I've been at this for well over 30 years. and if your new to brewing, save this video. It's like looting a treasure room in D&D and finding a Compendium of Forgotten Secrets.
@@ControversialKOLSsake* and yes dump the brew, between being an overall food lover, and getting into the mycology and mushroom hobby, I’ve learned that molds are nothing to mess around with, especially trich… so better to be safe than sorry, and just dump it
I started brewing a bunch of stuff recently and your video helped a lot to gain knowledge on general brewing! And I couldn't stop myself to put a comment for this part 10:05 . While I was in my research on other "brew-able" things I came across this Korean-traditional alcoholic beverage called Makgeolli, this beverage is made with rice, nuruk (Korean fermentation starter/yeast), and water and it can be ready in just 3 days and up to several months depends on the technique you use to brew (simple to complex). I just wanted to share this information in case you are also interested in such, happy brewing!
Made my first mead on 01 March based on your basic mead recipe. I also started a blueberry one based on your recipe. Within 2 hours the basic sent up bubbles. The next morning I cracked open my closet door to check on them and they were both bubbling away. Funny how the sound of the 'farts' makes you happy. One question - where can you buy the patience needed to wait for them to do their thing? I am so glad I 'discovered' your channel.
So I’ve been watching you for several months and I now have 8 or 9 gallons of three different concoctions in different stages of the process. Our first tasting will be a family tasting at Christmas of a apple/raisin cider, pineapple/raisin mead at Valentines, blueberry/apple mead at Easter. Thx so much for the education and new hobby
Re the "Start by following a recipe" advice: I've heard the saying, "Imitate, Assimilate, Innovate." That is, first start by doing exactly what someone else is doing (imitate); as you go along, you'll internalize and come to understand a lot of things about the process (assimilate); and as you start to understand what's going on, you'll naturally find ways in which you think it could be made better according to your taste (innovate). This applies to loads of areas in life, including music, art, software development... and, clearly homebrewing!
You guys are awesome. Appreciate your knowledge and desire to pass it on! New to Brewing but grew up in a family strong in corn liquor tradition. I've learned so much from you guys and in roughly 7 months me and my fiance will be married sipping on a nice glass of spiced blueberry Mead currently in secondary. We have our wedding planned for September and I and the misses are extremely excited to pop the corks when the time is right and we would love to send you guys a bottle!
Excellent overview of the most frequently asked questions new home brewers might ask and that can be answered in a general manner. Except perhaps the ones I get A LOT by non-brewers who learn about me being a home brewer: the Methanol questions. They come up almost every single time because people hear horror stories of tourists getting very ill or even passing away after drinking ‘home brew’ while on vacation. They don’t realise that all fermented drinks (and even non-fermented fruit-based drinks) will contain methanol, regardless of whether they’re made in a ‘safe’ commercial setting or in someone’s kitchen. They don’t even realise that digestion of things like fruit, aspartame (allow me to insert a wholly personal ‘yuk’ here) juice etc will cause our own bodies to metabolise components of those into methanol. That concentrating the fermented product will also concentrate the methanol, which is what happens during jacking (aka freeze concentrating) or distillation. I’ve resorted to having a small list of links to scientific articles about methanol, the EU’s regulations on methanol levels and what is the range of methanol in most un-distilled alcoholic beverages. It reassures most of them. Call me petty, but it always makes me chuckle when the person asking me is a frequent consumer of diet sodas and sugar-free gum that contain aspartame. The look on their faces when they get to the aspartame part is priceless. LOL. Thanks for your video!
I love the advice, you've helped me develop a new hobby! Personally my favorite part of home brewing is the alliance you get to have with yeast, it's like: "Hey little guys, I gave you some sugar and water, wanna do me a solid and just eat it all? Okay, have fun!"
True story. I was going to do a sparkling spiced orange tea wine and a spiced cranberry wine for Thanksgiving or Christmas. I started it first part of October, since I got sick end of September. Today is February 27. It's still in the kitchen bubbling away without any sugar added. It was slow to get started and kept stalling. Before you say bubbling doesn't mean anything, the airlock has Star-san in it and it's slightly foaming from the bubbling.
I like to watch all the VIDEO , then double tap the screen to pause at the end . Then go through and read all the Comments . That way I get the Best of Both Worlds . Sometimes I just can't Help Myself . And will reply to a comment . Sorry about that. I really like this Video , especially when you pull out the Top 10 Fact Sheet . 🤠
2:32 i started retching at my mead today, then i degassed it, and it stopped smelling bad. keep in mind that i havent degassed it in like two weeks. it was like this super strong alcohol smell. and i degassed it and it became floral, with a slightly in your face alcohol. before degassing i couldnt smell the floral
I really appreciate your sharings. You always do a great job. Your channel got me started mead making using the surplus honey from my hives and now I love my bees more than ever, haha.
Thank you so much for your videos. I just started my first mead, and I'm really hoping it goes well. I made a few minor mistakes along the way, but I'm looking forward to improving for the next one whenever the first batch is done! Once again, thanks for making this hobby so approachable!
I learned a lot of this when trying to cultivate gourmet mushrooms. I only recently discovered your channel and I have to say, you and Derica crack me up. I’m learning and enjoying, well before I get started on home brews!
Berry much love your videos. Speaking of berries cranberries are ready to pick here in Alaska. These are wild and sat over winter then picked in the spring. I ordered fermenters just for this occasion. FYI mead has been an obsession of mine for about 3 months so I am vary new to the hobby. Thank you both for this channel and all your info. My mead is all thanks to you, I give mead gifts to my family and friends. They appreciate it almost as much as I do my self. Keep up the awesome work you’re info is greatly appreciated!
As always a great video. I enjoy all your videos my fav are your videos like this. Even tho I knew all the answers, because I learned then from you. Thanks again for what you do and keep doing over and over again. HA! HA! God bless
@@capnspicy5565 in any fermentation there will usually be some alchahol present as a byproduct of the yeast even in kombucha. How long are you fermenting and is it open air or do you use an airlock?
@@capnspicy5565 the airlock will help prevent alchahol from evaporating off if that is what you are going for. 13% abv should mean you are starting with a fairly high gravity and basically making pinewine, a little strong for tepache open air ferment is all I'm saying, unless you're trying to natural bottle Carbonate.
I have been having some very, very quick fermentations. OG 1.082 three days rough rack to get off fruit debris. Gravity already at 0.998. A full week later (10 days), Gravity is 0.992. I still let it sit for 2 more weeks take another reading, as I rack for clarity. Now 3 weeks rack and stabilize back sweeten and wait another 3 weeks then bottle (750 ml). But essentially the fermentation was compete in 10 days. Now as you later said, I have a dark cool cellar with a constant temp about 68 to 74 year round. Also I am using gravity readings yo confirm this. In total is still about 12 weeks from start to bottle, and then a month in bottle before I think it is ready. I also bottle a few small bottles (16 oz) to sample.
I have video for you. Fireplace no Music. Put it on your tv and it is so cool. Thank you for all the HELP. I love these videos. tomorrow is 7 days on my first Apple juice Wine. DIdn't know anything and used PAw paw recipe. I made diy airlock bubblers with pill bottle. They work LOL
Another great video for those of us who are home brew newbies, I've had a go at some of your brews and have just started a new experiment with a honey and molasses cyser with a couple of cinnamon sticks thrown in, one week in and it's already smelling like a dark rum, in time I hope it will be a winner! Keep up the great work guys and thanks for your inspiration 👍
ABV calculations - you say multiply by 135 but others say multiply by 131 - why the difference? PS love you guys, you have really set me up to make great fruit wines and meads with confidence XXX
Good info! I've got 2 gallons of banana bochet mead bubbling away right now I'm so excited to taste it! I didn't just put chopped Bananas in it either, i made my own banana juice.
Your shirt is awesome ! I need to get one of them. P.S. Love your channel. Great info for fermentation of all kinds that can applied to all kinds of brewing. Cheers !
I just started fermentation on an apple cider this weekend and was surprised to see my basement stays at exactly 62 degrees F. I'm hoping the yeast really like that.
Perfect timing!! Just as I though my cranberry mead has failed, the extra swirling tip helped! Bubbles got stuck under the brewbag and berries (dried, so crasizins I guess) and a bit of pollen added has the whole carboy in tip top shape. Foamy awesomeness and it smells sooo good! Now let it sit again with more swirling inbetween. Thanks for this amazing summary!
Iv done a lot of beer brews all grain and extract but last night I did my first mead. It was your blueberry mead 😁 I can’t wait for Xmas for it to be ready 😁
Hey again thanks for helping me with the hydrometer reading issue my next question is which equation to use OG - FG = A A × 131.25= ABV % or OG - FG = A A × 1325= ABV % I believe I watch videos with you guys talking about both thanks again guy keep up the great work
Sometimes when I have a 750mL bottle half empty and I'm not going to drink it for a while, I gently (so as to not mix in air) transfer it to a smaller 375mL bottle, a narrower one, to leave less room for air in the bottle.
I have a 2 week cider that's drinkable. Mind you, the cider is much better after 3 weeks, but it's good enough at 2. It only works this fast when using Cider House brand yeast. I think it's their nutrient mix that's integrated with the yeast, but they don't tell you what that is, or what yeast it is. Just get their stuff. It's cheep enough. The recipie I use is 2/3rds juice from the store (Welsh's usually), 1/3rd juice from a caned concentrate. I then take about a pound of frozen fruit from the store brand bag (whatever I fancy) and using the water I'll make the concentrate with, boil the shit out of that fruit until I start to get a syrup from it. Chuck all that in the bucket. Start your yeast like you're making a bread, wait for the liquid to be room temp again, pitch it, close it, wait about a week. When the bubbles are slowing down, but not yet stopped, I bottle it, and let it finish the primary in the bottles. This works fine because Cider House yeast leaves basically no lees, and you get minimal sedament in the bottles. After about a week in the bottles, I pasturize everything with my dishwasher (DOn't do this unless you also have a dish washer with a santaize function that gets hot enough long enough to pasturize.). It's done. I have bottles that are 6 months old and... not much more than a little bit of sediment. Mabey a quarter of the bottle gets covered. It tastes fine. It has good body. Most people I've shared it with liked it. THe one guy who didn't just isn't into apple-peach cider.
Thank you for this! You two have been my main source for information and inspiration! I do have a vital question that was not covered: Is that Spock back there by the fortune cat?
As far as the amount of yeast goes. I’ve literally used one single crumb from the yeast packet. Instead of taking 2 days to see bubbles it took 5 days, but that one little morsel did in fact take and multiply
Is there a common method for using the Lees for a second, third, or forth brew? For example, taking the lees from my Super Simple Cyser brew and making a second Super Simple Cyser brew in the same fermentation container once the original Super Simple Cyser has been racked into it's new container? The two of you do a wonderful job teaching home brewing and your hard work is appreciated. :)
I find reusing yeast from the lees depends on how strong the beverage above the lees was, and how long it's been sitting. The lees from a low abv drink will have a lot of healthy yeast if it's not too old, but if you maxed out the yeast's alcohol tolerance or let it sit a while, The yeast don't have a lot of fight left in them, and your better starting with fresh yeast
@@mitchellfite879 truth here. Also, yeast is like a dollar a packet, and I'm all about saving some money on homebrewing mead, but when it could affect quality or speed of a fermentation I don't think it's very worth trying to reuse a tapped out yeast.
I remove it off the Sediment quickly if I have added an ingredient that falls out and I don't want it to give too much flavor or give off the other flavors. My neighbor gave me persimmons. I read don't leave them in too long they can give a strong bitter. after the first week I stirred everything up and rough racked to get the fine yeast but leave the thick Persimmon debris behind.
So, Adam lives in north like me? My house does not usually get above 62°F in NW PA. Snowbelt. It seems as if my wine takes very long. No bad looking tops.
I. Make tinctures so I have many clear empty 1.75 L vodka glass bottles with screw on cap if I use these bottles to store my finish wine would they keep for years or do I have to buy corker in order to keep them good for long time? I just started making wine I follow your videos you make it easy and fun however it can get expensive I have bought many items except the bottles and corker unfortunately I don’t think I can handle the manual cheaper corker so my question is proper storing for long period of time 2-5+ years or bite the bullet and pay 70$ for the corker…….thank you
So, the lesson learned today is to insert the airlock stem into the bung before putting the bung into the carboy. My question is how to get the bung out now that I popped the little sucker all the way in or do I just have to live with the world's worst maraca? I knew sanitizer made things slick, but I didn't quite think it would be an industrial grade lubricant.
Hi, firstly love the channel. I have a question, if I have 20ltrs of mead I've stabilised at 11.4% Abv and I add 1ltr of blueberry jiuce, how much does it change the Abv?
Thanks a lot for your videos. I've started out homebrewing recently and finding your channel really helped me get the answers I was needing. There's one question though that I couldn't find an answer: if I carbonate a brew and pasteurize it, will it age appropriately (mellowing the flavours, for example) as it would if I hadn't carbonated it?
I have a mead I started last summer, it was my first batch and I didn't have a hydrometer yet and I used your recipe but I used a cup of peaches instead of raisins, but 8 months later it still has an beer taste and feel (like it's almost carbonated). It's been at 70 degrees and up. I put some into a bottle and it's still hissing when I open it up even now. Should I have put more honey? Or when will it taste like a honey wine instead of beer (hard cider actually)?
@@CitySteadingBrews Thank you! I haven't been able to do any more batches since then, so I'd forgotten about that. Just went and watched your video on degassing a brew. Thanks again!
Question, if you have three fermenters with the same mix started at 1.850. Three weeks into fermentation two are at 1.000, but one dropped to 0.920 (yes that is as low as my hydrometer reads) and has a completely different (almost sour) smell. Would you do the same as I have done, pour it down the drain? The other two are recapped with an airlock (still active but very slow). Thanks for any input 😁👍❤️
You guys are great! I had a mead that I bottled and it had kind of a milky ring that formed on the top almost like a SCOBY but it didn’t taste like vinegar at all. We’ve only got one bottle of it left and it’s the one we are holding for a year(fast approaching!) the other bottles have been totally fine so I don’t think it’s anything bad just curious what it could be or what caused it?
I have a question about a white almost snot looking stuff on top of my mead. I racked it and this showed up within 24 hours. It smells normal in my opinion being my first batch of mead. I’m just getting a little nervous and was curious if this was normal.
I haven't had a bottle explode, but I made a carbonated hydromel and kept them in the fridge, all of them were good except the last one that I kept to try aged. When I opened it, it was extra carbonated and spewed everywhere. Didn't taste great either.
First, thank you guys for all the informative videos, for a newbie the information is priceless! I have a concern with one bre of mine. Mead that started at 1.100 after 4 weeks activity slowed to a crawl. Took a reading and was 1.008. Airlock back on and put back to check in a week. 4 days later i noticed some small whitish blobs on the neck of my carboy. I removed them with a papertowel dipped in sanitizer and rung out. The blobs are soft and moist. Nothing on the brew at all right now. I still have slow airlock activity, but activity. Should I be concered about mold or is this possibly just yeast growth from when I gently poured my sample back in after a reading?
Hey im making my first mead brew and using actually a blueberry melomel recipe becuase when I started I didn’t know it changed from “mead” but it’s starting to smell like a can of black olives after 4 days of fermentation is that just an off flavor thing or should I be worried about bad contamination?
2 questions. First, I have heard of people spraying on the starsan instead of soaking. What is your opinion of that? And second, do you have any tips or hacks for secondary vessels? I am out of glass carboys and live 70 miles from the nearest brew store. Anything besides buying more juice or wine in one gallon jugs? Some have suggested using a Brew Bucket for secondary. Do I need to worry about plastic?
I usually just spray on the starsan, I don't see any need for soaking. If you have any bars or restaurants close by, then you could check of they have any bottles you can use. They throw out bottles on a daily basis and some may be suitable for your needs. I prefer not to use plastic for secondary, but will if that's all I have available.
I started my first attempt at wine. A blackberry blueberry blend just because it's what I had on hand. At one week I had good activity with steady bubbles in the airlock. I got paranlid that the yeast was not mixed in well so I opened the jars and stirred. After that I had no further yeast activity. I waited another week to see if it would start again but nothing. Did I kill the yeast and ruin my batch?
If it was active, the yeast were mixed in. My best guess is you have a bad seal somehow or it is finished fermenting. Take a hydrometer reading to know for sure.
Hi Brian - great video, thanks! I have a question please. Mostly, my mead is really clear when I bottle BUT, after a few months of ageing, there is usually sediment in the bottom of the bottle. Is there any way to avoid this? I’ve tried bulk ageing and cold crashing to clear further but it still happens. Thanks 👍
Great video! I do have a question though. ABV% and long-term aging- What is the abv% that makes it less likely spoil. Is it 14 or 15% ? Also a suggestion for another video- cork differences and grades.
So i tried making red wine from real grapes and I didn't add yeast - I wanted to use the wild yeast available on the skins of the grapes. Fermentation started in 24-48 hours after the grapes were juiced and transferred into a sanitized fermenter. Over time a plasticky/rubbery layer that was transparent started to form at the top. Also, there was some white furry matter (on the skins of the grapes that were at the top of the fermenter). Is this mold? there was no green or blue colors from what i could see - but hints of black on the plastic/rubber layer were present. Visually, it looked similar to a sour beer fermenting, but I wasnt sure if the same thing was meant to happen for wine. Anyways, i racked it into a clean fermenter and its been sitting in secondary for about 6 months. At the moment it doesn't smell foul, but it does not smell pleasant or how store-bought wine smells. Any thoughts if it is safe to drink or should i dump it? Is botulism a risk in this situation? - Cheers! (love the channel!)
I’m very new to brewing and I found your channel the day after I started my first cider from a box set. Just fresh squeezed apple juice and yeast, nothing else. Unfortunately because of that I don’t know the starting gravity. Will I still be able to bottle and carbonate the cider in a few weeks? How will I know if I’m able to? I want to avoid bottle bombs so if I have so scrap carbonation I will.
Yes, you will be able to carbonate. There is just no way that just from the sugar in the apple juice, the yeast will hit its alcohol tolerance. When is a question of many things, but a few weeks is a good baseline. If you have a hydrometer, take a a reading in 3-4 weeks, and then another reading a week later. If the gravity reading is the same, it's done. You can then bottle condition (carbonate). I suggest you watch one this channels videos about this, called Cider 4 Ways.
@@CitySteadingBrews ok just so I can make sure I understand. Once the gravity stays the same between a week for the fermenting process (either because the yeast hit it’s max or because the sugar runs out) I can then add priming sugar for bottling to get carbonation. Once the yeast hits it’s Alcohol tolerance, can I still even carbonate if there’s no yeast to activate?
Good and informative, as usual! I just bottled that apple cider, made with your recipe (one with bread yeast) few hours ago. I gave it extra time, it did drop tons of lees, but it did not clear up entirely. Not too bothered. Came up to about 7.47ABV so I am happy. Tastes pretty good too, forgetting the overwhelming taste of alcohol, but I'm sure it will mellow with time. I added some carbonation drops (1 per bottle) and it went to the closet. Any prediction on how long should I at minimum let it sit before it would mellow out and age a bit? Month? Two months? Much apprecieated for all your good work, and greetings from Sweden!
@@hollybooth989 They kind of look like caramels, but slightly transparent. Basically once you finished fermentation and all, and you are ready to bottle, you drop 1 of these in small bottle or 2 in a big bottle (they are like pure glucose), and then bottle. Over the course of 2 weeks they will be very slowly fermented, just enough to make your drink carbonated.
@@aqhan ohhh ok....so that's what they are...they add carbonation...I'm making Mead and I need a way to expell excess carbonation...I'm getting ready to order some swing top bottles for bottling and even tho they are ok for carbonation...I don't want my mead carbonated and the degassing stage makes me nervous...I feel if they sit too long with head space they will oxidize before my eyes and they will b ruined. Thanks for answering my question I appreciate it.
If you could suggest a yeast or 2 to someone that lives in AZ, USA which would you pick?? I try to keep my rv around 70-80 (depending on how cold or hot I get)
about bottle bombs. my brother once made cider and possibly put too much sugar for carbonation. bottle exploded in his hand and sliced a vein open. not the main artery but the one that goes back to heart. let's just say there was a lot of blood and a trip to emergency.
Is there a way to train yourself to recognize what flavors should be present in the brew and what may have arisen as an off-flavor? When I ferment dry it appears that small variables in acid and tannin presence can dramatically affect the flavor profile. How do you know what is a character of the homebrew and what needs correction?
If you like it… it’s not something bad. Other than that, there’s not much else really. If there’s something unpleasant try to figure out what caused it.
I recently started some spiced metheglin and had a hard time with removing all the spices. Can you always use a bag or is that only for fruit? Also, do i need to soak the bag in my sanitizing solution too?
Hello! What do you think about semi-open fermentation? When I ferment with my 6gal bucket, I just place the lid on the bucket, put airlock and I don't seal it, just enough to cover from dirt. Does it ferment less better than closed fermentation?
Quick question regarding fermenters, could I brew a mead in a 3 gallon water jug? It’s made from PET plastic so it’s food safe, but I’m not sure about the oxygen permeability
So for now I lack a hydrometer...for now...I have 2 degassing...I hear bubbles very seldomly from them...question #1, do they HAVE to be clear in order to bottle cuz I ain't real picky about clarity and neither is my household. Question #2, the biggest question I have, if I use the potassium sorbate can I also pasteurize as well to complete kill off the yeast? And question #3 how long do I have before I need to bottle after adding potassium sorbate and back sweetening?...and possibly question #4 will potassium sorbate help with the excess slight carbonation?...thank u.
I wrack my brews after a month or so into another 1 gallon with an airlock then forget about it for 3 months at least. Do i still need to degas, or use yeast killer?
Brian my 5 gallon batch at 4 days went bonkers not just bubbles but yeast & nutrient moving up, down, sideways with no exterior influence. M1118 Yeast. Is that abnormal? Had not seen this previously. Thx RC
I have a must I made on Sat 3/23/24 using 3lbs of honey, filled to gallon with mango juice ( juicy juice) and fermade- 0 about 3 grams. I used a full packet of 71b. My og was 1.160 it's been almost a week and nothing not even slow activity. Any tips? Hopefully I gave all info needed
@CitySteadingBrews awesome thank you so much obviously I'm new to it I made the vikings blood 2.0 and the black cherry cider with no problems at all and really enjoyed it. Thank you guys for all you do!
I have made some of these mistakes myself In the past I have never had to get rid of one because of it I wonder where you got your t-shirt from many thanks
Sorry if this has been asked already but, what's wrong with introducing more oxygen into the brew after a couple days or after the first "pitch" if that's correct?
so.. how do you know when fermentation is complete? and how do you know when it is safe to put the product in the bottle for storage? and when you bottle it for storage.. how can you prevent it from getting mold?
BTW, at some point you used lactose to pre-back-sweeten a beer, and hinted that you might try that more generally. Did you ever try to use lactose to back-sweeten or pre-sweeten a wine? How did it turn out?
@@CitySteadingBrews Thanks for the reply! I was kind of hoping for an explanation of why, so I could decide if it was worth giving it a try myself. :-)
@@CitySteadingBrewsyes it definitely needed aging🤣 it was my first brew I've ever made, making it as cheap as possible in a gallon. it was really rough and a horrible hangover 🤣. although, others liked it. I gave up alcohol over 2 years ago and made a pact with myself that I would not drink alcohol unless I made it myself. I also made a manuka mead at the same time using same measurement 1.5kg manuka in a demijohn. I left that one few weeks longer than the first one and it was beautiful. I am on my third brew now, which is 2kg of manuka a small handful of chopped raisins and a large cup of strong tea taking some advice from your videos. it was started on the 1st of this month and i racked it a few days ago. I am looking forward to tasting it in a few months. I'm not going to be as impatient as the first 2, as it was the festive season. i love the channel and the content you both prouduce.
Hey guys! I have a question about my first mead. I followed what was supposed to be an easy beginner recipe but I think I messed it up. 1 gal car boy. 2lbs honey. 1 bag frozen blueberries one pack of raisins. One pack of the premier clasique wine yeast. I let it sit in primary for about 3 weeks. Moved to secondary last night. Gave it a little smell and taste and it smells like wine and tastes like alcohol flavored wine. Has it gone wrong? Or is it too young to tell flavors yet?
Have you guys had problems with flowers of wine (mycoderma)? I have had issues with a few batches recently and would like to avoid sulfites, etc... How would you address it?
I have my very first mead fermenting. I've got two 1 gallon jugs and both have been clearly well on their way fermenting. However, I have seen a very strange thing start to happen. I have been lying on the floor on my belly more than usual, with my arms wrapped around the jugs, watching all the bubbles in the airlocks and yeasty things float around calling them "My foamy babies!" Is this normal?
I have a question: I'm 3 days into fermentation of a homemade strawberry/grape wine, ( I juiced the fruits) and it is definitely fermenting, but is it normal to have a 1" thick layer of yeast foam/cake sitting on top? Also, it has a kinda strange smell. It's not a bad smell, but kinda smells like a "green" smell... Sounds weird, but kinda smells like a flower shop? ... Anyways, I think it's doing fine, but I'm a newbie and I have no idea if this is normal
What if your brew has a few black wispy armed things floating in the bubbles at the top, is this unsalvageable? Say a 4 day old unpasteurized cider made with natural yeast and nearing its end of fermenting. Could I possibly immediately pasteurize and change fermenters?
@@CitySteadingBrews it was a bit of an expirement. (smelled great like super strong apple beer. I was sad to see it go, but Id rather dump it than risk drinking it and possibly getting sick ) Il definitely being trying again but with pasteurization, and maybe store bought juices, as theres not many apples left on the trees this time of year. next harvest il do some more experimenting but for now il be sticking to the recipes. Speaking of which I still got a bottle of kilju going which I made after watching your video on it. So its not all in vain. Thanks again for all the information and all the videos, your doing great work.
Hey there, love the channel! Got a situation for ya: I've got a cider that has gone dry and is at 8% ABV (below alc tolerance).I want a SEMI-SWEET and CARBONATED brew. I have used non-fermenatables in the past and I don't love the taste, so I want to use real sugar to sweeten. However, I don't want to keep all my bottles in the fridge to "stall" the fermentation of the rest of my sugar, so I am considering pasteurization so that I can store my cider outside of the fridge (dark closet, about 65F). Will pasteurization make storing this outside of the fridge safe for a few months? I'm afraid of bottle bombs!! Thank you both!
Yes, completely safe to keep outside the fridge, as long as you pasteurized well (Brew has been at 140 F, 60C for 10 minutes), and if you sanitized everything well, you can keep brews outside the fridge for YEARS
hello i started a new brew with the old lees sediment and added new yeast but after 2 or 3 days the air lock bubbles stop bubbling I tried shaking the bottle to add oxygen into the mix but it feels like it stalled is the batch dead or should I give it a week and check the gravity ?
@@CitySteadingBrews hmmm i used mixed berry juice brought from the store and about 200 grams of sugar , gravity is about 1.072 and instant bread yeast the lees is from a pervious batch of mixed berry juice
Yeah… might be done. Why did you add yeast though? Normally you reuse the lees as your yeast. Anyway, check the gravity now if you want. That’s a low og to start so it could be finished 🤞
I started a blueberry wine with just shy of a gallon of 100% blueberry juice, preservative/additive free, 1 lb of sugar, and a heaping half teaspoon of fleshmanns active dry. It seems to have stalled out after 5 days, I've kept it at about 75 F. This is my first try, should I just cold shock it? Add more yeast? It doesn't smell like vinegar I'm getting an alcohol smell in the gas that escapes when I give it a swirl. Any advice for a novice?
@@CitySteadingBrews I didn't get a hydrometer until a couple days ago. I was so excited to try a fermentation I jumped in before I was ready. Fortunately it seems it had just slowed down, I still had CO2 production and not just degassing. I'll measure and write things down next time. (as I've learned from your videos)
New to brewing, I'm 4 days into fermentation, I should note, day two I had to change to a bigger container as my gravity at that time measured 1.3, so I diluted and started at a 1.1. I noticed today, a sulfur smell (day 4) and noticed fermentation seemed to be slowing significantly, tested gravity and now 1.025, should I use more nutrients? or you think needing more oxygen?(shook the bejeezus out of it twice day one and two, using D47. Any advice you have would be great!! Thank you, have watched almost all your videos!
You talk about scaling up, but what about scaling down? I think so far I've seen one video ( three honey ) where your primary fermentation was in something smaller than a gallon. Are there considerations for scaling down?
I've been at this for well over 30 years. and if your new to brewing, save this video. It's like looting a treasure room in D&D and finding a Compendium of Forgotten Secrets.
OMG i love the analogy hehehehe And i am new an i am saving this.
Im making saki, however i have a very small bit of mould the size pf half a raisin, at top of demijon, would i still need to dump it ? thanks
@@ControversialKOLSsake* and yes dump the brew, between being an overall food lover, and getting into the mycology and mushroom hobby, I’ve learned that molds are nothing to mess around with, especially trich… so better to be safe than sorry, and just dump it
Any mold... dump.
I totally concur with having the alcohol tolerance on the packet.
And maybe a bit more info about the yeast prefered temps and best uses, white wine, red, fruity...
We took ours and out them in a jar in the fridge I wrote it on the lid cause I’m tired of wondering what the tolerance is
Actually company called Browin puts all info on the packets
@@GreenuniverseEuro Good to know ! 👍
I started brewing a bunch of stuff recently and your video helped a lot to gain knowledge on general brewing! And I couldn't stop myself to put a comment for this part 10:05 . While I was in my research on other "brew-able" things I came across this Korean-traditional alcoholic beverage called Makgeolli, this beverage is made with rice, nuruk (Korean fermentation starter/yeast), and water and it can be ready in just 3 days and up to several months depends on the technique you use to brew (simple to complex). I just wanted to share this information in case you are also interested in such, happy brewing!
Made my first mead on 01 March based on your basic mead recipe. I also started a blueberry one based on your recipe. Within 2 hours the basic sent up bubbles. The next morning I cracked open my closet door to check on them and they were both bubbling away. Funny how the sound of the 'farts' makes you happy. One question - where can you buy the patience needed to wait for them to do their thing? I am so glad I 'discovered' your channel.
So I’ve been watching you for several months and I now have 8 or 9 gallons of three different concoctions in different stages of the process. Our first tasting will be a family tasting at Christmas of a apple/raisin cider, pineapple/raisin mead at Valentines, blueberry/apple mead at Easter.
Thx so much for the education and new hobby
Re the "Start by following a recipe" advice: I've heard the saying, "Imitate, Assimilate, Innovate." That is, first start by doing exactly what someone else is doing (imitate); as you go along, you'll internalize and come to understand a lot of things about the process (assimilate); and as you start to understand what's going on, you'll naturally find ways in which you think it could be made better according to your taste (innovate). This applies to loads of areas in life, including music, art, software development... and, clearly homebrewing!
You guys are awesome. Appreciate your knowledge and desire to pass it on! New to Brewing but grew up in a family strong in corn liquor tradition. I've learned so much from you guys and in roughly 7 months me and my fiance will be married sipping on a nice glass of spiced blueberry Mead currently in secondary. We have our wedding planned for September and I and the misses are extremely excited to pop the corks when the time is right and we would love to send you guys a bottle!
Congratulations!
@CitySteadingBrews thank you so much!
Excellent overview of the most frequently asked questions new home brewers might ask and that can be answered in a general manner. Except perhaps the ones I get A LOT by non-brewers who learn about me being a home brewer: the Methanol questions. They come up almost every single time because people hear horror stories of tourists getting very ill or even passing away after drinking ‘home brew’ while on vacation. They don’t realise that all fermented drinks (and even non-fermented fruit-based drinks) will contain methanol, regardless of whether they’re made in a ‘safe’ commercial setting or in someone’s kitchen. They don’t even realise that digestion of things like fruit, aspartame (allow me to insert a wholly personal ‘yuk’ here) juice etc will cause our own bodies to metabolise components of those into methanol. That concentrating the fermented product will also concentrate the methanol, which is what happens during jacking (aka freeze concentrating) or distillation. I’ve resorted to having a small list of links to scientific articles about methanol, the EU’s regulations on methanol levels and what is the range of methanol in most un-distilled alcoholic beverages. It reassures most of them. Call me petty, but it always makes me chuckle when the person asking me is a frequent consumer of diet sodas and sugar-free gum that contain aspartame. The look on their faces when they get to the aspartame part is priceless. LOL.
Thanks for your video!
I love the advice, you've helped me develop a new hobby!
Personally my favorite part of home brewing is the alliance you get to have with yeast, it's like: "Hey little guys, I gave you some sugar and water, wanna do me a solid and just eat it all? Okay, have fun!"
Dude you guys are amazing. Hoping to start my first mead here in the next week or so
True story. I was going to do a sparkling spiced orange tea wine and a spiced cranberry wine for Thanksgiving or Christmas. I started it first part of October, since I got sick end of September. Today is February 27. It's still in the kitchen bubbling away without any sugar added. It was slow to get started and kept stalling. Before you say bubbling doesn't mean anything, the airlock has Star-san in it and it's slightly foaming from the bubbling.
I like to watch all the VIDEO , then double tap the screen to pause at the end . Then go through and read all the Comments . That way I get the Best of Both Worlds . Sometimes I just can't Help Myself . And will reply to a comment . Sorry about that.
I really like this Video , especially when you pull out the Top 10 Fact Sheet . 🤠
2:32 i started retching at my mead today, then i degassed it, and it stopped smelling bad. keep in mind that i havent degassed it in like two weeks. it was like this super strong alcohol smell. and i degassed it and it became floral, with a slightly in your face alcohol. before degassing i couldnt smell the floral
Made your viking blood over a year ago opened my last bottle yesterday and the flavour was incredible
I really appreciate your sharings. You always do a great job. Your channel got me started mead making using the surplus honey from my hives and now I love my bees more than ever, haha.
Thank you so much for your videos. I just started my first mead, and I'm really hoping it goes well. I made a few minor mistakes along the way, but I'm looking forward to improving for the next one whenever the first batch is done! Once again, thanks for making this hobby so approachable!
We all make mistakes, how you recover and what you do afterward is what matters.
I learned a lot of this when trying to cultivate gourmet mushrooms. I only recently discovered your channel and I have to say, you and Derica crack me up. I’m learning and enjoying, well before I get started on home brews!
Berry much love your videos. Speaking of berries cranberries are ready to pick here in Alaska. These are wild and sat over winter then picked in the spring. I ordered fermenters just for this occasion. FYI mead has been an obsession of mine for about 3 months so I am vary new to the hobby. Thank you both for this channel and all your info. My mead is all thanks to you, I give mead gifts to my family and friends. They appreciate it almost as much as I do my self. Keep up the awesome work you’re info is greatly appreciated!
As always a great video. I enjoy all your videos my fav are your videos like this. Even tho I knew all the answers, because I learned then from you. Thanks again for what you do and keep doing over and over again. HA! HA! God bless
Actually there is a fermented pineapple drink called tepache which takes 3-4 days depending on the temperature. Really good and refreshing.
Tepache is an open air fermentation, mostly non alcoholic like kombucha but yes it is tasty just made differently.
@@capnspicy5565 in any fermentation there will usually be some alchahol present as a byproduct of the yeast even in kombucha. How long are you fermenting and is it open air or do you use an airlock?
@@capnspicy5565 drinks such as tepache, kefir and kombucha have a much shorter fermentation time than that of mead and other alchaholic libations
@@capnspicy5565 the airlock will help prevent alchahol from evaporating off if that is what you are going for. 13% abv should mean you are starting with a fairly high gravity and basically making pinewine, a little strong for tepache open air ferment is all I'm saying, unless you're trying to natural bottle Carbonate.
Tepache is a different animal than most things we make. It’s means to be consumed in 3-5 days and not run dry.
I have been having some very, very quick fermentations. OG 1.082 three days rough rack to get off fruit debris. Gravity already at 0.998. A full week later (10 days), Gravity is 0.992. I still let it sit for 2 more weeks take another reading, as I rack for clarity. Now 3 weeks rack and stabilize back sweeten and wait another 3 weeks then bottle (750 ml).
But essentially the fermentation was compete in 10 days. Now as you later said, I have a dark cool cellar with a constant temp about 68 to 74 year round. Also I am using gravity readings yo confirm this. In total is still about 12 weeks from start to bottle, and then a month in bottle before I think it is ready. I also bottle a few small bottles (16 oz) to sample.
I have video for you. Fireplace no Music. Put it on your tv and it is so cool. Thank you for all the HELP. I love these videos. tomorrow is 7 days on my first Apple juice Wine. DIdn't know anything and used PAw paw recipe. I made diy airlock bubblers with pill bottle. They work LOL
I've been wondering about scaling up from a 1 gallon recipe to a 5 gallon recipr! Thanks for addressing that.
Another great video for those of us who are home brew newbies, I've had a go at some of your brews and have just started a new experiment with a honey and molasses cyser with a couple of cinnamon sticks thrown in, one week in and it's already smelling like a dark rum, in time I hope it will be a winner! Keep up the great work guys and thanks for your inspiration 👍
Brilliant video. Really enjoyed that one. Very informative. Thank you.
That was fantastic info for a newbie like me. Thank you for making that one.
ABV calculations - you say multiply by 135 but others say multiply by 131 - why the difference? PS love you guys, you have really set me up to make great fruit wines and meads with confidence XXX
th-cam.com/video/NpBZctKaPis/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=CitySteadingBrews
Good info! I've got 2 gallons of banana bochet mead bubbling away right now I'm so excited to taste it! I didn't just put chopped Bananas in it either, i made my own banana juice.
One person said fermentation was DONE after 4 days. I opened a gallon last night that was still fermenting or off gassing after 3 1/2 MONTHS!
Thank you for making these videos yall have gotten me in to brewing going to try mead next I did cider first and it was great
Your shirt is awesome ! I need to get one of them. P.S. Love your channel. Great info for fermentation of all kinds that can applied to all kinds of brewing. Cheers !
I just started fermentation on an apple cider this weekend and was surprised to see my basement stays at exactly 62 degrees F. I'm hoping the yeast really like that.
Perfect timing!! Just as I though my cranberry mead has failed, the extra swirling tip helped! Bubbles got stuck under the brewbag and berries (dried, so crasizins I guess) and a bit of pollen added has the whole carboy in tip top shape. Foamy awesomeness and it smells sooo good! Now let it sit again with more swirling inbetween. Thanks for this amazing summary!
Iv done a lot of beer brews all grain and extract but last night I did my first mead. It was your blueberry mead 😁 I can’t wait for Xmas for it to be ready 😁
Great info as always for a new guy (me). Love the videos and hope to be confident about the mead when it's done.
Great tips!
Hey again thanks for helping me with the hydrometer reading issue my next question is which equation to use OG - FG = A
A × 131.25= ABV % or OG - FG = A
A × 1325= ABV % I believe I watch videos with you guys talking about both thanks again guy keep up the great work
OG - FG = A
A × 131.25= ABV % or OG - FG = A
A × 135= ABV %
th-cam.com/video/NpBZctKaPis/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=CitySteadingBrews
Sometimes when I have a 750mL bottle half empty and I'm not going to drink it for a while, I gently (so as to not mix in air) transfer it to a smaller 375mL bottle, a narrower one, to leave less room for air in the bottle.
Awesome video and awesome info!!! Thanks Brian😊
I have a 2 week cider that's drinkable. Mind you, the cider is much better after 3 weeks, but it's good enough at 2. It only works this fast when using Cider House brand yeast. I think it's their nutrient mix that's integrated with the yeast, but they don't tell you what that is, or what yeast it is. Just get their stuff. It's cheep enough. The recipie I use is 2/3rds juice from the store (Welsh's usually), 1/3rd juice from a caned concentrate. I then take about a pound of frozen fruit from the store brand bag (whatever I fancy) and using the water I'll make the concentrate with, boil the shit out of that fruit until I start to get a syrup from it. Chuck all that in the bucket. Start your yeast like you're making a bread, wait for the liquid to be room temp again, pitch it, close it, wait about a week. When the bubbles are slowing down, but not yet stopped, I bottle it, and let it finish the primary in the bottles. This works fine because Cider House yeast leaves basically no lees, and you get minimal sedament in the bottles. After about a week in the bottles, I pasturize everything with my dishwasher (DOn't do this unless you also have a dish washer with a santaize function that gets hot enough long enough to pasturize.). It's done. I have bottles that are 6 months old and... not much more than a little bit of sediment. Mabey a quarter of the bottle gets covered.
It tastes fine. It has good body. Most people I've shared it with liked it. THe one guy who didn't just isn't into apple-peach cider.
True I have had ec-1118 hit 22% abv bottled at 18% and thought it was done. Lol my bad was my first time.
Thank you for this! You two have been my main source for information and inspiration! I do have a vital question that was not covered: Is that Spock back there by the fortune cat?
It is :)
As far as the amount of yeast goes. I’ve literally used one single crumb from the yeast packet. Instead of taking 2 days to see bubbles it took 5 days, but that one little morsel did in fact take and multiply
Sure, it could happen, but it might not be enough too.
Is there a common method for using the Lees for a second, third, or forth brew? For example, taking the lees from my Super Simple Cyser brew and making a second Super Simple Cyser brew in the same fermentation container once the original Super Simple Cyser has been racked into it's new container?
The two of you do a wonderful job teaching home brewing and your hard work is appreciated. :)
I find reusing yeast from the lees depends on how strong the beverage above the lees was, and how long it's been sitting. The lees from a low abv drink will have a lot of healthy yeast if it's not too old, but if you maxed out the yeast's alcohol tolerance or let it sit a while, The yeast don't have a lot of fight left in them, and your better starting with fresh yeast
@@mitchellfite879 truth here. Also, yeast is like a dollar a packet, and I'm all about saving some money on homebrewing mead, but when it could affect quality or speed of a fermentation I don't think it's very worth trying to reuse a tapped out yeast.
I remove it off the Sediment quickly if I have added an ingredient that falls out and I don't want it to give too much flavor or give off the other flavors. My neighbor gave me persimmons. I read don't leave them in too long they can give a strong bitter. after the first week I stirred everything up and rough racked to get the fine yeast but leave the thick Persimmon debris behind.
I don’t know why TH-cam suppresses your videos , I was like having seen them post for a while and realized you uploaded 3 videos
So, Adam lives in north like me? My house does not usually get above 62°F in NW PA. Snowbelt. It seems as if my wine takes very long. No bad looking tops.
I have life forms growing in my cider. I’m going to let it go on to see if I’ve discovered new life.
Not sure I would keep it personally!
I. Make tinctures so I have many clear empty 1.75 L vodka glass bottles with screw on cap if I use these bottles to store my finish wine would they keep for years or do I have to buy corker in order to keep them good for long time? I just started making wine I follow your videos you make it easy and fun however it can get expensive I have bought many items except the bottles and corker unfortunately I don’t think I can handle the manual cheaper corker so my question is proper storing for long period of time 2-5+ years or bite the bullet and pay 70$ for the corker…….thank you
So, the lesson learned today is to insert the airlock stem into the bung before putting the bung into the carboy. My question is how to get the bung out now that I popped the little sucker all the way in or do I just have to live with the world's worst maraca? I knew sanitizer made things slick, but I didn't quite think it would be an industrial grade lubricant.
Hi, firstly love the channel.
I have a question, if I have 20ltrs of mead I've stabilised at 11.4% Abv and I add 1ltr of blueberry jiuce, how much does it change the Abv?
Thanks a lot for your videos. I've started out homebrewing recently and finding your channel really helped me get the answers I was needing. There's one question though that I couldn't find an answer: if I carbonate a brew and pasteurize it, will it age appropriately (mellowing the flavours, for example) as it would if I hadn't carbonated it?
I have a mead I started last summer, it was my first batch and I didn't have a hydrometer yet and I used your recipe but I used a cup of peaches instead of raisins, but 8 months later it still has an beer taste and feel (like it's almost carbonated). It's been at 70 degrees and up. I put some into a bottle and it's still hissing when I open it up even now. Should I have put more honey? Or when will it taste like a honey wine instead of beer (hard cider actually)?
You need to degas it.
@@CitySteadingBrews Thank you! I haven't been able to do any more batches since then, so I'd forgotten about that. Just went and watched your video on degassing a brew. Thanks again!
Question, if you have three fermenters with the same mix started at 1.850. Three weeks into fermentation two are at 1.000, but one dropped to 0.920 (yes that is as low as my hydrometer reads) and has a completely different (almost sour) smell.
Would you do the same as I have done, pour it down the drain? The other two are recapped with an airlock (still active but very slow).
Thanks for any input 😁👍❤️
I think you did the right thing, that .92 batch might have killed you!!!
You guys are great! I had a mead that I bottled and it had kind of a milky ring that formed on the top almost like a SCOBY but it didn’t taste like vinegar at all.
We’ve only got one bottle of it left and it’s the one we are holding for a year(fast approaching!) the other bottles have been totally fine so I don’t think it’s anything bad just curious what it could be or what caused it?
I have a question about a white almost snot looking stuff on top of my mead. I racked it and this showed up within 24 hours. It smells normal in my opinion being my first batch of mead. I’m just getting a little nervous and was curious if this was normal.
I haven't had a bottle explode, but I made a carbonated hydromel and kept them in the fridge, all of them were good except the last one that I kept to try aged. When I opened it, it was extra carbonated and spewed everywhere. Didn't taste great either.
"Put it on the packets" lol #liked
First, thank you guys for all the informative videos, for a newbie the information is priceless! I have a concern with one bre of mine. Mead that started at 1.100 after 4 weeks activity slowed to a crawl. Took a reading and was 1.008. Airlock back on and put back to check in a week. 4 days later i noticed some small whitish blobs on the neck of my carboy. I removed them with a papertowel dipped in sanitizer and rung out. The blobs are soft and moist. Nothing on the brew at all right now. I still have slow airlock activity, but activity. Should I be concered about mold or is this possibly just yeast growth from when I gently poured my sample back in after a reading?
Sounds like yeast. Was it hairy?
@CitySteadingBrews They were only about 2-3mm in size so super hard to tell.
Sounds like what is called yeast rafts. Totally fine.
Are there any channels similar to this but for beer that you would recommend? Thanks 😊
No idea, lol.
Hey im making my first mead brew and using actually a blueberry melomel recipe becuase when I started I didn’t know it changed from “mead” but it’s starting to smell like a can of black olives after 4 days of fermentation is that just an off flavor thing or should I be worried about bad contamination?
2 questions. First, I have heard of people spraying on the starsan instead of soaking. What is your opinion of that? And second, do you have any tips or hacks for secondary vessels? I am out of glass carboys and live 70 miles from the nearest brew store. Anything besides buying more juice or wine in one gallon jugs? Some have suggested using a Brew Bucket for secondary. Do I need to worry about plastic?
I usually just spray on the starsan, I don't see any need for soaking.
If you have any bars or restaurants close by, then you could check of they have any bottles you can use. They throw out bottles on a daily basis and some may be suitable for your needs. I prefer not to use plastic for secondary, but will if that's all I have available.
@@johnshaw6702 thanks for the info 👍
Have to add...there's a need to be careful not to breathe aerosolized Star San. Too much will burn lung tissue according to warnings I've seen.
Hey, i have a thin white film forming on top of my primary fermenter..should i rack and add camden tabs? Wont that kill the wine yeast too?
It’s probably kahm yeast. Adding camden will harm your fermentation, yes. It’s very likely nothing to worry about.
I started my first attempt at wine. A blackberry blueberry blend just because it's what I had on hand. At one week I had good activity with steady bubbles in the airlock. I got paranlid that the yeast was not mixed in well so I opened the jars and stirred. After that I had no further yeast activity. I waited another week to see if it would start again but nothing. Did I kill the yeast and ruin my batch?
If it was active, the yeast were mixed in. My best guess is you have a bad seal somehow or it is finished fermenting. Take a hydrometer reading to know for sure.
Hi Brian - great video, thanks! I have a question please. Mostly, my mead is really clear when I bottle BUT, after a few months of ageing, there is usually sediment in the bottom of the bottle. Is there any way to avoid this? I’ve tried bulk ageing and cold crashing to clear further but it still happens. Thanks 👍
It will happen over time since as It ages more compounds are created and recreated so some fall out of suspension.
@@CitySteadingBrews ah, ok. Interesting - thanks for that 🙏
Great video! I do have a question though. ABV% and long-term aging- What is the abv% that makes it less likely spoil. Is it 14 or 15% ? Also a suggestion for another video- cork differences and grades.
They say 10% and above reduces the chance of spoiling.
The higher abv the less likely to spoil. As for corks… not an expert as we rarely use them.
Would the spices in chia Tea stop the yeast from working?
So i tried making red wine from real grapes and I didn't add yeast - I wanted to use the wild yeast available on the skins of the grapes. Fermentation started in 24-48 hours after the grapes were juiced and transferred into a sanitized fermenter. Over time a plasticky/rubbery layer that was transparent started to form at the top. Also, there was some white furry matter (on the skins of the grapes that were at the top of the fermenter). Is this mold? there was no green or blue colors from what i could see - but hints of black on the plastic/rubber layer were present. Visually, it looked similar to a sour beer fermenting, but I wasnt sure if the same thing was meant to happen for wine. Anyways, i racked it into a clean fermenter and its been sitting in secondary for about 6 months. At the moment it doesn't smell foul, but it does not smell pleasant or how store-bought wine smells. Any thoughts if it is safe to drink or should i dump it? Is botulism a risk in this situation? - Cheers! (love the channel!)
I’m very new to brewing and I found your channel the day after I started my first cider from a box set. Just fresh squeezed apple juice and yeast, nothing else. Unfortunately because of that I don’t know the starting gravity. Will I still be able to bottle and carbonate the cider in a few weeks? How will I know if I’m able to? I want to avoid bottle bombs so if I have so scrap carbonation I will.
Yes, you will be able to carbonate. There is just no way that just from the sugar in the apple juice, the yeast will hit its alcohol tolerance. When is a question of many things, but a few weeks is a good baseline. If you have a hydrometer, take a a reading in 3-4 weeks, and then another reading a week later. If the gravity reading is the same, it's done. You can then bottle condition (carbonate). I suggest you watch one this channels videos about this, called Cider 4 Ways.
Yes, but check your final gravity before bottling.
@@CitySteadingBrews ok just so I can make sure I understand. Once the gravity stays the same between a week for the fermenting process (either because the yeast hit it’s max or because the sugar runs out) I can then add priming sugar for bottling to get carbonation. Once the yeast hits it’s Alcohol tolerance, can I still even carbonate if there’s no yeast to activate?
Good and informative, as usual! I just bottled that apple cider, made with your recipe (one with bread yeast) few hours ago. I gave it extra time, it did drop tons of lees, but it did not clear up entirely. Not too bothered. Came up to about 7.47ABV so I am happy. Tastes pretty good too, forgetting the overwhelming taste of alcohol, but I'm sure it will mellow with time. I added some carbonation drops (1 per bottle) and it went to the closet. Any prediction on how long should I at minimum let it sit before it would mellow out and age a bit? Month? Two months? Much apprecieated for all your good work, and greetings from Sweden!
Wait...what are carbonation drops?...do they add or remove excess carbonation?
@@hollybooth989 They kind of look like caramels, but slightly transparent. Basically once you finished fermentation and all, and you are ready to bottle, you drop 1 of these in small bottle or 2 in a big bottle (they are like pure glucose), and then bottle. Over the course of 2 weeks they will be very slowly fermented, just enough to make your drink carbonated.
@@aqhan ohhh ok....so that's what they are...they add carbonation...I'm making Mead and I need a way to expell excess carbonation...I'm getting ready to order some swing top bottles for bottling and even tho they are ok for carbonation...I don't want my mead carbonated and the degassing stage makes me nervous...I feel if they sit too long with head space they will oxidize before my eyes and they will b ruined. Thanks for answering my question I appreciate it.
If you could suggest a yeast or 2 to someone that lives in AZ, USA which would you pick?? I try to keep my rv around 70-80 (depending on how cold or hot I get)
Lalvin 71B works well for us and we keep our house around 75- 80
about bottle bombs. my brother once made cider and possibly put too much sugar for carbonation. bottle exploded in his hand and sliced a vein open. not the main artery but the one that goes back to heart. let's just say there was a lot of blood and a trip to emergency.
It’s serious stuff!
Is there a way to train yourself to recognize what flavors should be present in the brew and what may have arisen as an off-flavor? When I ferment dry it appears that small variables in acid and tannin presence can dramatically affect the flavor profile. How do you know what is a character of the homebrew and what needs correction?
If you like it… it’s not something bad. Other than that, there’s not much else really. If there’s something unpleasant try to figure out what caused it.
@@CitySteadingBrews That is a pretty good piece of advice :). I hope you don't mind that I read this in Brian's voice and inflection lol.
I recently started some spiced metheglin and had a hard time with removing all the spices. Can you always use a bag or is that only for fruit?
Also, do i need to soak the bag in my sanitizing solution too?
Yes, you can use a fine mesh bag like a nut milk bag to hold spices for easier removal. And yes, you will want to sanitize that bag first.
Hello!
What do you think about semi-open fermentation? When I ferment with my 6gal bucket, I just place the lid on the bucket, put airlock and I don't seal it, just enough to cover from dirt. Does it ferment less better than closed fermentation?
It’s no better just different. We have cats so I don’t do open ferments.
Quick question regarding fermenters, could I brew a mead in a 3 gallon water jug? It’s made from PET plastic so it’s food safe, but I’m not sure about the oxygen permeability
Not my favorite, but ‘should’ be safe for primary. I would use brewing grade equipment for conditioning and storage.
The sediment in the bottom of my apple mead turned black is that something to be concerned about?
So for now I lack a hydrometer...for now...I have 2 degassing...I hear bubbles very seldomly from them...question #1, do they HAVE to be clear in order to bottle cuz I ain't real picky about clarity and neither is my household. Question #2, the biggest question I have, if I use the potassium sorbate can I also pasteurize as well to complete kill off the yeast? And question #3 how long do I have before I need to bottle after adding potassium sorbate and back sweetening?...and possibly question #4 will potassium sorbate help with the excess slight carbonation?...thank u.
We don't use sorbate, nor do we recommend it. Also, it does not kill yeast and it won't reduce carbonation if already present.
I wrack my brews after a month or so into another 1 gallon with an airlock then forget about it for 3 months at least. Do i still need to degas, or use yeast killer?
thank you
Brian my 5 gallon batch at 4 days went bonkers not just bubbles but yeast & nutrient moving up, down, sideways with no exterior influence. M1118 Yeast. Is that abnormal? Had not seen this previously. Thx RC
Pretty normal.
I have a must I made on Sat 3/23/24 using 3lbs of honey, filled to gallon with mango juice ( juicy juice) and fermade- 0 about 3 grams. I used a full packet of 71b. My og was 1.160 it's been almost a week and nothing not even slow activity. Any tips? Hopefully I gave all info needed
I would dilute it. That's too high a starting gravity. You may even need new yeast as that much sugars can kill them.
@CitySteadingBrews o wow ok I'll try that, any idea what I would try to shoot for?
1.100 or lower.
@CitySteadingBrews awesome thank you so much obviously I'm new to it I made the vikings blood 2.0 and the black cherry cider with no problems at all and really enjoyed it. Thank you guys for all you do!
have you ever had a batch turn to vinegar instead of wine?
I have made some of these mistakes myself In the past I have never had to get rid of one because of it I wonder where you got your t-shirt from many thanks
There's a link in the description 😉
i left my fruit must for a week, after a week, im only able taste alcohol and no fruit notes. is that normal?
If could be... depends on your recipe and conditions.
👍😉😂🤠
Sorry if this has been asked already but, what's wrong with introducing more oxygen into the brew after a couple days or after the first "pitch" if that's correct?
Oxygen in the presence of alcohol van lead to vinegar.
so.. how do you know when fermentation is complete? and how do you know when it is safe to put the product in the bottle for storage? and when you bottle it for storage.. how can you prevent it from getting mold?
th-cam.com/video/DHqgdkHIt8g/w-d-xo.html
I wish I could send you a photo of the beer Im making, there seems to be almost a white/opaque kind of film stuck to only the glass
Beer smells fine
Sounds like kreusen, mostly just the remains of the foam from fermentation. Totally safe.
BTW, at some point you used lactose to pre-back-sweeten a beer, and hinted that you might try that more generally. Did you ever try to use lactose to back-sweeten or pre-sweeten a wine? How did it turn out?
We don’t use lactose anymore.
@@CitySteadingBrews Thanks for the reply! I was kind of hoping for an explanation of why, so I could decide if it was worth giving it a try myself. :-)
I had rocket fuel mead in 7 weeks. 1.5kg of runny honey, 5g of high tolerance (mead) yeast with added nutrients.
Needs age from the sound of it.
@@CitySteadingBrewsyes it definitely needed aging🤣 it was my first brew I've ever made, making it as cheap as possible in a gallon. it was really rough and a horrible hangover 🤣. although, others liked it. I gave up alcohol over 2 years ago and made a pact with myself that I would not drink alcohol unless I made it myself. I also made a manuka mead at the same time using same measurement 1.5kg manuka in a demijohn. I left that one few weeks longer than the first one and it was beautiful. I am on my third brew now, which is 2kg of manuka a small handful of chopped raisins and a large cup of strong tea taking some advice from your videos. it was started on the 1st of this month and i racked it a few days ago. I am looking forward to tasting it in a few months. I'm not going to be as impatient as the first 2, as it was the festive season. i love the channel and the content you both prouduce.
Hey guys! I have a question about my first mead. I followed what was supposed to be an easy beginner recipe but I think I messed it up. 1 gal car boy. 2lbs honey. 1 bag frozen blueberries one pack of raisins. One pack of the premier clasique wine yeast. I let it sit in primary for about 3 weeks. Moved to secondary last night. Gave it a little smell and taste and it smells like wine and tastes like alcohol flavored wine. Has it gone wrong? Or is it too young to tell flavors yet?
It had a cheap wine smell. Like cheap booze with flavor added. Not quite sour but very alcohol forward
Why do you think it is wrong? Mead is a honey wine…
@@CitySteadingBrews it’s so vastly different from some meads I’ve tried before. There’s almost no hint of honey. It’s just very. Blueberry wine-y.
Have you guys had problems with flowers of wine (mycoderma)? I have had issues with a few batches recently and would like to avoid sulfites, etc...
How would you address it?
We have not.
I have my very first mead fermenting. I've got two 1 gallon jugs and both have been clearly well on their way fermenting. However, I have seen a very strange thing start to happen. I have been lying on the floor on my belly more than usual, with my arms wrapped around the jugs, watching all the bubbles in the airlocks and yeasty things float around calling them "My foamy babies!" Is this normal?
No. Seek professional help, lol.
@@CitySteadingBrews Okay, I'll get right on that. :)
I have a question: I'm 3 days into fermentation of a homemade strawberry/grape wine, ( I juiced the fruits) and it is definitely fermenting, but is it normal to have a 1" thick layer of yeast foam/cake sitting on top? Also, it has a kinda strange smell. It's not a bad smell, but kinda smells like a "green" smell... Sounds weird, but kinda smells like a flower shop? ... Anyways, I think it's doing fine, but I'm a newbie and I have no idea if this is normal
What if your brew has a few black wispy armed things floating in the bubbles at the top, is this unsalvageable?
Say a 4 day old unpasteurized cider made with natural yeast and nearing its end of fermenting. Could I possibly immediately pasteurize and change fermenters?
Black? I wouldn't trust that.
@@CitySteadingBrews unfortunate.
Well il scrap it and try again next season.
Thanks for your input and awesome video as always.
Sorry for your loss. Sanitation may help here. Pasteurize the juice. I love natural fermentation but it's risky as you see.
@@AidanDoesaSurvival
@@CitySteadingBrews it was a bit of an expirement.
(smelled great like super strong apple beer.
I was sad to see it go, but Id rather dump it than risk drinking it and possibly getting sick )
Il definitely being trying again but with pasteurization, and maybe store bought juices, as theres not many apples left on the trees this time of year.
next harvest il do some more experimenting but for now il be sticking to the recipes.
Speaking of which I still got a bottle of kilju going which I made after watching your video on it. So its not all in vain.
Thanks again for all the information and all the videos, your doing great work.
Hey there, love the channel! Got a situation for ya:
I've got a cider that has gone dry and is at 8% ABV (below alc tolerance).I want a SEMI-SWEET and CARBONATED brew. I have used non-fermenatables in the past and I don't love the taste, so I want to use real sugar to sweeten.
However, I don't want to keep all my bottles in the fridge to "stall" the fermentation of the rest of my sugar, so I am considering pasteurization so that I can store my cider outside of the fridge (dark closet, about 65F). Will pasteurization make storing this outside of the fridge safe for a few months? I'm afraid of bottle bombs!!
Thank you both!
th-cam.com/video/tvvuVJNn2jM/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=CitySteadingBrews
Yes, completely safe to keep outside the fridge, as long as you pasteurized well (Brew has been at 140 F, 60C for 10 minutes), and if you sanitized everything well, you can keep brews outside the fridge for YEARS
hello i started a new brew with the old lees sediment and added new yeast but after 2 or 3 days the air lock bubbles stop bubbling I tried shaking the bottle to add oxygen into the mix but it feels like it stalled is the batch dead or should I give it a week and check the gravity ?
Without knowing your recipe I cannot really help.
@@CitySteadingBrews hmmm i used mixed berry juice brought from the store and about 200 grams of sugar , gravity is about 1.072 and instant bread yeast the lees is from a pervious batch of mixed berry juice
Yeah… might be done. Why did you add yeast though? Normally you reuse the lees as your yeast. Anyway, check the gravity now if you want. That’s a low og to start so it could be finished 🤞
@@CitySteadingBrews ok i will check it, I thought all the lees is dead and extra yeast would be needed LOL
Yeast didn’t die, just went dormant.
I started a blueberry wine with just shy of a gallon of 100% blueberry juice, preservative/additive free, 1 lb of sugar, and a heaping half teaspoon of fleshmanns active dry. It seems to have stalled out after 5 days, I've kept it at about 75 F. This is my first try, should I just cold shock it? Add more yeast? It doesn't smell like vinegar I'm getting an alcohol smell in the gas that escapes when I give it a swirl. Any advice for a novice?
Did you happen to take an original gravity reading and one at this point?
@@CitySteadingBrews I didn't get a hydrometer until a couple days ago. I was so excited to try a fermentation I jumped in before I was ready. Fortunately it seems it had just slowed down, I still had CO2 production and not just degassing. I'll measure and write things down next time. (as I've learned from your videos)
New to brewing, I'm 4 days into fermentation, I should note, day two I had to change to a bigger container as my gravity at that time measured 1.3, so I diluted and started at a 1.1. I noticed today, a sulfur smell (day 4) and noticed fermentation seemed to be slowing significantly, tested gravity and now 1.025, should I use more nutrients? or you think needing more oxygen?(shook the bejeezus out of it twice day one and two, using D47. Any advice you have would be great!! Thank you, have watched almost all your videos!
It's still going... let it go.
@@CitySteadingBrews the sulfur/egg smell will that go away?
@Valkyrie1976 it should with some time.
Thank you!!
Makgeolli is 9 days for premium peak product but other than that there is absolutely no other quick brew that I know of.
You talk about scaling up, but what about scaling down? I think so far I've seen one video ( three honey ) where your primary fermentation was in something smaller than a gallon. Are there considerations for scaling down?
You just end up with far less product with smaller batches. The waste from racking and all. You can scale down if you prefer.