Buddy, I haven't been watching you forever, I should've been... None the less. Documenting mistakes, in my opinion, is just as vital as the success. Thankyou for the informations. I personally have wanted to start doing this, and have not... But I think I'm going to. Lol I want to more so than earlier. Much love -Matt-
Gonna have to make my own strain of Raisins; maybe a Biff variety. That way I can make an 80's mead, call it the McFly and on the ingredients label, it will list the addition of "Biff Tannens".
Sleep is temporary, mead is forever. Sleep is overrated, with enough mead, you forget you need to sleep. Sleep is just that time when you're not drinking mead, and who needs that?
Glad I finally found your video that comments on using egg whites. They work great, I used them only once 25+ years ago after learning it was what monks used years ago. Great video.
best youtube channel that i have ever taken part of cause you respond to all my questions and look at every comment you can dude you have an amazing channel
I started a "viking blod"mead along with a orange & cinnamon mead back in Feb. Both looks and smells amazing after 7 months. i am planning on back sweetening some of the orange mead and add some tea to it. great videos and great work. shout out from South Africa
I'm so sorry you guys arnt getting more view. Everything you guys do is so thorough in explanation and super helpful, especially for me being new to brewing overall. I'm glad you guys videos arnt monetized bc I'm not a fan of ads but sad for you guys that they're not. But I can tell you guys just enjoy the work you're doing and that's all that matters; so thank you so much for that
Great video and your info is helpful, I am a beer brewer, just starting to mess with meads, thankyou for making it seem easy and how not to get to serious.
There are so many things to get serious about. Making alcohol should be fun. After all, no matter what you brew, if you drink enough of it, it's all the most amazing thing you've ever had, at least until the next morning. Seriously though, thanks for your support!
I've been making mead for about 3 years now, but just did my first flavored mead (blackberry). I wasn't totally confident in my technique, which is how I would up here. You are both just wonderful souls and I really enjoyed watching and learning from you! I dropped a subscribe, I hope it helps you continue on your path.
@@Anaken12 I know a lot of folks wait for fermentation to stop/stall before adding fruit, but I didn't. I was not too concerned with the primary fermentation removing color and flavor, but it CAN happen.
When im degassing my meads I use a submersive stick blender. It agitates the mead without introducing any oxygen. And al the gasses seep out of the mead. I also use it when mixing honey, water and yeast (very time saving!), also you can hold it to the top of the liquid and it will airate more air than you can with shaking it. Obviously you can't apply this in a demijohn, but in a wide top fermenting when making larger batches it's gold!
I have been hesitant about starting brewing mead for a couple months now but after stumbling on your channel and watching many of your videos I’m more excited than ever. I bought a carboy the other day (currently enjoying my “free” apple juice) and am about to purchase everything else I need to start my first batch! Thanks for all the information on the subject, your videos have by far been the most helpful! 🙏🏻
Hey brother I love that you admitted that you made a mistake. But I hope you don’t let that stick with you because most of us here are here because we’re learning with you man. Love the content
Ive been following this mead vids... loving all of what ive seen... love the blathering... please dont stop. Thank you again from Tucson Tony of Arizona
Regarding your racking setup: you could get a small, rolling, microwave cart/chopping block with a drawer. Put a rubber or silicone mat on the top and the bottom shelf (so no slipping/sliding of bottles occurs). If you put a hook or two in convenient spots, you'd have a place to hang things as well. And, since it rolls, you can roll it on out of the way when not in use.
I thought they were PG Tips in the last video, you've truly given your mead the best (but squeezing the bag is a matter of preference in strength, you can if you want but you don't need to).
I know this is an older episode, but I'm rewatching because I'm about to flavor a gallon of traditional and wanted a refresher on what to expect. Happened to catch the comment around @3:20 about refrigerating home-fresh eggs, any reason? I was under the impression that that was only necessary for commercial eggs. Thanks B&D for the CS pair of channels!
I've only ever oaked 1 mead. It was a traditional - 12%. I used some american heavy toast cubes. It was incredible! The oak really adds another dimension.
BriErika, last night I could not resist tasting a forest of fruits melomel I made after watching your youtube video of Vikings blood, yes I made Vikings blood also but not touched that one yet, the fruits were quite bitter but very nice although I LOVE HONEY but couldn't taste any so I backed it up with the same honey I used to make it and...…. flipping beautiful..... I now know my direction of making alcohol, MEAD that's now my forte and thanks to you my only way forward, thank you so much for introducing me into a whole new world,,,,, 5 out of 5 stars from me....
Sorry, but I literally laughed aloud when you mentioned how you had cut your hand (and I hope all has healed and do not wish you any ill will.) My wife and I were helping our grown daughter move into an apartment a couple of years ago, and she (my wife) decided (while I was off to Home Depot) to open some boxes with an Xacto #11 blade (despite my having gone to buy a multi-tool that I have to this day, somehow they came up with a tiny little blade to open an IKEA package.) My wife managed to poke a hole in her hand that led us to an emergency room. The good news - just a tetanus shot and not even a single stitch. I don't comment on all of you vids, but I watch and enjoy. You are closing in on 10K subs, and you deserve 100K. Thumbs up.
Great story! Yes, Derica can be a bit... well, I won't comment on it, let's just say I make her wear my "chain mail look, no cut gloves" to make sandwiches now. Thanks for your support! It's growing fast, trying to keep up!
Super cool you use tannins. We use them in the aquarium hobby to give the water a nice dark brown look. Although usually instead of tea we use different leaves, woods, and other things. It's usually referred to as blackwater style. I've also heard it has some antibiotic priorities that helps the fish.
Just finished making two 1 gallon jugs. First ever attempt at making alcohol. Supper excited too see how it's looks in a couple weeks! First one I used 3 lbs of honey with 1/4 blood orange peels and red star premier blanc champagne yeast. The hydrometer was showing high which makes me nervous (first time reading it so I might not be reading it right or my mix is to sugary). The second I used halved grapes and halved blueberries with approximately 3lbs of honey (don't have a scale so there's a lot of eyeballing) and EC-1118 yeast. I'll repost a follow up comment how it urns out.
Brian, just found your channel and you two have inspired me to try making mead and cyser for the first time. Just wanted to say I'm also a huge whisk(e)y fan and your collection in the background is making me a bit jealous :-) Keep up the good work, appreciate the content!
i found your channel a few weeks ago and have been binging all of them, and then i see you using PG tips, you absolute LEGENDS. Keep doing what you are doing it is hand down the best mead channel on youtube!!
Great ideas!!! Tea for mouthfeel, it's cool and it's possible to use different style of tea. And of course, of one batch of simple mead it's possible to make different styles, flavors. Thanks for the tips!!!
Not sure if anyone has commented about it, and it's probably quite late since you guys made this movie a year ago. CO2 is heavier than air/oxygen. So when you de-gas your liquid, CO2 rises to the surface. When you whip it around, it's CO2 that you mix into the liquid but you're very unlikely to bind it into the liquid again - since that usually requires pressure or some other way. At least this is what I've heard :) Thanks for the great channel and keep up the good work!
Sorry for the loss of your cider, a few things you can do to prevent this. Minimize headspace as you said. Gently rock the jug/carboy every day and keep that fruit on the top layer nice and wet with alchohol to keep mold at bay. After secondary fermentation of the fruit, cold crash, all of the fruit will sink and wont be exposed to air which will cause that mold on the fruit.
@@CitySteadingBrews I'm new to bee keeping and mead making. I've been asked to teach a beginner's mead making class a local bee supply store! I will be plugging your videos extensively and I'm even thinking about using your video about making your first mead as my visual presentation and I can pause to answer questions and when people having difficulty. Are you ok with me doing that? This is strictly volunteer on my part.
You can always use yeast neutralizer in secondary when you want it to stop fermenting, then back sweeten. you could probably turn a month turn around 2 weeks ferm, 2 weeks neutralize, back sweeten and drink! I neutralized my first batch and it went from cloudy as all heck to clear as a whistle.
I have never heard or seen yeast neutralizer. If you're speaking of sulfites or sorbates.... we don't do that around here. There are other ways to get a sweet brew without resorting to adding more chemicals to our food.
Hey! Just want to point out. If you're using a 1 gallon jar/5lL jar that siphon doesn't pick up the sediment. The way that one works (I know because I too have and use one identical) it's elevated from the bottom and sucks liquid down. Just don't put it on the bottom of a very narrow jar or stir it up :)
A suggestion would be to use acoustic foam to isolate you boom so when you bump you're table you don't here it through the mic. Btw i love your videos.
I noticed that sound too.... we're trying to figure out how that happened. The mic is literally 8 feet away, mounted on a boom on a large lightstand on the floor. Never noticed that before.
Brian, I've had a few customers rig up a non-aerating, degassing apparatus by installing a one-way nipple on a stopper or lid, placing the wine or mead in the glass vessel, sealing it and hooking up a vacuum pump to it. When you remove some of the air in the vessel, the CO2 and other volatiles escape the liquid because of the pressure differential. You do it several times and there should be very little CO2 left in there. The low-tech, poor man's system is to use a Vacu-Vin system used to remove air from wine bottles that have been opened, but not emptied (yeah, I know, crazy talk!). Just a thought!
Lorne, I'm not sure where she bought the vacuum pump. She's interested in opening a small winery and this was part of her process. I'm sure it wasn't expensive. You do have to use a glass jug instead of a PET carboy because the plastic carboys will try to "implode."
Bwahaha, we're YT crack. Well not in the bad way... I hope. I don't want any of our audience dying or anything. Okay, bad analogy.... Lemme try again. Bwahaha! Love hearing people getting hooked on our videos! It's like we're fishermen and throw out the..... oh nevermind. Was funnier in my head.
Yeah, come a long way really fast. I seem to remember you commenting way back when.... :) We are thinking of making a 10k sub special. Not sure what to do, someone mentioned a live stream, but I'm terrified, no idea how to do it.
yeah, I might be wrong, think my first time watching your stuff was back in May. I just remember when I subbed, you guys had less than 3500 subs. as for the special, a live stream would be a good idea. they're relatively easy. I'm sure you could find a video on how to do it.
You guys are too funny!! The cylinder/Derrica bubbling/farting sound. And calling it just gassing because you removed air, and put air back in. That cracked me up. Also, sorry if I spelled her name wrong.
That was all in the script. Mhm, yessireee..... wait... I never got a script. Wait til I have a talk with those writers. And you got her name pretty close, it's Derica. Don't worry, people have been spelling it wrong her entire 22 years on the planet.
thanks for putting the link to the siphon on here. i've been wondering what type to get. also, do you need to do a second fermentation after you bottle?
I wasn't sure how to answer this at first. So I decided to spell out the various phases for you, since I think there might be some confusion. 1) Primary Fermentation - starting the brew, this is when most of the actual fermentation occurs 2) Secondary Fermentation - not always used, but this is right after primary fermentation has slowed or nearly stopped. It's used mostly to get the brew off the lees, fruit, or whatever is in there with it. 3) Rackings - yes, you racked from Primary to Secondary, but sometimes you still get a lot of sediment so you might need multiple rackings to get rid of it all. 4) Bottling - this is when you store the brew for consumption and aging. You can age in Secondary too, but a lot of people bottle age, like with wines. I hope this helps a bit?
Thanks for the video! I've just ordered what I need for my first batch of mead. Question: I'm making my first batch using your "your first mead" recipe. At the end of the process, can I add in some fruit in the same way you did here? Or is it going to taste off because it's not a hydromel? Thanks!
that was a great video on flavoring, I have been learning so much from both of you on meads and the different forms. But my one question on the degassing... how long do you know to stir?
Brian, some three to four weeks ago I made some ginger beer, I started by boiling my ingredients which were around 8 cloves a handful of chopped raisins and some inner bark off a evergreen tree (cinnamon)oh and two lots of ginger root, I boiled it twice allowing it to cool before boiling it again then I added 1kg of brown sugar the next day when it had cooled and added my yeast lalvin k1-1116 I took a gravity reading of 1.092, this morning I took another gravity reading that hovered between 1.000 and 1.020 = 10. something percent which I am happy with, I have transferred the ginger beer to a clean demijohn and will now wait a further two weeks before bottling. Thank you for your advice Mr Teacher...
You're... welcome! Though we haven't even done a ginger beer yet, lol. Honestly a bit surprised that worked, both clove and cinnamon are antibiotics and can kill yeast off in large enough doses! Question... what evergreen tree is giving you cinnamon?
I once researched where cinnamon came from and I am sure I read it came from an evergreen tree, but got that wrong (sorry) but yes the inner bark or skin.. also if cloves and cinnamon kill off yeast then y is it that lots of people on you tube seem to be using these ingredients in mead therefor I thought it would work in ginger beer, also manuka honey has properties that include antibiotic, would this not work to make mead ? also the next time I make ginger beer I will video it as proof for everyone and share it on youtube, the reason I was saying thank you was for giving me the confidence to actually brew alcohol, my father used to make it but after his death in 1990 I lost interest in life itself, he was the first person I truly loved to leave me, times were bad...
Cinnamon, or in the US, Cassia is the bark of a tree, but not an evergreen like we think of them. As for the antibiotic properties and everyone using them... yes... it's true. I've found that in large doses, these things can kill off a yeast colony. Many people use them, and for good reason, they also mask the harsher flavors of green meads! If you use them in moderation, probably no issue whatsoever, as you found out.
I believe myself to be anti medical, ie I look for alternative medicine, I have a grand daughter that died of a rabdoid tumar aged 5, I suffer from heartburn so I eat American mustard which cures it, I believe alternative medicines to work, so therefor any ingredient somebody else uses I will use in my mead or ginger beer and if it works hey presto if not lets start again dismissing that certain ingredient just like doctors in the cases of cancer. its all trial and error, human kind….
A little late on this and not sure if someones already said this but I think degassing brakes the bond between the co2 and other molecules in the mead.
Not sure if you got an answer, but degassing is a cavitation action, so it's causing small pockets of space behind the stirring wand,. These spaces allows gases suspended in the solution to escape, thereby degassing the solution. Aeration would be mixing the solution vigorously enough with the outside air in order to envelope, or gas, the solution. As when you make meringue or whipped cream.
@@CitySteadingBrews no question! just explaining the difference between aerating and cavitating. Using the whip introduces very little air compared to the amount it cavitates out. 13:06
Do you have a video on blueberry mead? I think that would be interesting to see. The ones I've seen have a lot of chemicals in them, which I'm not fond of.
I would suggest the best way to degas without introducing O² into a brew, would be to put your brew into a vacuum chamber then the gas should be pulled out the brew with all the other air from within the chamber (this may be way over the top but it'll work)
If you want to degas Co2 you should pump Co2 into it. I use to work at a foundry and we'd degas 2000lbs pots of molten aluminum by pumping nitrogen into it slowly. The large Co2 Bubbles will capture any Co2 in the mixture and pull them to the surface. Buy a Paintball Tank on amazon and fit it with a gauge and a something with a bunch of tiny holes in it and let it pump through the mead for about 10-30mins
Thanks for the input, but.... I think using the tank would be a bad idea. You are exposing the brew to the air for far too long. I'm no scientist so I can't speak to the effectiveness of it, but it does sound counterintuitive to me.
@@CitySteadingBrews couldn't you just use a little hole in lid solution and a capped tube with small punctures to input the co2? that way its only exposed for under a minute.
Alright I commented on a couple of your videos previously, I started a mead brew with no camden tablets, no yeast nutrient additive. We'll see how it goes. I'm going to try separating some during secondary fermentation for a control group, flavored group, cold crashes group, secondary fermentation, and sparkling group, and flavored sparkling group.
When you mentioned the part about getting rid of CO2 without introducing oxygen I had an odd thought... I wonder what a mentos would do to it? Just like how it acts as nucleation sites for CO2 dissolved in soda, would it work somewhat the same way in a mead and cause the CO2 to form bubbles and escape without dissolving oxygen in through surface agitation? Another thought. What about putting an open bottle of mead in a vacuum chamber?
You're right, that is a very odd thought. An amazing... interesting odd thought. I'm compelled to try it but I don't want to waste my mead or make it taste like Mentos. I bet it would help, but I doubt it would get rid of all of it, and if it works like the diet coke, it will take half the mead with it! If I remember correctly though, there was more going on there... the caffeine, the fake sugar, they all had a huge part in it. Mythbusters did an episode on it. The vacuum chamber thing is popular. I'm constantly amazed how much money people seem to have to throw at these things. I use a $6 piece of plastic, that could have just as well been a stick.
City Steading Ha. No argument there. A minty mead might be a tad off putting. Suppose the fruity kind might do the trick too but still a bit weird. I want to say I remember the myth busters doing something on the whole mentos deal, but I can’t remember. Still, can’t argue with not wanting to ruin a whole batch of the good stuff to try it out 😂 Wish I had the spare pennies to put toward a fun hobby like that. Lol got a powerful need to eat and heat my home instead 😜
I tried it. It's worse than doing it my way. The only thing I can see is if you used a traditional narrow opening carboy. The built in bung thing on the whip might keep oxygen from getting in, but... the Co2 isn't getting out either.
"I don't glow from the sun" huh, he's secretly a "Twilight" Vampire . . . *Sips his tea while thinking why the new age vampires glow in the sun when he merely burns alive*
If you actually had a drill and were doing this in a one of those gallon carboys you used for this primary fermentation you could easily degas without risking oxygenation. The top of that degassing wand would almost plug up the hole in the top (not completely, you need a way for the gas to escape) and there wouldn't really be any way for the oxygen to get in, the top would just spew out all the gasses already in the mead.
I’ve been loving your videos, Very informative and funny! You’ve mentioned head room, what would you do if you re-racked your mead and there was too much headroom and you didn’t think there was enough ‘go’ left in the mead to produce co2......use a smaller vessel? What would the downside be to adding say boiled sugar water to the racked mead to fill it up?
To degas without adding oxygen, use a vacuum chamber... Put a seal over the top of the bottle and use an air pump to create vacuum pressure. You'll quickly pull out the gas without adding anything. Thekingofrandom has a ton of videos on vacuum chambers.
In years past I've made short mead from kits, that came with flavoring tea that you'd put in primary. This is the first year I'm doing a longer mead. I've been in secondary for about a week, but now I'm thinking I want to try some different flavors. Maybe one with some cherries and vanilla bean, and one with mulling spices. Is it too late to add these in at this point? Thanks, and I love your videos!
Also, question, I’m wondering about flavored or infused meads, have you guys ever experimented with herbs such as mugwort? I’m curious about adding flavor and maybe even getting some of the health benefits from other similar herbs. Maybe do a video on it? Any feed back would be appreciated!!!
i find bentonite clay clears it in a couple of hours to a day and is safe for ingestion and 100% natural. i find it also crisps up the flavor of mead quite abit
Bentonite, depending on the source is not necessarily safe. Some sources and studies show it can contain lead and silica, both carcinogens. Others cite powdered aluminum which is also unhealthy in humans. I avoid it, but, I also don't mind waiting a few more days or a week or two for brews to clear. Another FYI, it's a salt, so, it sometimes adds that flavor to brews.
i've also used isinglass which is derived from the air-bladders of fish. but thank you for that extra information on Bentonite i didn't know all the details i guess. i usually use fining agents when making large batches and want to bottle everything the next day but i mostly avoid the non natural fining agents. i love your channel i learn so much information on fermentation and brewing techniques
I know nothing of isinglass past what you said. I've not needed to clear things so I haven't used finings of any kind, but I'm considering egg whites if I needed to.
Hi. I want to say you two are very informative and helpful. I also would like to know, is it ok to not see sediment forming at the bottom of the mead on your first day of fermenting? Thank you for your help and great content. Much love
About to make my first mead. I want to jump in head first but I've brewed beer and ciders before so i'm not a complete novice. That being said, I have a question about flavoring. I am going to do one with real blueberries and one with an extract. I want to see/taste the difference. Should I add the fruit and extract at the beginning or different times for the different batches? Thanks in advance and keep making the awesome videos!
That T-shirt was retired. We decided the negative connotation was a bad idea. Still working on a new scale that is as funny or funnier without being a negative. I mean, the foot smell isn't really a great selling point, right? :) As for your brew. What I do is put some in at primary and the rest in secondary. Putting fruit in primary gives you the flavors that the fruits produce as they ferment, which will be different than the honey. Adding it in secondary gives more of the true fruit flavors, so by doing both you get complexity and depth of flavor. How much and how long? Experimentation is your friend here.
I found a way of degassing by buying a food vacuum for storage bags. It fits on the top of the bottle and it forms a vacuum inside the bottle. As I used it the gas was really forming on the top. I don't remove the vacuum until the pressure evens off
Can you store your degassed mead in your 1/2 gallon mason jar in the refrigerator to clarify/age it? I am not sure I want to spend time botting it when I have extra half gallon, quart, and pint jars.
I apply a vacuum to the bottle to draw the gases out without intriducing oxygen. FoodSaver's handheld unit fits the 1 gallon bung plug perfectly.
I've heard this a few times, I'll give it a try. We supposedly have one of those somewhere.
You are both legends I recently found your videos and have binge watched them all .. just started my cherry mead so looking forward to that
We're not legends, we're real! I swear. I just pinched myself to be sure.
@@CitySteadingBrews no deffo legends Odin is proud..... till Valhalla brother
@@scottbanks3426 how was it?
@@mdr3w cherrymead was good but the honey and vanilla mead was much better I'm just waiting to prep up to start this year's batch
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Buddy, I haven't been watching you forever, I should've been... None the less. Documenting mistakes, in my opinion, is just as vital as the success. Thankyou for the informations. I personally have wanted to start doing this, and have not... But I think I'm going to. Lol I want to more so than earlier. Much love -Matt-
Gonna have to make my own strain of Raisins; maybe a Biff variety. That way I can make an 80's mead, call it the McFly and on the ingredients label, it will list the addition of "Biff Tannens".
Logo should be a rough sketch delorean
Love watching these videos, even when I should be asleep for work in the morning.
Sleep is temporary, mead is forever.
Sleep is overrated, with enough mead, you forget you need to sleep.
Sleep is just that time when you're not drinking mead, and who needs that?
Rewatching this after a few years, keep thinking the box of PG Tips is a view out the window.
I have to say - out of all the mead video's I have been watching (just learning) you have the best shirts!
Glad you like them! We have them for sale if you would like to get your own! city-steading.com/product-category/t-shirts/
I love the bubbly sound that happened with the test tube sanitization. Something about it makes me smile.
There's a joke in there somewhere, but.... I'm keeping it clean.
One of the best channels to learn how to brew! Thank you guys for being so consistent with your content!
Men, this channel is so professional and simple to understand at the same time. I'm glad I found it! Now I can Brew happily! Greetings from Spain!
Awesome, thank you!
Only home made show I watch. You 2 are fantastic and very real
Keep jabbering it makes me feel like I'm just hanging out with you guys
Glad I finally found your video that comments on using egg whites. They work great, I used them only once 25+ years ago after learning it was what monks used years ago. Great video.
Yet again...great delivery, down to earth, common sense.....and easy to understand!!! Thank You both!!
best youtube channel that i have ever taken part of cause you respond to all my questions and look at every comment you can dude you have an amazing channel
Thank you!
I started a "viking blod"mead along with a orange & cinnamon mead back in Feb. Both looks and smells amazing after 7 months. i am planning on back sweetening some of the orange mead and add some tea to it. great videos and great work. shout out from South Africa
Sounds good! Thanks so much for your support!
You guys are awsome, im watching in from the U.K, you are such a wonderful couple and brighten my day when i watch your videos, stay beautiful xx
I'm so sorry you guys arnt getting more view. Everything you guys do is so thorough in explanation and super helpful, especially for me being new to brewing overall. I'm glad you guys videos arnt monetized bc I'm not a fan of ads but sad for you guys that they're not. But I can tell you guys just enjoy the work you're doing and that's all that matters; so thank you so much for that
Old video. We are monetized and I f we weren’t... honestly we couldn’t keep making these videos.
Great video and your info is helpful, I am a beer brewer, just starting to mess with meads, thankyou for making it seem easy and how not to get to serious.
There are so many things to get serious about. Making alcohol should be fun. After all, no matter what you brew, if you drink enough of it, it's all the most amazing thing you've ever had, at least until the next morning. Seriously though, thanks for your support!
I've been making mead for about 3 years now, but just did my first flavored mead (blackberry). I wasn't totally confident in my technique, which is how I would up here. You are both just wonderful souls and I really enjoyed watching and learning from you! I dropped a subscribe, I hope it helps you continue on your path.
Did you do something to stop fermentation before adding the fruit juice?
@@Anaken12 I know a lot of folks wait for fermentation to stop/stall before adding fruit, but I didn't. I was not too concerned with the primary fermentation removing color and flavor, but it CAN happen.
When im degassing my meads I use a submersive stick blender. It agitates the mead without introducing any oxygen. And al the gasses seep out of the mead.
I also use it when mixing honey, water and yeast (very time saving!), also you can hold it to the top of the liquid and it will airate more air than you can with shaking it.
Obviously you can't apply this in a demijohn, but in a wide top fermenting when making larger batches it's gold!
I just found your channel becuase I started looking up mead.
Good channel.
I have been hesitant about starting brewing mead for a couple months now but after stumbling on your channel and watching many of your videos I’m more excited than ever. I bought a carboy the other day (currently enjoying my “free” apple juice) and am about to purchase everything else I need to start my first batch! Thanks for all the information on the subject, your videos have by far been the most helpful! 🙏🏻
Best of luck!
I noticed the wild turkey 🦃 101 on the top shelf...yummy.
Hey brother I love that you admitted that you made a mistake. But I hope you don’t let that stick with you because most of us here are here because we’re learning with you man. Love the content
Ive been following this mead vids... loving all of what ive seen... love the blathering... please dont stop. Thank you again from Tucson Tony of Arizona
Regarding your racking setup: you could get a small, rolling, microwave cart/chopping block with a drawer. Put a rubber or silicone mat on the top and the bottom shelf (so no slipping/sliding of bottles occurs). If you put a hook or two in convenient spots, you'd have a place to hang things as well. And, since it rolls, you can roll it on out of the way when not in use.
I like how you think. Though I have a simpler solution, my buddy at Ironsides Woodworks is gonna make me one. :) Might even be a video on it.
I specifically brought a pair of 5-liter barrels to do the oaking in. Wish I knew about the oak stick prior, but the barrels will work too
The barrels are great if you have that much to oak. You can reuse them too.
I thought they were PG Tips in the last video, you've truly given your mead the best (but squeezing the bag is a matter of preference in strength, you can if you want but you don't need to).
I know this is an older episode, but I'm rewatching because I'm about to flavor a gallon of traditional and wanted a refresher on what to expect. Happened to catch the comment around @3:20 about refrigerating home-fresh eggs, any reason? I was under the impression that that was only necessary for commercial eggs. Thanks B&D for the CS pair of channels!
I've only ever oaked 1 mead. It was a traditional - 12%. I used some american heavy toast cubes. It was incredible! The oak really adds another dimension.
That's what I hear, never oaked mead, so... here we go.
BriErika, last night I could not resist tasting a forest of fruits melomel I made after watching your youtube video of Vikings blood, yes I made Vikings blood also but not touched that one yet, the fruits were quite bitter but very nice although I LOVE HONEY but couldn't taste any so I backed it up with the same honey I used to make it and...…. flipping beautiful..... I now know my direction of making alcohol, MEAD that's now my forte and thanks to you my only way forward, thank you so much for introducing me into a whole new world,,,,, 5 out of 5 stars from me....
Wow, thanks Alan! Glad you're enjoying it!
Sorry, but I literally laughed aloud when you mentioned how you had cut your hand (and I hope all has healed and do not wish you any ill will.) My wife and I were helping our grown daughter move into an apartment a couple of years ago, and she (my wife) decided (while I was off to Home Depot) to open some boxes with an Xacto #11 blade (despite my having gone to buy a multi-tool that I have to this day, somehow they came up with a tiny little blade to open an IKEA package.) My wife managed to poke a hole in her hand that led us to an emergency room. The good news - just a tetanus shot and not even a single stitch.
I don't comment on all of you vids, but I watch and enjoy. You are closing in on 10K subs, and you deserve 100K. Thumbs up.
Great story! Yes, Derica can be a bit... well, I won't comment on it, let's just say I make her wear my "chain mail look, no cut gloves" to make sandwiches now.
Thanks for your support! It's growing fast, trying to keep up!
This is an old video love it brother
Chilling to near freezing for a day or two with do wonders for clarity.
Super cool you use tannins. We use them in the aquarium hobby to give the water a nice dark brown look. Although usually instead of tea we use different leaves, woods, and other things. It's usually referred to as blackwater style. I've also heard it has some antibiotic priorities that helps the fish.
Just finished making two 1 gallon jugs. First ever attempt at making alcohol. Supper excited too see how it's looks in a couple weeks! First one I used 3 lbs of honey with 1/4 blood orange peels and red star premier blanc champagne yeast. The hydrometer was showing high which makes me nervous (first time reading it so I might not be reading it right or my mix is to sugary). The second I used halved grapes and halved blueberries with approximately 3lbs of honey (don't have a scale so there's a lot of eyeballing) and EC-1118 yeast. I'll repost a follow up comment how it urns out.
Brian, just found your channel and you two have inspired me to try making mead and cyser for the first time. Just wanted to say I'm also a huge whisk(e)y fan and your collection in the background is making me a bit jealous :-) Keep up the good work, appreciate the content!
Thanks! Appreciate it! I'd make whiskey too if it were legal.
Save Ferris, awesome shirt.
Probably my favorite T-shirt of all.
Awesome video! Love watching you two
For the degassing i use a wine vacuum pump
I'm hearing this a lot. Maybe I'll look into one.
You could de-gas without introducing air by using a vacuum pump. Same way you would de-gas silicon before molding/casting.
I've never had to degas silicon, but yes, you totally can do that. I do it ye olde way just because I assume not everyone has a vacuum pump.
@@CitySteadingBrews plus vacuum is going to make your alcohol boil off
So much time and money goes into these videos and I can't wait for the subs to come storming in. Such a great underrated channel. Keep it up🤙
We're getting there. all things in time.
i found your channel a few weeks ago and have been binging all of them, and then i see you using PG tips, you absolute LEGENDS. Keep doing what you are doing it is hand down the best mead channel on youtube!!
Welcome aboard!
Great ideas!!! Tea for mouthfeel, it's cool and it's possible to use different style of tea. And of course, of one batch of simple mead it's possible to make different styles, flavors. Thanks for the tips!!!
Not sure if anyone has commented about it, and it's probably quite late since you guys made this movie a year ago. CO2 is heavier than air/oxygen. So when you de-gas your liquid, CO2 rises to the surface. When you whip it around, it's CO2 that you mix into the liquid but you're very unlikely to bind it into the liquid again - since that usually requires pressure or some other way. At least this is what I've heard :) Thanks for the great channel and keep up the good work!
Sorry for the loss of your cider, a few things you can do to prevent this. Minimize headspace as you said. Gently rock the jug/carboy every day and keep that fruit on the top layer nice and wet with alchohol to keep mold at bay. After secondary fermentation of the fruit, cold crash, all of the fruit will sink and wont be exposed to air which will cause that mold on the fruit.
Didn't think of the cold crashing... thanks.
Save Ferris! 😀🍺. Cheers guys, another great video!
Thanks! Appreciate the support!
Guys! Love al of your videos! Great source of information!
Thank you!
@@CitySteadingBrews No ! Thank you!
@@CitySteadingBrews I'm new to bee keeping and mead making. I've been asked to teach a beginner's mead making class a local bee supply store! I will be plugging your videos extensively and I'm even thinking about using your video about making your first mead as my visual presentation and I can pause to answer questions and when people having difficulty. Are you ok with me doing that? This is strictly volunteer on my part.
You can always use yeast neutralizer in secondary when you want it to stop fermenting, then back sweeten. you could probably turn a month turn around 2 weeks ferm, 2 weeks neutralize, back sweeten and drink! I neutralized my first batch and it went from cloudy as all heck to clear as a whistle.
I have never heard or seen yeast neutralizer. If you're speaking of sulfites or sorbates.... we don't do that around here. There are other ways to get a sweet brew without resorting to adding more chemicals to our food.
Hey! Just want to point out. If you're using a 1 gallon jar/5lL jar that siphon doesn't pick up the sediment. The way that one works (I know because I too have and use one identical) it's elevated from the bottom and sucks liquid down. Just don't put it on the bottom of a very narrow jar or stir it up :)
I don't know if it's just me... but I love it when your cats lecture you as you present. LMAO!
It's just you. :P
@@CitySteadingBrews it's hysterical! I love it. Your cats have so much to say. LOL
A suggestion would be to use acoustic foam to isolate you boom so when you bump you're table you don't here it through the mic. Btw i love your videos.
I noticed that sound too.... we're trying to figure out how that happened. The mic is literally 8 feet away, mounted on a boom on a large lightstand on the floor. Never noticed that before.
Brian, I've had a few customers rig up a non-aerating, degassing apparatus by installing a one-way nipple on a stopper or lid, placing the wine or mead in the glass vessel, sealing it and hooking up a vacuum pump to it. When you remove some of the air in the vessel, the CO2 and other volatiles escape the liquid because of the pressure differential. You do it several times and there should be very little CO2 left in there. The low-tech, poor man's system is to use a Vacu-Vin system used to remove air from wine bottles that have been opened, but not emptied (yeah, I know, crazy talk!). Just a thought!
Yeah, I've seen some pretty creative uses of vacuum pumps for this too. I'm cheap. The stick works fine :)
What kind of vacuum pump? I've been contemplating some kind of degassing system myself and any info on this would be get.
Lorne, I'm not sure where she bought the vacuum pump. She's interested in opening a small winery and this was part of her process. I'm sure it wasn't expensive. You do have to use a glass jug instead of a PET carboy because the plastic carboys will try to "implode."
I threw in some blueberries, about 8, and about 5 raisins. It seems to be going great.
great video !! Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
Absolutely love all of your videos btw, got hooked a while ago and always need to watch them the day of
Bwahaha, we're YT crack. Well not in the bad way... I hope. I don't want any of our audience dying or anything. Okay, bad analogy....
Lemme try again.
Bwahaha! Love hearing people getting hooked on our videos! It's like we're fishermen and throw out the..... oh nevermind. Was funnier in my head.
almost 10k subs, congratulations, guys
Yeah, come a long way really fast. I seem to remember you commenting way back when.... :)
We are thinking of making a 10k sub special. Not sure what to do, someone mentioned a live stream, but I'm terrified, no idea how to do it.
yeah, I might be wrong, think my first time watching your stuff was back in May. I just remember when I subbed, you guys had less than 3500 subs.
as for the special, a live stream would be a good idea. they're relatively easy. I'm sure you could find a video on how to do it.
You guys are too funny!! The cylinder/Derrica bubbling/farting sound. And calling it just gassing because you removed air, and put air back in. That cracked me up. Also, sorry if I spelled her name wrong.
That was all in the script. Mhm, yessireee..... wait... I never got a script. Wait til I have a talk with those writers. And you got her name pretty close, it's Derica. Don't worry, people have been spelling it wrong her entire 22 years on the planet.
I really enjoyed this video!! Cant wait for the tasting:)
Yeah, this should be interesting.
The stems are good for ya!
They are! They just add a weird texture to something like... jam.
Love the cats and the PG tips and the Mead too, thank you.
thanks for putting the link to the siphon on here. i've been wondering what type to get.
also, do you need to do a second fermentation after you bottle?
I wasn't sure how to answer this at first. So I decided to spell out the various phases for you, since I think there might be some confusion.
1) Primary Fermentation - starting the brew, this is when most of the actual fermentation occurs
2) Secondary Fermentation - not always used, but this is right after primary fermentation has slowed or nearly stopped. It's used mostly to get the brew off the lees, fruit, or whatever is in there with it.
3) Rackings - yes, you racked from Primary to Secondary, but sometimes you still get a lot of sediment so you might need multiple rackings to get rid of it all.
4) Bottling - this is when you store the brew for consumption and aging. You can age in Secondary too, but a lot of people bottle age, like with wines.
I hope this helps a bit?
Thanks for the video! I've just ordered what I need for my first batch of mead. Question: I'm making my first batch using your "your first mead" recipe. At the end of the process, can I add in some fruit in the same way you did here? Or is it going to taste off because it's not a hydromel? Thanks!
It'll be fine :)
that was a great video on flavoring, I have been learning so much from both of you on meads and the different forms. But my one question on the degassing... how long do you know to stir?
Fun videos. Looking forward to making mead. Luv your cats!
Brian, some three to four weeks ago I made some ginger beer, I started by boiling my ingredients which were around 8 cloves a handful of chopped raisins and some inner bark off a evergreen tree (cinnamon)oh and two lots of ginger root, I boiled it twice allowing it to cool before boiling it again then I added 1kg of brown sugar the next day when it had cooled and added my yeast lalvin k1-1116 I took a gravity reading of 1.092, this morning I took another gravity reading that hovered between 1.000 and 1.020 = 10. something percent which I am happy with, I have transferred the ginger beer to a clean demijohn and will now wait a further two weeks before bottling. Thank you for your advice Mr Teacher...
You're... welcome! Though we haven't even done a ginger beer yet, lol. Honestly a bit surprised that worked, both clove and cinnamon are antibiotics and can kill yeast off in large enough doses!
Question... what evergreen tree is giving you cinnamon?
I once researched where cinnamon came from and I am sure I read it came from an evergreen tree, but got that wrong (sorry) but yes the inner bark or skin.. also if cloves and cinnamon kill off yeast then y is it that lots of people on you tube seem to be using these ingredients in mead therefor I thought it would work in ginger beer, also manuka honey has properties that include antibiotic, would this not work to make mead ? also the next time I make ginger beer I will video it as proof for everyone and share it on youtube, the reason I was saying thank you was for giving me the confidence to actually brew alcohol, my father used to make it but after his death in 1990 I lost interest in life itself, he was the first person I truly loved to leave me, times were bad...
Cinnamon, or in the US, Cassia is the bark of a tree, but not an evergreen like we think of them.
As for the antibiotic properties and everyone using them... yes... it's true. I've found that in large doses, these things can kill off a yeast colony. Many people use them, and for good reason, they also mask the harsher flavors of green meads!
If you use them in moderation, probably no issue whatsoever, as you found out.
I believe myself to be anti medical, ie I look for alternative medicine, I have a grand daughter that died of a rabdoid tumar aged 5, I suffer from heartburn so I eat American mustard which cures it, I believe alternative medicines to work, so therefor any ingredient somebody else uses I will use in my mead or ginger beer and if it works hey presto if not lets start again dismissing that certain ingredient just like doctors in the cases of cancer. its all trial and error, human kind….
Well, I agree!
I am not saying don't use them, just be cautious in how much you add to a ferment. That said, you can add all you want to SECONDARY! :)
Hey guys, you should do a live stream at some point or live chat type thingy
If I can figure out how... we will. Coming up on 10,000 subscribers and we want to do something special.
Brian you can degas without introducing o2 using a wine saver there are multiple one available on Amazon most have various size bings and attachments
Sorry bungs not bings lol
I might check into that. The problem is... Co2 needs to get out, without O2 getting in....
de-gassing wand goes in carboy, put stopper in, fill stopper with water, airtight seal lets gas out doesn't let air back in similar to an air lock
How does an airtight seal let gas out?
@@CitySteadingBrews think air-lock not exactly "air tight" more like a check valve
I love the shit out of Brian's shirts. Especially that one
That is one of my fav's too. Had it a looong time.
Your wife is a gem. You’re a lucky man.
I agree 💯%
Great job guys.
A little late on this and not sure if someones already said this but I think degassing brakes the bond between the co2 and other molecules in the mead.
Awesome video, Guys!!! Where did you get the bottles? Looking to start brewing, and was going to use Grolsh bottles, but like the 750ml better!!!
Those are lemonade bottles we got from Aldi. They were like $2 and had free lemonade in them.
Not sure if you got an answer, but degassing is a cavitation action, so it's causing small pockets of space behind the stirring wand,. These spaces allows gases suspended in the solution to escape, thereby degassing the solution. Aeration would be mixing the solution vigorously enough with the outside air in order to envelope, or gas, the solution. As when you make meringue or whipped cream.
So what is your question?
@@CitySteadingBrews no question! just explaining the difference between aerating and cavitating. Using the whip introduces very little air compared to the amount it cavitates out. 13:06
Ahh, you dtarted with ‘not sure if you got an answer’ so I assumed a question was in the works :)
Do you have a video on blueberry mead? I think that would be interesting to see. The ones I've seen have a lot of chemicals in them, which I'm not fond of.
I am going to make a blueberry one myself, ill do the same method as the mull berries and ill let you know how it goes
I would suggest the best way to degas without introducing O² into a brew, would be to put your brew into a vacuum chamber then the gas should be pulled out the brew with all the other air from within the chamber (this may be way over the top but it'll work)
If you want to degas Co2 you should pump Co2 into it. I use to work at a foundry and we'd degas 2000lbs pots of molten aluminum by pumping nitrogen into it slowly. The large Co2 Bubbles will capture any Co2 in the mixture and pull them to the surface. Buy a Paintball Tank on amazon and fit it with a gauge and a something with a bunch of tiny holes in it and let it pump through the mead for about 10-30mins
Thanks for the input, but.... I think using the tank would be a bad idea. You are exposing the brew to the air for far too long. I'm no scientist so I can't speak to the effectiveness of it, but it does sound counterintuitive to me.
@@CitySteadingBrews couldn't you just use a little hole in lid solution and a capped tube with small punctures to input the co2? that way its only exposed for under a minute.
maybee your method works on molten aluminum, but this is water/ethanol solution
Activated charcoal does great with bonding to impuritys
Not heard of doing that in brewing... I know some whiskey makers do it.
I have been meaning to ask about degassing and introducing oxygen. Was really confused about that concept too.
Alright I commented on a couple of your videos previously, I started a mead brew with no camden tablets, no yeast nutrient additive. We'll see how it goes. I'm going to try separating some during secondary fermentation for a control group, flavored group, cold crashes group, secondary fermentation, and sparkling group, and flavored sparkling group.
Alright cs brewing, 4 weeks now on the first batch of mead. Me and my gf are going to check it out now and take an fg reading.
I can’t tell if you’re angry with us or happy...
Oh I'm happy just keeping it updated so your followers can see some randos journey parallel to your videos advice.
When you mentioned the part about getting rid of CO2 without introducing oxygen I had an odd thought... I wonder what a mentos would do to it? Just like how it acts as nucleation sites for CO2 dissolved in soda, would it work somewhat the same way in a mead and cause the CO2 to form bubbles and escape without dissolving oxygen in through surface agitation? Another thought. What about putting an open bottle of mead in a vacuum chamber?
You're right, that is a very odd thought.
An amazing... interesting odd thought. I'm compelled to try it but I don't want to waste my mead or make it taste like Mentos.
I bet it would help, but I doubt it would get rid of all of it, and if it works like the diet coke, it will take half the mead with it! If I remember correctly though, there was more going on there... the caffeine, the fake sugar, they all had a huge part in it. Mythbusters did an episode on it.
The vacuum chamber thing is popular. I'm constantly amazed how much money people seem to have to throw at these things. I use a $6 piece of plastic, that could have just as well been a stick.
City Steading Ha. No argument there. A minty mead might be a tad off putting. Suppose the fruity kind might do the trick too but still a bit weird. I want to say I remember the myth busters doing something on the whole mentos deal, but I can’t remember. Still, can’t argue with not wanting to ruin a whole batch of the good stuff to try it out 😂
Wish I had the spare pennies to put toward a fun hobby like that. Lol got a powerful need to eat and heat my home instead 😜
Gizmo is the new mascot
I would guess that by attaching the whip to the drill, the spin action doesn't break the surface of the mead as much as the stirring action does.
I tried it. It's worse than doing it my way. The only thing I can see is if you used a traditional narrow opening carboy. The built in bung thing on the whip might keep oxygen from getting in, but... the Co2 isn't getting out either.
"I don't glow from the sun" huh, he's secretly a "Twilight" Vampire . . . *Sips his tea while thinking why the new age vampires glow in the sun when he merely burns alive*
Shhh..... let's keep that a secret, yeah?
City Steading I mean, We vampires have to stick together heh . . .
If you actually had a drill and were doing this in a one of those gallon carboys you used for this primary fermentation you could easily degas without risking oxygenation.
The top of that degassing wand would almost plug up the hole in the top (not completely, you need a way for the gas to escape) and there wouldn't really be any way for the oxygen to get in, the top would just spew out all the gasses already in the mead.
Yup. I'm lazy and tend to just use a spoon now!
I’ve been loving your videos, Very informative and funny! You’ve mentioned head room, what would you do if you re-racked your mead and there was too much headroom and you didn’t think there was enough ‘go’ left in the mead to produce co2......use a smaller vessel? What would the downside be to adding say boiled sugar water to the racked mead to fill it up?
TY from Phoenix Arizona ;
To degas without adding oxygen, use a vacuum chamber... Put a seal over the top of the bottle and use an air pump to create vacuum pressure. You'll quickly pull out the gas without adding anything. Thekingofrandom has a ton of videos on vacuum chambers.
Thanks.
In years past I've made short mead from kits, that came with flavoring tea that you'd put in primary. This is the first year I'm doing a longer mead. I've been in secondary for about a week, but now I'm thinking I want to try some different flavors. Maybe one with some cherries and vanilla bean, and one with mulling spices. Is it too late to add these in at this point?
Thanks, and I love your videos!
It's never too late. You can always add flavors, even in your mug or cup.
Also, question, I’m wondering about flavored or infused meads, have you guys ever experimented with herbs such as mugwort? I’m curious about adding flavor and maybe even getting some of the health benefits from other similar herbs. Maybe do a video on it? Any feed back would be appreciated!!!
We have videos coming out on things like this very soon.
@@CitySteadingBrews awesome! cant wait!!
i find bentonite clay clears it in a couple of hours to a day and is safe for ingestion and 100% natural. i find it also crisps up the flavor of mead quite abit
Bentonite, depending on the source is not necessarily safe. Some sources and studies show it can contain lead and silica, both carcinogens. Others cite powdered aluminum which is also unhealthy in humans. I avoid it, but, I also don't mind waiting a few more days or a week or two for brews to clear. Another FYI, it's a salt, so, it sometimes adds that flavor to brews.
i've also used isinglass which is derived from the air-bladders of fish. but thank you for that extra information on Bentonite i didn't know all the details i guess. i usually use fining agents when making large batches and want to bottle everything the next day but i mostly avoid the non natural fining agents. i love your channel i learn so much information on fermentation and brewing techniques
I know nothing of isinglass past what you said. I've not needed to clear things so I haven't used finings of any kind, but I'm considering egg whites if I needed to.
Hi. I want to say you two are very informative and helpful. I also would like to know, is it ok to not see sediment forming at the bottom of the mead on your first day of fermenting? Thank you for your help and great content. Much love
Absolutely normal. Probably won't see any for a few days.
There... Are... Four... Lights!
About to make my first mead. I want to jump in head first but I've brewed beer and ciders before so i'm not a complete novice. That being said, I have a question about flavoring. I am going to do one with real blueberries and one with an extract. I want to see/taste the difference. Should I add the fruit and extract at the beginning or different times for the different batches? Thanks in advance and keep making the awesome videos!
And where is the "How footy is your fermentation?" shirt? I don't see it on the store.
That T-shirt was retired. We decided the negative connotation was a bad idea. Still working on a new scale that is as funny or funnier without being a negative. I mean, the foot smell isn't really a great selling point, right? :)
As for your brew. What I do is put some in at primary and the rest in secondary. Putting fruit in primary gives you the flavors that the fruits produce as they ferment, which will be different than the honey. Adding it in secondary gives more of the true fruit flavors, so by doing both you get complexity and depth of flavor.
How much and how long? Experimentation is your friend here.
I found a way of degassing by buying a food vacuum for storage bags. It fits on the top of the bottle and it forms a vacuum inside the bottle. As I used it the gas was really forming on the top. I don't remove the vacuum until the pressure evens off
I think we have one of those.... might have to try it.
Hey! Love your videos! You may want to try De-gassing in a Vacuum chamber! It should pull the gasses out of the mead without introducing oxygen! :)
co2 is heavier than oxygen... it should pretty much stay in container and not let oxygen in
I love the videos and commentary.
Have you guys ever used habanero honey or any with atomic fireball type heat and flavor?
Gizmo is beautiful 😻
She is!
You guys are awesome but your cats kinda stole the show there 😁. Ah Gizmo 🥰. Gizy wants some Mead
Can you store your degassed mead in your 1/2 gallon mason jar in the refrigerator to clarify/age it? I am not sure I want to spend time botting it when I have extra half gallon, quart, and pint jars.