the entire reason I got into mead was because I found a 12 year old dusty bottle of mead that my uncle left in our alcohol cabinet. it was by far the best drink I've ever had and all I want to do is replicate it
I once found a demijohn full of red wine I'd completely forgotten about. It had sat under a desk in my spare bedroom for about 5 or 6 years. I decided to try it before tossing it down sink and it was superb. Unfortunately my brother came round that weekend and we drank the lot 😀
I love you're chemistry together in all these videos. I appreciate the partnership you both have. This is even more so brought forward by your shared experience in the making of these brews.
I loved this video~! It reminds me of my (3) bottles of wine that I have of my grandfather's. They were made in the late 60's to early 70's. I have no clue what they might taste like, but it's something he enjoyed making years ago. His labels are so neat, he just used notebook paper and wrote things like "Driscol's Bottling Company" on them. I can still remember him having us girls pick dandelions for his wine and picking cherries/rhubarb. Great memories~!
Something tells me this video almost went to the cutting room floor and we would have got a slightly different video that began with these bottles partly emptied. I'm glad you posted, very entertaining and a neat look into your evolution as home-brewers.
@@CitySteadingBrews I was meaning it looked like someone was getting a little tipsy. I'd never suspect you two of dishonesty with how completely transparent you are. I love your work, looking forward to the one-year Khajiit Blood tasting. I accidently put an extra .7 lbs of honey in mine and it's been crazy active in the airlock for weeks now.
Would you do a video on the recipes that are on your regular rotation? aka the ones you make all the time for yourselves rather than the channel? (just a list, or a similar to this - a sit down and tasting of some of your favs. You could link in the description box to the actual making of the recipes)
@@CitySteadingBrews well can't complain about having the same thing all the time. What about your favourite brews? I know spiced methoglin and sweet red wine for Brian, Strawberry wines and Klingon Blood wine for Derica (I might be wrong with Derica, but having watched ... dozens of videos in the last week or so I am 100% on Brian) but maybe a two choices from each and then two you both agree on? Though now I'm thinking what about a video on some of the lessons you've learned along the way from beginning brewers to now?
The white wine sounds very likely oxidised. It's not necessarily vinegar but enzymatic reactions from slow oxygen ingress through the cap, which don't seal well after opening. These reactions brown the colour and make bruised apple, stewed, caramelised flavours that sound quite like what you described.
@@CitySteadingBrews oxidation of grape flavour and colour compounds is an enzymatic reaction but creation of vinegar is an oxidative metabolism of ethanol by bacteria. In the former, grape compounds are oxidised with the help of enzymes whereas in the latter ethanol is oxidised by bacteria. Both are oxidative reactions, just through different processes. That bottle probably didn't seal well so the small oxygen ingress over time will brown in and change the flavours. In my comment I meant to clarify that I wasn't talking about acetic acid bacteria, I do know the difference between them.
Glass absorbs strong flavors, ruined a bottle of mead using an recycled Islay scotch bottle 2 years later it was an Islay traditional mead not bad not a great mead add in though. Great video you two, thanks.
4:48 March 1st 2018? I do know. I was struggling to keep my head above a black abyss of depression, anxiety, and utter despair. And 32 days later fell down the hole. Still trying to find my way out, and it’s people like you who help me to keep trying! 🥰 This was so much fun to watch, and not just because you had to make that entirely funny face upon drinking that Sherry! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Fun video. I found three bottles in the back of my cabinet with no labels. I remembered that I made apple wine and white grape wine. Because of this video I got up the guts to open them. I'm glad I did. The apple wine is amazingly fruity. Almost like cinnamon apples with brown sugar 🤤 The white grape wine is "very" dry. Is there such a number as .001?😅 Luckily the grape wine is in one bottle and the apple wine is in two bottles👍 Thanks again for the video 👍❤️🙏
Those sound wonderful. I wish I could find some bottles like that one day. The dry wine probably just Needs teaspoon or two of sugar stirred in in the wine glass. That's how my wife and I sweeten all of our wines
I have some bottles of tea and apple wine I made about 4 years ago that I wasn't fond of at the time, collecting dust in my basement, I think I know what I'm doing this Saturday, thanks for the reminder to try it!
I fell off from watching for a while after turning 21 and trying actual commercial wines to compare to my homebrew, and I haven't come back yet, but I'm so glad I clicked on this video to remind me why I loved this channel.
Glass is not impervious to absorbing odors. I use glass for food storage, jars that previously had garlic, pickles or tomatoes still retain the smell after repeated washing.
have you ever tought about doing a pumpkin (or pumpkin+pumpkin spice mead)?. i just had the idea and i didnt find much about it. I might give it a try this fall :) I love your videos. so much good information about mead and wine making
I couldn't say sherry so well after all those sips. Just done multiple readings and tasters and a pasterisation slog. Tipsy work. Then pitched a saffron mead to end the afternoons work.
New Brew recipe idea: Spiced Cyser Capsicumel. I think this would taste amazing. And have you two ever tried brewing with Nutmeg in the recipe? I'm curious about it, but not sure if I want to sacrifice part of a brew to try it out lol I think I recall Brian saying something about not trying Nutmeg in a brew a long time back, but I'm not too sure
I just recently discovered your channel and have been bingewatching your videos since. I am truly fascinated and will definitely try making my own mead. Thank you for all this inspiration 😊 After watching lots of your videos I am curious if you have ever tried strawberrytree honey? It is very unique as it has a very pronounced bitter taste. I was wondering if a mead made from it would even taste good?
@@CitySteadingBrews I guess I am going to wait using it in a mead. I have to figure out first what I like. And now that I think about it... the Strawberry Tree or Arbutus unedo is native to the Mediterranean, so it makes sense you never heard of it. 🙈
Dear Derica & Brian a quick question, I've been fermenting an Apple/Pear/Raspberry cider for about 8 days now with safale s-04. the process seems to still be "somewhat" active with really small bubbling and according to the gravity reading I am currently sitting at 10,5% ABV (og;1.04 sg;0.96) with the alcohol tolerance sitting at about 10%. Should I rack it now or just wait it out for some longer?
What would you do...I bought a carboy at an estate sale for $5...yes $5. It was full of cherry wine withe the airlock still on. There were some neighbors there and they stated that the owner used to give away cherry wine every year for Christmas. And the basement was full of wine making supplies. I trust he made it correctly. I had the best intentions of bottling this immediately. I did not follow thru. Two years later...there's a tiny film of mold on the top. Is my wine now ruined?? Thanks for your wonderful channel that's has helped me become a better everything!!😊
Hi sir I know you mentioned bread yeast which I used to make a Welches grape juice wine which came out fine ,but what product did you use for the white wine a red sweet wine,thanks.My Italian grandfather in the Bronx would grow his own thick skin blue wine grapes and age in oak barrels in his basement the smell stays with you forever it was so good,lol
I love making stroganoff ... I've never put sherry in the recipe that I made. Sounds like something I need to try. I make mine with ground beef, sautéed portabella mushrooms and white onions and garlic with a heavy cream and parmesan sauce over pasta.
Ok so my 1st ever mead is on day six of fermentation, still a very milky yellow colour as expected but around the airlock there is a subtle banana sweet odour, will this stay around for the flavour and is it a good/ common thing?
@@CitySteadingBrews the recipe i followed was your 1st simple mead recipe :) my main source for any info is your channel, you explain everything super clear for me, appreciate the response
Please do not ever consider a greenscreen or going back the background you used a year ago 🙏 . The Rack in the back ❤is an important Part of the channel 😅
I love making meads.. I got into pure fruit wines (mostly berries, no grapes), but found no matter how many times I rack them I end up with a powder on the bottom of my wines I don't get with my meads.. what am I doing wrong?
There will most time be sediment over time in any wines or meads. During the aging process, new compounds are formed, broken, rejoined, etc all the time. That will lead to more sediment.
I'd like to hear more about the Sherry in the stroganoff. When I was a kid we used to eat Turtle soup. They would always serve it with a small serving of sherry on the side.
Have you ever had the issue of Remaking something months/years later following the notes and its not as good as the original. I've made 2 separate batches Pineapple-Jalapeño Mead followed the notes and gravity readings they were similar but not the the same and the ABV was way off first batch was 3 gallon 12% second batch was 5 gallon 17%
@@CitySteadingBrews I have my very first batch of mead currently fermenting. Wild blueberry from berries harvested myself. Started on July 18. Very excited.
Having grown up around Manischewitz wine, it boggles my mind that anyone would want to replicate it. But, I also think that Evan Williams is a perfectly fine bourbon, and I may in fact be four raccoons in a trench coat, so who am I to judge.
At first i thought the bleep was a half-@$$'d bleep of her persistent 'sherry' repeat and thought it was a hilarious troll-edit. Anyway this video reminds me of why I brew and occasionally experiment--for these happy accidents.
if both of you are ever entirely disappointed by a brew (want to pour it out) if you can find someone who makes soap, they'd be happy to make a wine soap!
A wine vintage is the year in which the grapes were harvested. A wine's vintage can greatly affect the taste and quality, primarily because of the weather that affects the vines throughout the growing season.
I have had Manischewitz wine, and I believe it came from of all places, Walmart. Once I liked it, it was fruity. It remind me of grape juice on steroids, and I would like to know how to make it for homebrew and you do realize if you store it properly in a climate controlled environment. You can probably extend out that seven years to 10 maybe 15 years you should look into getting like a climate controlled cabinet so you can store wine properly and your other alcohol’s.
Add that white wine to sauteed onions and mushrooms just after you add garlic then let it simmer. Next add your tomatoes for your sauce. Thank me later. Also thanks for all your videos.
the entire reason I got into mead was because I found a 12 year old dusty bottle of mead that my uncle left in our alcohol cabinet. it was by far the best drink I've ever had and all I want to do is replicate it
Cool!
What kind was it?
@@HolyPineConeThe best kind. Dusty, free and perfectly matured. 😂
I once found a demijohn full of red wine I'd completely forgotten about. It had sat under a desk in my spare bedroom for about 5 or 6 years. I decided to try it before tossing it down sink and it was superb. Unfortunately my brother came round that weekend and we drank the lot 😀
Lol, yeah we hear a LOT of stories of lost wines!
I love you're chemistry together in all these videos. I appreciate the partnership you both have. This is even more so brought forward by your shared experience in the making of these brews.
Thank you :)
I dont even drink alcohol anymore but i am fascinated with how drinks are created. You guys do a great job
Thanks!
I loved this video~! It reminds me of my (3) bottles of wine that I have of my grandfather's. They were made in the late 60's to early 70's. I have no clue what they might taste like, but it's something he enjoyed making years ago. His labels are so neat, he just used notebook paper and wrote things like "Driscol's Bottling Company" on them. I can still remember him having us girls pick dandelions for his wine and picking cherries/rhubarb. Great memories~!
6 years!? No way. As soon as mine is done fermenting, racked and cleared...it goes in my glass!!!lol
Try aging some. Might surprise you!
Something tells me this video almost went to the cutting room floor and we would have got a slightly different video that began with these bottles partly emptied. I'm glad you posted, very entertaining and a neat look into your evolution as home-brewers.
Nah. We would have been honest either way.
@@CitySteadingBrews I was meaning it looked like someone was getting a little tipsy. I'd never suspect you two of dishonesty with how completely transparent you are. I love your work, looking forward to the one-year Khajiit Blood tasting. I accidently put an extra .7 lbs of honey in mine and it's been crazy active in the airlock for weeks now.
Hmm, were we tipsy in this one? I think it was the first tasting of the day... I could be wrong.
@@CitySteadingBrews Ha Ha I've been wrong before 😂
i LOVE this video. can't love it enough. what fun!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Would you do a video on the recipes that are on your regular rotation? aka the ones you make all the time for yourselves rather than the channel? (just a list, or a similar to this - a sit down and tasting of some of your favs. You could link in the description box to the actual making of the recipes)
We don’t really do anything that isn’t recorded anymore. We just make too much on the channel, lol.
@@CitySteadingBrews well can't complain about having the same thing all the time. What about your favourite brews? I know spiced methoglin and sweet red wine for Brian, Strawberry wines and Klingon Blood wine for Derica (I might be wrong with Derica, but having watched ... dozens of videos in the last week or so I am 100% on Brian) but maybe a two choices from each and then two you both agree on?
Though now I'm thinking what about a video on some of the lessons you've learned along the way from beginning brewers to now?
I love how off track these two get. This is why they’re the best brewing channel out there!
Thanks.
The white wine sounds very likely oxidised. It's not necessarily vinegar but enzymatic reactions from slow oxygen ingress through the cap, which don't seal well after opening. These reactions brown the colour and make bruised apple, stewed, caramelised flavours that sound quite like what you described.
Oxidation is not anything like vinegar. Totally different processes :)
@@CitySteadingBrews oxidation of grape flavour and colour compounds is an enzymatic reaction but creation of vinegar is an oxidative metabolism of ethanol by bacteria. In the former, grape compounds are oxidised with the help of enzymes whereas in the latter ethanol is oxidised by bacteria. Both are oxidative reactions, just through different processes. That bottle probably didn't seal well so the small oxygen ingress over time will brown in and change the flavours. In my comment I meant to clarify that I wasn't talking about acetic acid bacteria, I do know the difference between them.
Yup that’s fun finding old Dusty’s. And even the ones that don’t have labels. Mystery bottle.
Glass absorbs strong flavors, ruined a bottle of mead using an recycled Islay scotch bottle 2 years later it was an Islay traditional mead not bad not a great mead add in though. Great video you two, thanks.
4:48 March 1st 2018? I do know. I was struggling to keep my head above a black abyss of depression, anxiety, and utter despair. And 32 days later fell down the hole.
Still trying to find my way out, and it’s people like you who help me to keep trying! 🥰
This was so much fun to watch, and not just because you had to make that entirely funny face upon drinking that Sherry! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Glad yo hear you are doing better :)
Fun video. I found three bottles in the back of my cabinet with no labels. I remembered that I made apple wine and white grape wine.
Because of this video I got up the guts to open them. I'm glad I did. The apple wine is amazingly fruity. Almost like cinnamon apples with brown sugar 🤤
The white grape wine is "very" dry. Is there such a number as .001?😅
Luckily the grape wine is in one bottle and the apple wine is in two bottles👍
Thanks again for the video 👍❤️🙏
You can always add sugar or honey to the wine.
Those sound wonderful.
I wish I could find some bottles like that one day.
The dry wine probably just Needs teaspoon or two of sugar stirred in in the wine glass.
That's how my wife and I sweeten all of our wines
I have some bottles of tea and apple wine I made about 4 years ago that I wasn't fond of at the time, collecting dust in my basement, I think I know what I'm doing this Saturday, thanks for the reminder to try it!
Thanks for sharing!
This was an awesome vid ! Thanks for the long strange trip guys ❤.
Never disappointed by your videos. Thanks for sharing and the entertainment.
I appreciate that!
You guys have taught me much watching your videos I hope to start my brewing journey with a simple mead I hope you have a great day
I hope you do too :)
It’s thanks to your channel that I make mead now and have been for the last year. I appreciate the way you guys present information.
Happy to help!
Thanks for taking the hit for us and science Derica!
I fell off from watching for a while after turning 21 and trying actual commercial wines to compare to my homebrew, and I haven't come back yet, but I'm so glad I clicked on this video to remind me why I loved this channel.
If you decide to cook with the white wine, swordfish steak would likely enjoy a boost from that.
I'm new to the channel. I really enjoy watching all your content.❤
Welcome!
I have a couple wines nearly 90 years old a few brandys over 70 years old and several 30 year old bottles of liquor that survived a house fire
Glass is not impervious to absorbing odors. I use glass for food storage, jars that previously had garlic, pickles or tomatoes still retain the smell after repeated washing.
have you ever tought about doing a pumpkin (or pumpkin+pumpkin spice mead)?. i just had the idea and i didnt find much about it. I might give it a try this fall :)
I love your videos. so much good information about mead and wine making
Sadly not a fan of pumpkin…
i think i say for most, we love when yall go off the rails a bit, lol. we all just hanging out!!
Awesome! We do it a lot…
My oldest mead is also my first mead. Christmas 2016 is the label on the bottle lol. I’m gonna crack it open and drink next aug for my 40th birthday.
I couldn't say sherry so well after all those sips. Just done multiple readings and tasters and a pasterisation slog. Tipsy work. Then pitched a saffron mead to end the afternoons work.
Lol
I would love to see a video where you guy's drink your favorite brews and also talk about the memories on the wall.
New Brew recipe idea:
Spiced Cyser Capsicumel. I think this would taste amazing.
And have you two ever tried brewing with Nutmeg in the recipe? I'm curious about it, but not sure if I want to sacrifice part of a brew to try it out lol I think I recall Brian saying something about not trying Nutmeg in a brew a long time back, but I'm not too sure
Nutmeg no… mace yes.
@@CitySteadingBrews Cool ty
I just recently discovered your channel and have been bingewatching your videos since.
I am truly fascinated and will definitely try making my own mead. Thank you for all this inspiration 😊
After watching lots of your videos I am curious if you have ever tried strawberrytree honey? It is very unique as it has a very pronounced bitter taste. I was wondering if a mead made from it would even taste good?
Hmm, never even heard of it! I bet you could make a good mead out of it but may have to play with flavors and whatnot.
@@CitySteadingBrews
I guess I am going to wait using it in a mead. I have to figure out first what I like.
And now that I think about it... the Strawberry Tree or Arbutus unedo is native to the Mediterranean, so it makes sense you never heard of it. 🙈
Dear Derica & Brian a quick question, I've been fermenting an Apple/Pear/Raspberry cider for about 8 days now with safale s-04. the process seems to still be "somewhat" active with really small bubbling and according to the gravity reading I am currently sitting at 10,5% ABV (og;1.04 sg;0.96) with the alcohol tolerance sitting at about 10%. Should I rack it now or just wait it out for some longer?
When the gravity doesn't move for a few days or a week, it's done.
march 2018, i was moving my oldest out of the house. she's been back twice since. Wines and meads have helped, lol
I love how much fun y'all have.
If you’re not having fun at what you’re doing, you should he doing something else!
i love how chaotic Derica is in this episode lol
What would you do...I bought a carboy at an estate sale for $5...yes $5. It was full of cherry wine withe the airlock still on. There were some neighbors there and they stated that the owner used to give away cherry wine every year for Christmas. And the basement was full of wine making supplies. I trust he made it correctly. I had the best intentions of bottling this immediately. I did not follow thru. Two years later...there's a tiny film of mold on the top. Is my wine now ruined?? Thanks for your wonderful channel that's has helped me become a better everything!!😊
Mold? Ruined. If it's a fine film of white... that may not be mold. Mold looks like cotton, or has fibers.
I love watching you two
Thanks. That didn’t sound creepy at all :)
😂 I save little hot sauce bottles. It's probably why I started fermenting hot sauces.
Hi sir I know you mentioned bread yeast which I used to make a Welches grape juice wine which came out fine ,but what product did you use for the white wine a red sweet wine,thanks.My Italian grandfather in the Bronx would grow his own thick skin blue wine grapes and age in oak barrels in his basement the smell stays with you forever it was so good,lol
The red wine was more or less this: th-cam.com/video/XHtWgNBM8A8/w-d-xo.html
@@CitySteadingBrews Thanks sir you guys are amazing to teach us this,thanks.
Anytime!
@@CitySteadingBrews You da best in slang.
Any wife that will drink the floaters for you is a keeper. ❤
Tales from the aging shelf crypt!
Totally.
That definitely started off scary but it looks like a win at the end
Ohhh yeah. Lol
I love making stroganoff ... I've never put sherry in the recipe that I made. Sounds like something I need to try. I make mine with ground beef, sautéed portabella mushrooms and white onions and garlic with a heavy cream and parmesan sauce over pasta.
The days before the red bucket of sanitization! 😁👍
Way before!
Ok so my 1st ever mead is on day six of fermentation, still a very milky yellow colour as expected but around the airlock there is a subtle banana sweet odour, will this stay around for the flavour and is it a good/ common thing?
Fermentation can have smells. Probably fine but without a recipe I cannot say absolutely. I wouldn’t worry though.
@@CitySteadingBrews the recipe i followed was your 1st simple mead recipe :) my main source for any info is your channel, you explain everything super clear for me, appreciate the response
Should be fine. Like I said… fermentation causes some smells :)
Please do not ever consider a greenscreen or going back the background you used a year ago 🙏 . The Rack in the back ❤is an important Part of the channel 😅
Yeah, we tried the other background (wasn't a green screen) due to space constraints.
I love making meads.. I got into pure fruit wines (mostly berries, no grapes), but found no matter how many times I rack them I end up with a powder on the bottom of my wines I don't get with my meads.. what am I doing wrong?
There will most time be sediment over time in any wines or meads. During the aging process, new compounds are formed, broken, rejoined, etc all the time. That will lead to more sediment.
How long did you brew with bread yeast before moving on?
Several years! I made the same few things over and over, didn't experiment much for a LONG time.
Okay, I don't feel so bad for still using it then!
😅 I love to experiment, though. I don't think I've yet brewed the same thing twice
If a system works and you are happy, no need to change. One of our admins still uses bread yeast exclusively after many years of brewibg.
Old wine is good wine
Sometimes!
I'd like to hear more about the Sherry in the stroganoff. When I was a kid we used to eat Turtle soup. They would always serve it with a small serving of sherry on the side.
A splash of sherry in the sauce just makes it taste better.
I have some Mead from the 1990s somewhere I have never got round to drinking it lol.
Have you ever had the issue of Remaking something months/years later following the notes and its not as good as the original. I've made 2 separate batches Pineapple-Jalapeño Mead followed the notes and gravity readings they were similar but not the the same and the ABV was way off first batch was 3 gallon 12% second batch was 5 gallon 17%
With that much disparity the two brews were not done the same.
Keep getting sidetracked it makes for a much more entertaining video! Keep up the great content yall are the best brewing channel ever!
Aww thanks :)
Love the videos guys!
Thanks!
@@CitySteadingBrews I have my very first batch of mead currently fermenting. Wild blueberry from berries harvested myself. Started on July 18. Very excited.
Brian? Excited? Never!
That's impressive. I could never hold onto booze that long
We forgot about it, lol
Red wine can be used in french onion soup
I don’t think it is the bottle, certain white wines age to that light brandy taste.
I learned a lot from this single video..
Really?
@@CitySteadingBrews Yes. Especially the behaviour of wine with elapse of time. Oxidation and conversion to vinegar etc ..
All the ghosts in the room were trying to comfort Brian when he was about to say "The Sheri.. tasted alot like the white wine!"
I would like a tour of your shelves of chaos?
Maybe at some point.
I'd watch that video
I think Derica wants some brandy
Are empty liquor bottles safe to use? Do you do a leak test?
Check for leaks but most times they work well. Not for carbonation though
I was in the hospital when you bottled those LOL
Glad you're not anymore!
@@CitySteadingBrews oh boy me too, 3 months was bad enough
What? No pour cam? Denied!
Gotta keep you guessing!
Hey, that was bottled on my birthday
Having grown up around Manischewitz wine, it boggles my mind that anyone would want to replicate it. But, I also think that Evan Williams is a perfectly fine bourbon, and I may in fact be four raccoons in a trench coat, so who am I to judge.
I was expecting vinegar, maybe a video on how to brew it?
Perhaps. It’s not really the same as making wine or mead though.
The entertainment was in watching your wife pretend she wasn't tipsy.
She wasn’t.
She seems totally loaded 😂
At first i thought the bleep was a half-@$$'d bleep of her persistent 'sherry' repeat and thought it was a hilarious troll-edit. Anyway this video reminds me of why I brew and occasionally experiment--for these happy accidents.
No, that was a genuine bleep :)
How many taste tests did yall do this day?
Two or three?
if both of you are ever entirely disappointed by a brew (want to pour it out) if you can find someone who makes soap, they'd be happy to make a wine soap!
Interesting.
to be vintage if it is at least 40 years old
A wine vintage is the year in which the grapes were harvested. A wine's vintage can greatly affect the taste and quality, primarily because of the weather that affects the vines throughout the growing season.
Cars have to be that old :)
I have had Manischewitz wine, and I believe it came from of all places, Walmart. Once I liked it, it was fruity. It remind me of grape juice on steroids, and I would like to know how to make it for homebrew and you do realize if you store it properly in a climate controlled environment. You can probably extend out that seven years to 10 maybe 15 years you should look into getting like a climate controlled cabinet so you can store wine properly and your other alcohol’s.
It's more or less this: th-cam.com/video/XHtWgNBM8A8/w-d-xo.html
Add that white wine to sauteed onions and mushrooms just after you add garlic then let it simmer. Next add your tomatoes for your sauce. Thank me later. Also thanks for all your videos.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
First!
I would love to see a video where you guy's drink your favorite brews and also talk about the memories on the wall.