I have one of the gallon Carlo Rossi jugs I saved for a carboy (if I remember correctly it was their Cabernet?) and now I'm gonna look for one of those 3L Sangria jugs, I love the look! Glad to hear this one came out well guys, hope you have a great week :)
Ordered and received one of your "Mead the O.G.' shirts. Wore it the first time and had 5 people throughout the day stop and ask me if I made Mead to which I got to explain how to make mead very simply. AWESOME!!!! The shirt is now in my regular rotation. You two are wicked awesome and I greatly appreciate all of the knowledge you continue to share with all of us nutters in Internet land.
Glad I found your channel, I am a very new fermenter, this is something that I have done (not with fermentation equipment, but with narrow mouth bottles) which is to add a teaspoon of rice with hot water and soap and shake vigorously to scrub areas that are otherwise inaccessible.
@@CitySteadingBrews I won't keep commenting today, but I just wanted to say, you are amazingly responsive and positive, I will be a long-term subscriber
Lot of good information in this thank you. I have bought a Litre and a half bottle of Ribena which is black currant concentrate but it has a preservative in it which I boiled out for 20 minutes. I am following the recipe of others by doing that and I have had it in a Demijohn for about two weeks now and its still fermenting. If it works and its good then its a very cheap way to make wine.
I haven't made my must yet for this recipe. I am still waiting on the cranberry-raspberry and cran-grape carboys to stop fermenting. Loved the video, and I can wait to make and taste my new homebrews! ;)
I just bought some carlo rossi (White Zin) specifically to reuse as my fermentation vessel for my mead im going to start next weekend (as soon as my airlocks come in, you all talked me out of the baloons. Plus, i have 2 young boys who LOVE baloons so the airlock sounded better the more you explained it). Im glad im not the only one. Reduce, reuse, recycle!
I'm lucky enough to have a black currant bush question is how should I use them? In a mead of course! but boiling down or just throwing them into a bag and go
Thank you for not using the porus wooden spoon Brian. 😉😂 LOVE the color! Adding this to my list of wines to make. Going to be awhile, all of our carboys are occupied at the moment. 😀
New question; been in primary ferment 45 +days [@30 days removed the lease] Saved in frig. added 1 Gal water, now at 8.75 gal. 2 days fermentation re-started, {GOOD} reading changed to ABV-1.092; using RED STAR, Premier Blanc, Temp. +or- 72F day time night 67F;;here we go??will it ever get to ABV -1.000 Have you ever heard it taking 6 Mo's +? Asking ,thinking of getting one more ferment-er Getting DRY like wine ! :)
I cannot seem to find anything reasonably smaller than my primary fermenter here where I'm living. How about if I'd use the same size for secondary and would not degas before it? It would help to prevent oxidizing, right?
thanks for sharing awesome wine and beer making videos. Great in-depth details are really very helpful. Can you please share the sparkling wine recipe. Or can I just take out the wine at around 9% alcohol and bottle it with little sugar to get it carbonated naturally? Thanks,
Hi Derrida and Brian, really enjoy your videos but I have a question about the krausen line. If I agitate the wine during primary and re incorporate the dried particles is there and chance of spoilage or should I avoid doing this. Thanks for your help
So I was happily supprised today when a client handed me a bottle of mead he had bought in 2004. He then told me to take it home as he doesn't like dry wine. It is so beautiful and clear though (I will post a picture of it on the Facebook group later for you to see)
This looks and sounds fantastic! Now where to find black current juice in Japan to give this a try? Hummmmmmm Thank you for another great entertaining video!
I really love your channel. For me the tastings could include what it tastes like and how long it takes; how long you think it needs to be good. Personally I'd like to avoid making wines/meads/ciders that need to age too long as I have limited space...
I did a pineapple a few years ago, and it's almost drinkable now. I might do one again. Mango.... not so much... I got burned out on mango when we had a tree, but, I suppose it's been several years, I could re-evaluate it again!
After I degassed my blueberry melomel, it cleared spectacularly, so I bottled it. I got three and a half quarts bottled (two and a half are already gone, it’s that good.) in my last bottle, I noticed a whitish haze at the bottom of the bottle. I did not use Pectic enzymes, so I’m wondering if that haze is pectin residue?
Any new brand recommendations since Knudsons seems to have discontinued the black currant in recent years? Also, do you think there would be any issue with using a “Keep Refrigerated” product as long as it’s not sitting around too long before yeast is pitched? It seems like that might be the only black currant juice option I can find near me.. (PS: love your channel!!)
I wish I had a recommendation as I have been looking for a new source of black currant juice myself. As far as the 'keep refrigerated" product it should be fine but it depends on what is in it. If it is pure juice then they might be recommending that you keep it refrigerated so that it won't ferment. ;)
So if my first rack is after a month, when should I re-rack after that if I'm going for a long-term fermentation (~2 years)? Would it be different for meads vs wines or ciders?
@@CitySteadingBrews thanks for the reply! My question is more about the frequency of racking if I'm going to age. As in, how often should I re-rack in secondary fermentation?
@@playea123 I know this is old, but you don't really need to re-rack. Unless you are brewing an exceptionally large batch, then you don't really need to worry about autolysis. Your main concern as a homebrewer is oxidation, and each racking will introduce more oxygen. If you want to BULK AGE, then let it clear after fermentation, then rack into the bulk aging container. You can also bottle it for aging after the brew has cleared. It should be noted, it's probably not really fermenting any longer. Typically a brew will only drop clear (at room temperature) after fermentation has stopped (yeast drops out of suspension). My general rule of thumb, unless I am bottling, or moving the brew off of an adjunct (wood chips, fruits, vanilla, hops, etc), then I will just leave it sitting. There is no minimum number of racks needed to age or clear a brew. You can have a brew drop bright in the primary fermenter, and it won't hurt a thing. I'd just make sure to cold crash before bottling in that case (to help the lees compact). Caveat: if you are fermenting in a plastic bucket, or you have a ton of headspace, then I would rack after primary to prevent excess oxidation.
@@Jamesfurtado128 Have a pretty standard cylinder. Have tried looking for a taller one, the only ones that are taller that I found are quite pricy so if you have found one that's not that would be great.
Thanks for another great video - I currently have 7 gallons of mead going as a result of discovering your channel. Curious if you've ever tried making a sparkling wine? Now that I've got the home brew "bug" my Wife's number one request is a sparking wine, but I haven't been able to find any good content on TH-cam on making it (hoping you can change that!)
We don’t normally do sparkling, but... it’s pretty easy. Once your wine is “done”, add 1 oz by weight of sugar per gallon and mix. Bottle and keep an eye on it. After a week or two... sparkling wine! Make sure you use carb safe bottles and make doubly sure your wine is done fermenting before doing this!
OK... Bare with me, I've only just started brewing so I may be totally wrong and someone correct me if I am (so I can learn too!). --- OK, so I am actually going to leave that top bit but I was typing up a response and realized I was talking out my ass... So, after a little reading so that I'm not giving out loads of my personal assumptions I've pieced together from various things I'd read and heard here you go. Like earlier mentioned in the video 95% of the fermentation process is done in the primary stage. When you rack (secondary fermentation) you release all the gasses produced. That's CO2. It's toxic to yeast and can inhibit further fermentation. I think this is where I started piecing things together a little because It's optional. If you want a still mead? Degas. Do you like a carbonated mead? Then don't Degas. Some people say that not degassing can add off flavors though. I can't tell a difference and I like a carbonated mead for hot summer days.
I'm from 1 month in the future and I have to say things turned out great... We held and celebrated both of you and your fantastic wine!
I have one of the gallon Carlo Rossi jugs I saved for a carboy (if I remember correctly it was their Cabernet?) and now I'm gonna look for one of those 3L Sangria jugs, I love the look! Glad to hear this one came out well guys, hope you have a great week :)
Ordered and received one of your "Mead the O.G.' shirts. Wore it the first time and had 5 people throughout the day stop and ask me if I made Mead to which I got to explain how to make mead very simply. AWESOME!!!! The shirt is now in my regular rotation. You two are wicked awesome and I greatly appreciate all of the knowledge you continue to share with all of us nutters in Internet land.
Very cool!
The "TBOT", turkey baster of transference!
Glad I found your channel, I am a very new fermenter, this is something that I have done (not with fermentation equipment, but with narrow mouth bottles) which is to add a teaspoon of rice with hot water and soap and shake vigorously to scrub areas that are otherwise inaccessible.
Nice tip!
@@CitySteadingBrews I won't keep commenting today, but I just wanted to say, you are amazingly responsive and positive, I will be a long-term subscriber
Lot of good information in this thank you. I have bought a Litre and a half bottle of Ribena which is black currant concentrate but it has a preservative in it which I boiled out for 20 minutes. I am following the recipe of others by doing that and I have had it in a Demijohn for about two weeks now and its still fermenting. If it works and its good then its a very cheap way to make wine.
The two things I was looking forward to most are coming this week. It's a good week
The cherry juice BOX OF ELEVATION
I haven't made my must yet for this recipe. I am still waiting on the cranberry-raspberry and cran-grape carboys to stop fermenting. Loved the video, and I can wait to make and taste my new homebrews! ;)
What do you call a test tube with a college degree?
A graduated cylinder.
Love that! I am stealing it.
Love you guys and the channel keeping things simple and free from addictives I’ll watch everyone of your videos
Thanks for watching!
This sounds like precisely the texture and flavor I’m hoping to achieve. TY
I just bought some carlo rossi (White Zin) specifically to reuse as my fermentation vessel for my mead im going to start next weekend (as soon as my airlocks come in, you all talked me out of the baloons. Plus, i have 2 young boys who LOVE baloons so the airlock sounded better the more you explained it). Im glad im not the only one. Reduce, reuse, recycle!
First!!! good job yall
love the videos
Thanks for the idea friend I have a whole bunch of those jugs small batches degassing perfect
I still have my Gruit from autumn to rack.. I smelt it the other day in case it went off, but no it smells so nice! I really need to rack that !
I was gonna ask if you could use a Carlo Rossi bottle, and here you are. Thanks for inadvertantly answering my question I never needed to ask.
We reuse bottles all the time!
I'm lucky enough to have a black currant bush question is how should I use them? In a mead of course! but boiling down or just throwing them into a bag and go
calling it secondary just means containers, the term fermentation after secondary is for if backsweetned it could start again
Not exactly. It’s referred to as “secondary fermentation” and most times there is no fermentation expected to happen.
Hey!! We do love that!!!
Thank you for not using the porus wooden spoon Brian. 😉😂 LOVE the color! Adding this to my list of wines to make. Going to be awhile, all of our carboys are occupied at the moment. 😀
I'm not sure how I stumbled onto your videos, but now I have the overwhelming desire to make meads and wine lol
Then it worked!
Love your channel keep up the great work! Definitely gonna try this thank you!
New question; been in primary ferment 45 +days [@30 days removed the lease] Saved in frig.
added 1 Gal water, now at 8.75 gal. 2 days fermentation re-started, {GOOD} reading changed to ABV-1.092; using RED STAR, Premier Blanc, Temp. +or- 72F day time night 67F;;here we go??will it ever get to ABV -1.000 Have you ever heard it taking 6 Mo's +? Asking ,thinking of getting one more ferment-er Getting DRY like wine ! :)
Stop diluting it and it will finish. Not sure why you put it in the fridge though, that will slow fermentation a lot.
New subscriber, tfs I am learning so much from your video's and your fun to watch, Love your energy.
I cannot seem to find anything reasonably smaller than my primary fermenter here where I'm living. How about if I'd use the same size for secondary and would not degas before it? It would help to prevent oxidizing, right?
What is the issue with using a wooden spoon? I have one that is “sealed”.
thanks for sharing awesome wine and beer making videos. Great in-depth details are really very helpful.
Can you please share the sparkling wine recipe. Or can I just take out the wine at around 9% alcohol and bottle it with little sugar to get it carbonated naturally?
Thanks,
We actually never made a sparkling wine video.
Hi Derrida and Brian, really enjoy your videos but I have a question about the krausen line. If I agitate the wine during primary and re incorporate the dried particles is there and chance of spoilage or should I avoid doing this. Thanks for your help
Nope, it’s fine.
I AM READY FOR THIS VIDEO
So I was happily supprised today when a client handed me a bottle of mead he had bought in 2004. He then told me to take it home as he doesn't like dry wine. It is so beautiful and clear though (I will post a picture of it on the Facebook group later for you to see)
This looks and sounds fantastic! Now where to find black current juice in Japan to give this a try? Hummmmmmm Thank you for another great entertaining video!
Hmm, yeah, it's not so easy to get even here.
I cannot find your video on bottling, long term storage (room temp), and preventing bottle bombs.
We talk about this in a lot of our bottling videos. We don't have a specific video on it though.
I really love your channel. For me the tastings could include what it tastes like and how long it takes; how long you think it needs to be good. Personally I'd like to avoid making wines/meads/ciders that need to age too long as I have limited space...
This one was 4 weeks and you can drink it now.
We did give tasting notes....
I'm not sure if you guys have done it, or if it's even possible, but I would absolutely love to see either a pineapple, or mango mead!
I did a pineapple a few years ago, and it's almost drinkable now. I might do one again. Mango.... not so much... I got burned out on mango when we had a tree, but, I suppose it's been several years, I could re-evaluate it again!
Have you already made red currant or white currant wine/mead? I'm gonna.
We used a concentrate or a juice, but never from the whole fruit.
I'm pretty sure from the looks of it that black currant is not going to last a month 😀. Love that shirt Brian 💪👍
After I degassed my blueberry melomel, it cleared spectacularly, so I bottled it. I got three and a half quarts bottled (two and a half are already gone, it’s that good.) in my last bottle, I noticed a whitish haze at the bottom of the bottle. I did not use Pectic enzymes, so I’m wondering if that haze is pectin residue?
Most likely just lees.
Ok, Publix stores around me are also not carrying black currant juice like their website say they do. Where did you guys pick it up?
Rollin’ Oats.
Any new brand recommendations since Knudsons seems to have discontinued the black currant in recent years? Also, do you think there would be any issue with using a “Keep Refrigerated” product as long as it’s not sitting around too long before yeast is pitched? It seems like that might be the only black currant juice option I can find near me..
(PS: love your channel!!)
I wish I had a recommendation as I have been looking for a new source of black currant juice myself. As far as the 'keep refrigerated" product it should be fine but it depends on what is in it. If it is pure juice then they might be recommending that you keep it refrigerated so that it won't ferment. ;)
I want some.,..
Sounds yummy
Did the peppercorns settle out, or would you need to filter them?
They settle to the bottom with the lees.
Question... Do you grind your peppercorns a little or use them whole during the initial fermentation?
Just cracked.
@@CitySteadingBrews Ah-Ha 🤦🏾...
I just spotted the 1st video. Thank you for responding.
So if my first rack is after a month, when should I re-rack after that if I'm going for a long-term fermentation (~2 years)? Would it be different for meads vs wines or ciders?
Well, it is different for everything, but, you can age for as long as you are willing. We didn't age this. It's amazing as is.
@@CitySteadingBrews thanks for the reply! My question is more about the frequency of racking if I'm going to age. As in, how often should I re-rack in secondary fermentation?
@@playea123 I know this is old, but you don't really need to re-rack. Unless you are brewing an exceptionally large batch, then you don't really need to worry about autolysis. Your main concern as a homebrewer is oxidation, and each racking will introduce more oxygen. If you want to BULK AGE, then let it clear after fermentation, then rack into the bulk aging container. You can also bottle it for aging after the brew has cleared. It should be noted, it's probably not really fermenting any longer. Typically a brew will only drop clear (at room temperature) after fermentation has stopped (yeast drops out of suspension).
My general rule of thumb, unless I am bottling, or moving the brew off of an adjunct (wood chips, fruits, vanilla, hops, etc), then I will just leave it sitting. There is no minimum number of racks needed to age or clear a brew. You can have a brew drop bright in the primary fermenter, and it won't hurt a thing. I'd just make sure to cold crash before bottling in that case (to help the lees compact). Caveat: if you are fermenting in a plastic bucket, or you have a ton of headspace, then I would rack after primary to prevent excess oxidation.
So, what should i do if i am using a graduated cylinder and my hydrometer still hits the bottom?
Use a taller cylinder 😉
@@Jamesfurtado128 Have a pretty standard cylinder. Have tried looking for a taller one, the only ones that are taller that I found are quite pricy so if you have found one that's not that would be great.
We sell a 100 ml in the links that works with mine.
Hey what store did you two get your currant juice? I'm not too far from you in the tampa area, and big surprise, my publix doesnt have it. Thank you!
Rollin’ Oats
@@CitySteadingBrews awesome! Thank you!
More robust abv formula??
Incoming video!
yaaaaaaaay!
Has it been said, I wonder? Or do I not remember? Is this real black currant or zante raisins? Does anyone know?
The juice said black currant.
What happened to the paint bucket of shame? Lol
Not a thing. ;)
How many peppercorns ?
It’s in the other video but 8-12 or so.
Thanks for another great video - I currently have 7 gallons of mead going as a result of discovering your channel.
Curious if you've ever tried making a sparkling wine? Now that I've got the home brew "bug" my Wife's number one request is a sparking wine, but I haven't been able to find any good content on TH-cam on making it (hoping you can change that!)
We don’t normally do sparkling, but... it’s pretty easy. Once your wine is “done”, add 1 oz by weight of sugar per gallon and mix. Bottle and keep an eye on it. After a week or two... sparkling wine! Make sure you use carb safe bottles and make doubly sure your wine is done fermenting before doing this!
Thanks so much!! I'll definitely give this a try over the weekend :) @@CitySteadingBrews
Why degas?
To get the co2 out as it may make things bitter.
Sour? CO2 in water is carbolic acid...
OK... Bare with me, I've only just started brewing so I may be totally wrong and someone correct me if I am (so I can learn too!).
---
OK, so I am actually going to leave that top bit but I was typing up a response and realized I was talking out my ass... So, after a little reading so that I'm not giving out loads of my personal assumptions I've pieced together from various things I'd read and heard here you go.
Like earlier mentioned in the video 95% of the fermentation process is done in the primary stage. When you rack (secondary fermentation) you release all the gasses produced. That's CO2. It's toxic to yeast and can inhibit further fermentation.
I think this is where I started piecing things together a little because It's optional.
If you want a still mead? Degas.
Do you like a carbonated mead? Then don't Degas.
Some people say that not degassing can add off flavors though. I can't tell a difference and I like a carbonated mead for hot summer days.
Degas. To carbonate you actually do a mini-fermentation in the bottle. Much less chance of off flavors that way.
Carbonic acid. Co2 can taste bitter.
black pepper was called pepper first.
The three S's