When I steep my tea I put it in a tempered measuring glass. It has a nice pour spout makes it nice and easy to clean the funnel of honey (or in your case maple syrup)
I've only made meade and wine a handful of times. In all cases I got a hydrometer reading before and after adding yeast. EXACT same reading every time. I would say that as long as you do it within your "creating / mixing" process, it will not matter.
Since I've learned everything I know about brewing I've learned from yall feels weird giving yall advice but I too struggled with the tea until I started doing my tea in a measuring cup, viola no tea mess
I have a large 32oz pyrex measuring jug that I use for large amounts of things, but every time I pour with it it does that thing where it runs down the side and off the bottom. Drive me up the wall. I'm gonna have to replace that at some point.
Since I've started watching your videos and making my own brews, I've been using a storage tote as my "turbo". Than one day, I thought, "you have a wash tub in your laundry room. Why not use that!" Lol. Give it a nice clean before hand, fill it up, and get to work. Makes it so much easier.
maple always wants to stall on me... so i tried step feeding ferm o on my recent attempt ... 0,24,48,72hrs... worked like a charm and i got a maple wine that i actually enjoy
With my brews, I've had the best consistent runs when I mix up everything as a starter and then add it to the wort. (yeast, fermax, epsom, b vitamin with a sample of the wort) It seems to make the hydrated yeast take off with a bang and everything gets incorporated into a single dose that's easy to add to my fermenter.
I do just want to also say thanks for making the smaller 1Gal batches. It makes it easier for me to follow suit, sure I could multiply it up but sometimes with some recipes (baking comes to mind) - you can't always just multiply things up like that (I've had recipes go badly wrong when I've done that in the past). My wife doesn't really drink so any alcohol I make, I have to either drink myself or give away - ergo - thanks for making the smaller batches so me (and people like me) can follow along more easily.
I finally made time to make this, in 2024 no less! I put it together without checking the video, I just know the ratios and basic recipe you guys use and I've adopted it myself (3 lbs of honey in a mead, maple syrup in this case.) I didn't have any yeast nutrient so I used my standby ol' reliable method of adding a mashed apple with skins (no core or seeds.) I was feeling good about it, then I rewatched this. I forgot the lemon juice! Thankfully it had only been about 30 minutes after i put it away in my closet, so I just added it and swirled a bit. Thank you so much for all you've taught me in homebrewing! Cheers!
So I just made my third mead. It is 3.5 pounds of honey, roughly 3/5 gallon of water a cinnamon stick and 3 pounds of strawberry. I used 71B. Starting gravity of 1.128 hoping for residual sweetness. 6 days later it's final gravity is 1.004 Which is 16.74 percent......I did taste it and it taste kind of like Binaca.... I'm going to let these strawberries sit another week. I have two questions. In secondary I'm definitely going to have to backsweeten, should I be concerned at this point of refermentation since I went so far past is supposed tolerance. The s cond question is I think I'm going to wanna add strawberry in secondary for 2-3 weeks. How much would you say for me to use. Thanks! 🙏
I just did the first taste test on my Sassafras Wine a month after I racked it. Holey bejesus it was great. I dug the roots, cleaned and brewed them to make tea. I decided to try it as a wine. Perfection..... I'm working on home grown muscadines right now.
I just found your channel and I'm enjoying what you do, so you gained a sub. I just recently did a couple of your wines in some bottles, I didn't have a bung for the bubbler. So I got some balloons, gave them a prick with a pin and put them on the opening of the bottles. They work great, they inflate and slowly release gas. Just my 2 cents I thought I might add, cheers.
Sometimes you have to use what is available to you. We don’t suggest using balloons as they are not food safe so there is a slight chance that something unwanted could end up in your brew.
Take the reading before adding yeast, because the yeast is going to stick to the funnel and the hydrometer. Also makes it harder for you to read the numbers. You paid for that yeast you want it in the maple must. 😊
I started meading after watching y’all and doing some other fermentation food projects (pickles, kimchi, salsa) and I have my very own red stockpot of sanitization!
For gallon batches in a carboy I'll add nutrient in the carboy with a piece of paper shaped in a cone before shaking the bejeezes out of it. Usually works well.
As I’m collecting sap at the moment.. i was thinking instead of boiling sap down to 65% syrup, can I stop the boiling when it’s about 20-30% range and ferment this without adding any water in it? Just east and maybe a bit acid or something?
A minor point here, but pH is a logarithmic scale. So you would need 10 times more acid for each additional point that you need to change the pH of the liquid with. So if 1 teaspoon lowers the pH by 1 you would need 100 to lower it by thee
I tried this two separate times and it set up into some form of gel. Tried pectinase with no change, but when I did it as mead, it worked beautifully. I have heard that maple syrup might have some pectin, but no clue what might have happened.
I think honey would have more actual pectin in its contents compared to syrup, that may explain your difference. Cloudiness in syrup may actually be more solids than pectin. I would recommend using bentonite to help clear your syrup brews. In fact, I have just started using bentonite to clear all my brews and it has worked with great success on all but a few store bought juices. I have also found that using pectinase and following up by adding bentonite a week later has really performed well in clearing up many a murky brew. Best luck to you, Chris!
I didn't have any black tea and I forgot my ph test/citric acid addition do you think it'll still be fine or should i add them before it really gets going. Ps. Thanks for being an inspiration after I quit smoking I had to find something for all that time I had and brewing slowed down my drinking as well, because I don't like to drink when I'm building or working on a batch.
I'm wanting to make an octoberfest beer with a maple syrup addition, looking for advice on how to prevent it from finishing to dry/thin since syrup is mostly fermentable
Do you by chance recall the brand of maple syrup, I'd like to order the same kind, if possible. Thank you both for all the information, and entertainment. You guys are awesome
What method do you use for calculating how much fermaid-o to use? I know there are lots of ways to calculate nutrients and much debate over which nutrients are best. It's gotten to the point where I actually want to test it at some point using some different methods.
Thanks for anwsering. I did find it odd that a lot of protocols like TOSNA and friends don't actually follow recommended amounts set by manufacturers, lots seem to go way over the prescribed amount. @@CitySteadingBrews
Finally got time to watch the video. Great Video as always, thanks! My method was completely different. I started with 15Gal of maple sap, boiled down until spgr is 1.100. Put 1 gal of that into the fermenter, 2 tsp of Fleischmanns bread yeast, and let it sit. The remaining sap I boiled down to make syrup, saving for back sweetening. Started on Mar 27, now it's Thanksgiving I should have enough empty bottles.
I'm wanting to do a coffee maple wine like the coffee mead with the cold brew coffee. Should I still use the lemon juice for acid or is the coffee enough acidity?
Doesn't the tea reduce the pH for the solution? I read about a yeast that does well in low nutrient conditions called QA23. Have you ever tried it in brews like this?
I tasted maple wine at a local winery once. I’m not a big connoisseur like Bryan and Dericka, so I can’t really describe the flavour…but I didn’t love it. And like any good Canadian🇨🇦, I love maple syrup. There’s something about the way fermentation changes the flavour that just isn’t for me 🤷
The pH scale is logarithmic- this means that what might lower a gallon of water 1.5 pH will not do so for other substances with other starting pHs. Good luck with the wine.
A question about something completely different... oyster mushroom mead, did it ever crossed your mind about the possibilities? If possible, would you make a "tea" with fresh or dried oyster mushrooms. Or would you use fresh or dried oyster mushrooms in the most in primary?
@@CitySteadingBrews any particular reason or thought? There are two Dutch companies (a oyster mushroom farmer and a brewery) who collaborated and made a oyster mushroom porter. So my brain farted and thought: if it works with beer maybe it will work with mead.
My thought towards reading b4 yeast pitch vs after.... You thwacked the packet for every last bit but when i pitch b4 reading, i tend to have bits all over the cylinder and hydrometer, it's a small amount of wastage but easily avoided.
The grade of the maple syrup most likely affects the specific gravity. It certainly impacts how strong the maple taste the syrup has -- which probably will translate over to the wine.
All maple syrup regardless of grade is 66% sugar. Different grades will have different ratios of sucrose, glucose and fructose. Flavor comes from many factors and changes through out the season. How it was cooked. Sap fresh or stale. Bacteria levels both naturally and improper handling of sap. Etc.
@@CitySteadingBrews The industry is quite strict, self regulating, about the 66% besides, any higher than 66% the syrup will not store, it will crystalize in the container.
Recently started a port/mead hybrid and my bucket really doesn’t have the best seal. Was worried it wasn’t started after a few days so popped the lid open to see a nice foam cap. Checking the gravity today!
@@Alectium so far I’ve used 1.5kg of honey and 2kg white sugar in about 10L of black grape juice and 2L of water. Came out to about 1.118 gravity but think that I’m going to back sweeten before I fortify because I love really sweet port
Well, not to be that guy but technically this is a wine. Not enough honey to make it a mead. I know you're working the hybrid thing, but... "technically" it's one or the other. Now... I hate that crap, so realistically you can call it what you like :)
hey City Steading brews! i've been binge watching your content for almost a week now and Iv had a question pertaining to the water you use for brewing. maybe iv missed an explanation somewhere or its just super obvious. do you just use regular tap water? do you boil it? from what i gather from the videos iv seen i assume you don't buy distilled water. maybe someone in the community can help with this question? let me know! thanks for all the helpful videos!
*_Non-brewer's suggestion:_* When pouring your tea, hold the handle of a utensil (chopstick, fork, knife, spoon, etc.) across the top of the coffee cup. Let the tea flow from the mug to the utensil and it will act as a spout so you don't spill it haphazardly down the sides of the coffee cup. *_Non-brewer's question:_* I've made my own maple syrup before so I have familiarity with reducing sap down into syrup and the required temperature for that... But, can maple sap be heated so much that the sugars in the resulting syrup will no longer ferment, like what most likely happened in one of your earlier bochet videos with honey?
So I don't have yeast nutrients (not for lack of want, but for lack of I just haven't bought it yet). So I used 4oz of minced/pulped up golden raisins. Here's to hoping that doesn't muck things up...
I just made this. I stuck to your recipe, 3lbs maple syrup, 8 oz tea, 1/4 tsp lemon and enough h2o to fill the 1 gal vessel . However my SG was 1.132!!! Way higher than expected or wanted! I ended up removing 16oz wine must and replacing it with water. This brought my SG down to 1.117. I'm ok with that. I cannot for the life of me figure out why our SGs were so divergent, any ideas?
Yes that was the only thing I thought of but nearly dismissed the idea because 1.080 and 1.132 are wildly different. You'd think the sugar content in various maple syrups would be only minimally different. Our SGs were 52 points apart!
Ok so I think I've figured it out.. Grade A Maple syrup is lighter and very sweet. Preferred by most people for pancakes and confectionary purposes. Grade B (or dark) is much less sweet but smokier, "maple-ier", more complex. I was looking for dark maple syrup when I put this recipe together but couldn't find any except for very small 10oz bottles that were $10 each. Anyway I obviously used the Amber Grade A while you used the Dark Grade B. I suspect mine will not turn out as well as yours did. I am however planning on backsweetening with Dark bourbon cask flavor maple syrup (one of those $10/10oz bottles I found) when the time comes. So we'll see what happens.
Love your videos. I use a small bottle with 3-4 oz. of water and Fermaid, shake vigorously to break up the yeast nutrient and pour into fermentation vessel. No stress :)
nice recipe! tip from a former server, the trick to pouring from a full cup is that you have to commit! of course you'll probly splash some off that funnel and spill it that way, but hey the pour will be easier.
Something to consider is the cost. If you know any maple farmers. they likely have gallons of semi boiled sap left over they otherwise would throw in the trash. No reason you could not ferment it instead. Also. I am not sure this is a good choice for a wine. But a brandy. Oh yeah. And not even just as a brandy but as a mixed drink ingredient.
Sorry for the Rookie question but when you spoke of adding oxygen during the creation process versus after it has been fermenting, you did not say exactly what it does and why it is good or bad. Asking for a friend. 😉
I know absolutely nothing about making wine. I do however make maple syrup every year for my family and friends. I'm going to try this and will buy everything I need from your links. Thank you for the video and hopefully I get it right. Have a great day guys.. :)
@@CitySteadingBrews maple syrup isn't a fruit lol. I'm down with mead being made from honey since the word mead comes from honey but wine comes from vine or vino as in the grape vine... do you think there is room in the community conversation to work on new terms for this kind of brew?
Yay, the start of the wine from the swirling video. When Brian started to pour the water into the fermaid-o, I was thinking this isn't going to end well if the water comes out to fast. Last little note, what happened to calling the syringe megamaid?
I made maple wine not too long ago. Recently I started cooking it with oatmeal. I highly recommend cooking it with oatmeal, it’s so good. Another thing I recommend mixing it with is cream soda, makes a nice Hard Maple Soda
I used to make a mess with the tea too, now I make it in a glass measuring cup which has a lip for easy pouring. If making mead I rinse the honey jar with the hot tea too to get it all out!
When I steep my tea I put it in a tempered measuring glass. It has a nice pour spout makes it nice and easy to clean the funnel of honey (or in your case maple syrup)
Yep, Anchor Hocking makes a nice tempered measuring cup that works great.
I know you like brewing your tea in the City Steading cup, but I use a measuring cup because it pours better with the spout 😎
I've only made meade and wine a handful of times. In all cases I got a hydrometer reading before and after adding yeast. EXACT same reading every time. I would say that as long as you do it within your "creating / mixing" process, it will not matter.
I sent some Lyons Irish tea your way last year. Hope you enjoyed it.
YES! It was great! It's all gone now... :)
Since I've learned everything I know about brewing I've learned from yall feels weird giving yall advice but I too struggled with the tea until I started doing my tea in a measuring cup, viola no tea mess
Yes, but then they couldn't have product placement for their mug. 8^)
I have a large 32oz pyrex measuring jug that I use for large amounts of things, but every time I pour with it it does that thing where it runs down the side and off the bottom. Drive me up the wall. I'm gonna have to replace that at some point.
We made a few gallons of maple syrup this year. I'm starting this recipe today ❤
I liked this one. Drank it all, lol.
@@CitySteadingBrews it only took a few minutes to start. This is my fifth recipe to start since I found you on RUclips. It's so much fun.
Since I've started watching your videos and making my own brews, I've been using a storage tote as my "turbo". Than one day, I thought, "you have a wash tub in your laundry room. Why not use that!" Lol.
Give it a nice clean before hand, fill it up, and get to work. Makes it so much easier.
maple always wants to stall on me... so i tried step feeding ferm o on my recent attempt ... 0,24,48,72hrs... worked like a charm and i got a maple wine that i actually enjoy
With my brews, I've had the best consistent runs when I mix up everything as a starter and then add it to the wort. (yeast, fermax, epsom, b vitamin with a sample of the wort) It seems to make the hydrated yeast take off with a bang and everything gets incorporated into a single dose that's easy to add to my fermenter.
Ours started in an hour… finished in 7 days.
Looks like we decided to do this at the same time. Mine has been fermenting for about a week now. It was very slow to start.
I do just want to also say thanks for making the smaller 1Gal batches. It makes it easier for me to follow suit, sure I could multiply it up but sometimes with some recipes (baking comes to mind) - you can't always just multiply things up like that (I've had recipes go badly wrong when I've done that in the past). My wife doesn't really drink so any alcohol I make, I have to either drink myself or give away - ergo - thanks for making the smaller batches so me (and people like me) can follow along more easily.
HAAAALP MEE
Got better answer Brian.
I make 1 gallon batches because I like a variety of fermented drinks
I say that too!
I finally made time to make this, in 2024 no less! I put it together without checking the video, I just know the ratios and basic recipe you guys use and I've adopted it myself (3 lbs of honey in a mead, maple syrup in this case.) I didn't have any yeast nutrient so I used my standby ol' reliable method of adding a mashed apple with skins (no core or seeds.) I was feeling good about it, then I rewatched this. I forgot the lemon juice! Thankfully it had only been about 30 minutes after i put it away in my closet, so I just added it and swirled a bit.
Thank you so much for all you've taught me in homebrewing! Cheers!
So I just made my third mead. It is 3.5 pounds of honey, roughly 3/5 gallon of water a cinnamon stick and 3 pounds of strawberry. I used 71B. Starting gravity of 1.128 hoping for residual sweetness. 6 days later it's final gravity is 1.004 Which is 16.74 percent......I did taste it and it taste kind of like Binaca.... I'm going to let these strawberries sit another week. I have two questions. In secondary I'm definitely going to have to backsweeten, should I be concerned at this point of refermentation since I went so far past is supposed tolerance. The s cond question is I think I'm going to wanna add strawberry in secondary for 2-3 weeks. How much would you say for me to use. Thanks! 🙏
I just did the first taste test on my Sassafras Wine a month after I racked it. Holey bejesus it was great. I dug the roots, cleaned and brewed them to make tea. I decided to try it as a wine. Perfection.....
I'm working on home grown muscadines right now.
Very cool!
You should get a city steading ceramic pitcher for tea pouring
I just found your channel and I'm enjoying what you do, so you gained a sub.
I just recently did a couple of your wines in some bottles, I didn't have a bung for the bubbler. So I got some balloons, gave them a prick with a pin and put them on the opening of the bottles. They work great, they inflate and slowly release gas. Just my 2 cents I thought I might add, cheers.
Sometimes you have to use what is available to you. We don’t suggest using balloons as they are not food safe so there is a slight chance that something unwanted could end up in your brew.
@@CitySteadingBrews Demijohns are on their way
Take the reading before adding yeast, because the yeast is going to stick to the funnel and the hydrometer. Also makes it harder for you to read the numbers. You paid for that yeast you want it in the maple must. 😊
I started my first mead yesterday. Thank yall for the inspiration. I used white grape and peach juice instead of water hope it turns out good!!!
Yess I was waiting for this one! Can’t wait to see how it turns out
Hope you like it!
Try using a Pyrex measuring cup to brew the tea makes it easier to pour
I started meading after watching y’all and doing some other fermentation food projects (pickles, kimchi, salsa) and I have my very own red stockpot of sanitization!
The way you getting those bubbles to pop is basically the same thing we have to do when we make a bottle by hand for my baby boy 😂
For gallon batches in a carboy I'll add nutrient in the carboy with a piece of paper shaped in a cone before shaking the bejeezes out of it. Usually works well.
As I’m collecting sap at the moment.. i was thinking instead of boiling sap down to 65% syrup, can I stop the boiling when it’s about 20-30% range and ferment this without adding any water in it? Just east and maybe a bit acid or something?
I was thinking about that too. Did you try it? If so, how did it work?
And people say an old dog can't learn new tricks just listen to Brian at 6:58 :p
The expressions and implied commentary are priceless. New subscribe!
Can’t wait to find out how this one turns out. Thank you!
I have a question about brewing Mead can you use a plastic vessels like a 2 gallon water container?
I prefer glass but food grade plastic can be used.
@@CitySteadingBrews thank you I knew that you would know
A minor point here, but pH is a logarithmic scale. So you would need 10 times more acid for each additional point that you need to change the pH of the liquid with. So if 1 teaspoon lowers the pH by 1 you would need 100 to lower it by thee
Went back to old videos wondering if powdered peanut butter would make a good flavoring for a brew?
It doesn’t really. Just falls out.
I made a peanut butter and jelly mead with grape juice, pb2, and honey. It is amazing and my wife loves the flavor.
I tried this two separate times and it set up into some form of gel. Tried pectinase with no change, but when I did it as mead, it worked beautifully. I have heard that maple syrup might have some pectin, but no clue what might have happened.
I think honey would have more actual pectin in its contents compared to syrup, that may explain your difference. Cloudiness in syrup may actually be more solids than pectin. I would recommend using bentonite to help clear your syrup brews. In fact, I have just started using bentonite to clear all my brews and it has worked with great success on all but a few store bought juices. I have also found that using pectinase and following up by adding bentonite a week later has really performed well in clearing up many a murky brew.
Best luck to you, Chris!
Honey has negligible amounts of pectin.
Can you use a boysenberry or other flavor syrup to do this because I’m now a big maple fan.
I didn't have any black tea and I forgot my ph test/citric acid addition do you think it'll still be fine or should i add them before it really gets going.
Ps. Thanks for being an inspiration after I quit smoking I had to find something for all that time I had and brewing slowed down my drinking as well, because I don't like to drink when I'm building or working on a batch.
Without a pH reading you won't know if you need acid. The tea is a tannin addition so it's technically optional but can be added anytime.
Is there any reason to cook down the maple syrup further? So to concentrate the maple sugar? Same question, for say a Acerglyn?
Not really since you'd adding water at some point no matter what.
I'm wanting to make an octoberfest beer with a maple syrup addition, looking for advice on how to prevent it from finishing to dry/thin since syrup is mostly fermentable
hey guys! great video. Should i multiply the fermaid-0 and yeast? or can i use one pack yeast, and 1.5g fermaid-0 for 6 GAL carboy?
Multiply all but the yeast, just use a whole packet.
The WUSS... LoL!! Cute!
When using fruit about how much would you suggest to use to a gallon of must?
what difference does the 71b yeast make? i only have k1v1116 and fleishmanns on hand. which one would work better?
I haven't tried with those but either will likely work. 71b is known for bringing out fruity flavors.
@@CitySteadingBrews thanks for the input! i’ll probably go with the k1v then.
Do you by chance recall the brand of maple syrup, I'd like to order the same kind, if possible. Thank you both for all the information, and entertainment. You guys are awesome
Wow... sorry no, if it's not linked in the description. If I remember correctly, someone sent it to us.
@@CitySteadingBrews ok, thank you for trying 😊 have a fantastic day.
What kind of water do you use
Filtered water with no chlorine. Bottled water is fine too.
Try swirling Counterclockwise to break down the foam. Seems to break down faster. Speaking from experience. And Yes I'm serious
Really?
@@CitySteadingBrews Try it next time and see...............>
are there certain maple syrups that dont have preservatives i could use in my own maple wine? i go to the grocery store often for ingredients...
You'd have to read the ingredients. I would think (I could be wrong) but most don't have preservatives.
What method do you use for calculating how much fermaid-o to use? I know there are lots of ways to calculate nutrients and much debate over which nutrients are best. It's gotten to the point where I actually want to test it at some point using some different methods.
Mostly the manufacturer recommendations and now some experimentation with more.
Thanks for anwsering.
I did find it odd that a lot of protocols like TOSNA and friends don't actually follow recommended amounts set by manufacturers, lots seem to go way over the prescribed amount.
@@CitySteadingBrews
What grade of maple syrup did you use and was it an amber colour maple syrup?
Finally got time to watch the video. Great Video as always, thanks!
My method was completely different. I started with 15Gal of maple sap, boiled down until spgr is 1.100. Put 1 gal of that into the fermenter, 2 tsp of Fleischmanns bread yeast, and let it sit.
The remaining sap I boiled down to make syrup, saving for back sweetening.
Started on Mar 27, now it's Thanksgiving I should have enough empty bottles.
Soubds good! We were given syrup so that is what we used.
I'm wanting to do a coffee maple wine like the coffee mead with the cold brew coffee. Should I still use the lemon juice for acid or is the coffee enough acidity?
I would think that the coffee should be acidic enough on it's own.
Should this be at a certain temperature during fermentation?
Can you make a brew with just sugar, maple syrup, honey , water and yeast? What would it be called? Just wondering.
Howdy from Texas! Have y'all thought about apricot mead?
We have! In fact it is on "The List!"
When you add water, is there specific water you use? Spring water, Tap water (chlorine??), distilled, well water????
Ours is filtered water to get rid of chlorine.
Doesn't the tea reduce the pH for the solution? I read about a yeast that does well in low nutrient conditions called QA23. Have you ever tried it in brews like this?
Not enough to alter it much. We use QA23 in an upcoming brew.
Still making good videos!
We try!
@@CitySteadingBrews Do, or do not. There is no try.
You definitely succeed.
pH is logarithmic so it’s an exponential slope and not a linear one
I tasted maple wine at a local winery once. I’m not a big connoisseur like Bryan and Dericka, so I can’t really describe the flavour…but I didn’t love it. And like any good Canadian🇨🇦, I love maple syrup. There’s something about the way fermentation changes the flavour that just isn’t for me 🤷
It's possible it wasn't a good version, it's also possible you just don't like it. There's certainly things we just plain do not appreciate!
Where can we get that maple syrup.
It was sent to us.
The pH scale is logarithmic- this means that what might lower a gallon of water 1.5 pH will not do so for other substances with other starting pHs. Good luck with the wine.
Thanks, came out great!
A question about something completely different... oyster mushroom mead, did it ever crossed your mind about the possibilities? If possible, would you make a "tea" with fresh or dried oyster mushrooms. Or would you use fresh or dried oyster mushrooms in the most in primary?
I don’t think I would do that to oyster mushrooms :)
@@CitySteadingBrews any particular reason or thought?
There are two Dutch companies (a oyster mushroom farmer and a brewery) who collaborated and made a oyster mushroom porter.
So my brain farted and thought: if it works with beer maybe it will work with mead.
I have heard if mushroom mead, but it wasn’t good to drink. Only usable for cooking! In a beer… dunno.
My thought towards reading b4 yeast pitch vs after.... You thwacked the packet for every last bit but when i pitch b4 reading, i tend to have bits all over the cylinder and hydrometer, it's a small amount of wastage but easily avoided.
The grade of the maple syrup most likely affects the specific gravity. It certainly impacts how strong the maple taste the syrup has -- which probably will translate over to the wine.
All maple syrup regardless of grade is 66% sugar. Different grades will have different ratios of sucrose, glucose and fructose. Flavor comes from many factors and changes through out the season. How it was cooked. Sap fresh or stale. Bacteria levels both naturally and improper handling of sap. Etc.
@@jefflange3009 Interesting. I would have assumed that moisture/water content would have played a role.
At least 66%. Thus it can still vary.
@@CitySteadingBrews The industry is quite strict, self regulating, about the 66% besides, any higher than 66% the syrup will not store, it will crystalize in the container.
Can I use maple sap instead of maple syrup diluted in water? Mine is around 2%.
Maple sap is really really diluted. Not much sugar content.
Recently started a port/mead hybrid and my bucket really doesn’t have the best seal. Was worried it wasn’t started after a few days so popped the lid open to see a nice foam cap. Checking the gravity today!
A port mead hybrid? I’m deeply interested in this.
@@Alectium so far I’ve used 1.5kg of honey and 2kg white sugar in about 10L of black grape juice and 2L of water. Came out to about 1.118 gravity but think that I’m going to back sweeten before I fortify because I love really sweet port
Well, not to be that guy but technically this is a wine. Not enough honey to make it a mead. I know you're working the hybrid thing, but... "technically" it's one or the other. Now... I hate that crap, so realistically you can call it what you like :)
Awesome video! Thanks for making it!👍
Glad you liked it!
i forgot the tea with my maple brew- what will the difference be?
It will probably have less tannins and mouth feel.
Can I add raise for the yeast to work on?
Raisins add flavor, sweetness and color.
Can’t wait until you compare it to the mead!☺️
😀😀😀
hey City Steading brews! i've been binge watching your content for almost a week now and Iv had a question pertaining to the water you use for brewing. maybe iv missed an explanation somewhere or its just super obvious. do you just use regular tap water? do you boil it? from what i gather from the videos iv seen i assume you don't buy distilled water. maybe someone in the community can help with this question? let me know! thanks for all the helpful videos!
Our water is filtered to remove chlorine. Distilled isn't the best, but if that's the best you can find, use it.
I'm going to attempt this with some bourbon barrel aged maple syrup I picked up
Also can acid blend be used in place of lemon juice?
If you want to. It doesn’t make it taste lemony just adds the acid.
@@CitySteadingBrews and i assume similar to mead making, since its just syrup and water to get the best tasting sryup i can afford right?
Yes. That’s true I n all brewing. :)
So I'm guessing if you can make wine out of maple syrup you can do the same with treacle or golden syrup?
I would imagine so. May not taste like much though as it’s really just sugar.
Do you know what grade of maple syrup you're using? How concentrated is it?
It didn't actually say on the container!
Alright, thanks for checking and the reply!
I added bacon to mine maple bacon mead everyone loved it over holidays it was different
*_Non-brewer's suggestion:_* When pouring your tea, hold the handle of a utensil (chopstick, fork, knife, spoon, etc.) across the top of the coffee cup. Let the tea flow from the mug to the utensil and it will act as a spout so you don't spill it haphazardly down the sides of the coffee cup.
*_Non-brewer's question:_* I've made my own maple syrup before so I have familiarity with reducing sap down into syrup and the required temperature for that... But, can maple sap be heated so much that the sugars in the resulting syrup will no longer ferment, like what most likely happened in one of your earlier bochet videos with honey?
Hey you got anything for like grape Mead
ruclips.net/video/YdDTn3XRNSo/видео.html
What if I drink some of the yeast? Will it poison me?
No, not at all. Drinking active fermentations can at most give you indigestion.
Will lime juice work?
Sure but it may create an odd flavor.
so after 4 days mine has gone from a dark amber to a light tan color. is that normal?
Color can change during fermentation, yes :)
So I don't have yeast nutrients (not for lack of want, but for lack of I just haven't bought it yet). So I used 4oz of minced/pulped up golden raisins. Here's to hoping that doesn't muck things up...
Raisins aren’t nutrients, but, it shouldn’t harm anything. Worst case you could get a stall. Or just need more aging.
@@CitySteadingBrews Any chance I can add nutrients after the fact? Will it affect the SG if I do?
I wouldn’t. Nutrients added later won’t help and could alter the taste.
@@CitySteadingBrews Thanks for the tip.
Ah well, if it stalls it stalls. The syrup I used put the must at 1.096. Here's hoping for the best.
I just made this. I stuck to your recipe, 3lbs maple syrup, 8 oz tea, 1/4 tsp lemon and enough h2o to fill the 1 gal vessel . However my SG was 1.132!!! Way higher than expected or wanted! I ended up removing 16oz wine must and replacing it with water. This brought my SG down to 1.117. I'm ok with that. I cannot for the life of me figure out why our SGs were so divergent, any ideas?
Maple syrups vary. They aren't all the same concentration.
Yes that was the only thing I thought of but nearly dismissed the idea because 1.080 and 1.132 are wildly different. You'd think the sugar content in various maple syrups would be only minimally different. Our SGs were 52 points apart!
Ok so I think I've figured it out.. Grade A Maple syrup is lighter and very sweet. Preferred by most people for pancakes and confectionary purposes.
Grade B (or dark) is much less sweet but smokier, "maple-ier", more complex.
I was looking for dark maple syrup when I put this recipe together but couldn't find any except for very small 10oz bottles that were $10 each. Anyway I obviously used the Amber Grade A while you used the Dark Grade B. I suspect mine will not turn out as well as yours did. I am however planning on backsweetening with Dark bourbon cask flavor maple syrup (one of those $10/10oz bottles I found) when the time comes. So we'll see what happens.
Love your videos. I use a small bottle with 3-4 oz. of water and Fermaid, shake vigorously to break up the yeast nutrient and pour into fermentation vessel. No stress :)
nice recipe! tip from a former server, the trick to pouring from a full cup is that you have to commit! of course you'll probly splash some off that funnel and spill it that way, but hey the pour will be easier.
Have you ever used Sorghum to make a wine or mead? Instead of a honey 🍯
Nope. But we will at some point!
It would be wine though as you need honey to be mead :)
Is the tea acidic too?
Not really, tea has a tannic quality, but I don't believe it's very acidic.
@@CitySteadingBrews thanks, love the channel, been bringing it and starting brews in their bottles!🥂
Why didn't you just add Orange zest again? Or even a little Orange juice? If even been considering adding a little orange juice to my Acerglyns.
We used lemon juice.
@@CitySteadingBrews I tried lemon zest in a traditional mead... it was an utter failure. Nevertheless I’m looking forward to seeing how this finishes.
We used lemon juice to alter the pH.
mines been fermenting for 3 months now...which is a first
This show is 2 yrs old now. Would you still recommend the same ingredients, weights, etc for this? I may try it after my next 2 🤔
If it was good then... it's likely still good now.
When you get to the food pairing part. It's pancakes. French toast and Waffles.
Something to consider is the cost. If you know any maple farmers. they likely have gallons of semi boiled sap left over they otherwise would throw in the trash. No reason you could not ferment it instead.
Also. I am not sure this is a good choice for a wine. But a brandy. Oh yeah. And not even just as a brandy but as a mixed drink ingredient.
Sorry for the Rookie question but when you spoke of adding oxygen during the creation process versus after it has been fermenting, you did not say exactly what it does and why it is good or bad. Asking for a friend. 😉
We say it in a ton of videos, so... not this one, apologies. But, it can oxidize your brew or worst case, cause it to turn to vinegar over time.
Def interesting but I think I would just like that gallon of syrup please.
I know absolutely nothing about making wine. I do however make maple syrup every year for my family and friends. I'm going to try this and will buy everything I need from your links. Thank you for the video and hopefully I get it right. Have a great day guys.. :)
why is it wine without grapes but not mead without honey?
We don’t make the rules, but honey is the defining quality of mead where wine is more loosely termed any fermented fruit beverage.
@@CitySteadingBrews maple syrup isn't a fruit lol. I'm down with mead being made from honey since the word mead comes from honey but wine comes from vine or vino as in the grape vine... do you think there is room in the community conversation to work on new terms for this kind of brew?
Seems as if we need a City Steading Measuring Cup.
We totally do.
First... Good morning !
Do have to use tea
It's for complexity and tannins to make it taste better. But you can leave it out if you prefer.
Omg is that a Monty python shirt, I love it
Yay, the start of the wine from the swirling video.
When Brian started to pour the water into the fermaid-o, I was thinking this isn't going to end well if the water comes out to fast.
Last little note, what happened to calling the syringe megamaid?
This video predates the naming!
@@CitySteadingBrews that's what I thought of after I posted the comment. My mind is not working to fast at the moment...
I made maple wine not too long ago. Recently I started cooking it with oatmeal. I highly recommend cooking it with oatmeal, it’s so good. Another thing I recommend mixing it with is cream soda, makes a nice Hard Maple Soda
I used to make a mess with the tea too, now I make it in a glass measuring cup which has a lip for easy pouring. If making mead I rinse the honey jar with the hot tea too to get it all out!
I’m in Vermont and I make my own syrup. I just started this recipe for my first maple wine!
Awesome!