming that was yeast. If I don't mix it every couple of hours, it happens again. What do I do?
Did you leave enough empty headroom? Fermentation foams like crazy. Brown foam is fine, thats called krausen though it should not come out of the airlock but stay in fermenter and eventually dry and leave a brown ring around the edges as the fermentation slows down.
The first couple days can be really active, that's what you're experiencing. If there's not enough headroom it can go out the airlock. When it happens, I just clean out the airlock and replace the liquid and put it back in.
@@CitySteadingBrews hahahha. Is ture you two are, how I meant by "saved" is in the fact that the two earlier videos I was like "hmmm maybe I should try to aquire lemon grass... i think I have a friend who grows it and make this when I have a bucket free." (No still have pulled the fruit off the fae mead... been busy with house work) but when the lemon pledge comment was made instantly I was like "oh hell no...." so the "it doesn't smell like this anymore" is how you saved it. Still semi considering acquiring lemon grass... just still being cautions of it.
It's best to degas, but, if you let them sit long enough, they degas all on their own, though it takes months. The reason you degas is A) So you don't have carbonation in a brew that isn't meant to, and B) to expel all the nasty gasses that build up during fermentation and make brews taste less than good.
i actually work at a Kelloggs cereal plant and my job is making Froot loops (at least one step of the process). glad to see you used the proper spelling! Enjoying the videos guys (new subscriber)
There’s another way to spell it? ;)
2 questions
1: how long has that paint can been fermenting?
2: when do you plan to drink the paint can?
The paint can has been working for about 3 months now. We plan to rack it to the walls when we have time!
yeah but are you gonna eat the paint
Doubtful.
you're missing out man, that stuff's delicious. my favorite is red. put a lemon wedge on it and bam. bellissimo
@@CitySteadingBrews not gonna lie I kinda want you to brew something in a sterilized paintcan for lols not sure how the metal would affect it though
We learn from successes & failures alike, & I greatly enjoy the process & problem solving aspects of your brewing. Thanks so much!
I am only 9 minutes in and have been chuckling at you two. Your face when she threw out the Devo reference was priceless.
You can tell they have a good relationship. Snarking back and forth like that, kind of reminds me of my wife and I.
Derrica goes on a rant, and fails to point out, Brian's Rant . Lol love watching and learning about meads but really enjoy just the way these two complement each other . Great content.
The reason I watch you guys. You say it for what it is. and when it doesn't work the way you want, I try it a little different. and your taste buds and advice have never led me a stray thank you so much and keep it real
Great to hear!
Just found y’all. I’m really enjoying your videos. Good to see older D&D gamers having fun doing other things.
Never apologize, Brian. Crappy white wine + honey =/= Mead!
Thanks Darius! Conrad... you've never seen the "white wine with honey added" things calling themselves meads? that's what I was talking about. That's totally not mead, and it's not a language thing... it's white wine with honey.
@@CitySteadingBrews The Georgia Renaissance Faire had some of these "meads". They sucked.
You guys said it exactly right, as long as what you're showing us is right (and it always is!) thats what we r here for! And we most definitely appreciate it!
lol do you guys ever sleep?? hehe
We try to?
You guys are awsome. Thanks for the video. Making fermented drinks is my hobby and I really appreciate all the experiences and insights you share. Entertaining and informative.
I had to go back and watch the first video because I thought you guys used actual fruit loops. Thanks for the video.
You two never let us down. Another great vid with lits of great information and laughs. Made my birthday great ☺
Happy Birthday!
Ok love you 2 only found your videos other day n watched a load since , had thought about making my own home brew in the past but not done. Now after watching you 2 making me want to try it again :-)
I absolutely love your Bob Ross shirt!! Okay, so besides the epic shirt that mead looks gorgeous, sounds like it smells really good and judging by the taste, it sounds well balanced.
Yup, this one came out great.
Love the videos! You guys should honestly try a cherry blossom and rose mead.
I know you guys probably already realize this (since this video is over 3 years old) but the reason your gravity measurement is likely high is because of the temperature you are measuring the mead at. Since this was cold crashed, the solution is more dense, likely giving a higher reading than your previous measurement. This could also be in combination with the fact that most brewing hydrometers are calibrated to 68 F.
This is the opposite of some of your other videos (mainly beer) where Brian takes a measurement on wort that is over 100 F. Since the solution is less dense in this case, it will likely give a low reading on a 68F calibrated hydrometer.
With all that being said, love the videos and have gotten much inspiration from you two!
Cheers!
The difference is rarely more than two or three points for a large temp change :)
It is just a riot to see you guys so green compared to your professionalism today!
Great video, glad you guys are able to make content.
That paint has had so many more uses than Valspar ever intended
Just noticed that you have Encyclopedia Magica on your shelf!!! ❤
I hope y’all had a great thanksgiving. I love your cometary
We did! Hope you did too!
I don’t think I would like this channel if you guys were experts or snobs. I like experiments and I like to learn
Good video. Cant wait to see the next one.
I'm going to try this, we have a huge lemon balm plant
Learning from ur failures is really one of the big reasons I’m here so please show ur failures so. I can avoid them
That was brilliant thank you.
had a flavor idea pop into my head as I was watching this and maybe you will agree that it may be a good if not interesting combination.
Lemongrass and Ginger mead.
Another good video guys...
Thank you again. Maybe I should try a fruit loop Mead. I watched the video but haven't tried it yet. Thanks again. You two are great.
Good information, loved it.
True you do have to age it, least that's what I've read but I've drank it aged in oak...amazing
maybe make a floral mead with lavender or cherry blossom
Lavender tends to taste like soap in mead... cherry blossom though... hrm.
Knowing what you know now, how would you do this brew differently? I am starting to make mead with my friend and I am very interested in trying this one. Your videos have helped us out a lot!
LOTS more lemongrass. I'd probably use about 4 times the amount of lemongrass in the tea, steep it overnight and add a bunch of raw lemongrass into the brew too. The yeast strain was weak and didn't ferment well, so I would hope for a better strain, and give it all the natural nutrient from the lemongrass. Also, the Froot Loops flavor was lost, so using a lot more should help the flavor considerably.
@@CitySteadingBrews thanks for the quick reply! We may try this is our next batch! Next up for us is Safron and Rose water. Wish us luck.
Another great and informing video also Brian my wife is like derica shes constantly apologising for thing I say out loud
She only does it when we're on video or working at a wedding though....
My group of friends back in high school called ourselves 'The Froot Loop Troop' 😂
@@conradwheeler68 just a bunch of teenage wierdos 😣
Since you did a mead with tea, here is a recipe for a 1 gallon lemon green tea saison.
1.5lb 2-Row, 0.5lb White Wheat, 0.5lb Munich
60min boil
At 30 min add-0.1 oz Sorachi Ace Hops, 40 min add-0.1 oz Sorachi Ace Hops, 45 min add-1 tsp Irish Moss, 55 min add-0.1 oz Sorachi Ace, 58 min add-8 tsp Matcha Tea
Primary
Dry hop for 7days 0.2 oz Sorachi Ace Hops, 2 lemons sliced thin
OG should be around 1.070 and FG 1.010-1.015
If you try it, I hope you enjoy.
I have been following your threads from start to finish. Did I miss the Froot Loop bottling and tasting?
I wonder if you need to really overextract the lemongrass to account for the dilution with the water and honey. You could grind the lemongrass before steeping, or perform multiple extractions with the entire water supply.
I believe we needed a LOT more lemongrass.
I've been thinking about making mead for some time. I've read where you can let it brew for weeks, months, or even up to a year. For a first time attempt, I believe I would go the quickest route to gain experience. I really want some now !! The only complaint I have with the Dansk Mjod is, you don't realize how much is left until you turn it up; the bottle's weight is deceiving, but I do like the ambiance of it, plus it makes an excellent paper weight, rolling pin, or a door stop.
If you want something that's good... quickly, I'd try our traditional mead: ua-cam.com/video/ildRSUSWmc8/v-deo.html Ours was amazing in 8 weeks.
Ought to be coming out with another Christmas ⛄🎄 Special pretty soon , YA Think 🤔 🤠
This year we give you all a bunch of new brews :)
@@CitySteadingBrews Sounds great . Can't wait . 🤠
I’m curious how this aged out... I’m going to try making some, but not wild. Cheers.
Whip it! Into shape! Shape it up! 😁
LOL
Got to grow that lemon grass to start this 🧐
Another great video! :)
I was wondering if you have ever made beer bread or used spent grains to make bread. I went to the Jack Daniels Distillery about 3 years ago. It was a interesting tour. All the smells through the grounds were amazing; it smelt like artisan bread. I live in a area with several microbreweries and gastropubs. I'm always looking for new brews to try. I enjoy dark beers and milk stouts.
Never really tried that, but... now I kinda want to!
I'd be interested to see 2x 1 gallon batches, one with lemongrass, one without, to see if there is any difference in fermentation.
Whip it good, whip it real good!
"I'm a controle freak". Realy, we've never noticed that before. 😂
Sounds very interesting, did you make a year later video of this?
We didn’t, that was before we started that.
Well shucks guess I'll have to make it to find out. Thanks for responding and all the great ideas!
“Normally, when he degasses, it smells kinda funky”... 1) that needs to be a t-shirt and 2) it’s the same for all of us 🤣
"When a problem comes along you must WAND it"
Could you have used lemon balm? What differences might you expect?
I'd imagine it would be much the same. They're not tremendously different flavors really. Though lemon balm is even more of fungicide/antibiotic so it might not work well.
So random request if possible. How would you do a rose bud infused mead? Reason I’m asking is because Valentine’s Day is coming up and I think a rose bud mead would a good romantic drink for the occasion. Plus it would give us viewers time to actually make it. Or just how would you do it?
I agree, extract the flavor with everclear and add to taste, and make a mead that is neutral and will allow the rose to shine through
do you think it would have been better mixing the lemongrass tea in after the mead was done?
I'm not sure about doing this one... I'll have to think about, and get over the 'drinking a good version of lemon pledge' idea!
I currently have a batch of ginger beer in my closet, and am hoping that you'll be getting to the racking video fairly soon... hint... hint ;). I believe that I messed up already, but it'll be interesting! My OG started at 1.1 instead of 1.094, so it's going to be... different! I obviously can't measure sugar for crap!
A .006 difference is nothing to worry about
@@MikeP350 thank you... it seemed like an order of magnitude when I saw it at 1.1 instead of 1.0??? I'm really looking forward to serving it for Christmas if all goes well.
Nah, there will be variances. The smell was reminiscent of lemon pledge, but the taste is nothing like it.
@@CitySteadingBrews we really need a sarcasm font! It was intended to be a bit tongue in cheek rather than a serious comment.. It sounds pretty nice, and I think the better half would probably enjoy it... BUT... I have no idea where to find lemongrass around here... there's snow on the ground, ice on the roads, and it's gonna look a lot like Christmas until about May or June!
Do you cold crash with airlock? Sorry if this has been asked already. Thanks.....
If my airlocks fit in the fridge, I would. Usually I just put plastic wrap on them, it holds well enough, but doesn't build pressure.
I think an Earl Grey tea, or even actual Bergamot, might get you closer to a Froot Loops flavor than Lemongrass.
Maybe? Experimentation is key. As a tea, lemongrass tastes like fruit loops, that's where this all started.
I have a blackberry Earl Grey tea that tastes/smells exactly like Froot Loops. Agree. Have used it in mead brews with great results. We've also made a triple lemon (balm, grass, & zest) mead that was so good.
LOL....DEVO would be sad!!! lol... Whip it good!!!
One practice by the winemaker is to ferment separately and to completion, two or more batches of the same kind of must/juice, using a different unique yeast strain in each separated fermenter. Why? To obtain aroma or taste characters particular to each yeast strain without the competition of the other yeast strain. Then later (many months), measured and tested amounts of each wine are blended together to create a finished wine product. That kind of happened when you made your fruit loop mead. By starting the original fermentation with the unknown wild yeast, and when it stalled/completed, adding the beer yeast, each unique yeast was able to impart its own characteristics upon the must. Was it controlled? No... Is your fruit loop mead reproducible? Maybe, or maybe not. Was it interesting to watch? Yes.... Just some food for thought.
The back sweetening of my boring and dry wine kit i had worked well thanks. Have you every tried a wine filter, the ones like a coffee filter do they clear sediment, do they effect taste?
I have tried coffee filters, problem is, they clog so fast you can't really filter anything.
What would your impression be of a mead infused to be a warm/heat like mead. Using cinnamon stick, ginger, maybe some pepper flakes and paprika? Or would that be too much heat-to-sweetness?
Use real fresh chiles instead of the flakes and paprika. We made one like this. Did a video on it too.
I’ll definitely take a look at it!
So just started watching yall and its been about a year if u have that mead still lol. Im really interested how it turned out.
We did a follow up.... came out pretty good in the end!
@@CitySteadingBrews ok awesome ill find it lol
Temperatures can effect the hydrometer
As Conrad said, not anywhere near enough to worry about. I figured out a 40 degree swing in temp resulted in less than half a % in potential ABV.
I understand why you cold crash. It cools the yeast and makes it dormant so no more alcohol. but once you take it out once you bottle it wont it reactivate when it warms back up sitting on a shelf and blow the bottle?
It will as long as there are still sugars to ferment and the abv is not past the yeast tolerance. I rarely cold crash and only do it for clearing usually.
Just watched your fruitloops mead. Since you mentioned lemongrass is a natural insecticide or insect repellent, I am wondering if you think it would be better to make a mead first. Then flavor on the back end? Because I am very interested in making a lemongrass beverage.
Quite possibly. That is one we need to revisit someday.
Q: How do you find out which yeast is for which drink? I'm getting confused about all the different kind of yeasts out there especially sitting in Germany having a hard time getting alle the yeasts you guys are using.
Sap wine... maple syrup wine...give it a crack
Eventually... a few have asked for it. I've heard it takes forever to taste good.
Not a maple mead, just maple syrup, no honey, aged in oak is amazing
from WebMD... Lemongrass might help prevent the growth of some bacteria and yeast
So does honey though... so...
Not sure, but I think I've seen some one make a wine using coolaid.
I do agree with Brian here, it is not mead when you add honey to cheap white wine.
Okay, even cheap white wine is better, cheap low-quality white wine. Winking Owl is a great cheap wine brand that is good and you can find it at Aldis. (We have 3 here in Sioux Falls)
Hi Brian, just a question about time. You said you wondered how this would taste after a year. Is that a year in the gallon container or after bottling. Also once you cold crash it do you have to keep it cold. Great videos!
A year after bottling.
As for keeping it cold... that depends on your reason for crashing. If you are trying to stop fermentation, then yes, if you don't stabilize somehow, it will just ferment again once warmed up. If you are cold crashing just to clear it out.. no worries.
What would be the difference between jun, and meed made with green tea as the nutrient?
Thank God I thought my Mead was a fail. I didn't know it was supposed to smell kind of off. I made maple syrup wine.. that was most certainly bad
Maple syrup wine needs a long time to mature and taste good.
Do you have to use honey? Would it be possible to use, pure cain syrup? I'm asking this because a buddy of mine works for the local sugar mill, and he hooked me up with 6 gallons of pure raw cain syrup.....it"s crystal clear, and smells strongly of molasses. I'm not exactly sure what to do with it, but I don't think it ever goes bad. Any suggestions? = )
If you don't use honey, it's not mead. I'm not saying you can't do it, just saying it won't taste anything close to the same. Fermented sugar is relatively flavorless, where mead tastes like honey. If you do this, keep in mind you will need many months of aging for it to taste good. Molasses tends to be harsh in brews.
Hopefully, you saved a bottle for a year or so and gave it another taste.
You guys ever had problems with your bungs lifting as your mead brewed? My last batch turned slightly acidic, almost toward a vinegar tasting and I think air got to it...I got discouraged and threw it out. I plan to try again soon. Any advice?
Dry the stopper and the interior of the fermenter where the bung goes. That's usually the issue. If it still pops up, I put a rubber band around it to hold it down.
Late to the party but I was wondering if the honey was the cause. Honey for lack of better term is hypertonic and antimicrobial this is reason it never goes bad. When an organism lands on the honey the honey pulls the water out of the organism and destroys it. Just a guess any comments are welcome.
If that were true, mead wouldn't be a thing.
Would you guys consider back sweetening to make taste more like fruit loops?
On this one... no, I am going to leave it as is. But you could add some lemon or other flavors to it.
Do you degas every time you do your first racking?
Almost never do actually.
Follow your nose to a pleasantly surprisingly fruit loops with wine flavored mead!
I'm curious how this one aged! It's about a year now!
I think it's gone....
@@CitySteadingBrews Boo! It was good! I think mine was a little sweeter though. I have one small bottle that's been aging for 5 or 6 months and one large bottle for the year.
I only do 1 swing top per recipe so I don't accidentally drink the last one, I wanna see how each ages for a year.
Question
I just started my first 2 gallons of mead last week
How long should I let it ferment before initial racking?
And is secondary racking neccessary?
No hydrometer, balling on a budget
Thanks in advance
3 pounds of honey, 20-25 raisins, D47 yeast, and the rest water is what I'm using per gallon container
If you aren’t using a hydrometer? Let it sit a couple months. Racking is to get it off the lees or sediment, it’s not the tastiest of things.
Rack the first time after a couple months?
Do I need to rack a second time?
Only if there is sediment. I do, but you don’t absolutely have to.
Awesome. Thanks for the info. I just joined the Facebook group. I look forward to more Mead videos.
I want to see them make a mead that is influenced/inspired by Ardbeg or Lagavulin
Them? Oh, you mean us. If I can get my hands on some Scottish peat....
That would be awesome. Believe it or not, you can get it from Amazon. ;) Then again, Amazon is the Walmart of the internet.
Do you have a certain amount of time you usually let your Mead age? Does Mead go bad after it's opened?
Each mead is different. Lower ABV meads take less time to age, and some of mine were ready right after primary. Some higher ABV meads take much longer. General rule... if you let mead age for 6 months, it will improve in nearly every situation. Mead will oxidize if left to the air. A partially empty bottle will oxidize faster.
Is that a bag of grain sitting to the right of you? Is that a foreshadow of a beer brew day to come?
Yes, yes it is.
How can I counter pre-added citric acid? I got my hands on A LOT of raspberry preserves and...they used citric acid. I think it best to make wine from these, but I want to mitigate that issue. I currently have bread yeast and EC1118.
What’s the pH? If it’s not below 3 you’re fine most likely.
@@CitySteadingBrews
No idea. The acid is the last ingredient, so probably minimal. I probably have 20 8 ounce jars of good quality jam. After the spiced cyser...
Most likely you're fine.
@@CitySteadingBrews
You're not so bad yourself. 😀
So could I use a stirring stick with actual winemaking yeast or fletchmans yeast and it theoretically do the same as it would with wild yeast?
In theory. Wild yeast is less consistent. Might be great might suck.
How many toes is it? Footy?
Question - Making my own mead using your formula with the orange/raisen/tea. Mixed it yesterday and last night the brown froth came out of the top of the air lock. I am assuming that was yeast. If I don't mix it every couple of hours, it happens again. What do I do?
Did you leave enough empty headroom? Fermentation foams like crazy. Brown foam is fine, thats called krausen though it should not come out of the airlock but stay in fermenter and eventually dry and leave a brown ring around the edges as the fermentation slows down.
@@MaaZeus thanks
The first couple days can be really active, that's what you're experiencing. If there's not enough headroom it can go out the airlock. When it happens, I just clean out the airlock and replace the liquid and put it back in.
I am curious is that a big bag of grain for brew by the red sanitization bucket?
It is.
@@CitySteadingBrews any idea when the next step to the ginger beer is coming out? I did 2 gallons the same day your video came out
12:45 "smells faintly of lemon pledge" ugggg!!!!! Nooooooo!!!
13:21 Derica saved you with saying it didn't smell of lemon pledge any more!
Not saved... we're honest.
@@CitySteadingBrews hahahha. Is ture you two are, how I meant by "saved" is in the fact that the two earlier videos I was like "hmmm maybe I should try to aquire lemon grass... i think I have a friend who grows it and make this when I have a bucket free." (No still have pulled the fruit off the fae mead... been busy with house work) but when the lemon pledge comment was made instantly I was like "oh hell no...." so the "it doesn't smell like this anymore" is how you saved it. Still semi considering acquiring lemon grass... just still being cautions of it.
Is there something you can put in the mead to degas it? Like less extreme version of mentos in coke?
I wouldn't recommend doing it! Probably wastes more than it's worth.
So are you supposed to de-gas every single batch of mead? Or why do you do that?
It's best to degas, but, if you let them sit long enough, they degas all on their own, though it takes months. The reason you degas is A) So you don't have carbonation in a brew that isn't meant to, and B) to expel all the nasty gasses that build up during fermentation and make brews taste less than good.
Bloopers! = )
How do I know if my mead has gone bad? It’s day 5 of primary and there’s sediment forming at the top . I’m scared
If the layer on top of your mead is not black, blue, or green, you should be fine. Is it bubbling away? Is the yeast doing its job?
Foam at the top is good and normal. You will see a sediment layer on the bottom too. Completely normal. And yes, odd colors are bad.
Seeing Derica nod her head like she did made me think: Brian and Derica Bobble heads?
Ha, who knows?
Are those plastic or glass jars? Those in your amazon link?
Glass, heard the tink
Yep, I don't really like using plastic.
Any suggestion on a good abv calculator? First timer here
Google it, there are many, I use brewers friend when my beersmith is not handy
I don't use a calculator anymore, just this formula (OG-FG)*131.25.
I need to try this but what yeast do you recommend?
We used Safale s04, but D47 is good too.
Degassing WISK?
Please get that lady some actual fruitloops!😊