In my day job, I work in a winery. We have large open top fermentation tanks for our reds. We punch down the cap twice a day to keep the fruit moist. Before fermentation starts we blanket the top with CO2. Once fermentation has begun, turn off the CO2. I don't know how well that would translate to smaller batches but, the more you know...
I have several apple trees in my backyard, last year I made a cider press. That's actually what got me interested in brewing, with a fresh source of apples every year. I always grab 'drops' which are the tree's way of saying "it's ripe!", cut off the soft spots and freeze them. You get about twice the amount of juice from frozen apples as fresh/chopped. I don't call it secondary fermentation, I always call it just 'secondary', like the 2nd step. But I approve of the name George wholeheartedly! Cheers!
I live in the USA but when my grandfather came here from Greece in the 60s he snuck some grape vines that grew locally in Greece and they've been growing in our yard ever sense, I'm brand new to mead making but I hope to incorporate some the grapes in some brews that he planted all those years ago in his memory. Thanks for the tips you both have helped so much!!
Agreed Daniel, for that reason I'll soon be making a one time Donation, but I'm sure I'll be doing it more than once. Right now just don't have the means to be a patron.
I am making your grape juice wine right now. I considered adding grape juice concentrate to the juice instead of using sugar, but thought because this is one of my first brews that I should stick to a recipe. Gotta learn the rules before you break them.
I personally would like to make wines from exotic fruits and others that most people never heard of. There is this video series that showcases so many different fruits and so many I make wine from like miracle berries or a mix of cactus fruits, perhaps even ice cream bean.
I'm learning a lot from both of you. This channel is the holy Grail for hobby winemakers like us. The subtle details on methods you pass on to us makes huge difference in end result. Currently I have 4 gallon spiced Pyment in secondary stage and I'm extremely satisfied with the outcome. My test batch of banana mead also came out wonderful.
I'd say it depends on your preference or what you're going for. I tend to prefer just throwing everything in and letting it go. It's going to change flavors, some for the better and others maybe not. Throwing it in at the end will give a more or less exact flavor of that additive because you're not fermenting it, it's staying the same. And of course doing both will be a mix of both.
I really like the idea of calling secondary fermentation "conditioning" to clear up confusion with new brewers. It describes what that step in the process is actually accomplishing. I've personally called it the primary and secondary steps (plus additional bulk aging or bottling), leaving out the "fermentation" part.
Like anything, put good in and you'll get good out. When I make melomels I like to add organic juice in primary to get the fermented nuance but then add frozen fruit in secondary for the punch of flavor I know a lot of my friends and family are looking for when I say "blueberry mead"
Thanks for all the helpful info. You have inspired me to brew again. In 20 twenty WON. These skill are dying and thank you for the smiles and science babel but not an info overload. Truly you are an impression
Another well timed video. I have several pounds of dark sweet cherries frozen until I had a better understanding of how to use them as a whole fruit. I now have a favorite juice wine, I have made pretty decent wine from off the shelf preserves and now want to try a wine using fruit. Keep that information coming!
As am I. It's the 2nd one I started. I'm rethinking how I handled adding the blueberries though. I will have to pop the bucket open this weekend and pray I don't find Mold.
Nice and informative video as always. If you chop fruits and or berries and mix with sugar. The sugar will pull the juice out of the fruit. Stir every now and then for up to seven days. When you are ready to make wine just add water to your prefered gravity and of course the yeast of your choice. Happy brewing.
Hi Derica and Brian, This is a fruit and spice question. I make a mulled apple juice with a cinnamon stick, 7 cloves, half and orange sliced, an inch of fresh ginger sliced, and a bottle of apple juice. I heat it all up for 45 minutes, and end up with mulled apple juice. My question is, can I let drink cool strain it, and then make a hard cider with that mixture infused with fruit and spice flavors?
Love you guys!! Great info! I wish I had discovered your channel before I started brewing my wine but hey…it’s all good. I’m learning a ton from you now. Thanks!!!
Hey guys. When adding fruit to the conditioning stage how long do you think it's safe to leave it in ? Having in mind that fermentation has "theoretically" stopped, isn't it more prone to oxidation and infection at this stage ? Will a week still be safe ? Love the channel and it has helped me ALOT in understanding and gaining the "courage" to start my own brews. Thank you so much. I've started with the CS ginger beer and going to start a traditional mead soon (we produce our own honey so I'm excited to see what I can achieve with it). Biggest regards from Portugal.
We grow cherry and apple trees. I freeze cherries every year will cherries make a good brew. What a great idea we also grow many berries. So excited to try this venture.
I am so glad that I found this channel. I have learned a lot from your videos. I have done two batches of straight mead and learned a lot. Now I am going to try my hand at a raspberry mead. I just put my fresh raspberries in the freezer and will mash them when I get a-brewing.
I just picked the most delicious "wood strawberries" (at least we call them that in german...the small ones with the intense flavor) from the garden. We resisted the urge to eat them because they're just so incredibly flavorful - I put them in the freezer and will collect more as they ripen over the next days/weeks to try and make some mead (melomel?) with them. If this turns out as delicious as it sounds in my head I'll be very happy :D
Strawberries are apparently extremely yummy to yeast, ive noticed. Started a strawberry lime melomel 3 weeks and 1 day ago today. Its currently at 1.010 with an OG of 1.120. Fastest fermentation ive ever had.
You guys are awesome. Love the channel. I'm a beer brewer, but after watching some of these videos, I'm thinking of brewing some mead too. Thanks for what you do
A note on seeds. I could see how most seeds would come out bitter but my first successful mead, a fig melomel (which I may be ashamed to say I made in a used wine bottle with a punctured piece of plastic wrap on top), had this really good depth to it that tasted like fig seeds. I would have never guessed it would pair so well with honey!
I live in Florida too , but we don't have a Publix's , we only have a Winn Dixie , Grocery Outlet and Walmart . We did have a Save-A-Lot , But, Hurricane 🌀 Michael Blew it Away . 🤠
In the late 60's & early 70's I used jelly & perserves to make wine, have you ever tried this? Love the show, will probably get back into wine/mead making because of you guys!
@Fred Thats really interesting about using jelly and preserves. Youd be getting the benefits if concentrated fruit and sugar. So, what were you using for yeast back then? Bread yeast, natural yeast like from grapes, or something else?
Watching your Video on adding Fruit to Wine, Cider & Mead , again . Was wondering if you can use , Sugar Beets, to make a Wine worth a Hoot . I was given a bucket of Beets , this past weekend . And since I'm not really a Fan of Beets . I took em outside to wash & scrub the dirt off in the sink . Took em inside to cut in half , then sliced em into 1/4 inch slices , to help get as much out of em as possible . Put em in a Big Pot of water , added Cinnamon & Cloves . Cooked em on low boil until tender . Let em cool a little . Poured the juice into a big fermenter , added sugar . Poured the solids into a Brew Bag . Added that to the rest . Sweeten to 1.100 . When it started activity , I could Smell the Beets . Not much to my liking . But in 24 hours could only smell em a little bit . Day 2 not at all , day 3 it actually smells good . They didn't take off at a Hard Boil like Fruit 🍑🍓 , but just as steady as it could be , real consistent . The Color is simply Beautiful ❤️ . What are your thoughts on making Wine from Sugar Beet ? Have you ever heard of anybody doing it ? Will it Taste Good ? Will it Even Work . It seems to be working now , and it even started Smelling good after 2 Days . I know it's not a Fruit , or is it .🤔 I took a taste at the start . Better than I would have thought . Better than Pears with Sugar & Cinnamon . And I don't even like Beets . But this is Different . I just couldn't bring myself to throw em away . Only thing I could think of to do with em . P.S. if it's not to my liking , I know Plenty of people who'll Drink it . If it works . 🤠
i rarely subscribe to channels, but you guys are quite entertaining. you make learning fun and that's how it should be. thanks for the great videos! cheers!
Hey guys. what do you think about getting a vacuum chamber to "boil" down juice to make a concentrate... It might keep the nutrition to help the fermentation going and not cooking out other flavors?
Wow, you guys really packed a lot of good information into this video. I would be very interested and am looking forward to the video were you add fruit during the different stages of mead making, and also half in the primary and half in the secondary.
try adding frozen juice concentrate to regular strength juice, or add water to concentrate until you reach desired SG. nice way of replicating a ice wine. be careful with some types of juices, acid levels can be a bit overwhelming.
Love watching you guys! My bag of dried cherries list sunflower oil as an ingredient so I brought water to a boil added my 2lbs of cherries and let sit for a few minutes and drained that water off then added the cherries to my Pomegranate juice. Did this remove enough of the oils, or should I have avoided using these dried cherries? Thanks!
Great video, lots of information about fruit. Love the idea of doing a all fruit juice wine. Didn't win a shirt this time round but there's always next time, the new Odins Brewery is great looking. Hope Brian can see this comment this time....lol
I also like your videos and wouldn't mind if you used George as replacement for secondary. I do add fruit to my meads now and am using a large stainless steele fermenter, so I add the fruit in a bag and only leave it in for 1 week if doing a low ABV mead 2 weeks if doing a higher ABV. Pineapple has been the best one for me 14% ABV and clear in 32 days with now stirring degassing or anything else. I get a little over 5 gallons per batch. The bee keeper loves me because it takes 17 pounds of honey per batch (low ABV 8 pounds). Your infromation here and your cooking channel is giving me an enjoyable retirement. Lots of bread to go with my mead. Thanks and keep it going.
@@CM-oe9kyI just let it do itself. This is from my last batch, I cut the top and bottom off of the pineapple, slice it in about 1 inch thick slices then quarter them. One pound pineapple per gallon: 2 pineapples cut with skin 17 lbs Kieth’s honey 4.5 gallon water LALVIN 71B-1122 1 1/2 pack (59-86 Degree 14% will enhance fruit flavors and add fruity esters) added no nutrients SG 1.098 14.63% possible ABV Should remove fruit 1/30/20 2/6/20 FG .994 14.63% ABV, took a sample from the top, it was clear already, bottom still cloudy. Should be clear 2/16/20 (31) days Bottled 2/16/20. Still tastes green, but good and clear
You guys should do a video on fruit acquisition. I've found all kinds of resources like commercial and restaurant supply avenues but I would love to hear from someone that has actual experience sourcing bulk fruit.
I love your content and you got me to start brewing again (used to brew beer with my Dad but he passed and I stopped). I started making Mead for the first time and I have a question about adding fruit. If I add fruit, should I put it in a neutral spirit before adding it to the primary or is there a way to pasteurize the fruit before putting it in the primary fermenter? We want to make a raspberry Mead and it has a ton of seeds, I just want to make sure fruit is clean and safe from bacteria and such. Thanks for your help and terrific content!
I like using a two gallon bucket for primary so I can yield a full gallon of mead. I haven't tried adding fruit to the conditioning stage because I'm hoping for some tips and tricks to get the fruit of the glass carboy. Have you got any?
Hi! Sorry, I have some trouble finding recipes on RUclips, but if you haven't made a rasberry mead you should definitely try to do one! It's hard to beat the honey and rasberry mix, and if you want to get creative you can add some herbs into ut 🤤
Brian and Derika. What about freezing some cold pressed juice to make it more concentrated (or using frozen concentrate(like Scott Wiseley commented.).)
Hey guys. I was wondering, do you had any experience with vegetable wines? I've started a carrot wine on my Grandad's say-so. Apparently, it's delicious. I've also heard good things about beetroot and (weirdly!) garlic wine.
@@CM-oe9ky Yeah, I'm thinking of doing seasonal flower wine/mead as and when they're available. Dandelion, elderflower, rose and honeysuckle are at the forefront of my mind to experiment with. Definitely with a sauternes yeast.
At about the 1:39 mark, there is a question about adding fruit in primary vs secondary fermentation. You said you were going to make a video, I am just wondering if you have made that yet, and if so what is the name of the video? Thank you, I appreciate the advice I have gotten from your videos so far.
Recently I have tried a few Black Currant Ciders and have absolutely loved them. So I figured why not make some of this at home. I live just outside of San Antonio, TX and needless to say we don’t have black currants readily available, and since this video is all about fruit in cider I figures I would ask a few question here. I checked at my local grocery store and they have black currant juice but it has a sorbate in it so I know that wont work. I went to the internet to look at options. First there is the option of getting them sent to me frozen but for 5 pounds this will end up costing about $90 dollars so this option is out because that is a lot of $$ for fruit. The next option I came across is dried black currants and after shipping it would be around $17 a pound. The final option I came across is to get a black currant wine base. Which is about $50 for gallon which is good for 5 gallons of wine. I figure should be able to get about 5 to 6 gallons or cider out of it. However it is just not straight currant juice, it has high fructose corn sugar, other juices, citric acid and water added. My question is with the frozen fruit being cost prohibited what is the lesser of two evils between the dried currants and will they add enough to the party since the are dried, or is the wine base a better option? Thank you in advance for your time.
@@CitySteadingBrews Thank you. That was kinda the way I was leaning. Since I posted this yesterday I did find a company that sells frozen concentrate. Trying to figure out the cost and practacality of it but it may be an option that will work too for a reasonable price. I will try to update you with what I do once I make a final decision and the results.
I have a question for you! I hope it's not a repeat, but I've looked through your videos and not found exactly the answer I'm looking for. I've used a steam juicer on my elderberries this year and have about two gallons of elderberry juice. (This is in addition to canned syrup and jam and many pounds of berries still in the freezer... I may have a problem.) What would be the best way to use that in a mead? I'm aiming for a semi-dry mead, not dessert-sweet but not distractingly dry either. Just mix it with honey and add water to a target gravity? I already cleaned up one bottle bomb after backsweetening my first batch of elder wine; I'd like to avoid that by starting with a high gravity and reaching the yeast's alcohol tolerance before all the sugars are gone. Also, I didn't realize you were in Florida! If you hapepen to be in the Tampa-ish area and want some elderberries (or juice), I'll gladly share. I got a little carried away with the harvest this year. :D
Immersion blender in small batches in your must prior to pitching yeast to somewhat liquify pre frozen fruit might be a good way to oxygenate/ariete the must. Just an idea get a 2 for 1 in one step maybe?
I suppose you could do that. I don't worry about liquefying it though... yeast are microscopic, so if the cell walls are broken up from freezing, should be good to go.
Hey I love you videos you've taught me so much but I wanted to let you know that fermentation is going on in secondary fermentation it's malolactic fermentation
wish i had watched this video earlier lol I just strained a batch of mead that i made. The cherries that i added to the must i pitted, boiled, and mashed. added some cherry juice as well....and added a whole pack of yeast...meant for 5 gal (i was making 1 gal....) I didnt pull out much cherry flavor so ill try the freeze and smash method next time.
12:14 i'm doing something different with a wine I'm making, I pic the fruit from my garden , frozen it , than I place the frozen fruit on a container and cover it with sugar, than I let it sit for about 1 to 2 weeks so the sugar pull out the moisture with all the flavors and color from the Berrys ( I'm using "acerola" I don't know the translation from Portuguese to English , is a South America native fruit, kind of a berry that is a little sour), a important information is that you need to put 1:1 ratio of sugar and fruit by weight , if not more , so the gravity is too right to star fermentation, and actually encourage the good yeast present on the fruit to flourish and get kind of a natural ferment in this step. And them after that I dilute the must to the OG desired and put the yeast to start proper fermentation. I start a batch of this couple weeks ago and put the yeast yesterday. Of you have interest I can keep you up on this . This method certainly not work for all kinds of fruit , but I find interesting the flavor outcome it gives with "acerola" particularly. See you next vid
I actually come with this method accidentally , I do not see the wild fermentation starting when I was doing a extraction to make a licor, and when I check and saw the extraction bubbling then I change plans and dilute it and add the years to make wine and come out pretty good .
The interesting thing came when I compare it with a previous batch of acerola wine, and I note a more complex flavor on the wine with wild fermentation on the start
After hearing you say the thing about someone saying boil the juice to get rid of preservatives, I looked up an SDS on sodium benzoate to satiate my own curiosity. Its melting point is 816°F, and decomposes at a higher temperature than that, so yeah, you can boil your juice away and have preservatives left. LOL
Great video! Question: How do you account for the sugar within fruit when measuring original gravity? Is the idea that you've mashed up the fruit to the extent that you can measure the "liquid+fruit" in a hydrometer and go from there? Thanks!
What are your thoughts on dried elderberries vs fresh elderberry for a mead? What are options with dried elderberries? I haven't seen a specific recipe on dried elderberry anywhere I've searched.
I am wanting to make 3 moderately sweet melomels (a blueberry, a raspberry, and a cherry). I have a 5.5 gallon fermenting bucket and a couple 1 gallon carboys. What I am thinking of doing is making a 3 gallon batch of YOUR traditional mead (with tea and some orange peel/zest) in the bucket. Then, when ready to rack, split the primary into the 1 gallon carboys with the desired fruit juices or purees. Do you think this will work well? Because of the fruit juice/puree going in at racking, should I avoid using the orange zest and tea? Maybe a straight honey primary would blend with the fruit flavors in secondary better? I have not done a melomel before so any guidance is appreciated. If I were to ferment 3 gallons of traditional mead to be used across 3 carboys, I would like to hit somewhere between 10-15% abv, what yeast would you recommend using in the primary fermentation? What initial specific gravity would you shoot for to start at? How much juice/puree of each fruit would you recommend using in each 1 gallon carboy to start? Would I be better off just making 3 batches that are each 1 gallon large and using the fruit in the primary rather than only relying on the secondary fermentation? I've seen Brian say many times he can't help without having enough information. I'm trying to be proactive instead of reactive as there are potentially 3 batches/gallons as well as weeks and months at stake on this. Am I over thinking this? Is there a simpler way to achieve my goal here? I've looked to other mead channels for a similar scenario to what I am wanting to do with no luck and I've watched hours upon hours of CS Mead videos without finding a similar scenario either. Given your extensive video library, I may have missed it. If you haven't yet made a video similar to my proposition, would you consider making one? #SecondaryFermentMelomels
I have enjoyed your guys' videos for a while and am now taking my steps into my new passion and trying to brew. Is there is big difference from using rasins or just any dried fruit (so long as they don't have those "ites" or "ates" to hinder or kill the fermentation? Can I use dried and frozen or mashed fruit for my meads?
On this video, I was wondering what would happen if you blend your fruit then freeze it for the crystals to bring the flavors out. and if you do that, will you be able to tell the difference in the chunks/sauce of the blend. For instance, if I blend up Pineapple, freeze it then put it in the brew after thawing it out. Would a bag hold this in together or will it still cause an issue?
Nice video! I got a small question about adding fruits on the conditioning phase. I have a high abv cyser, of which the apple flavour is not quite appearent. I am doubting to add dried apples to get the flavor up. Is this a good idea? How much should I use for 11 liters? Best regards from the Netherlands
Hi @CitySteadingBrews, or other. I got hold of 2kg fresh Rhubarb. Any experience with usage for cider. Many years back I made some juice with Rhubarb and to taste lemon, vanilla and suggar. Tips combinations are welcome. Thx
Hi I love your channel. I'm learning so much about wine making. I've made three successful one gal batches so far (all using fruit juice). For my 4th batch, I'd like to try frozen fruit. I am still a bit confused about using it in both primary and conditioning phases. When I rack the wine from primary to secondary do I leave the old fruit behind along with the lees and add new fruit to the conditioning carboy? Also would it be too late to add fruit for added flavor in the conditioning phase after I've already added campden tablets to stop fermentation (I usually rack when SG reaches .994 in the primary and add a campden tablet and a clearing agent in the conditioning carboy). Thanks.
Hey Brian, I have heard that you alcohol itself will “ferment” in secondary. The alcohol will mellow and change. You will loose some of the fusels will actually change and become more drinkable due to fermentation in secondary. I guess this could really be considered aging as well. Would love to hear you opinion on this. The another great video really love your channel.
I have never heard of alcohol fermenting, but in secondary yes off gassing does occur so a lot of the undesirable smells/gasses will leave, which in and of itself will mellow things out a little bit. And if you leave it long enough yes it would be bulk aging, which will meld and mellow flavors a lot more. I actually have a cranberry/cherry mead that ended up around 17%, but when it was first put in secondary/bulk aging, and one bottle to drink, I really didn't like it much. It was more of a "I want to do something for the holiday season.". It had taken the bitterness of the cranberry juice and the tartness of one of the cherry juices and amplified it to the point I had lemon mouth. The only person who said they liked it was humoring me, I found out later. I put it in my closet and forgot about it , until close to the next Christmas when I was looking for something else. Decided what the hell, try it again. It is amazing now, and everyone enjoyed it...Had five empty bottles to take home that night.
@irwinemma I will update soon. I have started a mead with frozen blueberries and black currants added in primary. Added dried black currants into conditioning
Are there any fruits that can have negative effect on a fermentation? I am wanting to try to make a mead with watermelon or cantaloupe and wasn’t sure if I need to be aware of something I didn’t know about when using them. Thanks for the wealthy of knowledge you guys continuous share with us.
how long do you leave your fruit in the secondary ferment/conditioning? is there a point where most of the flavors are extracted and it's unnecessary to leave it in more much longer. Looking forward to that video you mentioned that goes into this test! thanks for all your contributions!!!!
Hey Guys, I am a home Brewer ( mostly high ABV beers) from the Florida panhandle and I have been watching you guys for some time now. I have been wanting to get into making Mead and beekeeping. My question is have you guys tried a banana Mead? Do the bananas transfer much of thier flavor or is it like beer and the flavor gets lost in the shuffle? Thanks
One question, can a weight (stainless steel) be placed on the bag with the fruit so that it does not float? It is advisable? Greetings from Lima, Peru. Una pregunta, se le puede colocar un peso (acero inoxidable) sobre la bolsa con la fruta para que no flote? Es recomendable? Saludos desde Lima Perú.
I would recommend using glass marbles in the brew bag to keep it at the bottom of the fermentor. The bag has to be small enough to keep the fruit from floating to the top though.
Thanks again Brian and Derica for that amusing and highly informative Video. Ferris Buehler would have smiled....... but not Deadpool. Now I have to buy BrewBags......
I'm trying my round 2 of "1st timing". This batch I realized after starting that my fruit weight was not what I had 1st calculated, can I add more fruits? It is furminting but taste of sweet water. Hints my recalculating and I'm about half the fruit ratio that I had indeed . Shooting for 4 gallon in 5 gallon bucket. 10 lb fruit to 10 cup sugar (water for the rest along with bread yeast packet) 5 lb fruit is what happened rather than 10 lb. Can I add more fruit or just wait it out and see what happens? It is fermenting just taste like sugar water rather than fruity flavors. First time was total different batch in every way . Too much fruit with that and used grits rather than yeast. Either or, I'm learning and most interested in learning more. Ultimately, can I add more fruit after fermentation (appears) is happening?
I added Blackberries and Raspberries to my mead. After adding yeast it fermented for a bit and then bubbling stopped after a while. So i activated some more yeast with a sugar water solution and added that to the fermentation. Again it bubbled for a bit and then it stopped again. I wonder if the pH was too low and it killed the yeast? Thinking of adding some soda (NaHCO3) to reduce the pH.
Have you done something with peaches? I have a peach tree out front and need something to do with all the peaches. I'm thinking a drink would be great. Could you point me to a video?
Hi guys, love your videos and I bought a set of brewing equipment. Have done apple-wine like 20 years ago, but nothing since then. My question is, can I make a kind of beer just with oatmeal? I even thought of roasting a part of it to get a darker kind of beer. Is there anything I need to take into consideration? Which yeast would you use? Which additionals could I put? I dont like to put hop into it, cause its too bitter to me, but wouldnt it make the beer go bad quick? Thanks alot and keep on going. I might show up one day, cause my sister-in-law lives an hour away. ciao Martin
Oats are a nice adjunct for beer, but.. not the whole fermentable. You would need barley too. As for hops... beer without hops really doesn't taste very good. You need a bit, even a very small amount. Oh, we don't answer the door when people ring the bell. Just sayin.
Isn't Conditioning also the carbonation process for homebrewing beer? Being as secondarys are common in making beer as well, could we maybe think of another term for secondary to avoid another type of confusion?
Hey Brian and dericka I'm making an apple cyser and plan on picking fresh apples and cutting them up and putting them into my conditioning phase of the product. I'm not so much worried about wild yeast but should I wash or sanitize the fruit at all to prevent any bad bacteria getting in it and how would I do that without drying the fruit or boiling it
For me, the question of boiling fruit is more about how to get rid of the Lactobacillus on the fruit rather than concern about wild yeasts. I know in wine, winemakers will use "camden tablets", which AFAIK is all about killing that Lacto. Which, incidentally, is why you have to boil Liquid Malt Extract when you make extract beers.
@@CitySteadingBrews I haven't done that much with fruit, so I don't know from my own experience. I did have some trouble with Lacto infecting my early beers. One was caused by not boiling the LME, I'm pretty sure. A couple others were caused by insufficient sanitisation. I just brewed a concoction yesterday with Bavarian Wheat LME, apple juice and brown sugar and that I did boil because of the LME.
Hi, been making pineapple Pino (prison wine) for years since before RUclips, firm believer about getting out of the way. Watching your videos has inspired me to mix things up. My countrys lockdown ban on alcohol motivated me. This video has me worried about mold as I'm doing something with appeals in a container that doesn't leand itself to opening, sturing or shaking. That has another week of primary then I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it during "George" stage. Anyway the question I have an earlier batch going through "conditioning/ second ferment" right now because I added tea and suger and activity kicked backup. I want to add a stick of cinnamon because my initial fruit complement was really low it has about 5 days left before I rack it off into bottles. Do you think I am going to be waisting my time and cinnamon?
Please don't call it prison wine. Prison wine is dangerous, it's illegal, and made with questionable methods and ingredients. Unless you are really doing it this way, you're making... wine. Wine is made from fruit and juices of fruit. By using store bought juice you are just skipping the juicing step.
In my day job, I work in a winery. We have large open top fermentation tanks for our reds. We punch down the cap twice a day to keep the fruit moist. Before fermentation starts we blanket the top with CO2. Once fermentation has begun, turn off the CO2. I don't know how well that would translate to smaller batches but, the more you know...
I have several apple trees in my backyard, last year I made a cider press. That's actually what got me interested in brewing, with a fresh source of apples every year. I always grab 'drops' which are the tree's way of saying "it's ripe!", cut off the soft spots and freeze them. You get about twice the amount of juice from frozen apples as fresh/chopped.
I don't call it secondary fermentation, I always call it just 'secondary', like the 2nd step. But I approve of the name George wholeheartedly!
Cheers!
I live in the USA but when my grandfather came here from Greece in the 60s he snuck some grape vines that grew locally in Greece and they've been growing in our yard ever sense, I'm brand new to mead making but I hope to incorporate some the grapes in some brews that he planted all those years ago in his memory. Thanks for the tips you both have helped so much!!
"I'm going to call it George". Great looney tunes reference. I like the nerd.
So, when I shampoo my hair, then rinse it, I then secondary ferment it, or George it?
" Conditioning " is a good word when I have to explain to my friends why I don't any ready yet.
I like the new level of content. Appreciate the amount of work you guys are putting in.
Agreed Daniel, for that reason I'll soon be making a one time Donation, but I'm sure I'll be doing it more than once. Right now just don't have the means to be a patron.
Thank you
I am making your grape juice wine right now. I considered adding grape juice concentrate to the juice instead of using sugar, but thought because this is one of my first brews that I should stick to a recipe. Gotta learn the rules before you break them.
I personally would like to make wines from exotic fruits and others that most people never heard of. There is this video series that showcases so many different fruits and so many I make wine from like miracle berries or a mix of cactus fruits, perhaps even ice cream bean.
Nice.
I'm learning a lot from both of you. This channel is the holy Grail for hobby winemakers like us. The subtle details on methods you pass on to us makes huge difference in end result.
Currently I have 4 gallon spiced Pyment in secondary stage and I'm extremely satisfied with the outcome. My test batch of banana mead also came out wonderful.
Did we ever get the fruit in primary vs. secondary test video? Couldn't find it.
Same
I'd say it depends on your preference or what you're going for. I tend to prefer just throwing everything in and letting it go. It's going to change flavors, some for the better and others maybe not. Throwing it in at the end will give a more or less exact flavor of that additive because you're not fermenting it, it's staying the same. And of course doing both will be a mix of both.
We did a video on this: ruclips.net/video/EzaMkTp5B_0/видео.html
I really like the idea of calling secondary fermentation "conditioning" to clear up confusion with new brewers. It describes what that step in the process is actually accomplishing. I've personally called it the primary and secondary steps (plus additional bulk aging or bottling), leaving out the "fermentation" part.
So... I just racked my primary pear ferment that has been lost for 14 months... Wow, it taste great. Those pears are quite potent to eat.
Like anything, put good in and you'll get good out. When I make melomels I like to add organic juice in primary to get the fermented nuance but then add frozen fruit in secondary for the punch of flavor I know a lot of my friends and family are looking for when I say "blueberry mead"
Thanks for all the helpful info. You have inspired me to brew again. In 20 twenty WON. These skill are dying and thank you for the smiles and science babel but not an info overload. Truly you are an impression
Another well timed video. I have several pounds of dark sweet cherries frozen until I had a better understanding of how to use them as a whole fruit. I now have a favorite juice wine, I have made pretty decent wine from off the shelf preserves and now want to try a wine using fruit. Keep that information coming!
Cool.
I'm making a blueberry melomel right now, with half the fruit in primary, and the rest in secondary.
For ultimate Blueberryness!
As am I. It's the 2nd one I started. I'm rethinking how I handled adding the blueberries though. I will have to pop the bucket open this weekend and pray I don't find Mold.
Nice and informative video as always. If you chop fruits and or berries and mix with sugar. The sugar will pull the juice out of the fruit. Stir every now and then for up to seven days. When you are ready to make wine just add water to your prefered gravity and of course the yeast of your choice. Happy brewing.
Thanks for sharing
I am Brewt! I am brewt. I am Brewt! (rough translation: Love info videos! Much to learn. Mead is life!)
Hi Derica and Brian,
This is a fruit and spice question. I make a mulled apple juice with a cinnamon stick, 7 cloves, half and orange sliced, an inch of fresh ginger sliced, and a bottle of apple juice. I heat it all up for 45 minutes, and end up with mulled apple juice. My question is, can I let drink cool strain it, and then make a hard cider with that mixture infused with fruit and spice flavors?
In theory, yes... but all that clove and cinnamon... maybe? They are natural antibiotics, so.. it could harm the yeast. But it's worth a try.
I definitely recommend freezing bananas to prep them for use in any brew. Why? Besides breaking them down, it's easier to handle frozen bananas.
Love you guys!! Great info! I wish I had discovered your channel before I started brewing my wine but hey…it’s all good. I’m learning a ton from you now. Thanks!!!
I like the the clarification of terms on using conditioning rather than secondary
Hey guys. When adding fruit to the conditioning stage how long do you think it's safe to leave it in ? Having in mind that fermentation has "theoretically" stopped, isn't it more prone to oxidation and infection at this stage ? Will a week still be safe ?
Love the channel and it has helped me ALOT in understanding and gaining the "courage" to start my own brews. Thank you so much. I've started with the CS ginger beer and going to start a traditional mead soon (we produce our own honey so I'm excited to see what I can achieve with it). Biggest regards from Portugal.
During conditioning, I recommend keeping it submerged, then, theoretically... you can leave it as long as you like.
We grow cherry and apple trees. I freeze cherries every year will cherries make a good brew. What a great idea we also grow many berries. So excited to try this venture.
Cherries make a fantastic brew! ruclips.net/video/cP4mYH9jNeY/видео.html
I am so glad that I found this channel. I have learned a lot from your videos. I have done two batches of straight mead and learned a lot. Now I am going to try my hand at a raspberry mead. I just put my fresh raspberries in the freezer and will mash them when I get a-brewing.
I just picked the most delicious "wood strawberries" (at least we call them that in german...the small ones with the intense flavor) from the garden. We resisted the urge to eat them because they're just so incredibly flavorful - I put them in the freezer and will collect more as they ripen over the next days/weeks to try and make some mead (melomel?) with them. If this turns out as delicious as it sounds in my head I'll be very happy :D
Strawberries are apparently extremely yummy to yeast, ive noticed. Started a strawberry lime melomel 3 weeks and 1 day ago today. Its currently at 1.010 with an OG of 1.120. Fastest fermentation ive ever had.
Strawberry-Lime melomel... that sounds amazing, care to share your recipe?
You guys are awesome. Love the channel. I'm a beer brewer, but after watching some of these videos, I'm thinking of brewing some mead too. Thanks for what you do
I am always a winner when you put up new content
A note on seeds. I could see how most seeds would come out bitter but my first successful mead, a fig melomel (which I may be ashamed to say I made in a used wine bottle with a punctured piece of plastic wrap on top), had this really good depth to it that tasted like fig seeds. I would have never guessed it would pair so well with honey!
I live in Florida too , but we don't have a Publix's , we only have a Winn Dixie , Grocery Outlet and Walmart . We did have a Save-A-Lot , But, Hurricane 🌀 Michael Blew it Away . 🤠
In the late 60's & early 70's I used jelly & perserves to make wine, have you ever tried this? Love the show, will probably get back into wine/mead making because of you guys!
Haven't tried, but it's in the works to do this!
Making a marmalade wine right now currently in primary all is looking good one of the easiest recipes I have ever done
@Fred
Thats really interesting about using jelly and preserves. Youd be getting the benefits if concentrated fruit and sugar.
So, what were you using for yeast back then? Bread yeast, natural yeast like from grapes, or something else?
@@tearren1 There was a local brew supply store, don't remember the name.
You guys made my brewing experience so much better and fun. Thank you
Happy to help!
Watching your Video on adding Fruit to Wine, Cider & Mead , again . Was wondering if you can use , Sugar Beets, to make a Wine worth a Hoot . I was given a bucket of Beets , this past weekend . And since I'm not really a Fan of Beets . I took em outside to wash & scrub the dirt off in the sink . Took em inside to cut in half , then sliced em into 1/4 inch slices , to help get as much out of em as possible . Put em in a Big Pot of water , added Cinnamon & Cloves . Cooked em on low boil until tender . Let em cool a little . Poured the juice into a big fermenter , added sugar . Poured the solids into a Brew Bag . Added that to the rest . Sweeten to 1.100 . When it started activity , I could Smell the Beets . Not much to my liking . But in 24 hours could only smell em a little bit . Day 2 not at all , day 3 it actually smells good . They didn't take off at a Hard Boil like Fruit 🍑🍓 , but just as steady as it could be , real consistent . The Color is simply Beautiful ❤️ . What are your thoughts on making Wine from Sugar Beet ? Have you ever heard of anybody doing it ? Will it Taste Good ? Will it Even Work . It seems to be working now , and it even started Smelling good after 2 Days . I know it's not a Fruit , or is it .🤔 I took a taste at the start . Better than I would have thought . Better than Pears with Sugar & Cinnamon . And I don't even like Beets . But this is Different . I just couldn't bring myself to throw em away . Only thing I could think of to do with em . P.S. if it's not to my liking , I know Plenty of people who'll Drink it . If it works . 🤠
I've not ever used beets, but I know people who've made beet wine.
@@CitySteadingBrews Thank You for Your Response , at least I'm not the only Nut 🥜🔩 out there . 🤠
i rarely subscribe to channels, but you guys are quite entertaining. you make learning fun and that's how it should be. thanks for the great videos! cheers!
Cool! Thanks Scott!
Hey guys. what do you think about getting a vacuum chamber to "boil" down juice to make a concentrate... It might keep the nutrition to help the fermentation going and not cooking out other flavors?
Wow, you guys really packed a lot of good information into this video.
I would be very interested and am looking forward to the video were you add fruit during the different stages of mead making, and also half in the primary and half in the secondary.
Thank you guys for this, 2 years later, very useful :)
try adding frozen juice concentrate to regular strength juice, or add water to concentrate until you reach desired SG. nice way of replicating a ice wine. be careful with some types of juices, acid levels can be a bit overwhelming.
Love watching you guys! My bag of dried cherries list sunflower oil as an ingredient so I brought water to a boil added my 2lbs of cherries and let sit for a few minutes and drained that water off then added the cherries to my Pomegranate juice. Did this remove enough of the oils, or should I have avoided using these dried cherries? Thanks!
Some yes, we do the same thing.
Thanks for all the great info - we are new to mead making and you two are our go-to youtubers for info - thanks again!!
Happy to help!
Great video, lots of information about fruit.
Love the idea of doing a all fruit juice wine.
Didn't win a shirt this time round but there's always next time, the new Odins Brewery is great looking. Hope Brian can see this comment this time....lol
Totally see it.
I'm thinking a questi... Oh, thanks guys that's the answer I was looking for!
I also like your videos and wouldn't mind if you used George as replacement for secondary. I do add fruit to my meads now and am using a large stainless steele fermenter, so I add the fruit in a bag and only leave it in for 1 week if doing a low ABV mead 2 weeks if doing a higher ABV. Pineapple has been the best one for me 14% ABV and clear in 32 days with now stirring degassing or anything else. I get a little over 5 gallons per batch. The bee keeper loves me because it takes 17 pounds of honey per batch (low ABV 8 pounds). Your infromation here and your cooking channel is giving me an enjoyable retirement. Lots of bread to go with my mead. Thanks and keep it going.
@@CM-oe9kyI just let it do itself. This is from my last batch, I cut the top and bottom off of the pineapple, slice it in about 1 inch thick slices then quarter them. One pound pineapple per gallon:
2 pineapples cut with skin
17 lbs Kieth’s honey
4.5 gallon water
LALVIN 71B-1122 1 1/2 pack (59-86 Degree 14% will enhance fruit flavors and add fruity esters)
added no nutrients
SG 1.098 14.63% possible ABV
Should remove fruit 1/30/20
2/6/20 FG .994 14.63% ABV, took a sample from the top, it was clear already, bottom still cloudy.
Should be clear 2/16/20 (31) days
Bottled 2/16/20. Still tastes green, but good and clear
Loved the Ferris Bueller Ending.
You guys should do a video on fruit acquisition. I've found all kinds of resources like commercial and restaurant supply avenues but I would love to hear from someone that has actual experience sourcing bulk fruit.
We don’t actually. We grow some. We biy from farmers markets and grocery.
I love your content and you got me to start brewing again (used to brew beer with my Dad but he passed and I stopped). I started making Mead for the first time and I have a question about adding fruit. If I add fruit, should I put it in a neutral spirit before adding it to the primary or is there a way to pasteurize the fruit before putting it in the primary fermenter? We want to make a raspberry Mead and it has a ton of seeds, I just want to make sure fruit is clean and safe from bacteria and such. Thanks for your help and terrific content!
We freeze fruit to help with this issue. Or you could use campden tablets
I like using a two gallon bucket for primary so I can yield a full gallon of mead. I haven't tried adding fruit to the conditioning stage because I'm hoping for some tips and tricks to get the fruit of the glass carboy. Have you got any?
Costco Kirkland lemonade is great. You can just add some yeast and an airlock and you'll have really nice hard lemonade.
Hi! Sorry, I have some trouble finding recipes on RUclips, but if you haven't made a rasberry mead you should definitely try to do one! It's hard to beat the honey and rasberry mix, and if you want to get creative you can add some herbs into ut 🤤
Love her laugh.
Brian and Derika. What about freezing some cold pressed juice to make it more concentrated (or using frozen concentrate(like Scott Wiseley commented.).)
Hey guys. I was wondering, do you had any experience with vegetable wines? I've started a carrot wine on my Grandad's say-so. Apparently, it's delicious. I've also heard good things about beetroot and (weirdly!) garlic wine.
Hmm... no? We really haven't much to be honest.
@@CM-oe9ky Yeah, I'm thinking of doing seasonal flower wine/mead as and when they're available. Dandelion, elderflower, rose and honeysuckle are at the forefront of my mind to experiment with. Definitely with a sauternes yeast.
At about the 1:39 mark, there is a question about adding fruit in primary vs secondary fermentation. You said you were going to make a video, I am just wondering if you have made that yet, and if so what is the name of the video? Thank you, I appreciate the advice I have gotten from your videos so far.
Recently I have tried a few Black Currant Ciders and have absolutely loved them. So I figured why not make some of this at home. I live just outside of San Antonio, TX and needless to say we don’t have black currants readily available, and since this video is all about fruit in cider I figures I would ask a few question here. I checked at my local grocery store and they have black currant juice but it has a sorbate in it so I know that wont work. I went to the internet to look at options.
First there is the option of getting them sent to me frozen but for 5 pounds this will end up costing about $90 dollars so this option is out because that is a lot of $$ for fruit. The next option I came across is dried black currants and after shipping it would be around $17 a pound. The final option I came across is to get a black currant wine base. Which is about $50 for gallon which is good for 5 gallons of wine. I figure should be able to get about 5 to 6 gallons or cider out of it. However it is just not straight currant juice, it has high fructose corn sugar, other juices, citric acid and water added.
My question is with the frozen fruit being cost prohibited what is the lesser of two evils between the dried currants and will they add enough to the party since the are dried, or is the wine base a better option?
Thank you in advance for your time.
I would go with the wine base. Least amount of effort and a good price.
@@CitySteadingBrews Thank you. That was kinda the way I was leaning. Since I posted this yesterday I did find a company that sells frozen concentrate. Trying to figure out the cost and practacality of it but it may be an option that will work too for a reasonable price. I will try to update you with what I do once I make a final decision and the results.
I have a question for you! I hope it's not a repeat, but I've looked through your videos and not found exactly the answer I'm looking for. I've used a steam juicer on my elderberries this year and have about two gallons of elderberry juice. (This is in addition to canned syrup and jam and many pounds of berries still in the freezer... I may have a problem.)
What would be the best way to use that in a mead? I'm aiming for a semi-dry mead, not dessert-sweet but not distractingly dry either. Just mix it with honey and add water to a target gravity? I already cleaned up one bottle bomb after backsweetening my first batch of elder wine; I'd like to avoid that by starting with a high gravity and reaching the yeast's alcohol tolerance before all the sugars are gone.
Also, I didn't realize you were in Florida! If you hapepen to be in the Tampa-ish area and want some elderberries (or juice), I'll gladly share. I got a little carried away with the harvest this year. :D
Immersion blender in small batches in your must prior to pitching yeast to somewhat liquify pre frozen fruit might be a good way to oxygenate/ariete the must. Just an idea get a 2 for 1 in one step maybe?
I suppose you could do that. I don't worry about liquefying it though... yeast are microscopic, so if the cell walls are broken up from freezing, should be good to go.
Hey I love you videos you've taught me so much but I wanted to let you know that fermentation is going on in secondary fermentation it's malolactic fermentation
wish i had watched this video earlier lol I just strained a batch of mead that i made. The cherries that i added to the must i pitted, boiled, and mashed. added some cherry juice as well....and added a whole pack of yeast...meant for 5 gal (i was making 1 gal....) I didnt pull out much cherry flavor so ill try the freeze and smash method next time.
Question: since it is important to keep your fruit cap wet, could you not weigh it down so that it stays submerged?
You can.
12:14 i'm doing something different with a wine I'm making, I pic the fruit from my garden , frozen it , than I place the frozen fruit on a container and cover it with sugar, than I let it sit for about 1 to 2 weeks so the sugar pull out the moisture with all the flavors and color from the Berrys ( I'm using "acerola" I don't know the translation from Portuguese to English , is a South America native fruit, kind of a berry that is a little sour), a important information is that you need to put 1:1 ratio of sugar and fruit by weight , if not more , so the gravity is too right to star fermentation, and actually encourage the good yeast present on the fruit to flourish and get kind of a natural ferment in this step. And them after that I dilute the must to the OG desired and put the yeast to start proper fermentation.
I start a batch of this couple weeks ago and put the yeast yesterday. Of you have interest I can keep you up on this .
This method certainly not work for all kinds of fruit , but I find interesting the flavor outcome it gives with "acerola" particularly.
See you next vid
Similar to a method I'd heard of before actually!
I actually come with this method accidentally , I do not see the wild fermentation starting when I was doing a extraction to make a licor, and when I check and saw the extraction bubbling then I change plans and dilute it and add the years to make wine and come out pretty good .
The interesting thing came when I compare it with a previous batch of acerola wine, and I note a more complex flavor on the wine with wild fermentation on the start
After hearing you say the thing about someone saying boil the juice to get rid of preservatives, I looked up an SDS on sodium benzoate to satiate my own curiosity. Its melting point is 816°F, and decomposes at a higher temperature than that, so yeah, you can boil your juice away and have preservatives left. LOL
Awesome to see my comment made the video! Looking forward to it. Also name was correct the first time so congrats lol
Love me some Aldi!!!
Less than one minute in and I'm commenting 🤦♂️ but I made an amazing 14%ABV sour apple cider/wine using only concentrated apple juice
Great video! Question: How do you account for the sugar within fruit when measuring original gravity? Is the idea that you've mashed up the fruit to the extent that you can measure the "liquid+fruit" in a hydrometer and go from there? Thanks!
Best guesstimate tbh.
What are your thoughts on dried elderberries vs fresh elderberry for a mead? What are options with dried elderberries? I haven't seen a specific recipe on dried elderberry anywhere I've searched.
I'd much rather use dried. Fresh elderberries can upset your stomach.
Thank you! Would I need any other tannin or sugar elements for the yeast?
I haven't worked up a recipe for elderberry mead. Perhaps we will do one though.
@@CitySteadingBrews 🤩🤩 that would be amazing!!
I am wanting to make 3 moderately sweet melomels (a blueberry, a raspberry, and a cherry). I have a 5.5 gallon fermenting bucket and a couple 1 gallon carboys. What I am thinking of doing is making a 3 gallon batch of YOUR traditional mead (with tea and some orange peel/zest) in the bucket. Then, when ready to rack, split the primary into the 1 gallon carboys with the desired fruit juices or purees. Do you think this will work well? Because of the fruit juice/puree going in at racking, should I avoid using the orange zest and tea? Maybe a straight honey primary would blend with the fruit flavors in secondary better?
I have not done a melomel before so any guidance is appreciated. If I were to ferment 3 gallons of traditional mead to be used across 3 carboys, I would like to hit somewhere between 10-15% abv, what yeast would you recommend using in the primary fermentation? What initial specific gravity would you shoot for to start at? How much juice/puree of each fruit would you recommend using in each 1 gallon carboy to start?
Would I be better off just making 3 batches that are each 1 gallon large and using the fruit in the primary rather than only relying on the secondary fermentation? I've seen Brian say many times he can't help without having enough information. I'm trying to be proactive instead of reactive as there are potentially 3 batches/gallons as well as weeks and months at stake on this.
Am I over thinking this? Is there a simpler way to achieve my goal here? I've looked to other mead channels for a similar scenario to what I am wanting to do with no luck and I've watched hours upon hours of CS Mead videos without finding a similar scenario either. Given your extensive video library, I may have missed it. If you haven't yet made a video similar to my proposition, would you consider making one? #SecondaryFermentMelomels
I have enjoyed your guys' videos for a while and am now taking my steps into my new passion and trying to brew. Is there is big difference from using rasins or just any dried fruit (so long as they don't have those "ites" or "ates" to hinder or kill the fermentation?
Can I use dried and frozen or mashed fruit for my meads?
any chance you will ever make a blackberry mead ? would love to see/hear your take on it ...... freezing also concentrates the sugars in the fruits ..
Hmm, I like conditioning instead of secondary. But now you might need to explain the difference between this conditioning and bottle conditioning.
Love you guys as you give so much information. Would you add prunes to a plum Mead as they are dried plums?
No, made prune wine once... vile and disgusting!
@@CitySteadingBrews thank you as it just came to me.
So what if you used a cyser recipe for a melomel instead of a gallon of cider, use a natural juice of choice like mango, or guava nectar/concentrated
Sure, you can do that.
James Keal mines fermenting as we speak, didn’t step feed just followed a basic cyser recipe but used a mango nectar/puree
On this video, I was wondering what would happen if you blend your fruit then freeze it for the crystals to bring the flavors out. and if you do that, will you be able to tell the difference in the chunks/sauce of the blend. For instance, if I blend up Pineapple, freeze it then put it in the brew after thawing it out. Would a bag hold this in together or will it still cause an issue?
Nice video! I got a small question about adding fruits on the conditioning phase. I have a high abv cyser, of which the apple flavour is not quite appearent. I am doubting to add dried apples to get the flavor up. Is this a good idea? How much should I use for 11 liters? Best regards from the Netherlands
Hi @CitySteadingBrews, or other. I got hold of 2kg fresh Rhubarb. Any experience with usage for cider. Many years back I made some juice with Rhubarb and to taste lemon, vanilla and suggar. Tips combinations are welcome. Thx
We haven't played with rhubarb yet, it's hard to get good and fresh down here.
I have multiple pounds of dried cherries that I would love to do something cool with. Anything to say about using dried fruit?
Hi I love your channel. I'm learning so much about wine making. I've made three successful one gal batches so far (all using fruit juice). For my 4th batch, I'd like to try frozen fruit. I am still a bit confused about using it in both primary and conditioning phases. When I rack the wine from primary to secondary do I leave the old fruit behind along with the lees and add new fruit to the conditioning carboy? Also would it be too late to add fruit for added flavor in the conditioning phase after I've already added campden tablets to stop fermentation (I usually rack when SG reaches .994 in the primary and add a campden tablet and a clearing agent in the conditioning carboy). Thanks.
You can add fruit in primary or conditioning or both. Does slightly different things.
Hey Brian, I have heard that you alcohol itself will “ferment” in secondary. The alcohol will mellow and change. You will loose some of the fusels will actually change and become more drinkable due to fermentation in secondary. I guess this could really be considered aging as well. Would love to hear you opinion on this. The another great video really love your channel.
I have never heard of alcohol fermenting, but in secondary yes off gassing does occur so a lot of the undesirable smells/gasses will leave, which in and of itself will mellow things out a little bit. And if you leave it long enough yes it would be bulk aging, which will meld and mellow flavors a lot more.
I actually have a cranberry/cherry mead that ended up around 17%, but when it was first put in secondary/bulk aging, and one bottle to drink, I really didn't like it much. It was more of a "I want to do something for the holiday season.". It had taken the bitterness of the cranberry juice and the tartness of one of the cherry juices and amplified it to the point I had lemon mouth. The only person who said they liked it was humoring me, I found out later. I put it in my closet and forgot about it , until close to the next Christmas when I was looking for something else. Decided what the hell, try it again. It is amazing now, and everyone enjoyed it...Had five empty bottles to take home that night.
you guys are amazing
Do you guys know if the “seeds” that are inside black currants also give that bitter flavour that you were talking about at 10:13?
They might but I can't say it's that prominent.
@irwinemma I will update soon. I have started a mead with frozen blueberries and black currants added in primary. Added dried black currants into conditioning
Are there any fruits that can have negative effect on a fermentation? I am wanting to try to make a mead with watermelon or cantaloupe and wasn’t sure if I need to be aware of something I didn’t know about when using them. Thanks for the wealthy of knowledge you guys continuous share with us.
Any melon could spoil before finishing a ferment, yup.
Thank you very much for the information
how long do you leave your fruit in the secondary ferment/conditioning? is there a point where most of the flavors are extracted and it's unnecessary to leave it in more much longer. Looking forward to that video you mentioned that goes into this test! thanks for all your contributions!!!!
A few weeks is usually enough, but by then fermentation is likely done too so we often just rack everything out at once.
What about juice concentrate as the main product. With less water. Instead of juice in bottle or fresh fruit? How would that work?
Hey Guys, I am a home Brewer ( mostly high ABV beers) from the Florida panhandle and I have been watching you guys for some time now. I have been wanting to get into making Mead and beekeeping. My question is have you guys tried a banana Mead? Do the bananas transfer much of thier flavor or is it like beer and the flavor gets lost in the shuffle? Thanks
One question, can a weight (stainless steel) be placed on the bag with the fruit so that it does not float? It is advisable? Greetings from Lima, Peru.
Una pregunta, se le puede colocar un peso (acero inoxidable) sobre la bolsa con la fruta para que no flote? Es recomendable? Saludos desde Lima Perú.
Certainly, good idea actually.
If you use a copper weight it will attract sulfur’s and sulfides (bad off smells and tastes) and make your end product better tasting and smelling 😉
I would recommend using glass marbles in the brew bag to keep it at the bottom of the fermentor. The bag has to be small enough to keep the fruit from floating to the top though.
Lover your guys videos watch them every week
Thanks again Brian and Derica for that amusing and highly informative Video. Ferris Buehler would have smiled....... but not Deadpool.
Now I have to buy BrewBags......
I'm trying my round 2 of "1st timing". This batch I realized after starting that my fruit weight was not what I had 1st calculated, can I add more fruits? It is furminting but taste of sweet water. Hints my recalculating and I'm about half the fruit ratio that I had indeed . Shooting for 4 gallon in 5 gallon bucket. 10 lb fruit to 10 cup sugar (water for the rest along with bread yeast packet) 5 lb fruit is what happened rather than 10 lb. Can I add more fruit or just wait it out and see what happens? It is fermenting just taste like sugar water rather than fruity flavors. First time was total different batch in every way . Too much fruit with that and used grits rather than yeast. Either or, I'm learning and most interested in learning more. Ultimately, can I add more fruit after fermentation (appears) is happening?
Hey i was wondering if i can use fruit and herbs in a mead brew, for example strawberry or raspberry and hibiscus?
I added Blackberries and Raspberries to my mead. After adding yeast it fermented for a bit and then bubbling stopped after a while. So i activated some more yeast with a sugar water solution and added that to the fermentation. Again it bubbled for a bit and then it stopped again. I wonder if the pH was too low and it killed the yeast? Thinking of adding some soda (NaHCO3) to reduce the pH.
I think George is a great name for secondary fermentation
Have you done something with peaches? I have a peach tree out front and need something to do with all the peaches. I'm thinking a drink would be great. Could you point me to a video?
Hi guys, love your videos and I bought a set of brewing equipment. Have done apple-wine like 20 years ago, but nothing since then. My question is, can I make a kind of beer just with oatmeal? I even thought of roasting a part of it to get a darker kind of beer. Is there anything I need to take into consideration? Which yeast would you use? Which additionals could I put? I dont like to put hop into it, cause its too bitter to me, but wouldnt it make the beer go bad quick? Thanks alot and keep on going. I might show up one day, cause my sister-in-law lives an hour away. ciao Martin
Oats are a nice adjunct for beer, but.. not the whole fermentable. You would need barley too. As for hops... beer without hops really doesn't taste very good. You need a bit, even a very small amount.
Oh, we don't answer the door when people ring the bell. Just sayin.
Did you guys ever make the video with three brews to compare fruit in primary, or secondary, or half in both?
Nope, we haven't.
Isn't Conditioning also the carbonation process for homebrewing beer? Being as secondarys are common in making beer as well, could we maybe think of another term for secondary to avoid another type of confusion?
That's bottle conditioning... but... meh... so many things to worry about when making up a name.
Hey Brian and dericka I'm making an apple cyser and plan on picking fresh apples and cutting them up and putting them into my conditioning phase of the product. I'm not so much worried about wild yeast but should I wash or sanitize the fruit at all to prevent any bad bacteria getting in it and how would I do that without drying the fruit or boiling it
You can rinse in star san, or what we're doing is dunking in hot water (anything over 140f) should work well.
@@CitySteadingBrews thank you you guys are awesome keep up the good work love the amount of effort you go through to help people understand
For me, the question of boiling fruit is more about how to get rid of the Lactobacillus on the fruit rather than concern about wild yeasts. I know in wine, winemakers will use "camden tablets", which AFAIK is all about killing that Lacto. Which, incidentally, is why you have to boil Liquid Malt Extract when you make extract beers.
Camden tabs are sulfites and kill everything. I prefer not to use them. I have never had a problem with lacto fermentation in a brew.
@@CitySteadingBrews I haven't done that much with fruit, so I don't know from my own experience. I did have some trouble with Lacto infecting my early beers. One was caused by not boiling the LME, I'm pretty sure. A couple others were caused by insufficient sanitisation.
I just brewed a concoction yesterday with Bavarian Wheat LME, apple juice and brown sugar and that I did boil because of the LME.
I don’t even boil beers… the only real reason is for hops extraction. Not heard about laco fermentation problems in beer myself.
Hi, been making pineapple Pino (prison wine) for years since before RUclips, firm believer about getting out of the way. Watching your videos has inspired me to mix things up. My countrys lockdown ban on alcohol motivated me. This video has me worried about mold as I'm doing something with appeals in a container that doesn't leand itself to opening, sturing or shaking. That has another week of primary then I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it during "George" stage. Anyway the question I have an earlier batch going through "conditioning/ second ferment" right now because I added tea and suger and activity kicked backup. I want to add a stick of cinnamon because my initial fruit complement was really low it has about 5 days left before I rack it off into bottles. Do you think I am going to be waisting my time and cinnamon?
Please don't call it prison wine.
Prison wine is dangerous, it's illegal, and made with questionable methods and ingredients. Unless you are really doing it this way, you're making... wine.
Wine is made from fruit and juices of fruit. By using store bought juice you are just skipping the juicing step.
LOVE YOUR VIDEOS, We would get along well. I don't shop at walmart either.