This video is an example of why when it comes to brewing I only watch your channel. I have always used an airlock and a hydrometer. My brews always vary a little because I use different honey and/or fruit. Because of your videos and my own experience I believe I know what I am doing. Thank you.
As someone who got into mead and wine making earlier this year, I just want to come here and say that you guys do an amazing job at making this hobby seem like a simple and approachable one! I spent months before I made my first "brew" watching youtube videos, reading on reddit, etc, but not many other people I came across do as good of a job at explaining the things that are happening during fermentation and how to use the tools that are "needed" for the hobby. Once I found your channel, I was like "Okay! Now I can actually do this myself!". I am not sure I would ever have actually picked up the hobby if I had not come across your channel (and binge watched every video you guys have every made...) Thank you and keep up the amazing content!
I’d just like to take a second to thank you folks for the incredibly detailed content. I have always been interested in home brewing but I never knew where to start. Just had my birthday, so I decided to pull the trigger and buy the supplies for a bit of fun. I purchased some local honey and picked some apples / cider at a nearby orchard and started my first mead with my girlfriend last night (great bonding activity by the way)! It started fermenting almost immediately and seems to be doing great this morning!! I’ve always been a bit skittish of mold and whatnot, so content like this gives me the confidence to just give it a shot and see how it goes. Hoping for a delicious apple cinnamon mead, but we’ll see how it goes! My airlock had tons of bubbles and foam this morning, so I removed it and re-sanitized. Again, thank you both so much! Cheers!
I've been binge watching your videos for the last 2 or 3 weeks, I think I've already watched close to 50 videos 😅😅😅. I'd love to see you guys making a cider from those concentrate frozen juices you get at the store.
Iam watching your charming show the last months and this morning around 3 am i bought my first fermenting-Stuff. Thank you guys ❤😊 iam so excited 😂. Greetings from Germany 🤗
Oh man that is hilarious that the alert went off during this! I was starting two gallons of kilju during that same time! Every time I go and shave, I assume there's someone else on the planet shaving. So I say, "I'm gonna go shave... too." [Mitch Hedberg] I’m gonna go brew…too.
I recently made a cherry juice wine that did the same thing... very active for a few days. It was actually active in waves. I would clean up the air lock, then it would ramp up again.
I've just started brewing mead (I've brewed beer in the past) and this channel has been so valuable and a treasure trove of information. Thanks for taking the time and effort to produce these videos!
First off thank you for a channel that is both educational and entertaining. Most of what I know about brewing has come from your videos and I deeply appreciate the knowledge you have imparted. Now enough shameless sucking up. Somewhere I encountered a belief that distilled water should be used for fermentation, and with distilled waters lower oxygen levels and not aerating that could cause extreme funky smells during fermentation.
Perfect timing on the vid! I just started a couple of weeks ago. I wasnt sure about the crusties left in the jug after my mead was too enthusiastic, thanks for the baking sheet trick. The smell was amazing though. My office smelled like i was baking sweet bread for a couple of days. I was a bit discouraged with the cider i started. It took about a week before it really started up. Before that it was very few bubbles, but now its got that mesmerizing bubble cascade.
"foam and bubbles" My first brew was in a nearly full, narrow mouth demijohn. At 1.086 specific gravity for a red currant must. It was foaming out the airlock for days. Learned to do primary fermentation in a food grade bucket real fast.
You are so right, I have been doing Sourdough off and on for years, no two batches did the same thing. Now please don't think that I want you to do sourdough, but it can be so unpredictable, some days it barley rises at all, other times it is to the rim of the container. wines, yeast waters, vinegars, etc. are the same way. But the difference is, the latter usually don't expand after their fermentation is complete. But they will age and usually get better and mature with time. Sourdough starters are ongoing. I am having fun with all my little jars full of stuff. Thank you for these videos.
Great video guys I’m sure this will help a lot of new brewers. On the bubbles subject I had a blueberry brew struggle with 71b yeast so I bought fermaid o and put two teaspoons in which I saw working right away. Sometimes looking at bubbles help of course with a hydrometer for measurements
You comment about different yeasts and the time it takes. Ive been using your recipe for basic mead/melomel using flashman's bread yeast. In your video on the subject I believe you comment that it can get to 11% ABV. Which Im sure is true but test the yeast first. Seems the batch I have wont go beyond about 8-9% ABV, anything more than that and it stalls/stops. Ive tried a few things like adding ferment-o, yeast hulls, etc and nothing seems to make it continue. So, Ive just adjusted the amount of honey down to match the tolerance of the yeast and have it come out dry. (I prefer to ferment out dry then back sweeten with non-fermentable sugars) All in all, good videos and great information.
Different environments can have an effect too. We've had it go as high as 15, and many, many of our viewers reported around 11-13, that's where we get out numbers from.
Hey guys! I'm actually experiencing the foam getting into my airlocks issue you discussed here. I don't have gear to make a blowoff, so I've just been cleaning the airlocks out about every 6 hours and refilling them with starsan. I don't leave the one gallon carboys uncovered while I remove the airlocks to wash them out and replace them, which takes less than 5 minutes. Being that I'm in the first 48 hours of fermentation, I'm not stressing it too much. I'm using the basic juice, sugar, active dry yeast recipe to get my feet wet. I'll definitely get gear for a blowoff on the next round...lol . I'm really excited to finally start trying this. I posted this just in case there were any words of advice, but again, I'm not really stressing it too much. I left over 4 inches of headspace, and it's not a huge amount of foam, just enough to tickle the bottom of the bung. My temperature in the room is right around 75°F, and the fermentation looks and smells healthy and normal. Thank you both for all of the knowledge you share. This is so much fun!!
@@CitySteadingBrews Thank you! It's your videos that taught me enough to know I didn't need to freak out. I'll keep you posted on progress! If I can even halfway pull this off, I consider it a success...lol.
Thank the gods! I was inspecting my brew this morning after a few days and was quite concerned about what I now know to be the "Kraussen???" I'm very relieved to hear this is normal 😅. Thanks guys, keep up the good work ❤
Over the years I spent a fortune on wort chillers, mash tuns and other assorted stuff. I just got sick of it, I could set up a commercial brewery, but I have no urge to do that. But I still love the magic.
Re: sediment still being alive. I've made three 1-gallon batches of hard cider so far, and all three times I've been able to make a fully functional loaf of bread out of the lees afterward. First time was the best, a plain dry cider at 6.4 abv. Added a nice sourdough quality to the bread.
I had one blueberry wine that took almost a year sitting in bottles to clear out where I could shine light through it and see. It wasn't the color preventing light, but the fact there was something hanging in suspension. After that year, I saw a small amount of sediment in the bottom of the bottles, and the wine was around a 9 in clarity. As you say: Time Heals All Brews
Started my first "mega" batch last week, utilizing a 6 gallon, plastic carboy (purchased two for primary and racking). I suppose I could rack to glass, one gallon bottles, but want to keep it as uncomplicated as possible. Started with 4lbs of honey per gallon, I mixed up 1 gallon batches, then poured into the 6 gallon carboy until I mixed 5 gallons total. Even though I thoroughly mixed each gallon, I also used a paddle mixer on a drill for one final mixing, after adding EC-1118 yeast (my favorite), Yeast nutrient, and wine tannin. 5-8 hours later, the airlock was going nuts! :) When ever it slows, I just grab the top of the carboy and start moving it in a circular motion, until I have created a mini tornado inside the carboy (I did not remove the airlock or the fancy silicon stopper I use. I decided to start doing 'mega' batches, as it shouldn't take any longer to a finished product, and if having folks over, I'm not relying on my 1 gallon a week mead making being able to keep up with the demand. Looking forward to see how this batch turns out.
What yeast are you using, and was your OG? 4lbs/gal seems high. I assume you are planning on it hitting alcohol tolerance and having some gravity left for sweetness after it’s finished.
I somehow totally missed that they mentioned the yeast in the original post. My apologies. I started a 1 gal pomegranate blueberry mead on Sunday and it’s going fast and hard with EC-1118. First time using it. Might become a favorite.
Started watching y'all and working in a plastic milk jug (🤦♂️) and just hoping it didn't go rancid or explode 😂now doing 5 gal batches with confidence and anticipation to see my results and get even better!! Y'all are a blessing in more than one way. Stay excellent 😎
Noob here. This is very helpful im 4 batches in with ciders cyser and hard tea and your videos were invaluable in insuring success. So far all brews are fermenting exactly as you are describing here. Thanks so much
It stuns me that people say they can't because of the smell.. granted I'm only on my second brewing and it's one thin-necked single gallon fermenter but.. I'm in an apartment, it lives in the corner of my closet when it's brewing and I can only smell it if I'm like, crouched near it. More amusing was the realization on my last brew that I could hear the steady blorp of the airlock offgassing during the fermentation process.. but hey it was a great way to know it was still going pretty steady! I could hear it dropping off in rate after the first week and a half, very funny
I experienced a weird thing with the bubling. When the weather changed from rainy to sunny the bubbling stopped suddenly. After some thinking I came to the conclusion that combined degassing and the rise in air pressure caused a state where the brew was no longer saturated enough to let the CO2 escape. Next day bubbling was back to normal. Tracking what I did to the brew and taking time before engaging in premature actions helped.
I made a pumpkin pie and a blackberry coffee Mead last week that both over foamed. I work out of town.... When I got home I noticed the mess, first thing I did was make sanitation water up w/ star San... When everything is sanitized I just changed out the lids and cleaned up the mess and wipe down the fermenters, I decided to just go ahead and take the fruit bags out.. then I racked into a fresh fermenter.
I am currently brewing at 1200 elevation, I am used to brewing at 2300 elevation. I have noticed that my brew is slower. This said, all stuff makes a difference!
I have interesting project going on. I decided to try to make 4,5 litres pear and raisin wine with my newly bought big (5 l) bottle. I had few pears and bunch of raisins for primary fermentation with the store bought juice. But there was still some space left in the bottle so goofed and grabbed some extra juice from the fridge. Unfortunately it wasn't the same juice and after adding 0.4 L to the bottle I decided to read the label. Of course there was preservatives in the extra juice. First week went fine with decent activity and then it started to calm down. I removed fruit after 15 days just so that they don't disintegrate in the bottle. It's been 26 days now and airlock is still bubbling every ~12 seconds. I think I'll let it keep going on. For science and curiosity :)
I normally ferment in buckets (5 or 6 gallon). Whenever I make something new, I make enough to also use a glass jar (1 gallon). If the airlocks slow or stop, I use a flashlight to look for activity in the glass jar rather than opening the bucket to check. Canary in coal-mine type theory.
Theres a phrase I like to use often, for many situations; Conditions determine everything. Assess your own conditions to make the best decision for you.
I started two brews a little over a onths ago. (peach meade and apple wine). They bothsterd off stron witha SG of 1.110. After a about 5 days everything stopped. After 8 days I took a reading and they bother were at 1.000. I figured the temp in the room was over 90F and the brews were over 80F. I waited a few days took another reading then cold crashed them fir 3 weeks. (i know i could have done a shorter tyime but i just forgot aboutt them) But like you said it it impsible to know if your brew is done without a hydrometer. And sometimes brew are finsihed faster than you thought. Thanks again for all your tips.
Great video people. The diferences from your very early videos is amazing. But they show that experience and experimentation means that technique, method and the scientific way will always change.
Temps matter so much! These Florida people with 76 to 78 degrees makes for faster brewing. 😂 Up here in NEPA it at best is 65 to 68 in my brewing closet. It always takes me weeks longer to get things done😊
Great p*dc*st. I have in the past had no less than 6 active fermentations going at once in my little brewing closet, including a 5 gallon batch of merlot. Even then, standing outside the louvered door I couldn’t smell anything. Opening the door I still couldn’t smell anything without leaning onto the closet and sniffing quite intensely. Even then, all I got was a slight sweet fruity aroma. The only time I’ve ever gotten any kind of rotten egg smell was the first time I ever made a mead, and I only got that smell very slightly from sniffing right at the airlock. On that occasion I did not use any yeast nutrient. I have used it ever since and have never had that smell since. Don’t know if the 2 are connected, but my theory is that they were. And Derica again with the “comma, however…” 😂
I have only had mead that I have brewed and have decided that I just don’t like mead. I have tried several different recipes and have not been happy with any of them. But it has not discouraged me from trying again, I recently bottled my 5th try of hard cider and it is going to be great so I will continue to experiment with mead in hopes of finding something that I enjoy
My family has winemakers, and i got to visit their winery when i was really little. The whole place had a lovely sweet smell. My back porch smells a little more sickly sweet during this second batch, but i don't have money for an airlock (yet) so my one wine is brewing like my great grandpa used to...a cloth tied over the top. Only the porch smells for now... but i hope it overtakes the kitchen, too. I'm hoping for no bad smells, but at least i know what to expect XD
Last night I attended an event and brought along bottles of Klingon Blood Wine and chamomile cider. The KBW was bottled in a re-labeled Manischewitz bottle. About a half dozen people tried the KBW (and liked it), so they knew what it was all about. Then someone was about to give a toast, so he saw the back of the bottle and poured himself a bit. He did not read the label, and he hadn't tasted it yet. When he took a drink, what a face! Everyone who had tasted it laughed! I later told him what it was, and he said it liked it, but it was unexpected. The cider was good too.
This is timed perfectly, I'm about to start another brew after a couple months downtime so its nice to get a refresher. Also, this will be my first brew with a ginger bug as a starter, planing on going for the 6% ABV mark for now and then see what the bug is capable of. Fingers crossed !!
I don’t usually, however… 🤣I feel I need to comment ~ I get that you guys are trying to address all the things, or rather all the ways folks might take what you’re trying to convey, but you can’t. People are going to hear what they want and dismiss what they don’t. It’s a phenomenon… You’re doing a fine job - keep being you. We will follow where you lead despite our dunce-ness (yep, I thought I heard it one way before, screwed it up, watched it again & figured it it out… that’s the thing about videos - you can watch them more than once🤷♀️)
I tried mango mead like yours except I used canned alphonso mangos from India, so far so good except I used mango with pulp. Really messy, so much waste. Your use of juice looked much better. It tastes fantastic so far though. I lost over half to sediment, it is clearing nicely after pasteurization.
I have always used an airlock and keep my brewing area clean. I have a natural way to know if I did it well. ANTS, I have cement ants all over the property, We find them at the cat dishes, in the laundry room, in the kitchen. But I do not find them in the brewing area, unless I had a spill and did not clean it up quickly. Because I use an airlock, I have never found one in or on my brews.
@@CitySteadingBrews Thank you. That is what I thought. The natural minerals is what gives water its natural flavor and the mineral nutrients our body needs.
Hmm, I wonder if it's something in our water 💧, we've used a degassing wond for aeration, and I can smell it in the next room.. We do 2 gallon brews in a 5 gallon glass wide mouth to start..
Okay so I know this is going to involve a little assumption with math, but a little help would be appreciated. I have a friend that tried to do a mixed berry mead, of course he didn't take the original gravity reading, but this is what I know so far... 2 lb of honey, 1 lb mixed berry (strawberry blueberry blackberry) frozen then thawed. He added honey, berries and topped up to 1 gallon with water. Any rough guesses on that O.G.? Right now it's been fermenting for about 2 weeks, he said that it was still bubbling and the berries are fine no mold. The picture looks like it is starting to settle and clear some. I'm going to go to his house with my hydrometer sometime this week to rack it off of the berries and lees (how do you spell that?) And check the gravity
Based on your videos my first Cider came out perfectly. Now I have one of your wine recipes fermenting and another cider going. I must say I have a new addiction. LOL Kind of a strange addiction for someone who doesn't drink a lot. I say it's all about the science. Brew Often, Drink Responsibly and Share Your Discipline.
Hi guys, you created a question for me right at the end. Regarding "Done" versus "Stalled" what's the effect on the hydrometer? Or how does one recognize a stall? Thanks berry much! Love your vids.
Another awesome video! I'm wondering : did you use Knudson's cherry juice for your brew with all the sediment? I made a cherry wine for my dad a couple years back with Knudsons and the amount of pulp in there was impressive. The result was very tasty, the solids have tons of nutrition for the yeast, but the loss was definitely greater when I racked it. Tasted awesome, though. Love your bit about clarity, wholeheartedly agree. The only time clarity bothers me is if I accidentally get some of the lees/trub into my bottles when bottling, then it can get kinda gross when getting to the bottom of the bottle. Beer especially, because the carbonation mixes the nasty chunks into the middle of the glass. Yuck! Love you guys! Since you stopped doing the RUclips membership, whats the best way to financially support you guys? Are you back on Patreon?
Actually, I had a question... I started my largest batch of fermentables yet last night. 2 Gallons of cider. 1 gallon of Cyser. 1 gallon of pomegranate melomel. Finally 3 gallons each of tamarind-coconut and blueberry melomel. Anyway, the ciders, cyser and pomegranate are all actively fermenting. There is nothing visible happening on the tamarind coconut and blueberry and they seem to be well sealed. These are both using the same yeast (different yeast from the others) as well which made me wonder if the yeast is no good. Anyway, how long should one wait before assuming that the yeast is bad and re-pitching. It's been about 14 hours so far...
@@CitySteadingBrews Thanks! I tend to get a bit anxious when things don't go as expected. Ultimately, I suppose the yeast work on their own timeframe and I haven't used this variety before... Will try to relax and let it go for a dew days before doing anything more. At least the others are all bubbling away nicely.
Thank you for the video, i got into mead making cause of a youtuber, kingcobrajfs, was making mead and doing it absolutely wrong and in the worst way possible. we're talking reeses peanut butter cup, bacon bits in fruit juice "mead" levels of bad. Your videos have been a huge help in doing it the right way. I'm 11 days into my first Mead. Im doing two different batches one with ec-1118 and the other k1-v1116 to see which yeast i prefer before i start experimenting with other flavors and honeys. Off smell alone i can't decide which i like more, they both smell amazing.
Welcome aboard! Glad you're here, sorry you had bad experiences elsewhere. We try to stay positive and keep in mind everyone has their own way of doing things, and not everyone will agree.
yo hey brewheads. I've got a question. just started brewing cider from our own apples this year. I noticed that the juice is quite dark when it's squeezed, but the final cider, even when it's cleared up, is considerably lighter than what it was. what's up with that, yo? is the yeast de-oxidizing the liquid, or does the stuff that makes it darker separate and fall to the bottom?
Good video, it is a relief to hear how different each brew can be. My first batch from apples from one tree was down to 1.000 gravity after 5 days and glass clear after 1.5 weeks. The next batch from another type of apple took over a week to reach 1.000 and still isn't clear after 2 weeks. I was worried for a while, but all is good so far.@@CitySteadingBrews As for the questions about the colour going lighter, I wanted to know if there's a specific reaction that does that. just out of curiosity.
A brewing friend told me just last night, that there's no definitive answers to anything in brewing. That's when I realized it's not a science, it's an art form, that requires practice.
I actually want to have cloudiness from particulates in my beer since those nutrients usually are the nutrients that alcohol cause to be excreted from the body. So no hangover. Well usually. Unfortunately, I tend to switch from homebrew to commercial often and do not get enough of those nutrients overall sometimes.
I made my first brew of apple cider from juice after watching your videos. It started at 1.050 and fermented down to 1.002 after one week and 0.998 after two weeks. I got a little bit excited and racked it... but I'm thinking maybe I racked it too soon and should have waited another week for an identical reading. It's very clear with just a tiny bit of sediment in secondary. I'm going to slow down and let it sit for a couple of weeks before I do anything else to it. Here is the question: I want to finish it sweet and carbonated (when I get that far). I'm worried that all of the yeast may have settled out by the time I go to bottle. Would you recommend that I add more yeast when I add the sugar and bottle?
I think I have a pretty good grasp on the Brewing process now. Especially thanks to you guys' videos! My question however is, how do I know when a brew is done degassing and then safe to bottle ? I know for sure that it's done fermenting and I've pasteurized it but I am afraid of bottle bombs. Can a bottle bomb happen from just degassing? The airlock has zero activity and I don't see any bubbles. After bottling with swing top bottles, can I or should I burp the bottles every couple days just to make sure
You're not likely to have a bottle bomb from degassing. It's the buildup of pressure from fermentation that causes explosions. Worst case, you have a partially fizzy beverage. But... you can just degas or let it sit for several weeks before bottling like we do.
I have a split batch of traditional mead going. OG 1.095. one gallon with EC1118, one with QA23. Now I like dry beverages, Cabernet Sauvignon is my absolute favorite wine. I know the 1118 is going bone dry, curious to see what the QA23 does.
I love your videos. I have been brewing now for a few months and have had great success and I owe it all to your videos. I do have a question though. On a few brews after I have racked to 2nd and a few days later notice a film forming on the top. When I swirl the container the film turns into whisps...any suggestions as to what it may be. Or if I should be concerned. Thank you for your time.
Wow this is a PERFECTLY timed video. The universe wants me to have cherry wine it seems. So, i came on today specifically to find your most recent video whatever it happens to be about and ask you a question about a brew im currently doing (because you said in another video you're more likely to respond to comments than emails). Anyway, im making this simple cherry wine and because of a bit of bad eyeball measurements i ended up with 10 litres instead of 5 (in two demijohns instead of one) Long story short... I think one ended up with most of the sugar and the other got most of the cherries (dont drink and brew... brew and drink...lesson learned). WHY is one of the two producing a foam which ends up inside the airlock but the other doesn't? And WHY is that one really thick and a little slimey? I figured both were probably a lost cause so rather than throw it out, ive taken a gamble and mixed the two (racked off half of each into new vessels then the other half into opposite vessels) both are now steadily fermenting at the same sort of rate (bubble count over 1 min) and neither have foam. It LOOKS like i fixed it but i won't know until tasting. Can you explain what might have happened and why the slime?
One issue I doubt yall have but keeps happening to me is failure to properly plan. Primarily regarding time, especially when to start a new brew so it's done and aged before the previous supply runs out. Always leads to a frantic batch day to get more started or I start too soon and have batches ready to bottle but not enough bottles. Hopefully one day I'll have enough fermentation vessels and bottles so I can really stock up, but for now, it's a juggling act, and I keep dropping the ball. (Note for new brewers, if you do like they do and put a bottle back for longer aging from each brew make sure you plan for plenty of extra bottles AND storage space)
Until this video I thought it was the croison line. Now I understand why I was never able to find a hint about it in germany .... Krausen Line .... now I get it 🤣
I agree that clearing removes some flavour. But! To me the flavour in the bottom fallouts are not pleasent to me. So I don’t actually care about the clearity, but I don’t want the sediments because of the flavour. Other people don’t mind in the exact same brew and will shake in the sediments before opening the bottle. So I believe this is very individual.
Erm... I have yet to test this but a hazy brew and a clear brew from clearing agents won't taste significantly different. If anything the hazy one should taste better. The clearing agents don't remove just sediment, they do strip some of the good flavors too. My opinion and supported by research but not an actual test.
on the note of how important the hydromiter is that OJ experiment i have talked about going ATM i assumed is probably done, but i didnt have 2 readings but it was at 1.000 last week this week its at .992 also i wanted to share an update because i love that you share with me so i want to share what i am discovering not to teach as i am like the student in the pre 101 science class. i know just enough to know what conceptually is going on, but i don't have the art down. I know we discussed that the tannins are for mouth feel. however after taking last nights reading rather than pouring the content back into the vessle as i was not ready to make a new batch of star san just to do 2 readings. i decided to do micro experiments. the content is still extremely sharp but in a ramican i made about 3 oz of DARK tea ie hyper concentrated tannins. then taking the few oz i use to take the measurement i added 1/2 teaspoon at a time of the tea. it actually completely removed the sharpness and while it required some back sweetening because again i screwed up my initial reading on this experiment so its 75% water 25% OJ and a ton of sugar to 1.12 gravity. while its not something i would serve to anybody, it was not unpleasant to drink. and in fact i think could go really well if i mixed it with i dono, maybe some OJ 😅 but i just wanted to note that the sharp i was perceiving was resolved with tannins and took what i was about ready to dump as i didnt think there was much more i could learn from it as i had already done an oak and an oats experiment with it. and now its probably a 3-4. still not something i am happy with, but not something i am quite ready to waste yet :) the mead that i started that day and mixed some of the OJ into i also played with the tea and that went from a 1.5 to probably a 5-6. also as for time... the mead and the OJ think were started the same day. and at the same 1.12 SG they use the same yeast and yeast nutrient in the same amounts both are in 1/2 gallon mason jars stored in the same cabinet so the only variable is the recipe i think i am at 3-4 weeks? i didn't take notes i am one of those bad students OJ thing (kilju?) is at an SG of 0.992 (what the hell is left that its eating) Mead with a splash of OJ is at an SG of 1.050 (it is still bubbling i don't think it stalled) which is exactly your point, you cant put an exact time measurement on these bio chem experiments. also i have about 3 gallons of stuff going right now in addition to the 2 above i have a coffee mead 1/2G, a black tea with a hint of lemon and ginger tea mead1/2G, and a no additional sugar added apple cider 1G in addition to the 2 1/2 prior listed These are stored in the computer desk with the doors closed in a part of the house i dont access much there IS a slight smell that comes out of the crack between the doors I love the smell when i walk up to the doors and more so when i open them. it is a very pleasant smell, 0 Sulphur even with the coffee in there its more of a floral/fruity smell, there are no sour or irritating smells that come out of the cabinet so if somebody is complaining about smells, i am more curious what other bio chem experiments they have going on, because im fairly confident that its not this Oh and i wanted to say Thank you
Here in the west, the emergency broadcast was 3 minutes early. I suspect that Florida is actually running partially in a different timeline. We've visited nearly all the Napa and Sonoma vineyards that are open to the public, and the smell (oak, wine, and some sort of invigorating freshness probably involving ions. It is reminiscent of indoor, fully hydroponic gardens), is in no way offensive. I would live my entire life, very happily, in that environment. Brewing, in my case, does not smell bad other than an occasional sulfurous when I stick my nose literally IN the brewing container. Also, why are there about a dozen Coca Cola bottles on your shelf? Are you going to do something brewing wise with Coke?
If you guys haven't already done it, can you make a video about a mead "cider/beer"? And by that I mean just a very low abv sparkling mead? I've always wondered how good that would be as a cold beverage you just drink like a beer but that's just flavored and slightly sweetened with honey! Kind of like a hard seltzer but better
I have to use this video to ask an important question. I have recently made a wine with store bought juice, and wymans triple berry blend frozen fruit. My starting gravity was 1.110 after all the juice, berries, and sugars were added. It fermented out to 0.996. I then added more sugar bringing the gravity up to 1.028. It fermented to 1.000. I then added more sugar and brought the gravity up to 1.032. I just checked it yesterday and it’s down to 1.026. So I suppose you could call this a step feed wine? My question however is, what is my abv ? I’ve done my calculations and I’m coming up to around 19.7% which would make this the strongest wine I’ve brewed but with that abv being that high I had to ask if I had done my calculations correctly. Sorry for the long format question. Also Lalvin K1V-1116 was my yeast used. Thanks in advance! Happy brewing!
It's a step feed for sure. .110+.028+.006=.144 .144x135=19.44%. Unusual, but totally doable. K1V has 18% tolerance so it's not out of the question for a step feed.
@@CitySteadingBrews thank you so much for the clarification! Step feeds have always thrown me for a loop with calculating ABV. Hopefully this will settle out soon and can finally be racked into secondary.
I'm wondering if you've ever heard of waterless airlocks? We've found some called duckbill airlocks on Amazon, as well as some shaped like a cork/bung. We bought the duckbill ones, 12 for about 10 bucks, so far they are working pretty good except in instances that would need a blowoff tube potentially, as they get gummed up and or spit everywhere depending
I am bilingual (Spanish is my native language) and have been in KY since 2018, I will always mispronounce some words as I kinda read them in Spanish, like caramel! (Caramelo in Spanish)
I watch your channel exclusively it seems. I use all your tips. Have you ever tried to make a mint wine? I'd love to see your take on the idea. Thanks.
I use mango nectar to "try" making wine. It seems is not working. Could be from preservatives, not mentioned on ingredients list? Or it takes longer than expected? 3-4-5 months?
Seeing all those coke bottles give me a suspicion on a future brew. A coke wine. I think you've done a soda brew before though, so it is probably not some secret foreshadowing.
Hey Brian, can you explain the maic acid fermentation? I don't fully understand it because I've made 3 ciders/apple wines and after 3 weeks they are very drinkable and myself and friends have enjoyed them
Malolactic fermentation usually happens a lot later than three weeks. It's when the malic acid in an apple (often but anything with malic acid can do this) goes through a chemical change where the malic acid converts to lactic acid. Tends to make a brew taste smoother as lactic acid is easier on the palate than malic acid.
Also, I had left over juices from all the containers, all different flavors from Aldi so I put them all into one plastic bottle and said what the heck I’ll try the bottle method with the cap a little loose (rest of the 6 are in carboys with airlocks) since I didn’t really care about this brew I went ahead and took a little sip and it kinda tasted sour or maybe it turned into vinegar, is it because I left the lid too loose and oxygen got introduced? I don’t want to open the carboys up until fermentation slows nearly to a hault but now I’m worried they will have this taste… I guess time will tell. Worst case I guess I have pomegranate cranberry plum vinegar 😂😂😂
hello to you both, I'm starting out in mead fermentation. I live in Canada and temperatures fluctuate wildly, I was thinking of purchasing a heating kit. a thermostat and a heating mat to be able to regulate my temperatures. do you have any advice about this type of equipment? Many thanks and had a wonderful day.
I haven't needed such things. As long as it's within the yeast's working range you should be fine. Save the money for now and make sure you enjoy the hobby first :)
Hello! Been watching ya'lls videos for a while now and finally got everything I needed to get started. Thank you for all the info! Last night I put together your simple mead recipe (honey/tea/mandarin zest/raisins) into two different 1 gal carboys. I didn't have packet bread yeast. I make a lot of bread so I have a larger bag/package of fleischmann's yeast. I measured out 10g of yeast for both. Bottle 1 is bubbling and jiving. Bottle 2 however has no activity. It's been about 16ish hours. I gave ye 'ol patented swirl and there are SOME bubbles at the top of the liquid, but nothing moving in the batch itself or the airlock. Should I add more yeast to get it going? Or could it just be letting it sit longer is fine? Thanks again!
@@CitySteadingBrews Perfect. I know you've said "time heals all brews". I thought it interesting that I made two batches as identically as possible and noticed that much disparity. thanks for the response and have a good weekend!
This video is an example of why when it comes to brewing I only watch your channel. I have always used an airlock and a hydrometer. My brews always vary a little because I use different honey and/or fruit. Because of your videos and my own experience I believe I know what I am doing. Thank you.
Awesome! Thanks for watching!
Same here on all points
As someone who got into mead and wine making earlier this year, I just want to come here and say that you guys do an amazing job at making this hobby seem like a simple and approachable one! I spent months before I made my first "brew" watching youtube videos, reading on reddit, etc, but not many other people I came across do as good of a job at explaining the things that are happening during fermentation and how to use the tools that are "needed" for the hobby. Once I found your channel, I was like "Okay! Now I can actually do this myself!". I am not sure I would ever have actually picked up the hobby if I had not come across your channel (and binge watched every video you guys have every made...) Thank you and keep up the amazing content!
Cool! Glad to have helped!
if you can get it floating and can read it, you can just put it in the fermenter. Make sure it's sanitized though!@@tyschmidt7404
You said that right!! Just bought all the equipment can't wait to mess up my first mead👍👍
lol
Sundays… chores, church, city steading and football. Best day of the week hands down!
Lol
I’d just like to take a second to thank you folks for the incredibly detailed content. I have always been interested in home brewing but I never knew where to start. Just had my birthday, so I decided to pull the trigger and buy the supplies for a bit of fun. I purchased some local honey and picked some apples / cider at a nearby orchard and started my first mead with my girlfriend last night (great bonding activity by the way)! It started fermenting almost immediately and seems to be doing great this morning!!
I’ve always been a bit skittish of mold and whatnot, so content like this gives me the confidence to just give it a shot and see how it goes. Hoping for a delicious apple cinnamon mead, but we’ll see how it goes! My airlock had tons of bubbles and foam this morning, so I removed it and re-sanitized.
Again, thank you both so much! Cheers!
Mold is pretty rare. You have to neglect or really screw up to have mold.
I've been binge watching your videos for the last 2 or 3 weeks, I think I've already watched close to 50 videos 😅😅😅.
I'd love to see you guys making a cider from those concentrate frozen juices you get at the store.
Sadly.. we cannot get apple concentrate anywhere. Would be much the same as juice though really.
Iam watching your charming show the last months and this morning around 3 am i bought my first fermenting-Stuff. Thank you guys ❤😊 iam so excited 😂. Greetings from Germany 🤗
Oh man that is hilarious that the alert went off during this! I was starting two gallons of kilju during that same time!
Every time I go and shave, I assume there's someone else on the planet shaving. So I say, "I'm gonna go shave... too."
[Mitch Hedberg]
I’m gonna go brew…too.
I recently made a cherry juice wine that did the same thing... very active for a few days. It was actually active in waves. I would clean up the air lock, then it would ramp up again.
I've just started brewing mead (I've brewed beer in the past) and this channel has been so valuable and a treasure trove of information. Thanks for taking the time and effort to produce these videos!
You're welcome. Thanks for watching!
Fantastic!!! Thank you!!
First off thank you for a channel that is both educational and entertaining. Most of what I know about brewing has come from your videos and I deeply appreciate the knowledge you have imparted.
Now enough shameless sucking up. Somewhere I encountered a belief that distilled water should be used for fermentation, and with distilled waters lower oxygen levels and not aerating that could cause extreme funky smells during fermentation.
Distilled water is not best... filtered is probably best. Lower aeration can cause hydrogen sulfide production and that rotten egg smell, yup!
Perfect timing on the vid! I just started a couple of weeks ago. I wasnt sure about the crusties left in the jug after my mead was too enthusiastic, thanks for the baking sheet trick. The smell was amazing though. My office smelled like i was baking sweet bread for a couple of days. I was a bit discouraged with the cider i started. It took about a week before it really started up. Before that it was very few bubbles, but now its got that mesmerizing bubble cascade.
"foam and bubbles"
My first brew was in a nearly full, narrow mouth demijohn. At 1.086 specific gravity for a red currant must. It was foaming out the airlock for days.
Learned to do primary fermentation in a food grade bucket real fast.
All good advice!
You are so right, I have been doing Sourdough off and on for years, no two batches did the same thing. Now please don't think that I want you to do sourdough, but it can be so unpredictable, some days it barley rises at all, other times it is to the rim of the container. wines, yeast waters, vinegars, etc. are the same way. But the difference is, the latter usually don't expand after their fermentation is complete. But they will age and usually get better and mature with time. Sourdough starters are ongoing. I am having fun with all my little jars full of stuff. Thank you for these videos.
You are welcome!
Great video, lots of helpful clarifying information 😀
Glad it was helpful!
Great video guys I’m sure this will help a lot of new brewers. On the bubbles subject I had a blueberry brew struggle with 71b yeast so I bought fermaid o and put two teaspoons in which I saw working right away. Sometimes looking at bubbles help of course with a hydrometer for measurements
Bubbles don't mean a lot. Readings are more important.
I always get excited when a new video comes out!
You comment about different yeasts and the time it takes. Ive been using your recipe for basic mead/melomel using flashman's bread yeast.
In your video on the subject I believe you comment that it can get to 11% ABV. Which Im sure is true but test the yeast first. Seems the batch I have wont go beyond about 8-9% ABV, anything more than that and it stalls/stops. Ive tried a few things like adding ferment-o, yeast hulls, etc and nothing seems to make it continue.
So, Ive just adjusted the amount of honey down to match the tolerance of the yeast and have it come out dry. (I prefer to ferment out dry then back sweeten with non-fermentable sugars)
All in all, good videos and great information.
Different environments can have an effect too. We've had it go as high as 15, and many, many of our viewers reported around 11-13, that's where we get out numbers from.
Man, I just mowed and weedeated my yard. I know if I don't wear long pants terrible things happen. I appreciate your work, goddammit.
Hey guys! I'm actually experiencing the foam getting into my airlocks issue you discussed here. I don't have gear to make a blowoff, so I've just been cleaning the airlocks out about every 6 hours and refilling them with starsan. I don't leave the one gallon carboys uncovered while I remove the airlocks to wash them out and replace them, which takes less than 5 minutes. Being that I'm in the first 48 hours of fermentation, I'm not stressing it too much. I'm using the basic juice, sugar, active dry yeast recipe to get my feet wet. I'll definitely get gear for a blowoff on the next round...lol . I'm really excited to finally start trying this. I posted this just in case there were any words of advice, but again, I'm not really stressing it too much. I left over 4 inches of headspace, and it's not a huge amount of foam, just enough to tickle the bottom of the bung. My temperature in the room is right around 75°F, and the fermentation looks and smells healthy and normal. Thank you both for all of the knowledge you share. This is so much fun!!
You're fine. I do that often myself.
@@CitySteadingBrews Thank you! It's your videos that taught me enough to know I didn't need to freak out. I'll keep you posted on progress! If I can even halfway pull this off, I consider it a success...lol.
Thank the gods! I was inspecting my brew this morning after a few days and was quite concerned about what I now know to be the "Kraussen???" I'm very relieved to hear this is normal 😅. Thanks guys, keep up the good work ❤
Over the years I spent a fortune on wort chillers, mash tuns and other assorted stuff. I just got sick of it, I could set up a commercial brewery, but I have no urge to do that. But I still love the magic.
Re: sediment still being alive. I've made three 1-gallon batches of hard cider so far, and all three times I've been able to make a fully functional loaf of bread out of the lees afterward. First time was the best, a plain dry cider at 6.4 abv. Added a nice sourdough quality to the bread.
I had one blueberry wine that took almost a year sitting in bottles to clear out where I could shine light through it and see. It wasn't the color preventing light, but the fact there was something hanging in suspension. After that year, I saw a small amount of sediment in the bottom of the bottles, and the wine was around a 9 in clarity.
As you say: Time Heals All Brews
Started my first "mega" batch last week, utilizing a 6 gallon, plastic carboy (purchased two for primary and racking). I suppose I could rack to glass, one gallon bottles, but want to keep it as uncomplicated as possible. Started with 4lbs of honey per gallon, I mixed up 1 gallon batches, then poured into the 6 gallon carboy until I mixed 5 gallons total. Even though I thoroughly mixed each gallon, I also used a paddle mixer on a drill for one final mixing, after adding EC-1118 yeast (my favorite), Yeast nutrient, and wine tannin. 5-8 hours later, the airlock was going nuts! :) When ever it slows, I just grab the top of the carboy and start moving it in a circular motion, until I have created a mini tornado inside the carboy (I did not remove the airlock or the fancy silicon stopper I use.
I decided to start doing 'mega' batches, as it shouldn't take any longer to a finished product, and if having folks over, I'm not relying on my 1 gallon a week mead making being able to keep up with the demand. Looking forward to see how this batch turns out.
What yeast are you using, and was your OG? 4lbs/gal seems high. I assume you are planning on it hitting alcohol tolerance and having some gravity left for sweetness after it’s finished.
It's ec-1118. While doable, it doesn't always get to 18%.
I somehow totally missed that they mentioned the yeast in the original post. My apologies.
I started a 1 gal pomegranate blueberry mead on Sunday and it’s going fast and hard with EC-1118. First time using it. Might become a favorite.
Started watching y'all and working in a plastic milk jug (🤦♂️) and just hoping it didn't go rancid or explode 😂now doing 5 gal batches with confidence and anticipation to see my results and get even better!! Y'all are a blessing in more than one way. Stay excellent 😎
You guys are awesome I really appreciate your channel 🙏
Thanks so much
Noob here. This is very helpful im 4 batches in with ciders cyser and hard tea and your videos were invaluable in insuring success. So far all brews are fermenting exactly as you are describing here. Thanks so much
Also followed all advice in preparing and making the brews and invested in all recommended equipment.
Fantastic! Thanks for the feedback.
It stuns me that people say they can't because of the smell.. granted I'm only on my second brewing and it's one thin-necked single gallon fermenter but.. I'm in an apartment, it lives in the corner of my closet when it's brewing and I can only smell it if I'm like, crouched near it. More amusing was the realization on my last brew that I could hear the steady blorp of the airlock offgassing during the fermentation process.. but hey it was a great way to know it was still going pretty steady! I could hear it dropping off in rate after the first week and a half, very funny
I experienced a weird thing with the bubling. When the weather changed from rainy to sunny the bubbling stopped suddenly. After some thinking I came to the conclusion that combined degassing and the rise in air pressure caused a state where the brew was no longer saturated enough to let the CO2 escape. Next day bubbling was back to normal. Tracking what I did to the brew and taking time before engaging in premature actions helped.
Could be!
I feel like I should have paid for access to the channel how clear and personable y'all are.
Aww thanks!
We do have a VIP club which is sort of our version of Patreon: city-steading.com/vip-club/
Just joined the VIP club, it’s a great way to gain knowledge from Brian and others
I love these videos! Thank you.
Most welcome!
I made a pumpkin pie and a blackberry coffee Mead last week that both over foamed. I work out of town.... When I got home I noticed the mess, first thing I did was make sanitation water up w/ star San... When everything is sanitized I just changed out the lids and cleaned up the mess and wipe down the fermenters, I decided to just go ahead and take the fruit bags out.. then I racked into a fresh fermenter.
Yup, seems fine to me.
I am currently brewing at 1200 elevation, I am used to brewing at 2300 elevation. I have noticed that my brew is slower. This said, all stuff makes a difference!
I have interesting project going on. I decided to try to make 4,5 litres pear and raisin wine with my newly bought big (5 l) bottle. I had few pears and bunch of raisins for primary fermentation with the store bought juice. But there was still some space left in the bottle so goofed and grabbed some extra juice from the fridge. Unfortunately it wasn't the same juice and after adding 0.4 L to the bottle I decided to read the label. Of course there was preservatives in the extra juice. First week went fine with decent activity and then it started to calm down. I removed fruit after 15 days just so that they don't disintegrate in the bottle.
It's been 26 days now and airlock is still bubbling every ~12 seconds. I think I'll let it keep going on. For science and curiosity :)
Well.. it's best to let fermentation finish.
I normally ferment in buckets (5 or 6 gallon). Whenever I make something new, I make enough to also use a glass jar (1 gallon). If the airlocks slow or stop, I use a flashlight to look for activity in the glass jar rather than opening the bucket to check. Canary in coal-mine type theory.
Theres a phrase I like to use often, for many situations; Conditions determine everything.
Assess your own conditions to make the best decision for you.
Sort of. There are some things that are universally necessary.
I started two brews a little over a onths ago. (peach meade and apple wine). They bothsterd off stron witha SG of 1.110. After a about 5 days everything stopped. After 8 days I took a reading and they bother were at 1.000. I figured the temp in the room was over 90F and the brews were over 80F. I waited a few days took another reading then cold crashed them fir 3 weeks. (i know i could have done a shorter tyime but i just forgot aboutt them)
But like you said it it impsible to know if your brew is done without a hydrometer. And sometimes brew are finsihed faster than you thought.
Thanks again for all your tips.
Hefeweisen..for example is super cloudy, we used to enjoy the bottom of the keg, we called it mothers milk.
I agree.. clarity isn't everything
Love it. Y’all are doing it right.
Thank you.
Great video people. The diferences from your very early videos is amazing. But they show that experience and experimentation means that technique, method and the scientific way will always change.
Thanks Brett :)
Where is the link for Spock?
That would make my day.
You guys are awesome. Thank you for everything you do.
Not sure there is a link for spock :(
Thanks for this video you guys, iv been binge watching your channel recently trying to absorb all your knowledge ❤
Our pleasure!
on the cloudy vs clear, I like unfiltered beers so this is a non issue for me
thank you for the videos again!
Temps matter so much! These Florida people with 76 to 78 degrees makes for faster brewing. 😂
Up here in NEPA it at best is 65 to 68 in my brewing closet. It always takes me weeks longer to get things done😊
Great p*dc*st. I have in the past had no less than 6 active fermentations going at once in my little brewing closet, including a 5 gallon batch of merlot. Even then, standing outside the louvered door I couldn’t smell anything. Opening the door I still couldn’t smell anything without leaning onto the closet and sniffing quite intensely. Even then, all I got was a slight sweet fruity aroma. The only time I’ve ever gotten any kind of rotten egg smell was the first time I ever made a mead, and I only got that smell very slightly from sniffing right at the airlock. On that occasion I did not use any yeast nutrient. I have used it ever since and have never had that smell since. Don’t know if the 2 are connected, but my theory is that they were.
And Derica again with the “comma, however…” 😂
I have only had mead that I have brewed and have decided that I just don’t like mead. I have tried several different recipes and have not been happy with any of them. But it has not discouraged me from trying again, I recently bottled my 5th try of hard cider and it is going to be great so I will continue to experiment with mead in hopes of finding something that I enjoy
There is a wide variety so you will likely find something to enjoy.
My family has winemakers, and i got to visit their winery when i was really little. The whole place had a lovely sweet smell. My back porch smells a little more sickly sweet during this second batch, but i don't have money for an airlock (yet) so my one wine is brewing like my great grandpa used to...a cloth tied over the top. Only the porch smells for now... but i hope it overtakes the kitchen, too. I'm hoping for no bad smells, but at least i know what to expect XD
Last night I attended an event and brought along bottles of Klingon Blood Wine and chamomile cider. The KBW was bottled in a re-labeled Manischewitz bottle. About a half dozen people tried the KBW (and liked it), so they knew what it was all about. Then someone was about to give a toast, so he saw the back of the bottle and poured himself a bit. He did not read the label, and he hadn't tasted it yet. When he took a drink, what a face! Everyone who had tasted it laughed! I later told him what it was, and he said it liked it, but it was unexpected. The cider was good too.
Lol, pretty cool!
Major foam especially if you use cherry or other pie filling. Yet they make GREAT wine 🍷 😋 👍
This is timed perfectly, I'm about to start another brew after a couple months downtime so its nice to get a refresher.
Also, this will be my first brew with a ginger bug as a starter, planing on going for the 6% ABV mark for now and then see what the bug is capable of. Fingers crossed !!
Love the informative videos, thanks!
From the right angle, brian looks like the mad mead making scientist Walter Wine
I don’t usually, however… 🤣I feel I need to comment ~ I get that you guys are trying to address all the things, or rather all the ways folks might take what you’re trying to convey, but you can’t. People are going to hear what they want and dismiss what they don’t. It’s a phenomenon…
You’re doing a fine job - keep being you. We will follow where you lead despite our dunce-ness (yep, I thought I heard it one way before, screwed it up, watched it again & figured it it out… that’s the thing about videos - you can watch them more than once🤷♀️)
Thank you :)
I tried mango mead like yours except I used canned alphonso mangos from India, so far so good except I used mango with pulp. Really messy, so much waste. Your use of juice looked much better. It tastes fantastic so far though. I lost over half to sediment, it is clearing nicely after pasteurization.
I have always used an airlock and keep my brewing area clean. I have a natural way to know if I did it well. ANTS, I have cement ants all over the property, We find them at the cat dishes, in the laundry room, in the kitchen. But I do not find them in the brewing area, unless I had a spill and did not clean it up quickly.
Because I use an airlock, I have never found one in or on my brews.
Great information ! I have a friend that uses distilled water when he makes his brews. Is there any advantage to using distilled water ?
Distilled has no advantage really. Actually distilled has no minerals or vitamins. Filtered is far better.
@@CitySteadingBrews Thank you. That is what I thought. The natural minerals is what gives water its natural flavor and the mineral nutrients our body needs.
Hmm, I wonder if it's something in our water 💧, we've used a degassing wond for aeration, and I can smell it in the next room..
We do 2 gallon brews in a 5 gallon glass wide mouth to start..
Could be bad water.
Okay so I know this is going to involve a little assumption with math, but a little help would be appreciated. I have a friend that tried to do a mixed berry mead, of course he didn't take the original gravity reading, but this is what I know so far... 2 lb of honey, 1 lb mixed berry (strawberry blueberry blackberry) frozen then thawed. He added honey, berries and topped up to 1 gallon with water. Any rough guesses on that O.G.? Right now it's been fermenting for about 2 weeks, he said that it was still bubbling and the berries are fine no mold. The picture looks like it is starting to settle and clear some. I'm going to go to his house with my hydrometer sometime this week to rack it off of the berries and lees (how do you spell that?) And check the gravity
Probably around 1.090-1.100 since it's going to be a little less than a gallon batch due to berries.
Unrelated but I started your guys' dark chocolate pomegranate wine yesterday. She's bubbling away nicely :)
Based on your videos my first Cider came out perfectly. Now I have one of your wine recipes fermenting and another cider going. I must say I have a new addiction. LOL Kind of a strange addiction for someone who doesn't drink a lot. I say it's all about the science. Brew Often, Drink Responsibly and Share Your Discipline.
Agreed!
Hi guys, you created a question for me right at the end.
Regarding "Done" versus "Stalled" what's the effect on the hydrometer?
Or how does one recognize a stall?
Thanks berry much! Love your vids.
ruclips.net/video/2FqCLcYDlo8/видео.htmlsi=llhcEsLGq-XHvuV1
"we're gonna simplify this A LOT"
Me - Oh good 😂
Another awesome video! I'm wondering : did you use Knudson's cherry juice for your brew with all the sediment? I made a cherry wine for my dad a couple years back with Knudsons and the amount of pulp in there was impressive. The result was very tasty, the solids have tons of nutrition for the yeast, but the loss was definitely greater when I racked it. Tasted awesome, though.
Love your bit about clarity, wholeheartedly agree. The only time clarity bothers me is if I accidentally get some of the lees/trub into my bottles when bottling, then it can get kinda gross when getting to the bottom of the bottle. Beer especially, because the carbonation mixes the nasty chunks into the middle of the glass. Yuck!
Love you guys! Since you stopped doing the RUclips membership, whats the best way to financially support you guys? Are you back on Patreon?
We have a vip club: city-steading.com/vip-club/
Actually, I had a question... I started my largest batch of fermentables yet last night. 2 Gallons of cider. 1 gallon of Cyser. 1 gallon of pomegranate melomel. Finally 3 gallons each of tamarind-coconut and blueberry melomel. Anyway, the ciders, cyser and pomegranate are all actively fermenting. There is nothing visible happening on the tamarind coconut and blueberry and they seem to be well sealed. These are both using the same yeast (different yeast from the others) as well which made me wonder if the yeast is no good. Anyway, how long should one wait before assuming that the yeast is bad and re-pitching. It's been about 14 hours so far...
After three days, repitch new yeast.
@@CitySteadingBrews Thanks! I tend to get a bit anxious when things don't go as expected. Ultimately, I suppose the yeast work on their own timeframe and I haven't used this variety before... Will try to relax and let it go for a dew days before doing anything more. At least the others are all bubbling away nicely.
U guys are pros now :)
Nah. Just homebrewers like anyone else. A professional to me makes homebrew for a living on a large scale. We are not that :)
Thank you for the video, i got into mead making cause of a youtuber, kingcobrajfs, was making mead and doing it absolutely wrong and in the worst way possible. we're talking reeses peanut butter cup, bacon bits in fruit juice "mead" levels of bad.
Your videos have been a huge help in doing it the right way. I'm 11 days into my first Mead. Im doing two different batches one with ec-1118 and the other k1-v1116 to see which yeast i prefer before i start experimenting with other flavors and honeys. Off smell alone i can't decide which i like more, they both smell amazing.
Welcome aboard! Glad you're here, sorry you had bad experiences elsewhere. We try to stay positive and keep in mind everyone has their own way of doing things, and not everyone will agree.
yo hey brewheads. I've got a question. just started brewing cider from our own apples this year. I noticed that the juice is quite dark when it's squeezed, but the final cider, even when it's cleared up, is considerably lighter than what it was. what's up with that, yo? is the yeast de-oxidizing the liquid, or does the stuff that makes it darker separate and fall to the bottom?
Colors change during fermentation. It happens almost every time.
Good video, it is a relief to hear how different each brew can be. My first batch from apples from one tree was down to 1.000 gravity after 5 days and glass clear after 1.5 weeks. The next batch from another type of apple took over a week to reach 1.000 and still isn't clear after 2 weeks. I was worried for a while, but all is good so far.@@CitySteadingBrews
As for the questions about the colour going lighter, I wanted to know if there's a specific reaction that does that. just out of curiosity.
A brewing friend told me just last night, that there's no definitive answers to anything in brewing. That's when I realized it's not a science, it's an art form, that requires practice.
It's a science for sure, with a lot of room for artful interpretation.
I actually want to have cloudiness from particulates in my beer since those nutrients usually are the nutrients that alcohol cause to be excreted from the body. So no hangover. Well usually. Unfortunately, I tend to switch from homebrew to commercial often and do not get enough of those nutrients overall sometimes.
I'm not sure this is really how that works....
I've heard the sulfur comes from 1. not de-gassing enough, and 2. having your concoction exposed to light.
It's more about stressed yeast. Light doesn't do it, and if you degas, it helps eliminate it if you have it.
I made my first brew of apple cider from juice after watching your videos. It started at 1.050 and fermented down to 1.002 after one week and 0.998 after two weeks. I got a little bit excited and racked it... but I'm thinking maybe I racked it too soon and should have waited another week for an identical reading. It's very clear with just a tiny bit of sediment in secondary. I'm going to slow down and let it sit for a couple of weeks before I do anything else to it. Here is the question: I want to finish it sweet and carbonated (when I get that far). I'm worried that all of the yeast may have settled out by the time I go to bottle. Would you recommend that I add more yeast when I add the sugar and bottle?
Yes. I call that insurance yeast.
I think I have a pretty good grasp on the Brewing process now. Especially thanks to you guys' videos! My question however is, how do I know when a brew is done degassing and then safe to bottle ? I know for sure that it's done fermenting and I've pasteurized it but I am afraid of bottle bombs. Can a bottle bomb happen from just degassing? The airlock has zero activity and I don't see any bubbles. After bottling with swing top bottles, can I or should I burp the bottles every couple days just to make sure
You're not likely to have a bottle bomb from degassing. It's the buildup of pressure from fermentation that causes explosions. Worst case, you have a partially fizzy beverage. But... you can just degas or let it sit for several weeks before bottling like we do.
I have a split batch of traditional mead going. OG 1.095. one gallon with EC1118, one with QA23. Now I like dry beverages, Cabernet Sauvignon is my absolute favorite wine. I know the 1118 is going bone dry, curious to see what the QA23 does.
Probably dry. :) not enough gravity there to exceed the tolerance.
At that gravity, I dont expect much difference, but the 23 might bring out the flavors a bit more.@@CitySteadingBrews
@paulweston2267 possibly.
I love your videos. I have been brewing now for a few months and have had great success and I owe it all to your videos.
I do have a question though. On a few brews after I have racked to 2nd and a few days later notice a film forming on the top. When I swirl the container the film turns into whisps...any suggestions as to what it may be. Or if I should be concerned. Thank you for your time.
Probably yeast rafts. Nothing to worry about :)
@@CitySteadingBrews
Thank you. Didn't even consider that.
Again your channel is a great help.
Wow this is a PERFECTLY timed video.
The universe wants me to have cherry wine it seems.
So, i came on today specifically to find your most recent video whatever it happens to be about and ask you a question about a brew im currently doing (because you said in another video you're more likely to respond to comments than emails).
Anyway, im making this simple cherry wine and because of a bit of bad eyeball measurements i ended up with 10 litres instead of 5 (in two demijohns instead of one)
Long story short... I think one ended up with most of the sugar and the other got most of the cherries (dont drink and brew... brew and drink...lesson learned).
WHY is one of the two producing a foam which ends up inside the airlock but the other doesn't?
And WHY is that one really thick and a little slimey?
I figured both were probably a lost cause so rather than throw it out, ive taken a gamble and mixed the two (racked off half of each into new vessels then the other half into opposite vessels) both are now steadily fermenting at the same sort of rate (bubble count over 1 min) and neither have foam.
It LOOKS like i fixed it but i won't know until tasting.
Can you explain what might have happened and why the slime?
Video answers part of foam question...
Excellent.
Based on what you said you have two different brews. Different sugar amounts, different fruit amounts. They will act differently.
One issue I doubt yall have but keeps happening to me is failure to properly plan. Primarily regarding time, especially when to start a new brew so it's done and aged before the previous supply runs out. Always leads to a frantic batch day to get more started or I start too soon and have batches ready to bottle but not enough bottles. Hopefully one day I'll have enough fermentation vessels and bottles so I can really stock up, but for now, it's a juggling act, and I keep dropping the ball. (Note for new brewers, if you do like they do and put a bottle back for longer aging from each brew make sure you plan for plenty of extra bottles AND storage space)
We always have plenty... too much actually!
Ironic that her watch was saying tike is up on the time section! 😂
Until this video I thought it was the croison line. Now I understand why I was never able to find a hint about it in germany .... Krausen Line .... now I get it 🤣
I agree that clearing removes some flavour. But! To me the flavour in the bottom fallouts are not pleasent to me. So I don’t actually care about the clearity, but I don’t want the sediments because of the flavour. Other people don’t mind in the exact same brew and will shake in the sediments before opening the bottle. So I believe this is very individual.
Well there's a limit!
Erm... I have yet to test this but a hazy brew and a clear brew from clearing agents won't taste significantly different. If anything the hazy one should taste better. The clearing agents don't remove just sediment, they do strip some of the good flavors too. My opinion and supported by research but not an actual test.
on the note of how important the hydromiter is
that OJ experiment i have talked about going ATM i assumed is probably done, but i didnt have 2 readings but it was at 1.000 last week
this week its at .992
also i wanted to share an update because i love that you share with me so i want to share what i am discovering not to teach as i am like the student in the pre 101 science class. i know just enough to know what conceptually is going on, but i don't have the art down.
I know we discussed that the tannins are for mouth feel. however after taking last nights reading rather than pouring the content back into the vessle as i was not ready to make a new batch of star san just to do 2 readings. i decided to do micro experiments. the content is still extremely sharp but in a ramican i made about 3 oz of DARK tea ie hyper concentrated tannins. then taking the few oz i use to take the measurement i added 1/2 teaspoon at a time of the tea. it actually completely removed the sharpness and while it required some back sweetening because again i screwed up my initial reading on this experiment so its 75% water 25% OJ and a ton of sugar to 1.12 gravity. while its not something i would serve to anybody, it was not unpleasant to drink. and in fact i think could go really well if i mixed it with i dono, maybe some OJ 😅
but i just wanted to note that the sharp i was perceiving was resolved with tannins and took what i was about ready to dump as i didnt think there was much more i could learn from it as i had already done an oak and an oats experiment with it. and now its probably a 3-4. still not something i am happy with, but not something i am quite ready to waste yet :) the mead that i started that day and mixed some of the OJ into i also played with the tea and that went from a 1.5 to probably a 5-6.
also as for time... the mead and the OJ think were started the same day. and at the same 1.12 SG
they use the same yeast and yeast nutrient in the same amounts both are in 1/2 gallon mason jars stored in the same cabinet
so the only variable is the recipe
i think i am at 3-4 weeks? i didn't take notes i am one of those bad students
OJ thing (kilju?) is at an SG of 0.992 (what the hell is left that its eating)
Mead with a splash of OJ is at an SG of 1.050 (it is still bubbling i don't think it stalled)
which is exactly your point, you cant put an exact time measurement on these bio chem experiments.
also i have about 3 gallons of stuff going right now
in addition to the 2 above i have a coffee mead 1/2G, a black tea with a hint of lemon and ginger tea mead1/2G, and a no additional sugar added apple cider 1G in addition to the 2 1/2 prior listed
These are stored in the computer desk with the doors closed in a part of the house i dont access much
there IS a slight smell that comes out of the crack between the doors
I love the smell when i walk up to the doors and more so when i open them.
it is a very pleasant smell, 0 Sulphur even with the coffee in there its more of a floral/fruity smell, there are no sour or irritating smells that come out of the cabinet
so if somebody is complaining about smells, i am more curious what other bio chem experiments they have going on, because im fairly confident that its not this
Oh and i wanted to say Thank you
Here in the west, the emergency broadcast was 3 minutes early. I suspect that Florida is actually running partially in a different timeline.
We've visited nearly all the Napa and Sonoma vineyards that are open to the public, and the smell (oak, wine, and some sort of invigorating freshness probably involving ions. It is reminiscent of indoor, fully hydroponic gardens), is in no way offensive. I would live my entire life, very happily, in that environment. Brewing, in my case, does not smell bad other than an occasional sulfurous when I stick my nose literally IN the brewing container.
Also, why are there about a dozen Coca Cola bottles on your shelf? Are you going to do something brewing wise with Coke?
Exaxtly.
Not saying :)
If you guys haven't already done it, can you make a video about a mead "cider/beer"? And by that I mean just a very low abv sparkling mead? I've always wondered how good that would be as a cold beverage you just drink like a beer but that's just flavored and slightly sweetened with honey! Kind of like a hard seltzer but better
ruclips.net/video/2pLYPf59TzQ/видео.htmlsi=2FXu0R9j1GzF9AZw
ruclips.net/video/HLPklx9UGZE/видео.htmlsi=UhUmeLIJMmKHcGN6
I have to use this video to ask an important question. I have recently made a wine with store bought juice, and wymans triple berry blend frozen fruit. My starting gravity was 1.110 after all the juice, berries, and sugars were added. It fermented out to 0.996. I then added more sugar bringing the gravity up to 1.028. It fermented to 1.000. I then added more sugar and brought the gravity up to 1.032. I just checked it yesterday and it’s down to 1.026. So I suppose you could call this a step feed wine? My question however is, what is my abv ? I’ve done my calculations and I’m coming up to around 19.7% which would make this the strongest wine I’ve brewed but with that abv being that high I had to ask if I had done my calculations correctly. Sorry for the long format question. Also Lalvin K1V-1116 was my yeast used. Thanks in advance! Happy brewing!
It's a step feed for sure. .110+.028+.006=.144 .144x135=19.44%. Unusual, but totally doable. K1V has 18% tolerance so it's not out of the question for a step feed.
@@CitySteadingBrews thank you so much for the clarification! Step feeds have always thrown me for a loop with calculating ABV. Hopefully this will settle out soon and can finally be racked into secondary.
I'm wondering if you've ever heard of waterless airlocks? We've found some called duckbill airlocks on Amazon, as well as some shaped like a cork/bung. We bought the duckbill ones, 12 for about 10 bucks, so far they are working pretty good except in instances that would need a blowoff tube potentially, as they get gummed up and or spit everywhere depending
Yes, I have seen them, I just prefer the bubbler ones.
I am bilingual (Spanish is my native language) and have been in KY since 2018, I will always mispronounce some words as I kinda read them in Spanish, like caramel! (Caramelo in Spanish)
Stick a bottle to it cornected with a plastic pipe but remember bottle stopper both endes
What?
At the start of the brew to compencate for the over fall of Bubbles etc ad a empty bottle to take the over fall with a pipe
I watch your channel exclusively it seems. I use all your tips. Have you ever tried to make a mint wine? I'd love to see your take on the idea. Thanks.
Closest was mojito kilju...ruclips.net/video/BVYufjiC5dE/видео.htmlsi=DBr3ZWqTps420x_7
What if every home brewer watches this video, and then nobody watches another brewing video ever because all of the questions are answered?? lol!!!!
Lol, never happen.
You guys are the best!!@@CitySteadingBrews
Love your videos 👍
Thanks!
I use mango nectar to "try" making wine. It seems is not working. Could be from preservatives, not mentioned on ingredients list? Or it takes longer than expected? 3-4-5 months?
Depends on how you did it. We used it and that worked well. ruclips.net/video/WnImlHeCgUc/видео.htmlsi=KK3jhkpwUyBtwqL2
Added sugar, yeast.
Now you put out this video. AFTER I bounced the airlock off the ceiling! ROTFLMTO!
Sorry!
Seeing all those coke bottles give me a suspicion on a future brew. A coke wine. I think you've done a soda brew before though, so it is probably not some secret foreshadowing.
Hey Brian, can you explain the maic acid fermentation? I don't fully understand it because I've made 3 ciders/apple wines and after 3 weeks they are very drinkable and myself and friends have enjoyed them
Malolactic fermentation usually happens a lot later than three weeks. It's when the malic acid in an apple (often but anything with malic acid can do this) goes through a chemical change where the malic acid converts to lactic acid. Tends to make a brew taste smoother as lactic acid is easier on the palate than malic acid.
Where can I find this "broadcast" outside of RUclips? I can't find it on Spotify :(
We haven't really gotten them out there yet. Working on that though.
Also, I had left over juices from all the containers, all different flavors from Aldi so I put them all into one plastic bottle and said what the heck I’ll try the bottle method with the cap a little loose (rest of the 6 are in carboys with airlocks) since I didn’t really care about this brew I went ahead and took a little sip and it kinda tasted sour or maybe it turned into vinegar, is it because I left the lid too loose and oxygen got introduced? I don’t want to open the carboys up until fermentation slows nearly to a hault but now I’m worried they will have this taste… I guess time will tell. Worst case I guess I have pomegranate cranberry plum vinegar 😂😂😂
Likely not. It could simply be dry.
hello to you both, I'm starting out in mead fermentation. I live in Canada and temperatures fluctuate wildly, I was thinking of purchasing a heating kit. a thermostat and a heating mat to be able to regulate my temperatures. do you have any advice about this type of equipment? Many thanks and had a wonderful day.
I haven't needed such things. As long as it's within the yeast's working range you should be fine. Save the money for now and make sure you enjoy the hobby first :)
Hello! Been watching ya'lls videos for a while now and finally got everything I needed to get started. Thank you for all the info! Last night I put together your simple mead recipe (honey/tea/mandarin zest/raisins) into two different 1 gal carboys. I didn't have packet bread yeast. I make a lot of bread so I have a larger bag/package of fleischmann's yeast. I measured out 10g of yeast for both. Bottle 1 is bubbling and jiving. Bottle 2 however has no activity. It's been about 16ish hours. I gave ye 'ol patented swirl and there are SOME bubbles at the top of the liquid, but nothing moving in the batch itself or the airlock. Should I add more yeast to get it going? Or could it just be letting it sit longer is fine? Thanks again!
It can take a few days.
@@CitySteadingBrews Perfect. I know you've said "time heals all brews". I thought it interesting that I made two batches as identically as possible and noticed that much disparity. thanks for the response and have a good weekend!