There's more than one way to brew. If your safe and enjoy the experience than it's not wrong. I love that you guys are trying things I'm not familiar with so I can see what else can be done
We just picked Santa Rosa plums off our tree and as usual, I’m jumping in head first to make this wine. I just mashed the plums and added sugar similar to the strawberry wine. I’m so excited to do this and I’m glad I found you on TH-cam! You guys are so awesome in your explanations! I’m mashing my plums right now watching this video. I switch to the strawberry video too to get more information. My yeast arrived today and my straining bag arrived yesterday. This is exciting and my husband is thrilled to have something other than jelly or jam from our fruit trees. Thank you guys! 🎉🎉🎉
She reminds me of a Fourth Grade Teacher, and you remind me of ' The Guy ' fixing the HVAC at my local grocery. LOL Hey, Remember, " No Matter Where You Go, There You Are. " You two do a great job. Thanks for the entertainment.
@@CitySteadingBrews LOL. Well my Fourth Grade teacher was Awesome, and if it wasn't for the HVAC Guy, the meat at the store would stink. So both are awesome. LOL.
I have a big-ol pomegranate bush here, they are bushes not trees, it's about 17 years old, I am gonna make wine from it come next harvest, thanks for all the insight on how to do so I have learned so much watching your vids and making mead, I'll pry keep it pure and just add sugar for gravity as needed , some black tea for tannin, I'll skip on the pepper this year but you never know :)
Y'all got me into brewing! I've made a few different meads that i didnt really care for but im on to agave wine tea wines and tepache now. Trying it all
When you're done washing your hands it'd be great to watch that Amaretto video! Kidding kidding, but when you're ready, I'm really looking forward to seeing that one.
I made the spiced apple from your recipe. After awhile I noticed that there was no activity at all not a single bubble. Nothing. Then I remembered in one of the videos of yours you mentioned that before we start doing something drastic to just give it a good swirl... so i did. Well that's all it took and the bubble is just spitting away! Like you've said, those little buggers have a mind of their own.
Another entertaining and informative video. I've come to expect no less :) Great to see you deliver practical applications of different methods. Started a batch of your Spiced Metheglin mead today (with minor alterations of honey type and yeast type to match what I had on hand) and had airlock activity within 3 hours. Smelled awesome while being mixed up, looking forward to getting a good initial taste one of these days.
This sounds right up my alley. Still playing with juice only and accumulating equipment. You guys were my main inspiration to start so thanks. Now that Canadian winter is over I'm going to be ramping up production
I've just finished cooking and pureeing 60 litres of plums, that I added 20 kg of dissolved sugar too. The plumbs were cooked to boiling first, to kill any bugs and wild yeasts. Now I am waiting for the temp to drop enough to add my yeast and start fermenting it. Some will be kept as a wine, some as a cider and the rest will be turned into a plum liquor. :P :)
I have used bentonite before and I added it in before the yeast which would eliminate the fear of oxidation. I also used keisosol and chitosan , as my understanding is that it works better with bentonite.
No criticism, just relaying one of my own practices when using whole spices like allspice berries, juniper berries, whole cloves, ect. I enclose them into a metal tea ball that I have and drop it in. It makes for no mess easy retrieval later and doesn't inhibit the infusion.
current running brews: Cacao mead, 5 gallons. holiday fruitcake mead, 2 gallons. Frigg's Love Poem (odins love clone), 1 gallon. V-Blod Clone, 1 gallon started today). I'm not Huge into Pomegranate, but I'm Kinda interested in how this comes out... 25:24 true story, the ONLY brew that ever skunked on me was 20+ years ago when I first started, and I had used a balloon... Never Again. Buy An Airlock people, they are two bucks!
I was watching you siphon with the fruit still in, and I know you wanted the lot, but it got me wondering about cheesecloth. Have you ever used cheesecloth over the siphon cap? I'm guessing that it would be a tad prone to clogidity 🤪. Clogfulness? 🤪 Just curious whether you have tried it. Oh, and the bit in the video @ 32:45, where you two were, talking in unfinished sentences reminded me of an episode of Black Books ( He's leaving Home @22:24) in Season 1. If you like Hitchhikers guide , and Monty Python, it will be right up your alley. 🤣😂
You can, but it will clog, yes. We just rack off the gros lees, then leave it a while, rack again before taste adjustment, then leave it a while again before racking to bottle. Keeps them pretty clean. A bit getting past first rack is normal really.
Just found you guys here, quite entertaining, You mentioned the blow off tube method as opposed to an air lock ! It's the same, isn't it, just different, Same, but, different! 😊 I used to make wine from fruit decade's ago I changed jobs and it had to stop, now you guys have rekindled my enthusiasm, thanks guys. Remember it's the same, But different!
I do find that back-sweetening brings out the fruit flavors. I made an apple-pear cider (out of the gallon 32 oz was the pear juice the rest apple) and when it was done brewing I tried a bit before adding sugar for taste and to naturally carbonate it. The dry cider was good but I remember being disappointed that the pear taste did not come through. Then I added sugar to taste and like magic the pear taste came through, it actually took over and almost tastes like just pear cider (I don’t have my notes with me but I want to say the gravity went down to about 0.996 and after back sweetening 1.020). To date it’s been one of my favorite brews.
I experienced something similar with the cider I made from my own pears (made the juice with steam extraction, not sure what the english term is). After primary fermentation it tasted harldy like anything at all and I was really really disappointed. But I had it sitting in secondary for 2 months and it developed a lot of taste during that. Sweetening with Xylite brought it out even more and now I am havingg a hard time forcing myself to be patient and let it age some more in the bottles 😄
You should do a comparison of different clarifiers: bentonite, gelatin, sparkaloid, etc. See what works better and how/if it changes the brew. When I have used bentonite in the past I feel like it stripped some of the flavors out.
Hey guys. Love your channel. This is where I started my mead making journey. I love the little big mouth bubblers you use and have 2 - 1.4 gallon models for mead and a 5 and 6.5 gallon units I use for beer with a hop basket attachment. My question for you Brian and Derika is why you don’t use muslin bags/ brew bags and a glass weight for your fruited meads and wines? I’ve been using them for a couple of years and they still add plenty of flavor without the mess.
So here’s a somewhat unrelated question. If I’ve started a wine already ( currently in primary fermentation) and I’m just realizing now it will likely need tannins for mouthfeel, is it too late to add some black tea?
Sounds delicious. I have a plum and damson mead in secondary at the moment, which I'm very much looking forward to tasting. That stopped at 1.010, which I put down to sorbitol too. Didn't shift after several weeks, so almost certainly done.
For all of the brews (meads) I have made that have fruit in them, the fruit has gone in after primary fermentation. I look at it this way. There are less factors to worry about for primary (ie less things to cause issues). And, now knowing that certain fruits are more acidic than previously realized (after seeing this video), that could potentially help with stabilizing. As for the bentonite, I have used it on all of my batches, and have been pleased with the results. Admittedly I don't mix it with water before adding it to the batch though. I ran into the same issue as you did in the video. So now I just measure the amount needed and dump that into the batch. Haven't had an issue doing it this way either.
@@fartsonbasketball9206 I just add it powdered. Mixing it with water beforehand ended up being too messy, and too much of it would cling to the glass (forcing me to use more water to get it all out). So, after doing that with my first couple of batches I decided to skip the mixing stage and just put it into the batch to be cleared.
Wish I could get fermaid o where i live. I found a paper on yeast autolysis and have been making something close by heating a thick bread yeast slurry to 55C for 24 hours. I then dehydrate and freeze the flakes. I've found i can follow the fermaid o dosage compared to boiling bread yeast where i needed 3 times as much for a clean ferment in meads.
There should be 3 ways to reduce headspace raise the fluid level like you did ( I have added a mass-produced wine of a similar flavor), lower the top with a different jar. I was having an issue with oxygenation flavors in my white wines and tried a different way. Fill the space; I used a sanitized piece of saranwrap spread out over the wine top in a wide mouth fermenter.
Good Morning from Ontario Canada, cant wait to see how this vid goes, oh, also i just started my latest brew the other day, 1 gallon of traditional mead, bubbling away happily in my closet, the plan is to backsweeten it with an existing acerglyn i made 6 months ago thats waaaaaaay too sweet, because i did the dumb and didnt taste as i was sweetening it
Broken egg shells is what I use to bring my mead pH to a manageable 4 to 5.5 range. Bake them in the oven to kill bacteria and make them brittle, then grind up in a mortar and pestle.
I have a mess of leftover syrups I canned and stored. Apple, Blueberry, Grape, Chokecherry, Nectarine and Pineapple. About 2gal total. So when the 5gal hard cider is bottled (soon) it's looking like a batch of mixed fruit mead will be next. Wish me luck
Thanks for another great video, (I look forward to it every week). I agree with Brian, 'Pompeplum Wine' is what it should be called. To me the name has a Latin like Mediterranean vibe to it. 😃 A question to pick your brains - if you were to duplicate 'The Franklin' using tea bags instead of fresh mint, how many would you use & how long would you let it steep? I have both Mint & Peppermint on hand and want to combine the two. What say you? God Bless. 🍷
30:39 if plums contain nonfermentable sugars, shouldn't we start with higher sugar content to get more potential? I do not say we must but, alcohol content might be too low. Your ended at 11.6% but what is minimal ABV, so it would not get spoiled in bottles without pasteurisation or stabilisation ?
I am fermenting according to your guides but it takes sometimes double the time, I was wondering if the fact that I live at 2600 meters over sea level affects oxygenation?
That looks amazing. I will try bentonite on a future brew. Thank you guys. Also, I would love for you guys to do a test on whether or not it changes the taste of the brew
Not on this topic But I have an abundant supply of Pickle buckets. I know not to use for fermenting But can I use as a sanitation bucket with starsan? Thanks Mike Daly
Slightly off topic but could there be any reason as to why my latest batch is taking so long? OG of 1.096 and after 18 days I'm only down to 1.050. I used Lalvin EC1118 and there are no other additives other than a little orange peel and a handful of raisins. After 10 days or so, I did add in some boiled yeast bodies which certainly seemed to kick up the activity but for all the bubbling that's taking place, the pace does seem to be quite slow ATM. Any tips?
I know it's off topic but, wouldn't it be easier to add spices after fermentation is relatively done to make a spiced mead ? & then possibly fortify it as well??
@@CitySteadingBrews yea I've watched those but was just curious if one could add spices to a simple mead after fermentation , cause I noticed there's no foamy stuff on top of spiced mead , it just kinda sizzles like a soda pop lol
Need a bit of advice. My Little Big Mouth Bubbler lid will not seal. Al three brews I have used it on leaked around the lid, so no gas is forced out of the airlock. All three brews finished and turned out well. I have even bought some silicon food grade gasket material and made a replacement gasket. Still leaks. Any suggestions?
Hey Guys:) I started warching your videos and entjoyed your videos. I tried to make your blueberrie mead and followed your recipe step by step. It startet fermenting really strong and fast, but after 3 days it slowed down and stopped completly. The yeast went to bottom. What should i do different? I used spring water, sanetized everything..... i would love an answer frol you Greetings from Germany :)
Personally I like Sparkolloid for clearing in the rare cases that I use something. It's made of cellulose and diatomaceous earth, which are both fiber supplements (DE is also used for a bunch of other things) and are things that are more likely to already be found in your diet.
Okay, so my wife and I started watching lately as we are thinking about starting brewing. But, there is something she brought up that I don't see addressed. What do you do with the left over fruit?
I think TH-cam blocked my previous comment so here it is without a hyperlink... I'm new to fermentation and wanted to know, what are your thoughts on using things like heftman fermentation jars? They don't have an airlock with a liquid but a silicone one-way ventilation
Other question: today is racking day to get my fruit cake mead off the spices. Do I need to let it rest before adding the kraken snd if so, for how long? I think your video was months, but was that needed before fortifying?
I honestly don't recall as we made it a year ago, but it should be in the video. I think we may have racked again before fortifying though so it would have sat a bit.
? I started a Melomel on Feb 12th. 3 lbs honey, 1qt black cherry juice, 1/2 of a Vanilla bean, K1-V1116. OG 1.104. My question is. I started in a 2 gallon bucket (All I had at Time) I now have a 1 Gallon Available. I want to pour the whole thing into 1 gallon. Volume is only equal to 1 gallon. Still "Original" Fermentation will pouring it Carefully be OK? Dehydrated Berries will be added in Conditioning.
@@CitySteadingBrews I'm in the middle of making my first mead a one gallon batch. I plan on splitting it once it's done and bottling half as is and flavoring the other half with a blood orange marmalade.
call it jim! its life jim but not as we know it! Also, think I said this before but those bottles hold exactly 3lb of honey :) I get the black cherry juice for my fave mead
Our ph meter takes 3 types of solution at different ph levels to calibrate it, any suggestions on how to get more of the solutions? Or should i look for a different ph tester?
We have a couple meters, but it's mostly a binary process really. Either good or not good. If not good, add either acid or alkaline to make it good. Strips work really well for that.
how about making a Mead or Wine from the left over Juices and Fruits you have. like where there is not enough to make anything with but combined you have enough. Juices and fruits you normally wouldn't think of combining.
Just finished bottling my first mead last night! 😁 hopefully I'm reading my hydrometer correctly. If I started at 1.106, & ended at 1.042, am i right to guesstimate an 8% ABV? My hydrometer says ~14% around the 1.106 area, & ~5.5% around the 1.042 area, so I'm thinking 14-5.5=8.5%?
@@CitySteadingBrews i didn't want it to go completely dry, & i wanted to shoot for around 8-10%. I did pasteurize it in order to kill off the yeast. I saw an article saying that the wine community is gradually getting hit cause not many people like their wine at 18%. Something about the headache?
Would you guys quit making my "I need to make this" list even longer 😂 I use bentonite in primary in most brews and rarely have a problem with something clarifying. I just put 1/2 tsp straight into the brew, no mixing required. Which pasteurized vessel did you use for the tasting in this video? I'm so going to try the 160 F for 1 minute. Thanks for doing that video!!
I’m curious about the amount of Bentonite you used. Could you taste it at all in the finished product? The package I have says “Use 1 tsp, 1/2 cups warm water, sufficient for 5 gallons”. When I saw you put in 2, I gasped out loud. The first time I used it I used a whole tsp for a 1-gallon batch , but I smelled and tasted it in the end. I even dumped most bottles down the drain after a few months. Just last week I had a gallon batch of traditional that refused to clear at all after a month. I tried the bentonite again, but only about 1/4 tsp in 1/4 cups water (I did let it sit and hydrate, like someone else mentioned above). It cleared in 3 days. I went to Amazon this morning, and looked up what I ordered originally back in 2022. The picture on Amazon says “Use 4 tsp, 1-1/3 cups warm water, sufficient for 5 gallons”. So, I assume that my 1/4 tsp was just a motivator for a batch that was about to settle itself soon, and probably won’t be enough every time. If I can’t taste it, it’s where I will start in the future though. Is there a reason why the instructions vary so much?
I have never change PH while making brews but i should. I think you could remind people that PH is in logarithmic scale, meaning difference between 1 and 2 is not the same as between 2 and 3. I believe it means, we will need drasticly different amounts of that magic powder to get it from 1 to 2 then from 3 to 4.
Somebody needs to give little Johnny a Benadryl so he’ll stop sneezing on all the fruit. 😂 But seriously, do you have a link for the bentonite? I don’t see it in the description.
Is there an easy way to get in touch with you directly? I have so many questions (too wordy to put here) They could be used in your next viewers questions video. I also have a few mead making show suggestions I believe your other viewers would appreciate as much as I would.
@@CitySteadingBrews thanks, I think i asked in the right place, had to reply to your " I wanted to have a little chat with you, our viewers for a moment. viewers afraid to ask questions" post. I could not find how to start a new message. BTW Y'all ROCK!
I don't use Bentonite much any more, because I really don't care about clarity, and the water you add with it dilutes the brew a little bit. I'm surprised by the 1 hour instructions, as I would mix it in a (clean) spaghetti sauce jar, shaking it up a couple times a day for three days before adding it. Either way, I guess, it works really well! It always has for me. The way I learned it works is that the bentonite crystals are like 4 flat slabs stuck together. When it goes into solution, the slabs float apart a little and reconfigure themselves into a box shape (open on top and bottom). The proteins and other stuff in the brew that cause haze get stuck in that box. Since bentonite is clay, it is heavy and sinks, taking the proteins with it. Voila! Thanks for the tip on the K-bicarbonate. I have 2 gallons of cranberry mead (for a cranberry orange mead) that started at PH 2.3. They have been fermenting, but *super* slowly (when the same 1/3 packet of yeast in a strawberry wine went like gangbusters). I have some on order!
I think when you two differ it's more telling to the audience. Over years of your videos we've learned Brian likes it sweeter for example. The ending of this video in particular was dense in recommendations and the biggest take away was home brewers take all these measurements to track and learn from what we like and don't like. Sweetness and pH during your tasting are the easiest to explain and try to get close to upfront, but as you explored fining and finishing post fermentation can be adjusted.
I don’t really understand why people criticize your sweetening direction. I mean you are sweetening to taste. Your directions in this area are really just more for showing what can be done. Seriously it’s called to taste.
You want try something different , you two need to think about this request a bit. I propose you both choose the 6 best brews (3 each) that have been ageing more that 2 years then combine a portions of each into a vessel, taste the concoction of eternal peril and give it a score out of 10. (Edit: Don't chicken out).
There's more than one way to brew. If your safe and enjoy the experience than it's not wrong. I love that you guys are trying things I'm not familiar with so I can see what else can be done
We just picked Santa Rosa plums off our tree and as usual, I’m jumping in head first to make this wine. I just mashed the plums and added sugar similar to the strawberry wine. I’m so excited to do this and I’m glad I found you on TH-cam! You guys are so awesome in your explanations! I’m mashing my plums right now watching this video. I switch to the strawberry video too to get more information. My yeast arrived today and my straining bag arrived yesterday. This is exciting and my husband is thrilled to have something other than jelly or jam from our fruit trees. Thank you guys! 🎉🎉🎉
I do not have a PH meter so I’m just going by taste until it arrives. Yes, I’m flying by the seat of my pants and crossing fingers it works! 😂
I'm not even wanting to try pomegranate-plum wine, I just want to hang out with you two for a while; you guys are fun.
Thanks!
We used gelatin to clear out our last brew . Worked great.
kieselsol + chitosan mix does wonders if you need stuff extra clear.
Would rather not add fish parts to my brews. There are other methods too. 👍
I did a black pepper pyment with like 30+ grams of pepper.
She reminds me of a Fourth Grade Teacher, and you remind me of ' The Guy ' fixing the HVAC at my local grocery. LOL
Hey, Remember, " No Matter Where You Go, There You Are. "
You two do a great job. Thanks for the entertainment.
Not sure that's a compliment, but... thanks?!?! 😄
@@CitySteadingBrews
LOL.
Well my Fourth Grade teacher was Awesome, and if it wasn't for the HVAC Guy, the meat at the store would stink. So both are awesome. LOL.
👍
I have a big-ol pomegranate bush here, they are bushes not trees, it's about 17 years old, I am gonna make wine from it come next harvest, thanks for all the insight on how to do so I have learned so much watching your vids and making mead, I'll pry keep it pure and just add sugar for gravity as needed , some black tea for tannin, I'll skip on the pepper this year but you never know :)
This was fun to watch. Not a wine person but this looks interesting.
Y'all got me into brewing! I've made a few different meads that i didnt really care for but im on to agave wine tea wines and tepache now. Trying it all
When you're done washing your hands it'd be great to watch that Amaretto video! Kidding kidding, but when you're ready, I'm really looking forward to seeing that one.
Eventually!
good morning from minnesota... always excited to see a new CS vid!
I made the spiced apple from your recipe. After awhile I noticed that there was no activity at all not a single bubble. Nothing.
Then I remembered in one of the videos of yours you mentioned that before we start doing something drastic to just give it a good swirl... so i did. Well that's all it took and the bubble is just spitting away! Like you've said, those little buggers have a mind of their own.
Thank you for showing the process of pasteurization for people who don’t have a sous vide!! ❤❤❤
That was a sous vide...
@@CitySteadingBrews I was referring to the fruit in the beginning
@@fartsonbasketball9206 ahh gotcha!
Another entertaining and informative video. I've come to expect no less :) Great to see you deliver practical applications of different methods. Started a batch of your Spiced Metheglin mead today (with minor alterations of honey type and yeast type to match what I had on hand) and had airlock activity within 3 hours. Smelled awesome while being mixed up, looking forward to getting a good initial taste one of these days.
Once again you two ....... awesome job!!!
Thank you!
This sounds right up my alley. Still playing with juice only and accumulating equipment. You guys were my main inspiration to start so thanks. Now that Canadian winter is over I'm going to be ramping up production
Great to hear!
I've just finished cooking and pureeing 60 litres of plums, that I added 20 kg of dissolved sugar too. The plumbs were cooked to boiling first, to kill any bugs and wild yeasts. Now I am waiting for the temp to drop enough to add my yeast and start fermenting it. Some will be kept as a wine, some as a cider and the rest will be turned into a plum liquor. :P :)
I have used bentonite before and I added it in before the yeast which would eliminate the fear of oxidation. I also used keisosol and chitosan , as my understanding is that it works better with bentonite.
No criticism, just relaying one of my own practices when using whole spices like allspice berries, juniper berries, whole cloves, ect. I enclose them into a metal tea ball that I have and drop it in. It makes for no mess easy retrieval later and doesn't inhibit the infusion.
You can totally do that but they don't really break down so it's no big deal to let the float free 😎
I made a pomegranite- blueberry mead that was lovely. I'm going to have to try it with plums!
Sounds good actually!
current running brews: Cacao mead, 5 gallons. holiday fruitcake mead, 2 gallons. Frigg's Love Poem (odins love clone), 1 gallon. V-Blod Clone, 1 gallon started today).
I'm not Huge into Pomegranate, but I'm Kinda interested in how this comes out...
25:24 true story, the ONLY brew that ever skunked on me was 20+ years ago when I first started, and I had used a balloon... Never Again. Buy An Airlock people, they are two bucks!
I was watching you siphon with the fruit still in, and I know you wanted the lot, but it got me wondering about cheesecloth. Have you ever used cheesecloth over the siphon cap? I'm guessing that it would be a tad prone to clogidity 🤪. Clogfulness? 🤪 Just curious whether you have tried it. Oh, and the bit in the video @ 32:45, where you two were, talking in unfinished sentences reminded me of an episode of Black Books ( He's leaving Home @22:24) in Season 1. If you like Hitchhikers guide , and Monty Python, it will be right up your alley. 🤣😂
You can, but it will clog, yes. We just rack off the gros lees, then leave it a while, rack again before taste adjustment, then leave it a while again before racking to bottle. Keeps them pretty clean. A bit getting past first rack is normal really.
The bubbles in the airlock at the beginning could have been from the ph reaction as it did seem to be creating gas.
True!
Love you guys. I'm alway happy to see there is a new video from you.
Yay! Thank you!
Just found you guys here, quite entertaining,
You mentioned the blow off tube method as opposed to an air lock !
It's the same, isn't it, just different,
Same, but, different! 😊
I used to make wine from fruit decade's ago I changed jobs and it had to stop, now you guys have rekindled my enthusiasm, thanks guys.
Remember it's the same,
But different!
Slightly?
Anyway, airlocks and blowoffs do exactly the same thing. They are different items but do the same job.
@@CitySteadingBrews
Yeah quite entertaining, as i said
The same, just
Different
@@CitySteadingBrews you can get the same with some flavours, same but different
@@eanbarr35 airlocks and blowoffs don't alter flavors.
lol, you had said, "slightly entertaining", then changed it.... thanks for that!
I do find that back-sweetening brings out the fruit flavors. I made an apple-pear cider (out of the gallon 32 oz was the pear juice the rest apple) and when it was done brewing I tried a bit before adding sugar for taste and to naturally carbonate it. The dry cider was good but I remember being disappointed that the pear taste did not come through. Then I added sugar to taste and like magic the pear taste came through, it actually took over and almost tastes like just pear cider (I don’t have my notes with me but I want to say the gravity went down to about 0.996 and after back sweetening 1.020). To date it’s been one of my favorite brews.
I experienced something similar with the cider I made from my own pears (made the juice with steam extraction, not sure what the english term is). After primary fermentation it tasted harldy like anything at all and I was really really disappointed. But I had it sitting in secondary for 2 months and it developed a lot of taste during that. Sweetening with Xylite brought it out even more and now I am havingg a hard time forcing myself to be patient and let it age some more in the bottles 😄
You should do a comparison of different clarifiers: bentonite, gelatin, sparkaloid, etc. See what works better and how/if it changes the brew. When I have used bentonite in the past I feel like it stripped some of the flavors out.
Working on that.
Hey guys. Love your channel. This is where I started my mead making journey. I love the little big mouth bubblers you use and have 2 - 1.4 gallon models for mead and a 5 and 6.5 gallon units I use for beer with a hop basket attachment. My question for you Brian and Derika is why you don’t use muslin bags/ brew bags and a glass weight for your fruited meads and wines? I’ve been using them for a couple of years and they still add plenty of flavor without the mess.
It's just a different kind of mess really. We have used them. Often actually. It's just as easy to not use them though.
That is a terrific color!
So here’s a somewhat unrelated question. If I’ve started a wine already ( currently in primary fermentation) and I’m just realizing now it will likely need tannins for mouthfeel, is it too late to add some black tea?
You can add it anytime really.
Sounds delicious. I have a plum and damson mead in secondary at the moment, which I'm very much looking forward to tasting. That stopped at 1.010, which I put down to sorbitol too. Didn't shift after several weeks, so almost certainly done.
Yeah, the non fermentable sorbitol will throw off readings. You dod right leaving it a while though.
I understand you can also use egg white to clarify wine
Not sure I want to try, I have heard of eggshells though.
Great stuff guys. I have had mixed thoughts on bentonite. But it seemed to work.
I’m doing this wine next.
For all of the brews (meads) I have made that have fruit in them, the fruit has gone in after primary fermentation.
I look at it this way. There are less factors to worry about for primary (ie less things to cause issues). And, now knowing that certain fruits are more acidic than previously realized (after seeing this video), that could potentially help with stabilizing.
As for the bentonite, I have used it on all of my batches, and have been pleased with the results.
Admittedly I don't mix it with water before adding it to the batch though. I ran into the same issue as you did in the video. So now I just measure the amount needed and dump that into the batch. Haven't had an issue doing it this way either.
You can if you prefer.
Do you mix it with boiling water and homogenize it with the wart or simply add it powdered form into your brew?
@@fartsonbasketball9206 I just add it powdered. Mixing it with water beforehand ended up being too messy, and too much of it would cling to the glass (forcing me to use more water to get it all out).
So, after doing that with my first couple of batches I decided to skip the mixing stage and just put it into the batch to be cleared.
@@markwendt3496 nice! Thank you for the response ^^) So it still works just as fine then without pre mixing??
@@fartsonbasketball9206 it might take a little longer to get started (no proof on that, just my assumption), but otherwise I haven't had a problem.
Plumpomper wine?
Plumagranite Pepper Wine!!!
LOL
Wish I could get fermaid o where i live. I found a paper on yeast autolysis and have been making something close by heating a thick bread yeast slurry to 55C for 24 hours. I then dehydrate and freeze the flakes. I've found i can follow the fermaid o dosage compared to boiling bread yeast where i needed 3 times as much for a clean ferment in meads.
Yeah that will work well enough. We leave the nutrients out a lot of the time and things work well anyway.
There should be 3 ways to reduce headspace raise the fluid level like you did ( I have added a mass-produced wine of a similar flavor), lower the top with a different jar.
I was having an issue with oxygenation flavors in my white wines and tried a different way. Fill the space; I used a sanitized piece of saranwrap spread out over the wine top in a wide mouth fermenter.
Excited to try this one!
Made a pomegranate bochet recently which I named "Shake your Pom-poms" pomegranate bochet. I used Pompom juice. Turned out well.
LOL, great name.
Great job as always.
Thank you!
Good Morning from Ontario Canada, cant wait to see how this vid goes, oh, also i just started my latest brew the other day, 1 gallon of traditional mead, bubbling away happily in my closet, the plan is to backsweeten it with an existing acerglyn i made 6 months ago thats waaaaaaay too sweet, because i did the dumb and didnt taste as i was sweetening it
Good plan!
Broken egg shells is what I use to bring my mead pH to a manageable 4 to 5.5 range. Bake them in the oven to kill bacteria and make them brittle, then grind up in a mortar and pestle.
Some like that way, I prefer to use the commercial products for this though, avoids any chance of infections or inconsistency.
Bentonite works pretty good actually
The quick bubbles could have resulted from the nutrilization reaction degassing?
Probably.
I have a mess of leftover syrups I canned and stored. Apple, Blueberry, Grape, Chokecherry, Nectarine and Pineapple. About 2gal total. So when the 5gal hard cider is bottled (soon) it's looking like a batch of mixed fruit mead will be next. Wish me luck
Nice!
Thanks for another great video, (I look forward to it every week). I agree with Brian, 'Pompeplum Wine' is what it should be called. To me the name has a Latin like Mediterranean vibe to it. 😃 A question to pick your brains - if you were to duplicate 'The Franklin' using tea bags instead of fresh mint, how many would you use & how long would you let it steep? I have both Mint & Peppermint on hand and want to combine the two. What say you? God Bless. 🍷
Maybe two teabags? Steep as you would for tea.
Bentonite may be clumping because if seen some packs say don’t stir with metal
Could be. I learned that metal may alter the charge of it, making it less effective.
Does non fermentable sugars have the same effect on gravity reading as normal when I do back sweetening? 🤔
I want to say the same, but maybe not exactly the same.
30:39 if plums contain nonfermentable sugars, shouldn't we start with higher sugar content to get more potential? I do not say we must but, alcohol content might be too low.
Your ended at 11.6% but what is minimal ABV, so it would not get spoiled in bottles without pasteurisation or stabilisation ?
Anything over 8-10 is fine.
how about Plompeii wine? Plum Pom and ash from the pepper and clay.
I am fermenting according to your guides but it takes sometimes double the time, I was wondering if the fact that I live at 2600 meters over sea level affects oxygenation?
Times will vary. I don't think you'll have oxygenation problems though.
When is a good time to add cinnamon sticks to wine? Like before fermentation starts, during primary, secondary, or at bottling?
We didn't use any in this wine, but you can add post fermentation for the best control. You can remove it when it's extracted enough to your tastes.
Thank you
Hi, do I have to wash fruit or sanitise it before I put it in the jar …. Nick
As I said in the other video you asked this question: I would.
That looks amazing. I will try bentonite on a future brew. Thank you guys. Also, I would love for you guys to do a test on whether or not it changes the taste of the brew
At some point we will.
Not on this topic
But
I have an abundant supply of Pickle buckets.
I know not to use for fermenting
But can I use as a sanitation bucket with starsan?
Thanks
Mike Daly
Hmm... might be okay for sanitizing I would think.
Ever thought of making kombucha vs Jun (black tea + sugar vs. green tea + honey)?
Not really. We tried kombucha for a bit but haven't made it in years.
Slightly off topic but could there be any reason as to why my latest batch is taking so long? OG of 1.096 and after 18 days I'm only down to 1.050. I used Lalvin EC1118 and there are no other additives other than a little orange peel and a handful of raisins. After 10 days or so, I did add in some boiled yeast bodies which certainly seemed to kick up the activity but for all the bubbling that's taking place, the pace does seem to be quite slow ATM. Any tips?
Temperature, acidity, yeast choice...
I know it's off topic but, wouldn't it be easier to add spices after fermentation is relatively done to make a spiced mead ? & then possibly fortify it as well??
Sure? That has nothing to do with this video... but there are many videos with spices on our channel.
@@CitySteadingBrews yea I've watched those but was just curious if one could add spices to a simple mead after fermentation , cause I noticed there's no foamy stuff on top of spiced mead , it just kinda sizzles like a soda pop lol
Yes, you can add spices after fermentation if you prefer.
@@CitySteadingBrews cool thank u for the advice, much appreciated
Need a bit of advice. My Little Big Mouth Bubbler lid will not seal. Al three brews I have used it on leaked around the lid, so no gas is forced out of the airlock. All three brews finished and turned out well. I have even bought some silicon food grade gasket material and made a replacement gasket. Still leaks. Any suggestions?
Good thing... it's really not affecting your brew. Just airlock activity.
I would contact Northern Brewer. They have good customer service.
where did you get turbos the red bucket sanitation and can you steel get them
They were on Amazon but have been sold out for a while now.
Could anyone tell me the diameter of tubing that fits into a #6 bung/stopper? Thanks
Should be 5/16" ID, pretty standard stuff.
@@CitySteadingBrews Thank you
Hey Guys:)
I started warching your videos and entjoyed your videos. I tried to make your blueberrie mead and followed your recipe step by step. It startet fermenting really strong and fast, but after 3 days it slowed down and stopped completly. The yeast went to bottom. What should i do different? I used spring water, sanetized everything..... i would love an answer frol you
Greetings from Germany :)
Take a specific gravity reading.
Personally I like Sparkolloid for clearing in the rare cases that I use something. It's made of cellulose and diatomaceous earth, which are both fiber supplements (DE is also used for a bunch of other things) and are things that are more likely to already be found in your diet.
We got some to try just recently.
Okay, so my wife and I started watching lately as we are thinking about starting brewing. But, there is something she brought up that I don't see addressed. What do you do with the left over fruit?
Compost 😎
I think TH-cam blocked my previous comment so here it is without a hyperlink...
I'm new to fermentation and wanted to know, what are your thoughts on using things like heftman fermentation jars? They don't have an airlock with a liquid but a silicone one-way ventilation
I have no experience with them but if they have one way airlocks, should be okay.
have you done or will you jack (freeze ) a mead
It's technically distilling so no, we won't be doing it.
How do you guys feel about sparkolloid powder? i just used it in my maple cinnamon mead and it cleared it out real good.
We got some to try, just haven't yet.
Does the fermentation drop the pH because CO2 dissolved in the liquid is carbonic acid? It isn't very strong, but it is an acid.
That and alcohol can be a little acidic as I understand it.
Other question: today is racking day to get my fruit cake mead off the spices. Do I need to let it rest before adding the kraken snd if so, for how long? I think your video was months, but was that needed before fortifying?
I honestly don't recall as we made it a year ago, but it should be in the video. I think we may have racked again before fortifying though so it would have sat a bit.
Pomplumper wine. That's my vote.
So is it better to use the bentonite during primary or secondary fermentation? And does it affect or would it affect yeast colony building?
I have not done any testing but the common knowledge seems to be primary. Apparently it doesn't affect the yeast.
@@CitySteadingBrews nice! Thank you :)
? I started a Melomel on Feb 12th. 3 lbs honey, 1qt black cherry juice, 1/2 of a Vanilla bean, K1-V1116. OG 1.104. My question is. I started in a 2 gallon bucket (All I had at Time) I now have a 1 Gallon Available. I want to pour the whole thing into 1 gallon. Volume is only equal to 1 gallon. Still "Original" Fermentation will pouring it Carefully be OK? Dehydrated Berries will be added in Conditioning.
Leave it in the bucket until fermentation stops. No reason to move it yet.
@@CitySteadingBrewsWill do, Thanks.
Is it possible to sweeten or make Mead from marmalade?
I haven't tried but it should be possible.
@@CitySteadingBrews I'm in the middle of making my first mead a one gallon batch. I plan on splitting it once it's done and bottling half as is and flavoring the other half with a blood orange marmalade.
call it jim!
its life jim but not as we know it!
Also, think I said this before but those bottles hold exactly 3lb of honey :)
I get the black cherry juice for my fave mead
Our ph meter takes 3 types of solution at different ph levels to calibrate it, any suggestions on how to get more of the solutions?
Or should i look for a different ph tester?
I use strips now tbh. Way simpler. amzn.to/3OKcZ8c
@CitySteadingBrews
I was thinking of that as well. Thanks for the link.. and your time..
Of course!
We have a couple meters, but it's mostly a binary process really. Either good or not good. If not good, add either acid or alkaline to make it good. Strips work really well for that.
how about making a Mead or Wine from the left over Juices and Fruits you have. like where there is not enough to make anything with but combined you have enough. Juices and fruits you normally wouldn't think of combining.
th-cam.com/video/MlP212td7yw/w-d-xo.htmlsi=theh0KCaj3AePK7L
@@CitySteadingBrews thank you for letting me know
Just finished bottling my first mead last night! 😁 hopefully I'm reading my hydrometer correctly. If I started at 1.106, & ended at 1.042, am i right to guesstimate an 8% ABV? My hydrometer says ~14% around the 1.106 area, & ~5.5% around the 1.042 area, so I'm thinking 14-5.5=8.5%?
I don't think it was finished fermenting... that may be dangerous if bottled.
@@CitySteadingBrews i didn't want it to go completely dry, & i wanted to shoot for around 8-10%. I did pasteurize it in order to kill off the yeast. I saw an article saying that the wine community is gradually getting hit cause not many people like their wine at 18%. Something about the headache?
Pasteurizing should do the trick, yes. As for 18%... most wine is 9-14%, with the majority closer to 10 actually.
Would you guys quit making my "I need to make this" list even longer 😂 I use bentonite in primary in most brews and rarely have a problem with something clarifying. I just put 1/2 tsp straight into the brew, no mixing required. Which pasteurized vessel did you use for the tasting in this video? I'm so going to try the 160 F for 1 minute. Thanks for doing that video!!
It's just a 1.5 liter wine bottle, used to be from Carlo Rossi.
@@CitySteadingBrews Oh I meant was it the 120 F or 160 F vessel that you did this tasting on?
140F to be consistent with other tastings :)
I’m curious about the amount of Bentonite you used. Could you taste it at all in the finished product?
The package I have says “Use 1 tsp, 1/2 cups warm water, sufficient for 5 gallons”.
When I saw you put in 2, I gasped out loud.
The first time I used it I used a whole tsp for a 1-gallon batch , but I smelled and tasted it in the end. I even dumped most bottles down the drain after a few months.
Just last week I had a gallon batch of traditional that refused to clear at all after a month. I tried the bentonite again, but only about 1/4 tsp in 1/4 cups water (I did let it sit and hydrate, like someone else mentioned above). It cleared in 3 days.
I went to Amazon this morning, and looked up what I ordered originally back in 2022. The picture on Amazon says “Use 4 tsp, 1-1/3 cups warm water, sufficient for 5 gallons”.
So, I assume that my 1/4 tsp was just a motivator for a batch that was about to settle itself soon, and probably won’t be enough every time. If I can’t taste it, it’s where I will start in the future though.
Is there a reason why the instructions vary so much?
No idea why they vary, but we followed the ones on our product. It's meant to fall out of the brew so it should leave no flavor at all.
I have never change PH while making brews but i should.
I think you could remind people that PH is in logarithmic scale, meaning difference between 1 and 2 is not the same as between 2 and 3.
I believe it means, we will need drasticly different amounts of that magic powder to get it from 1 to 2 then from 3 to 4.
We say that all the time.
Somebody needs to give little Johnny a Benadryl so he’ll stop sneezing on all the fruit. 😂
But seriously, do you have a link for the bentonite? I don’t see it in the description.
Just checked... it's there!
Sorry. I must have missed it. My bad. That’s what I get for trying to read before coffee. Oh bother.
@Polydactyl_Pterodactyl no worries!
Is there an easy way to get in touch with you directly? I have so many questions (too wordy to put here) They could be used in your next viewers questions video. I also have a few mead making show suggestions I believe your other viewers would appreciate as much as I would.
We have a VIP club but if it's just questions, ask on the channel.
@@CitySteadingBrews thanks, I think i asked in the right place, had to reply to your " I wanted to have a little chat with you, our viewers for a moment. viewers afraid to ask questions" post. I could not find how to start a new message. BTW Y'all ROCK!
I would call it P3
I don't use Bentonite much any more, because I really don't care about clarity, and the water you add with it dilutes the brew a little bit. I'm surprised by the 1 hour instructions, as I would mix it in a (clean) spaghetti sauce jar, shaking it up a couple times a day for three days before adding it. Either way, I guess, it works really well! It always has for me.
The way I learned it works is that the bentonite crystals are like 4 flat slabs stuck together. When it goes into solution, the slabs float apart a little and reconfigure themselves into a box shape (open on top and bottom). The proteins and other stuff in the brew that cause haze get stuck in that box. Since bentonite is clay, it is heavy and sinks, taking the proteins with it. Voila!
Thanks for the tip on the K-bicarbonate. I have 2 gallons of cranberry mead (for a cranberry orange mead) that started at PH 2.3. They have been fermenting, but *super* slowly (when the same 1/3 packet of yeast in a strawberry wine went like gangbusters). I have some on order!
Absolutely. Clarity is... a vanity thing really. It just doesn't matter that much!
But pH? Heck yeah, that can make or break your fermentation!
Black Pep-lum-pom
49:02 😳😂😳🫦
Peppered plumagranate wine.
I think when you two differ it's more telling to the audience. Over years of your videos we've learned Brian likes it sweeter for example.
The ending of this video in particular was dense in recommendations and the biggest take away was home brewers take all these measurements to track and learn from what we like and don't like. Sweetness and pH during your tasting are the easiest to explain and try to get close to upfront, but as you explored fining and finishing post fermentation can be adjusted.
We try really hard to simply show our experiences with the brew yet explain how to make it your own! Thanks!
@@CitySteadingBrews you do so wonderfully and entertain us. Thank you!
If you made a pepper wine with ocean spray cranberry juice, you could call it pepper spray
LOL, now that's funny.
Pom Pep-lum Wine
P.P.P. WINE
I don’t really understand why people criticize your sweetening direction. I mean you are sweetening to taste. Your directions in this area are really just more for showing what can be done. Seriously it’s called to taste.
Agreed!
P³ wine
You want try something different , you two need to think about this request a bit. I propose you both choose the 6 best brews (3 each) that have been ageing more that 2 years then combine a portions of each into a vessel, taste the concoction of eternal peril and give it a score out of 10. (Edit: Don't chicken out).
Chicken out? No, we just don't really want to do it 😛
Pep sounds like you have Pepto Bismol in the wine. 😆
At 27min it was bubbling because of the baking soda
You could call it the triple P wine