I have been watching your videos/binging for a few months now. I had been interested in this hobby for over a year and only got started back in September. I wish I had found your videos sooner, but glad I did nevertheless. I just want to say that the way you break every step in the process down to such great detail is phenomenal. I had spent months researching homebrewing before getting my equipment and Every. Single. Article or youtuber left me with more questions than answers. After a handful of your videos, any questions I had accumulated and couldn't get answers to were inevitably answered. You guys are by far the best home brew/instructional video makers out there and truly want to say Thank You.
Travis, this means the world to us to hear this. We appreciate the feedback, truly, and are honored that we could evoke such a comment. We both love to teach, so this is a big deal to us to hear this! Thanks so much for watching and for the kind words. Thanks for watching!
Out of all of the meads I have made, this recipe is one of my favorites. Thank you all for introducing all of us to it. Bless you guys and all you do. Your energy is wonderful and the wealth of knowledge you all pour out is greatly appreciated. Skol!!
Lookin good! I love that you included the recipe (even if it isn't complete) in the description. It would be awesome if part 2 has the full recipe. Cheers 🍷
I just started making mead about 3 months ago and I see how experienced you guys are. I want to be like y’all when I grow up! Thank you for explaining like you do.
Spoiler Alert, this stuff is awesome! I usually brew beer but decided to make my first mead. Have never been thrilled with the mead I have had commercially so decided to try making my own. I followed the video pretty much exactly. I got a starting gravity of 1.121 and it finished at 1.000. It tasted and smelled like pure alcohol. I back sweetened with 1# of honey and added the dried cherries. In hind sight it did turn out a little sweet because the cherries added more sweetness than I anticipated. Next time I will stop back sweetening a little before perfect and let the dried cherries do their work. For a first try I am super happy with how it turned out. My only regret is it was a lot of work for a gallon. Next week I will be making a 3 gallon batch.
Hi Brian and Derica, Thank you so much for revisiting the viking’s blood mead! The original was already on my list of future brews to try, but having access to a revisited version makes it even better! Derica, please keep doing the TBROS routine. I’m a fan...
I'd truly appreciate no more conjecturing about our relationship, whether we're in "bad moods" or "had a fight". None of that has anything to do with our channel's content. We make a show for entertainment purposes and it's what we do for a living. It's that simple. If we did the same thing over and over and over, without change, people would tire of it quickly. So, we change it up. The idea that because we're on YT you get to pick apart our appearance, personality, relationship, etc, etc is quite annoying to be honest. There's too much judging going on in the world already, let's just enjoy the show and community built around it and the world of homebrew, please.
Started my first personal recipe today. It's a type of Viking's Blood. I used black cherry juice for my cherry. I'm aiming for dry around 12.4%, so I had to cut the juice down with water to get my 50%+ of honey(similar to how you did it with the elderberry mead concentrate). My calculations came out as close to perfect as one could hope! I did all the math yesterday and my OG was 1.093 with a 1.092 target. I added the tea bag directly to the brew, but I'm removing in three days(I like tannins). After that, I'm not touching it for at least three weeks. I used Fleischmann yeast on this one. This jar of yeast fermented my cysar to 13.6%, so I'm hoping it goes dry here. I made your simple mead last October and I have two bottles left. It's great, but I'm hoping the three day steep in the actual must will give a little more tannin feel to this brew. If not, I'll just make a two bag concentrate for my next attempt. Your channel has been amazing, I'm so glad I found it! Sorry for the long winded comment on a year old video.
I have returned to brewing after 20 years due to a friend's cherry tree coming down in a storm. So, I jumped right in with nearly 10 gallons of a tart cherry mead. After it was all going, I found your channel. I would have had some problems with it but a few of your videos, including the Viking Blood series, helped. It is done, pasteurized, and back sweetened. It is now ready to bottle. Thank you, I have enjoyed watching your past videos. I am curious about your other city-steading endeavors.
Awesome! Right now we just have a plant based cooking channel that is active www.youtube.com/@PlantBasedBistro , but we do have a gardening channel that is on break www.youtube.com/@PlantLifeYT
Oh yay!! When I put cinnamon in my first batch I was hoping it would enhance the cherry flavor! Still waiting to taste it again. Only difference between our brew so far is that I used rose petals and orange zest. I can't wait to see how your brew turns out!!
I just found your channel an hour or two ago, of course with the original Viking Blood video. Went down the rabbit hole, and I found that you posted recently and it's a new viking blood video! Very nice channel, keep it up guys!
A tip for those big mouth bubblers, start it off by running the lid backwards. You should feel it drop, that drop is the threads of the lid going past and over the start of the threads of the jar. when you feel it drop it should be lined up to screw on without cross-threading.
Oh man, I was at 6 minutes in, and concerned about everything being sanitized in ..”The red bucket of sanitization!!! *jazz hands*”, but then I got to 6:30 and you’ve soothed my fears!
Thank you for all your videos. You have given me the confidence to give this a go myself. So I’m now on day 3 of watching my air locker bubble away. I really don’t know if I should try this one first or start another one next week. You know. In the name of science
If you have the fruit 🍓🍑 or ingredients , BUBBLE AWAY . I do at least a 5 gallon batch a month , for Science Ya know . Unless it's during the growing season , and everything is ripe . Then I'll fill up every Bucket I have . Better Hurry tho because the Bronze & Purple Grapes are ready right after the Figs , Don't forget your Blackberries & Blueberries . Down South Central Florida , they have Strawberries out the Yeng Yang ☯️ . My Grandparents kept a Big Strawberry 🍓 Patch , on this Property . Anyway , keep on keeping ON. 🤠
Regarding cinnamon - when I was growing up in Poland, where mead was considered historically something of a national "wine", I remember when drinking hot winter mead often detecting hints of cinnamon and clove.
Hello Brian and Danica, I tried fermenting my first cherry melomel 3 weeks ago. I used 3 lbs of dried cherries and I used 3lbs net. weight of honey. I just started the second fermentation process to provide clarity. I used a 14% tolerant yeast. I do believe it is a wine type yeast. After 3 weeks of fermenting the airlock was just barley bubbling. Then I added some dried cherries to the 2nd fermenting phase. Just add clarity and other flavors. You guys have good happy brewing.
I used sweet cherries when I made it and didn't get the cough medicine thing at all. It's one of the best meads that I have ever made. Thank you for the recipe.
@@CitySteadingBrews i got strong cherries, and a bit sweet from honey added, but not medicine tasting. I have to make more or this stuff aint ginna make it a year. Lol.
When screwing the lid on, try putting it on and then screwing a little slowly and loosely it in the opposing direction, until you feel or hear a small click like sound or get a click like feel, then it should be placed correctly and can be screwed on with ease. It always works for me, when dealing with those types of lids. Thanks for the great videos! It’s a pleasure to sit in Denmark and watch your informative videos.
Yes! That is Derica's technique as well. Perhaps we should mention that again next time we use the Little Big Mouth Bubbler's. Thank you for your comment and watching!
Wow what timing, i just finished putting together a cherry mead using 5 oz dried tart cherries that i rehydrated, 2 lbs of honey and 1 lb brown sugar. OG is 1.110. The taste of the must before pitching the yeast is so good. Then i go on youtube and find your vid sitting here to view. Im having a blast sith this new hobby. Thank you again
Found your channel about a week ago and I've been binge-watching your episodes. Learned some great news techniques on how to make mead. Something I'm going to make this weekend is a hard seltzer using your mead techniques. Here's to experimenting! 🍻
I made one batch of this amazing cherry mead in November of 2022. I made it in anticipation of taking it to my daughter's wedding in November of 23. I also made apple pie mead, mulberry, blueberry and mixed berry. It was a LOTR theme wedding and I made some awesome LOTR labels with LOTR themed names. The cherry was "Boerne's Elixer" - "A dangerously drinkable cherry melomel, sweet and addictive". I'm telling you, this mead was incredible and absolutely perfect by the time the wedding came around. I wished I had made two batches. I had just enough for about an 8 to 10 oz bottle after I bottled it and I used that as a taste tester through the year. The changes were quite noticeable and as I said, it aged beautifully. I took 19 bottles between the flavors, and all but one bottle was drank. I'm about to start two batches of cherry...because it IS "dangerously drinkable".
Ok, it's Sept 2023..... So late of a comment, but wanted to add this to the original video that encouraged me to take this on one... I have just cracked my 1st bottle of this lot I made... Bottled Nov 2021.... Made a 50L batch.... Bottled, boxed, left for ageing. Then forgot I boxed and stored then.... OMG.... Absolutely fabulous... So smooth, rounded, etc, etc... "I want more", Lucky I have plenty.... Absolutely fabulous... Thank you so much for sharing this and now I have my own fab lot....
You guys got me started. Love your videos and I'm gonna try this for sure. Thanks for doing the videos you do. Including the baking. You to are the best.
Love it! Personally I would have put the cinnamon stick in a separate bag. Preferably one of my small bags that I use almost exclusively for my spices. But I also don’t like a huge amount of cinnamon in my brews. Great video guys!!
I made this and it was delish! Will be making again some day. And, I highly recommend these jars from Northern Brewer. They are solid and good quality. And the company has excellent customer service. I have 3 of these jars and a five gallon carboy so far from them.
I've been using that same OG all year , 1.110. I love it. If it goes dry at 1.000 it's around 14.5% if it goes really dry at .990 it's 15.75% and I can back sweeten with sugar or honey depending on the brew. And if it doesn't quite reach dry you're still in the 13-14% range which is great for mead anyway. This one looks like it's going to be awesome!
I like to start off a little lower than that . 1.100 or 1.090. When it goes Dry and slowes down to almost no activity 1.000 or 1.002 , add more sugars , activity with take off again . I don't like to Backsweeten more than I like to Drink 🍷 it . In case it Stops, Around 1.010 , this last Batch , I went ahead and Bumped it up to 1.022 , because I had to Backsweeten 5 times on the last Batch to get it to 18.090 A.B.V. But I feel sure it will get close to Dry again . May have to Backsweeten again , but I hope not 5 times . The last 2 Batches , I Backsweeten to 1.010 . Again , And they both stopped at 1.006 . So that's what I'm Drinking , I ain't Backsweeten No More . That's all they would take . 🤠
You guys are awesome I have tried a lot of your recipe and learned a lot from what y'all do on the video.. I made a dragon blood Mead following Brian's Dragon's Breath Mead recipe minus the peppers. Started with a 1. 132 ended at a 1.04 0. About 12 and a half percent of some very beautiful very tasty wine I am very proud and I would never have done it without y'all thank you very much . Randall a Grimes Jesup Georgia
Yes and no. Any yeast can be used to make mead, yes. Various yeasts have slightly different characteristics though and will make your mead taste a bit different. Also, they have a wide variety of tolerances to alcohol so using the same recipe, some will be sweet, some dry.
You two got me hooked! I am 6 weeks into "your first mead" and have made 3 fruity wines that were delicious. I loved the Grumpy coffee mug in an older video, I have the same mug! This viking blood mead is next. Keep up the good work! 👍
I made this and really liked it I made two different batches using two different honeys the one I found best to use is the Walmart Great Value brand cheap brand at Walmart I found that that honey adds a flavor almost like hazelnut but when done with this Vikings blood it adds a like pie crust taste which really makes this taste like a cherry pie thank you guys for creating these videos and helping in along my way of making Mead great videos please keep it up
Final update, for a year. Lol. Just bottled, and tasted. From creation Its probably 2 months old? I used raw clover. Its def. The best mead i have made to date. Full disclosure, i am a total noob. But man is this stuff good. 😀. My thoughts however, it is strong cherry flavor, and a bit sticky on my lips. Primary went completely dry. WHEN i do this again, with a 5 gallon batch, i think i will back off the cherries in secondary by 5 oz per gallon, and cut the added honey in half. See how that goes. But thats just MY tastes. This is EXCELLENT as it is though. I seriously dought you two can top this one. GREAT JOB GUYS! and thank you for all your advice in making meads. I learned a truck load.
Started a spiced hibiscus mead a month or so ago. Still going well.Hopefully done before xmas. Used hibiscus flowers,cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Should be nice and Christmassy. : )
I like that Brian keeps doing them... I feel like I need to watch the sugar brew talk again and take notes. I love the math and pre-planning the ammt of sugar so I don't over or under do them.
Here's a Handy Dandy tip . If you have to use what you have , or you can get. And you're Racking from a 6 Gallon Carboy into another one , and your Siphon hoses wants to curl up at the ends , and you want to keep em below the Wine Line , and right where you want em . Get a good size Nut 🔩 . And screw em on the end of your Intake & Discharge Hose . The weight will pull em down , and you can put em right where you want . In my case , I use a Shiny new Lug Nut 🔩 , for a Truck 🚛 Wheel . Screwed right on , fit tight . Works like a Charm . I like the way you figure out things with Math . That was always my favorite subject . I still use Pen & Paper to figure things out . Old School . 🤠
Well... then it just won't be the same.... :( Honestly, it's not cinnamon flavored. I'd try it. There's just a little something extra from it, not overwhelming at all.
@@CitySteadingBrews hmmm. I may give it a try with the cinnamon. I trust you 😄 I’ve been meaning to do a vikings blood again for so long. And another viking Blod.
I really need to try make this one for summer. Out of interest, freezing and thawing is one of the methods they mascerate grapes. Other methods include microwaving them. Apparently the method you use affects the concerntration of different chemicals in the must.
Dark sweet cherrys from walmart leave me with a sweet sourish like the cherry itself but not bad sour luckily i havnt ran into the cough syrup cherry yet
Quick question: I know the answer to producing a 5 gallon batch of the basic mead was multiply all ingredients (except yeast) by 5... does the same hold here? 15 pounds of cherries (or any fruit for that matter) seems excessive when what (I think) you want out of it is some flavor and that "special somethiing"...
thank you for "sciencing" or explaining the gravity, why you went to the numbers you went to and why you did it. i know that is where a lot of people get lost me included.
That bit in Deadpool was, itself, a callback to a very old joke... A ship carrying treasure was returning to port when it was approached by a pirate ship. “Captain, captain! What do we do?” asked the first mate. “First mate,” said the captain, “go to my cabin and bring me my red shirt.” The first mate did so. Wearing his red shirt, the captain and his crew fought off the pirates without any casualties. A few days later the ship was approached by two pirate ships. “Captain, captain! What do we do?” asked the first mate. “First mate,” said the captain, “go to my cabin and bring me my red shirt.” The first mate did so. The crew fought heroically and managed to defeat both pirate ships but lost many men in the process. As the crew celebrated, the first mate asked the captain why he insisted on wearing a red shirt to battle. “It’s simple,” explained the captain. “If I am injured the blood will not show, so the crew continues to fight without fear.” A week later the ship was approached by 12 pirate ships. “Captain, captain! What do we do?” asked the first mate, looking expectantly at his captain. Pale with fear, the captain replied, “First mate, bring me my brown pants!”
I wonder when using a bag to hold the fruit if you use a glass puck to hold the bag down if that would work ok. I use a glass puck when I'm fermenting cabbage. Just a thought.
So I just started a two gallon batch of your version o f Viking Blood. I used 6 lbs of frozen cherries that I put in a brewing bag into my must. This is the first time I have attempted mead. My question is, if the bag is floating on the top should I be concerned about mold or anything like that on the exposed cherries? I have pushed the bag down once but I am concerned that every time you do that the bag will push oxygen into the must. Is there a better solution. note: I just looked through a number of your videos. You mention that swirling would possibly be the answer to keeping the fruit wet with a closed lid and a airlock. So I guess I probably introduced oxygen about 36 hours after I added the yeast to start the ferment. Do you think I ruined this batch by this or was it to early for that to be impactful. Thanks ahead of time for the help.
To catch the threads when putting the top on, go in reverse (as if untightening) for a turn or so until you hear a click. Then tighten. The click means your threads are lined up.
The best wine i ever made was from wild cherry and black berry. I used two kinds of wild cherry we have up here in Maine the black cherry and the choke cherry. Both the black berries and both kinds of cherry where picked from the wild. I should try it again with honey in place of the sugar i used.
You had said fermentation may take 2 to 3 weeks? How do you know the fermentation process is over with? And ready for secondary faze? Thank you for your time 🙏
We do have cherry trees here in Denmark/Nordics ;) What is probably more surprising for people, is the fact that Vikings didn't have honey 'production' of their own. Most honey were traded with the southern countries (Trade, as in the thing where they didn't split peoples skulls).
Tis the season for Viking's Blood Meadin' The batch I started Nov. 12. Blew out the airlock three times before settling down to a polite fermentation rate. We also racked five gallons of Ugly Cry Mead, as my bochet as it's come to be called, into one-gallon carboys for secondary fermentation. We ended up with four and three-quarters so I topped-up the last one with a quart of good quality blueberry pomegranate juice. No sign of secondary fermentation, which is good. I just wanted to back sweeten and flavour it a bit. I'll take another reading next weekend and bottle it if it's done. Experimentation is fun! I do have a question for you in all this rambling, though. If I toss a few spices in one of my Ugly Cry Mead gallons, about how long should I wait to bottle it off the spices for the fullest flavour to develop? Should I rack it off the spices to rest in another one-gallon carboy before bottling? In 10 days so far, not much lees has settled out but it's crystal clear. I wish I could share a picture with you! Burnt honey makes such a beautiful colour!
I'm in Washington State so come June I'll have access to picking Rainer cherries myself. They are a sweet thin red and yellow skin cherry. I think I want to try this with them. Do I just need to pick, pit, freeze, and thaw?
Still early in my learning process. I am interested in your thoughts about using fruit (in a bag to be pulled out) vs the juice of the fruit (Cherries vs Cherry juice). Why wouldn't you just take the cherries and use a blender and add that. Fruits solids fall out of solution during Racking. Did that with "assorted berries" and it turned out amazing. Should I have just added the fruit to a bag? what did I risk? ruin? improve upon?
You can if you want to. There's little difference from blending it to just adding frozen fruit to a bag though. Juice is cleaner to use is all, and can be more consistent.
Love, love your channel! I made this twice before and absolutely love it but I think two of my current ferments of Viking blood mead has stalled. Little bubbler fermenter added 3 lbs 6 oz of Nate’s raw honey with filtered water half filled fermenter; then shook until mixed and added more water to fill; 3 lbs thawed frozen cherries (not bagged in fermenter); 1 cinnamon stick. Gravity 1.136; yeast Lalvin 71B; 1/8th tsp yeast hulls. Live in Dallas, Texas with room temp between 73-78 degrees. Ferments on shelf wrapped with towel to keep light out. Ferments started on 8/6/23 and from one dqy later no bubbling in airlock. Minor activity in ferment itself. One of three ferments with same ratios of ingredients still bubbling in airlock steadily. Other two has no bubbling. What do I need to do with the 2 ferments with no bubbling. Appreciate any assistance.
So I followed the recipe pretty much exactly except I used K1-V1116 yeast. Its been sitting in the house at normal temperature 68-78 degrees since June 20th. After a few days it was very very active. Bubbling a once once a second. Now it has slowed way down. Still positive pressure in the air lock and a bubble once ever 30 or so seconds. I'm thinking it's still active I'm just looking for some reassurance. Thank you. Will be trying the Super Simple Cyser next!
Thanks for your informative and entertaining videos! Question: if the Meade still hasn’t fully cleared after cold crashing, would you recommend adding chitosan to help clear?
Not really. We never use clarifiers. I don’t really cold crash mich anymore either. Most brews clear on their own in time and even if it’s a touch cloudy that doesn’t affect flavor.
Love the channel, learned to make mead and cider and wine on here and loving my journey making, as my young son calls it, "Daddy's potions". Question though, you guys know of anywhere to get orange blossom honey in Canada? The only place I have found it after much looking is $35 per pound! That's waaaaayyyy too expensive. That would make my honey cost for this recipe $110!!! I can get wildflower honey much easier and cheaper here, but hear the orange blossom is much better for most styles of mead. Thanks, you guys rock!
You could probably put sanitized glass beads/weights in the bottom of the bag. That way the fruit is free floating and the weight will keep the bag down.
Could you blend the frozen cherries instead of using the cheese cloth bag (in primary) ?? Thank you guys. You’ve helped me so much. I have so many questions.
You can, but it's just going to make it more messy, you won't really get more out of them. Yeast are microscopic and can get to all the cells in there anyway.
I currently only have equipment for 5 gallon batches. Would be safe to assume I just multiply everything by 5 and be good to go? (Apart from the yeast of course... no need for 5 packets)
I would love to know this too.... my biggest worry is that 15 pounds of cherries will leave a LOT of head room after racking.... and I really want to make this...
Hey, once I tried to make Viking blood (I divided my must into a bucket Viking blood and a bucket simple mead) and the Viking blood bit got all acidic and vinerar-y. Since then I've been traumatized by fresh fruits on my mead (I lost 5L) but also I couldn't take making Viking blood out of my head. Any tips on how to not get a mead infection? I thought of boiling the cherries with the must (I boil my must before putting the yeast in) but am afraid of losing too much of the characteristics of the cherries. Another alternative I thought was keeping them in a separate jar with vodka through the fermentation and adding them on the aging (before bottling). I love your videos, they give me good insights on my production and a huge sense of community 💛🐝🇧🇷
Good morning Brian and Derica, hope you can help me. I started a viking blood on 3/22/21 in a small big mouth fermenter with 3 lbs sweet dark cherries (bought frozen) full pk 71b, 1/4 tsp fermaid O. My O G was 1.124 . Woke up second night to the sound of a boiling fermenter and I got up and installed a blow off tube and left it for 2 days before replacing the air lock. My brew stopped bubbling and no foam about 4 days ago. Without opening, I swirled it some, and did that again on Saturday. I got it to start bubbling again for one day. I have my 1 lb dried tart cherries ready for conditioning stage. I just took a reading this morning and it is 1.014. This can't possibly be done already? Any suggestions on what I should do next? Thank you.
I'm looking at getting into brewing and i really want to do this. My wife however is one of those people (mostly because of the medications that she takes) that are very sensitive to certain Smells..and the over ripe/fermenting fruit smell i'm afraid might make her nauseas. How strong is the scent of this fermenting in the actual fermenter? I want to get one of the bubblers but they're out of stock at the moment so i just have a 2 gal plastic bucket fermenter
When will you guys put out a video dedicated to saving a mead from disaster, like being overly dry or a stuck fermentation? Would that be a back sweetening video?
I made my homemade canned cherries in honey water, not white sugar. The pits are still in them. They are yummy. Could I use my canned cherries with the honey juice in a batch of Viking mead? What would you recommend? I'm new to mead-making, so I just learning. I also have D-47 yeast, yeast nutrient, and pectin enzymes. That's just what I got. Will That be ok? Also, on the first day, the first few hours while waiting for the mead to gas up and get bubbly, do you stir the mead through the day or just leave it the first day?
It sounds like your home canned cherries should be fine for brewing. I would remove the pits however. On the first day giving it a swirl now and then is fine but not completely necessary. Make sure you account for how much fermentable sugars you are adding vs the alcohol tolerance of D-47, which is 15%. We always recommend new brewers to follow a recipe for best results, but we understand that sometimes you have to make due with limited resources.
Doubtful. The dates may have helped in the date wine, simply because the yeast had far more nutrients to work with, but I also think that's not going to happen very often. In this, I'd have to have used the same amount of dates to achieve that effect, if at all.
I have been watching your videos/binging for a few months now. I had been interested in this hobby for over a year and only got started back in September. I wish I had found your videos sooner, but glad I did nevertheless. I just want to say that the way you break every step in the process down to such great detail is phenomenal. I had spent months researching homebrewing before getting my equipment and Every. Single. Article or youtuber left me with more questions than answers. After a handful of your videos, any questions I had accumulated and couldn't get answers to were inevitably answered. You guys are by far the best home brew/instructional video makers out there and truly want to say Thank You.
Travis, this means the world to us to hear this. We appreciate the feedback, truly, and are honored that we could evoke such a comment. We both love to teach, so this is a big deal to us to hear this! Thanks so much for watching and for the kind words. Thanks for watching!
Out of all of the meads I have made, this recipe is one of my favorites. Thank you all for introducing all of us to it. Bless you guys and all you do. Your energy is wonderful and the wealth of knowledge you all pour out is greatly appreciated. Skol!!
Awesome. Glad we could help and happy you enjoy it!
Lookin good! I love that you included the recipe (even if it isn't complete) in the description. It would be awesome if part 2 has the full recipe. Cheers 🍷
I just started making mead about 3 months ago and I see how experienced you guys are. I want to be like y’all when I grow up! Thank you for explaining like you do.
Spoiler Alert, this stuff is awesome! I usually brew beer but decided to make my first mead. Have never been thrilled with the mead I have had commercially so decided to try making my own. I followed the video pretty much exactly. I got a starting gravity of 1.121 and it finished at 1.000. It tasted and smelled like pure alcohol. I back sweetened with 1# of honey and added the dried cherries. In hind sight it did turn out a little sweet because the cherries added more sweetness than I anticipated. Next time I will stop back sweetening a little before perfect and let the dried cherries do their work. For a first try I am super happy with how it turned out. My only regret is it was a lot of work for a gallon. Next week I will be making a 3 gallon batch.
Vikings Blood is what brought me to your all’s channel. One of these days I will start making my own mead. Starting with the Vikings Blood.
Hi Brian and Derica,
Thank you so much for revisiting the viking’s blood mead! The original was already on my list of future brews to try, but having access to a revisited version makes it even better!
Derica, please keep doing the TBROS routine. I’m a fan...
I'd truly appreciate no more conjecturing about our relationship, whether we're in "bad moods" or "had a fight". None of that has anything to do with our channel's content. We make a show for entertainment purposes and it's what we do for a living. It's that simple. If we did the same thing over and over and over, without change, people would tire of it quickly. So, we change it up. The idea that because we're on YT you get to pick apart our appearance, personality, relationship, etc, etc is quite annoying to be honest. There's too much judging going on in the world already, let's just enjoy the show and community built around it and the world of homebrew, please.
@@CitySteadingBrews - Amen.
Started my first personal recipe today. It's a type of Viking's Blood. I used black cherry juice for my cherry. I'm aiming for dry around 12.4%, so I had to cut the juice down with water to get my 50%+ of honey(similar to how you did it with the elderberry mead concentrate). My calculations came out as close to perfect as one could hope! I did all the math yesterday and my OG was 1.093 with a 1.092 target. I added the tea bag directly to the brew, but I'm removing in three days(I like tannins). After that, I'm not touching it for at least three weeks. I used Fleischmann yeast on this one. This jar of yeast fermented my cysar to 13.6%, so I'm hoping it goes dry here.
I made your simple mead last October and I have two bottles left. It's great, but I'm hoping the three day steep in the actual must will give a little more tannin feel to this brew. If not, I'll just make a two bag concentrate for my next attempt.
Your channel has been amazing, I'm so glad I found it! Sorry for the long winded comment on a year old video.
I have returned to brewing after 20 years due to a friend's cherry tree coming down in a storm. So, I jumped right in with nearly 10 gallons of a tart cherry mead. After it was all going, I found your channel. I would have had some problems with it but a few of your videos, including the Viking Blood series, helped. It is done, pasteurized, and back sweetened. It is now ready to bottle. Thank you, I have enjoyed watching your past videos.
I am curious about your other city-steading endeavors.
Awesome!
Right now we just have a plant based cooking channel that is active www.youtube.com/@PlantBasedBistro , but we do have a gardening channel that is on break www.youtube.com/@PlantLifeYT
@@CitySteadingBrews thanks for the links. I will check them out.
Looking forward to seeing the updated recipe!
Part 2 comes out Sunday.
Lol Derica saying "stop it" when Brian was going on about the bung. Lol
I am the great Cornholio! I need TP for my bunghole!
Behind every great man there is a woman rolling her eyes LOL
@@masterofshadows8904 take us to Lake Tittycaca!!!!!
Oh yay!! When I put cinnamon in my first batch I was hoping it would enhance the cherry flavor! Still waiting to taste it again. Only difference between our brew so far is that I used rose petals and orange zest. I can't wait to see how your brew turns out!!
How was,it? It sounds really good.
I just found your channel an hour or two ago, of course with the original Viking Blood video. Went down the rabbit hole, and I found that you posted recently and it's a new viking blood video! Very nice channel, keep it up guys!
A tip for those big mouth bubblers, start it off by running the lid backwards. You should feel it drop, that drop is the threads of the lid going past and over the start of the threads of the jar. when you feel it drop it should be lined up to screw on without cross-threading.
I do this with threaded stuff in general.
Oh man, I was at 6 minutes in, and concerned about everything being sanitized in ..”The red bucket of sanitization!!! *jazz hands*”, but then I got to 6:30 and you’ve soothed my fears!
Thank you for all your videos. You have given me the confidence to give this a go myself.
So I’m now on day 3 of watching my air locker bubble away.
I really don’t know if I should try this one first or start another one next week. You know. In the name of science
If you have the fruit 🍓🍑 or ingredients , BUBBLE AWAY . I do at least a 5 gallon batch a month , for Science Ya know . Unless it's during the growing season , and everything is ripe . Then I'll fill up every Bucket I have . Better Hurry tho because the Bronze & Purple Grapes are ready right after the Figs , Don't forget your Blackberries & Blueberries . Down South Central Florida , they have Strawberries out the Yeng Yang ☯️ . My Grandparents kept a Big Strawberry 🍓 Patch , on this Property . Anyway , keep on keeping ON. 🤠
Ive made my first mead and entered into this great hobby yesterday, inspired by your videos, we will see how it turns out in a couple of months!
Good luck!! Should love it!
@@mycrazylifewfawnlisette3582 thank you!
This updated video oozes quality! Well done!
Thank you! I cringe when I watch the original, lol.
Regarding cinnamon - when I was growing up in Poland, where mead was considered historically something of a national "wine", I remember when drinking hot winter mead often detecting hints of cinnamon and clove.
Hello Brian and Danica,
I tried fermenting my first cherry melomel 3 weeks ago. I used 3 lbs of dried cherries and I used 3lbs net. weight of honey. I just started the second fermentation process to provide clarity. I used a 14% tolerant yeast. I do believe it is a wine type yeast. After 3 weeks of fermenting the airlock was just barley bubbling. Then I added some dried cherries to the 2nd fermenting phase. Just add clarity and other flavors. You guys have good happy brewing.
I used sweet cherries when I made it and didn't get the cough medicine thing at all. It's one of the best meads that I have ever made. Thank you for the recipe.
Awesome! Some say it tastes too medicine like, happy to hear yours didn’t!
@@CitySteadingBrews i got strong cherries, and a bit sweet from honey added, but not medicine tasting. I have to make more or this stuff aint ginna make it a year. Lol.
When screwing the lid on, try putting it on and then screwing a little slowly and loosely it in the opposing direction, until you feel or hear a small click like sound or get a click like feel, then it should be placed correctly and can be screwed on with ease. It always works for me, when dealing with those types of lids. Thanks for the great videos! It’s a pleasure to sit in Denmark and watch your informative videos.
Yes! That is Derica's technique as well. Perhaps we should mention that again next time we use the Little Big Mouth Bubbler's. Thank you for your comment and watching!
Wow what timing, i just finished putting together a cherry mead using 5 oz dried tart cherries that i rehydrated, 2 lbs of honey and 1 lb brown sugar. OG is 1.110. The taste of the must before pitching the yeast is so good. Then i go on youtube and find your vid sitting here to view. Im having a blast sith this new hobby. Thank you again
Found your channel about a week ago and I've been binge-watching your episodes. Learned some great news techniques on how to make mead. Something I'm going to make this weekend is a hard seltzer using your mead techniques. Here's to experimenting! 🍻
The Viking Blood Mead video was the first video of yours I watched. Glad to get a 2020 Update.
I just found your channel a couple of Days ago. This is my new favorit thing and im gonna start my own first Mead tonight! 😊 Thx for the inspiration
Does anyone else hear "RED BUCKET OF SANITIZATION!" in their head when racking?
LOL, then it's wooooorking!
I do too from time to time.
Recently bought my own...though mine is yellow, doesn't have quite the same ring to it though
@@davidmathieson8661 Mines is green but red in spirit.
@@davidmathieson8661 I had a green one. But it fell and cracked now I use a clear tote.
Made this mead around November last year - it's absolutely stunning, has received compliments from all of my friends :)
Great to hear!
Love yalls videos keep it up
Thanks so much
I made one batch of this amazing cherry mead in November of 2022. I made it in anticipation of taking it to my daughter's wedding in November of 23. I also made apple pie mead, mulberry, blueberry and mixed berry. It was a LOTR theme wedding and I made some awesome LOTR labels with LOTR themed names. The cherry was "Boerne's Elixer" - "A dangerously drinkable cherry melomel, sweet and addictive". I'm telling you, this mead was incredible and absolutely perfect by the time the wedding came around. I wished I had made two batches. I had just enough for about an 8 to 10 oz bottle after I bottled it and I used that as a taste tester through the year. The changes were quite noticeable and as I said, it aged beautifully. I took 19 bottles between the flavors, and all but one bottle was drank. I'm about to start two batches of cherry...because it IS "dangerously drinkable".
Ok, it's Sept 2023..... So late of a comment, but wanted to add this to the original video that encouraged me to take this on one... I have just cracked my 1st bottle of this lot I made... Bottled Nov 2021.... Made a 50L batch.... Bottled, boxed, left for ageing. Then forgot I boxed and stored then.... OMG.... Absolutely fabulous... So smooth, rounded, etc, etc... "I want more", Lucky I have plenty.... Absolutely fabulous... Thank you so much for sharing this and now I have my own fab lot....
Lol, sometimes it’s good to forget them for a while!
I can't wait to try this.
Wow wow and wow, u guys keep it so simple... Can't wait for the next part, very eager to see the colour of this Viking Blod.
You guys got me started. Love your videos and I'm gonna try this for sure. Thanks for doing the videos you do. Including the baking. You to are the best.
Love it! Personally I would have put the cinnamon stick in a separate bag. Preferably one of my small bags that I use almost exclusively for my spices. But I also don’t like a huge amount of cinnamon in my brews. Great video guys!!
We knew the cinnamon and the fruit were going to be in for about the same time so.... made sense.
I have the same big mouth fermenter. I love it but, you are definitely right about starting the lid on those threads! Great info in this. Thanks!
Thanks for watching!
Very true i am watching again need to make another batch
I made this and it was delish! Will be making again some day. And, I highly recommend these jars from Northern Brewer. They are solid and good quality. And the company has excellent customer service. I have 3 of these jars and a five gallon carboy so far from them.
I did this exact recipe, tried it today, its unbelievable, need to make more!
I've been using that same OG all year , 1.110. I love it. If it goes dry at 1.000 it's around 14.5% if it goes really dry at .990 it's 15.75% and I can back sweeten with sugar or honey depending on the brew. And if it doesn't quite reach dry you're still in the 13-14% range which is great for mead anyway. This one looks like it's going to be awesome!
I like to start off a little lower than that . 1.100 or 1.090. When it goes Dry and slowes down to almost no activity 1.000 or 1.002 , add more sugars , activity with take off again . I don't like to Backsweeten more than I like to Drink 🍷 it . In case it Stops, Around 1.010 , this last Batch , I went ahead and Bumped it up to 1.022 , because I had to Backsweeten 5 times on the last Batch to get it to 18.090 A.B.V. But I feel sure it will get close to Dry again . May have to Backsweeten again , but I hope not 5 times . The last 2 Batches , I Backsweeten to 1.010 . Again , And they both stopped at 1.006 . So that's what I'm Drinking , I ain't Backsweeten No More . That's all they would take . 🤠
You guys are awesome I have tried a lot of your recipe and learned a lot from what y'all do on the video.. I made a dragon blood Mead following Brian's Dragon's Breath Mead recipe minus the peppers. Started with a 1. 132 ended at a 1.04 0. About 12 and a half percent of some very beautiful very tasty wine I am very proud and I would never have done it without y'all thank you very much . Randall a Grimes Jesup Georgia
Can you use any type of yeast for meed
Yes and no. Any yeast can be used to make mead, yes. Various yeasts have slightly different characteristics though and will make your mead taste a bit different. Also, they have a wide variety of tolerances to alcohol so using the same recipe, some will be sweet, some dry.
You two got me hooked! I am 6 weeks into "your first mead" and have made 3 fruity wines that were delicious. I loved the Grumpy coffee mug in an older video, I have the same mug! This viking blood mead is next. Keep up the good work! 👍
I made this and really liked it I made two different batches using two different honeys the one I found best to use is the Walmart Great Value brand cheap brand at Walmart I found that that honey adds a flavor almost like hazelnut but when done with this Vikings blood it adds a like pie crust taste which really makes this taste like a cherry pie thank you guys for creating these videos and helping in along my way of making Mead great videos please keep it up
Final update, for a year. Lol. Just bottled, and tasted. From creation Its probably 2 months old? I used raw clover. Its def. The best mead i have made to date. Full disclosure, i am a total noob. But man is this stuff good. 😀. My thoughts however, it is strong cherry flavor, and a bit sticky on my lips. Primary went completely dry. WHEN i do this again, with a 5 gallon batch, i think i will back off the cherries in secondary by 5 oz per gallon, and cut the added honey in half. See how that goes. But thats just MY tastes. This is EXCELLENT as it is though. I seriously dought you two can top this one. GREAT JOB GUYS! and thank you for all your advice in making meads. I learned a truck load.
Gonna give it a shot....I first tried mead last year and loved it. I hope I can get this right.
Perhaps explain the differences of various honeys and effects on mead ? Love you videos!
There are thousands of honeys! They all just taste a little different but all ferment.
the facial response to "you know, squeezin the bag" at 12:19 is priceless! lol
Started a spiced hibiscus mead a month or so ago. Still going well.Hopefully done before xmas. Used hibiscus flowers,cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Should be nice and Christmassy. : )
I always geek out on the calcs! #itsthemath
whew, someone likes it!
I like that Brian keeps doing them... I feel like I need to watch the sugar brew talk again and take notes. I love the math and pre-planning the ammt of sugar so I don't over or under do them.
@@CitySteadingBrews - Hey, despite the fact that I have dyscalculia, I love the math of mead (and of wine)!
Hey I found it!!!! lol! Thank you for awesome content!!! I think I may try and make this soon!
Looking forward to this version.
Here's a Handy Dandy tip . If you have to use what you have , or you can get. And you're Racking from a 6 Gallon Carboy into another one , and your Siphon hoses wants to curl up at the ends , and you want to keep em below the Wine Line , and right where you want em . Get a good size Nut 🔩 . And screw em on the end of your Intake & Discharge Hose . The weight will pull em down , and you can put em right where you want . In my case , I use a Shiny new Lug Nut 🔩 , for a Truck 🚛 Wheel . Screwed right on , fit tight . Works like a Charm . I like the way you figure out things with Math . That was always my favorite subject . I still use Pen & Paper to figure things out . Old School . 🤠
Better sanitize that nut! :)
Looks good. Cant stand cinnamon so personally i’ll be leaving that out. Looking forward to part 2, cant wait!
Well... then it just won't be the same.... :(
Honestly, it's not cinnamon flavored. I'd try it. There's just a little something extra from it, not overwhelming at all.
@@CitySteadingBrews hmmm. I may give it a try with the cinnamon. I trust you 😄 I’ve been meaning to do a vikings blood again for so long. And another viking Blod.
I really need to try make this one for summer. Out of interest, freezing and thawing is one of the methods they mascerate grapes. Other methods include microwaving them. Apparently the method you use affects the concerntration of different chemicals in the must.
Dark sweet cherrys from walmart leave me with a sweet sourish like the cherry itself but not bad sour luckily i havnt ran into the cough syrup cherry yet
That's where I bought mine from. I'm only one day in to this brew.
I put a spin on this mead and used pom wonderful pomegranate juice with cherry juice and lemon zest
Quick question: I know the answer to producing a 5 gallon batch of the basic mead was multiply all ingredients (except yeast) by 5... does the same hold here? 15 pounds of cherries (or any fruit for that matter) seems excessive when what (I think) you want out of it is some flavor and that "special somethiing"...
Yes, still scale up by 5. If you don't, you will have less cherry flavor since you're diluting it.
@@CitySteadingBrews All righty then... 15 pounds of fruit it is!
thank you for "sciencing" or explaining the gravity, why you went to the numbers you went to and why you did it. i know that is where a lot of people get lost me included.
No worries, we want you to understand what's going on.
I tried it after I watched the first video earlier in the year I'm ageing a bottle it's killing me tastes so good
Playing the bass line that was in the movie Snatch while you were ladling was priceless. Yeah I know im the only weirdo that caught that.
The red bucket of sanitization!!!!!!!! I love your videos.
why no thea? Quess because the cherries provide tannins and so on?
Exactly.
Why not add the frozen cherries in the secondary stage? Thanks!
I like the flavors created by the fermented fruit. Also… it’s traditional to the original recipe.
Looking forward to the first taste!
Very delicious 😋 thanks for information 🌹🌹❤️❤️
Thank you for watching!
And for the record I love the trbos introduction. Jazz hands and Brian's funny looks included LOL
LOL, you probably didn’t realize it, but “I’m wearing my red shirt,” is a shout-out to Deadpool from the first movie too.
Heh, well... I'm good with that.
That bit in Deadpool was, itself, a callback to a very old joke...
A ship carrying treasure was returning to port when it was approached by a pirate ship.
“Captain, captain! What do we do?” asked the first mate.
“First mate,” said the captain, “go to my cabin and bring me my red shirt.”
The first mate did so.
Wearing his red shirt, the captain and his crew fought off the pirates without any casualties.
A few days later the ship was approached by two pirate ships.
“Captain, captain! What do we do?” asked the first mate.
“First mate,” said the captain, “go to my cabin and bring me my red shirt.”
The first mate did so.
The crew fought heroically and managed to defeat both pirate ships but lost many men in the process. As the crew celebrated, the first mate asked the captain why he insisted on wearing a red shirt to battle.
“It’s simple,” explained the captain. “If I am injured the blood will not show, so the crew continues to fight without fear.”
A week later the ship was approached by 12 pirate ships.
“Captain, captain! What do we do?” asked the first mate, looking expectantly at his captain.
Pale with fear, the captain replied, “First mate, bring me my brown pants!”
I got a cheap refractometer and compared it to my hydrometer. It is surprisingly accurate. Why are they not more popular to use?
Because once there is alcohol you have to use formulas to get accurate readings.
@@CitySteadingBrews oh so once it has some alcohol, it no longer works the same?
@AM2PMReviews yes. Light travels differently through alcohol than water.
I wonder when using a bag to hold the fruit if you use a glass puck to hold the bag down if that would work ok. I use a glass puck when I'm fermenting cabbage. Just a thought.
Yes, those work great.
So I just started a two gallon batch of your version o f Viking Blood. I used 6 lbs of frozen cherries that I put in a brewing bag into my must. This is the first time I have attempted mead. My question is, if the bag is floating on the top should I be concerned about mold or anything like that on the exposed cherries? I have pushed the bag down once but I am concerned that every time you do that the bag will push oxygen into the must. Is there a better solution. note: I just looked through a number of your videos. You mention that swirling would possibly be the answer to keeping the fruit wet with a closed lid and a airlock. So I guess I probably introduced oxygen about 36 hours after I added the yeast to start the ferment. Do you think I ruined this batch by this or was it to early for that to be impactful. Thanks ahead of time for the help.
You need to keep the fruit cap wet or submerged.
To catch the threads when putting the top on, go in reverse (as if untightening) for a turn or so until you hear a click. Then tighten. The click means your threads are lined up.
Can you blend the cherries instead of mashing them?
Not necessary but you can. Will make more mess and lees in the fermenter
Could you theoretically use vanilla in this in place of the cinnamon?
It would taste conpletely different but in theory you can.
@@CitySteadingBrews I might give it a test run. Equipment on order. In a few months I’ll try to remember to come back and update.
I just tried a large, sterilized glass marble into my fruit bags when brewing and it has been an absolute game changer.
The best wine i ever made was from wild cherry and black berry. I used two kinds of wild cherry we have up here in Maine the black cherry and the choke cherry. Both the black berries and both kinds of cherry where picked from the wild. I should try it again with honey in place of the sugar i used.
So you are in your 60's like my friends think? lol I didn't think so but hey.
Is it a no no to add more fruit during the fermentation process? I was a little short on my cherries. 🍒
You can add more, sure.
You had said fermentation may take 2 to 3 weeks? How do you know the fermentation process is over with? And ready for secondary faze? Thank you for your time 🙏
th-cam.com/video/DHqgdkHIt8g/w-d-xo.html
We do have cherry trees here in Denmark/Nordics ;)
What is probably more surprising for people, is the fact that Vikings didn't have honey 'production' of their own. Most honey were traded with the southern countries (Trade, as in the thing where they didn't split peoples skulls).
Tis the season for Viking's Blood Meadin' The batch I started Nov. 12. Blew out the airlock three times before settling down to a polite fermentation rate.
We also racked five gallons of Ugly Cry Mead, as my bochet as it's come to be called, into one-gallon carboys for secondary fermentation.
We ended up with four and three-quarters so I topped-up the last one with a quart of good quality blueberry pomegranate juice. No sign of secondary fermentation, which is good. I just wanted to back sweeten and flavour it a bit. I'll take another reading next weekend and bottle it if it's done. Experimentation is fun!
I do have a question for you in all this rambling, though. If I toss a few spices in one of my Ugly Cry Mead gallons, about how long should I wait to bottle it off the spices for the fullest flavour to develop? Should I rack it off the spices to rest in another one-gallon carboy before bottling? In 10 days so far, not much lees has settled out but it's crystal clear. I wish I could share a picture with you! Burnt honey makes such a beautiful colour!
I'm in Washington State so come June I'll have access to picking Rainer cherries myself. They are a sweet thin red and yellow skin cherry. I think I want to try this with them. Do I just need to pick, pit, freeze, and thaw?
Still early in my learning process. I am interested in your thoughts about using fruit (in a bag to be pulled out) vs the juice of the fruit (Cherries vs Cherry juice). Why wouldn't you just take the cherries and use a blender and add that. Fruits solids fall out of solution during Racking. Did that with "assorted berries" and it turned out amazing. Should I have just added the fruit to a bag? what did I risk? ruin? improve upon?
You can if you want to. There's little difference from blending it to just adding frozen fruit to a bag though. Juice is cleaner to use is all, and can be more consistent.
Love, love your channel! I made this twice before and absolutely love it but I think two of my current ferments of Viking blood mead has stalled. Little bubbler fermenter added 3 lbs 6 oz of Nate’s raw honey with filtered water half filled fermenter; then shook until mixed and added more water to fill; 3 lbs thawed frozen cherries (not bagged in fermenter); 1 cinnamon stick. Gravity 1.136; yeast Lalvin 71B; 1/8th tsp yeast hulls. Live in Dallas, Texas with room temp between 73-78 degrees. Ferments on shelf wrapped with towel to keep light out. Ferments started on 8/6/23 and from one dqy later no bubbling in airlock. Minor activity in ferment itself. One of three ferments with same ratios of ingredients still bubbling in airlock steadily. Other two has no bubbling. What do I need to do with the 2 ferments with no bubbling. Appreciate any assistance.
Sounds like you need new yeast. Also, no need to wrap to keep out light. It’s not really a problem.
So I followed the recipe pretty much exactly except I used K1-V1116 yeast. Its been sitting in the house at normal temperature 68-78 degrees since June 20th. After a few days it was very very active. Bubbling a once once a second. Now it has slowed way down. Still positive pressure in the air lock and a bubble once ever 30 or so seconds. I'm thinking it's still active I'm just looking for some reassurance. Thank you. Will be trying the Super Simple Cyser next!
Try checking gravity? It is possibly done. Check now and in a week. Yup f they are the same, it’s done.
@@CitySteadingBrews I was also thinking of putting some dried cherries in when I rack it like you did in the 3rd version of Viking Blood.
Thanks for your informative and entertaining videos! Question: if the Meade still hasn’t fully cleared after cold crashing, would you recommend adding chitosan to help clear?
Not really. We never use clarifiers. I don’t really cold crash mich anymore either. Most brews clear on their own in time and even if it’s a touch cloudy that doesn’t affect flavor.
Love the channel, learned to make mead and cider and wine on here and loving my journey making, as my young son calls it, "Daddy's potions". Question though, you guys know of anywhere to get orange blossom honey in Canada? The only place I have found it after much looking is $35 per pound! That's waaaaayyyy too expensive. That would make my honey cost for this recipe $110!!! I can get wildflower honey much easier and cheaper here, but hear the orange blossom is much better for most styles of mead. Thanks, you guys rock!
Are cherries added with seeds?
Nope, they are pitted.
@@CitySteadingBrews tnx
I just started this recipe. Can’t want to see how it turns out!
Does glass pickle weights work for this floating bag?
It could, but they can also compact the fruit and make it harder for the yeast to get to.
Oh, I see. That makes sense. Thank you very much.
You could probably put sanitized glass beads/weights in the bottom of the bag. That way the fruit is free floating and the weight will keep the bag down.
@@connissia That's a really nice idea actually. Also glass beads are more common where I live and no compacting the fruit problem. Thanks a lot.
Could you blend the frozen cherries instead of using the cheese cloth bag (in primary) ?? Thank you guys. You’ve helped me so much. I have so many questions.
You can, but it's just going to make it more messy, you won't really get more out of them. Yeast are microscopic and can get to all the cells in there anyway.
I currently only have equipment for 5 gallon batches. Would be safe to assume I just multiply everything by 5 and be good to go? (Apart from the yeast of course... no need for 5 packets)
I would love to know this too.... my biggest worry is that 15 pounds of cherries will leave a LOT of head room after racking.... and I really want to make this...
Also, other recipes I've found say 15 pounds honey 6 pounds cherries.... but I want that ruby red color...
Scale everything but the yeast, just double it.
Hey, once I tried to make Viking blood (I divided my must into a bucket Viking blood and a bucket simple mead) and the Viking blood bit got all acidic and vinerar-y. Since then I've been traumatized by fresh fruits on my mead (I lost 5L) but also I couldn't take making Viking blood out of my head. Any tips on how to not get a mead infection? I thought of boiling the cherries with the must (I boil my must before putting the yeast in) but am afraid of losing too much of the characteristics of the cherries. Another alternative I thought was keeping them in a separate jar with vodka through the fermentation and adding them on the aging (before bottling).
I love your videos, they give me good insights on my production and a huge sense of community 💛🐝🇧🇷
Good morning Brian and Derica, hope you can help me. I started a viking blood on 3/22/21 in a small big mouth fermenter with 3 lbs sweet dark cherries (bought frozen) full pk 71b, 1/4 tsp fermaid O. My O G was 1.124 . Woke up second night to the sound of a boiling fermenter and I got up and installed a blow off tube and left it for 2 days before replacing the air lock.
My brew stopped bubbling and no foam about 4 days ago. Without opening, I swirled it some, and did that again on Saturday. I got it to start bubbling again for one day. I have my 1 lb dried tart cherries ready for conditioning stage.
I just took a reading this morning and it is 1.014. This can't possibly be done already? Any suggestions on what I should do next?
Thank you.
If the readings say it, it's totally possible. But give it another week and take another reading to be sure.
I'm looking at getting into brewing and i really want to do this. My wife however is one of those people (mostly because of the medications that she takes) that are very sensitive to certain Smells..and the over ripe/fermenting fruit smell i'm afraid might make her nauseas. How strong is the scent of this fermenting in the actual fermenter? I want to get one of the bubblers but they're out of stock at the moment so i just have a 2 gal plastic bucket fermenter
I don’t notice any smells. Derica is quite sensitive and has never said anything aside from one or two brews over the years.
When will you guys put out a video dedicated to saving a mead from disaster, like being overly dry or a stuck fermentation? Would that be a back sweetening video?
I think that would require them to make a batch wrong and see if they can fix it
I made my homemade canned cherries in honey water, not white sugar. The pits are still in them. They are yummy. Could I use my canned cherries with the honey juice in a batch of Viking mead? What would you recommend? I'm new to mead-making, so I just learning. I also have D-47 yeast, yeast nutrient, and pectin enzymes. That's just what I got. Will That be ok? Also, on the first day, the first few hours while waiting for the mead to gas up and get bubbly, do you stir the mead through the day or just leave it the first day?
It sounds like your home canned cherries should be fine for brewing. I would remove the pits however. On the first day giving it a swirl now and then is fine but not completely necessary. Make sure you account for how much fermentable sugars you are adding vs the alcohol tolerance of D-47, which is 15%. We always recommend new brewers to follow a recipe for best results, but we understand that sometimes you have to make due with limited resources.
Do you have a video going over yeast hulls and the benefits?
We have this video: th-cam.com/video/OiXEedYvn_w/w-d-xo.html
Can you add the yeast and nutrient and stir it in just before the cherries?
Sure
Lookin’ good, y’all. 🤘
So, if you put a few dates in it, would it help raise the alcohol content like with the date wine?
Doubtful. The dates may have helped in the date wine, simply because the yeast had far more nutrients to work with, but I also think that's not going to happen very often. In this, I'd have to have used the same amount of dates to achieve that effect, if at all.