Thank you for sharing your experience so far. Are you assuming new brewers already understand the importance of sanitization? Have you found it to be less important? Or do you feel like it's covered enough in other places in the community? (or some other reason not occurring to me)
You know… I didn’t even think of it because it’s one of those things I automatically do lol. That should have been on the list!!! That is so important!!!
What about aerating twice a day until 1/3 sugar break and then once a day until 2/3 sugar break? That's what the big book of mead recipes suggests. I've been doing it and it seems to be okay. I don't see anyone else doing this. Everyone seems so scared of aeration
@@dalestevenson4398 Aeration is something I don't think I talk about enough in my videos honestly. It helps clear out that CO2 - which can negatively affect yeast. Looks like I need a part two to this video lol! Though hopefully people will read these comments and get the info they need too.
@@dalestevenson4398 - Interesting point. I tend not to even measure for that purpose and go with my grandmother’s “at least” rule where de-gassing is concerned. Het rule was “at least twice a day until your brew goes sleepy”. She didn’t use a hydrometer, that might be the reason. She’d give the pot a few swirls every time she passed it, so it was more than twice a day and she’d always set it some place quite central in the house which means she passed by quite often. Even now that I brew with a hydrometer I still do the same. Haven’t had a bad brew yet and I’ve been at it since I was 18-19 years old… I’m in my early fifties now. But the more structured approach guided by gravity makes sense as the various sugar breaks are also key moments in nutrition schedules.
@@FaewoodMead Actually, I think it's ok that you didn't mention sanitizing. I think that's a basic part of home brewing and though it's vital, it kind of doesn't fall into the category of what you've personally learned in the two years. I actually think that sanitization is more in the category of what you need to know to get into the hobby of home brewing. You are relating what you've learned and how these things apply to you going forward. I'm guessing sanitization is not something you learned over the years. And I'm guessing you won't change that you sanitize and how you sanitize in the future. Just my opinion. I'm suggesting that there is no need for you to feel as though you left out something important.
Fae, Your channel is so educational and so much fun to watch! Thank you for helping me get into mead making! I love watching you, Man Made Mead, Doin' the Most, and City Steading! Keep it up! You rock, girl! p.s. weary = tired; wary = cautious; leery= cautious...sorry, English teacher here! ;)
Fun anecdote regarding temperature. I had planned to cold crash a brew outside for 6 hours or so. 2 C/36 F. But meanwhile I drank a bit of mead, forgot about the cold crashing and fell asleep all night. The outside temp got to -13C/9F. Oops. But the mead cleared beautifully from swamp water to a perfect drink with no issues. Never had such a great cold crash before. The airlock froze solid though 😅
Thanks for the lessons learned! I think what you are saying is really important and helpful for people who are just getting started. You are so right about the enormous amount of misinformation out there! Unfortunate. Thanks for the video!
I never add anything to clear the mead. I don't care about the sulfites per se, but I enjoy making mead only from things I can make or forage right here on the mountain. The yeast is a problem. So is the carboy and airlock I guess but you get the point of why I don't want to add anything weird. It's just more of a traditional craft to me that way.
Excellent video. I'm three months into this hobby and you definitely shed some light and validated some things I'm learning as I go. I am keeping good notes on what I've done and my "next time" comments. It was good to see "Use Lots of Fruit" because that's a note I have on my peach mead and banana wine. As to internet sources, I have scoured dozens of youtube channels, recipes and references. I have a handful of go-to channels that I trust, know I can write to and really .... REALLY like. And your channel is right up there in the mix. You opened my eyes with "How to use Ingredients" because it just seems too easy to add this, add that. But I will pause and do some research before I introduce something I don't know. In general, your "two year taking stock" video was a great idea. It reminds us that you have experience yet you are still learning and want to impart some lessons you've learned. Thanks for the update!!
Haha, more fruit can make ALL the difference! Especially on delicate fruit, like peaches you can literally go all in and make a "no-water" mead with them. So many fruits needs to be handled differently it's kind of wild! Like... with most fruit, it's recommended you freeze them before use, but you don't want to do that with pears. Pears completely melt, and they get funky. Strawberries, if left more than 2 weeks in your mead, can give off a plastic like flavor because of the seeds. Thank you so much for your comment!
When it comes to headspace, I feel that in primary it's not an issue because you should have a blanket of CO2 over the mead that won't go anywhere. CO2 is heavier than air and when fermentation ends, there's no pressure to push it out the airlock, it'll just sit there and protect your mead from oxygen, like a blanket. It's in secondary where I'd see it being an issue, since you no longer have the CO2 blanket. As for fruit, I'm about to make a strawberry wine with 4 pounds of strawberries later today. For a 1 gallon batch
My last 3 batches are back sweetened it’s new to me and it offers a lot more flexibility I also was reticent to put preservatives in my meads, but it offers new possibilities and that’s a huge thing And I am with you with the headspace thing, as a beer brewer first I was nervous about it but mead (when no hops are used) is really shelf stable,, the only mead that I made and that had oxidised flavours was quite interesting, it added a bit of red fruit notes and made the honey sweetness pop
Awesome video. Lots of info and interestingly enough it differs from what others share in similar videos (can't think of anyone that has added read books to their what I learned or wished I new videos). Thanks for the perspective. Hope to see similar videos.
My most important eureka-moment of meadmaking was the use of a hydrometer. My grandmother didn’t use one so that’s how I started out. It takes so much of the guesswork out of mead making! Besides that is was mostly the knowledge that it’s pretty hard to mess up a mead as long as you don’t skimp on ingredients (plenty of fruit being a key factor) and stick to good practices. Just… chill. There’s no need to take out a loan to buy lots of thingamabobs (although some are really nice to have!) or top-of-the-line fancy ingredients, but just as in cooking or databases, sh*t in equals sh*it out. Taking things step by step, using common sense, trusting your senses and overall simply going with the flow will get you a long way towards good product. Oh… and having a notebook, binder or some other carrier to document your ferments is a pretty good thing if you happen to want to repeat a brew… or remember NEVER to repeat that one catastrophe of a mead. LOL. There are so many home brewers out there that find themselves in the eternal search of that one elusive brew they once made, that was SOOOOO good and that they never quite seem to be able to make again because they didn’t write down what they did. Why fall into that trap when a pen and a notebook or binder (or a cloud document) can avoid that so easily?
Hiya neighbor from Md. My biggest problem is NOTES! I need to take better notes. I've had very good results with the safale 04 05 t58 they have never went over 13%. Im still on the fence over the stabilizers.
I started off with just a note pad, and I moved everything to a Google sheets page! Maybe I should do a video on that 🤔 Ooooo hey that’s great to have a go to yeast that you can trust!
I love your channel so much and I've really enjoyed what I've seen and learned from you. Can you please include a list of the books you mentioned in the video in the description? I'd love to read them, but I know I'm going to forget to buy them if they aren't there.
Aw thank you so much! I am working on a book list that I will start linking in my description notes. I have many books haha :-D I will share on this comment feed when I complete it.
Here's Mead Science: www.amazon.com/Mead-Science-practical-science-fermentations/dp/B0884CJNC9 And here's a link to other books!: bookshop.org/shop/faewoodmead
Thanks Mandy! Awesome video. I can really relate to your feelings about stabilizing. One thing that I think I've learned is to wait a week after backsweetining before bottling. I have a crystal clear product, add honey or sugar and bottle right away. And the next day I notice a bunch of floaties in my bottles. Is that a thing?
Oooooh hey that is great advice, and something I struggle with too! Honey does leave a bunch of floaties!!!! I am still mildly annoyed with myself over my bourbon Chardonnay pyment- I backsweetened the same day I bottled and there is a mess at the bottom of every bottle. That mead was CRYSTAL clear 😭
so alot of fruit? what about berries? say.... 2pound blackberry puree into 1 gallon traditional mead already done with primary fermentation ? yay or nay? :D
I tried to watch at least five of your videos but had to unsubscribe. Your presentation seems rather disorganized and uses too much hyperbole and jargon to be interesting or informative. Good luck in the future. 🥂
Thank you for sharing your experience so far.
Are you assuming new brewers already understand the importance of sanitization? Have you found it to be less important? Or do you feel like it's covered enough in other places in the community? (or some other reason not occurring to me)
You know… I didn’t even think of it because it’s one of those things I automatically do lol. That should have been on the list!!! That is so important!!!
What about aerating twice a day until 1/3 sugar break and then once a day until 2/3 sugar break? That's what the big book of mead recipes suggests. I've been doing it and it seems to be okay. I don't see anyone else doing this. Everyone seems so scared of aeration
@@dalestevenson4398 Aeration is something I don't think I talk about enough in my videos honestly. It helps clear out that CO2 - which can negatively affect yeast.
Looks like I need a part two to this video lol! Though hopefully people will read these comments and get the info they need too.
@@dalestevenson4398 - Interesting point. I tend not to even measure for that purpose and go with my grandmother’s “at least” rule where de-gassing is concerned. Het rule was “at least twice a day until your brew goes sleepy”. She didn’t use a hydrometer, that might be the reason. She’d give the pot a few swirls every time she passed it, so it was more than twice a day and she’d always set it some place quite central in the house which means she passed by quite often. Even now that I brew with a hydrometer I still do the same. Haven’t had a bad brew yet and I’ve been at it since I was 18-19 years old… I’m in my early fifties now.
But the more structured approach guided by gravity makes sense as the various sugar breaks are also key moments in nutrition schedules.
@@FaewoodMead Actually, I think it's ok that you didn't mention sanitizing. I think that's a basic part of home brewing and though it's vital, it kind of doesn't fall into the category of what you've personally learned in the two years. I actually think that sanitization is more in the category of what you need to know to get into the hobby of home brewing. You are relating what you've learned and how these things apply to you going forward. I'm guessing sanitization is not something you learned over the years. And I'm guessing you won't change that you sanitize and how you sanitize in the future. Just my opinion. I'm suggesting that there is no need for you to feel as though you left out something important.
Love following you. From one female brewer to another, thank you for representing!
Aww thanks Doll!
Love this! So much good info packed in here. 🥂
Thank you! I missed some things but it’s ok! 😄
Fae,
Your channel is so educational and so much fun to watch! Thank you for helping me get into mead making! I love watching you, Man Made Mead, Doin' the Most, and City Steading! Keep it up! You rock, girl!
p.s. weary = tired; wary = cautious; leery= cautious...sorry, English teacher here! ;)
Hi Gina!!! Thank you so much, I appreciate your support and feedback :-p Heehee, thank you for the correction!
You know your alive when you learn and you helped me also!
Thanks Stanley!
Those are super important topics! Also, the mead reddit is a blessing. I found the best recipe i did so far there: walnut leaf mead 🥰
Yesss I forgot about the mead reddit! Oooo walnut leaf? Sounds fancy!
Good advice. The more fruit the merrier. I routinely use 40-50lbs of mixed berries for my spring sparkling melomel.
Oh wow!
Don't forget to take notes along the way.
However you want, on paper, apps, or both.
Yes, this is super important!
Fun anecdote regarding temperature. I had planned to cold crash a brew outside for 6 hours or so. 2 C/36 F. But meanwhile I drank a bit of mead, forgot about the cold crashing and fell asleep all night. The outside temp got to -13C/9F. Oops. But the mead cleared beautifully from swamp water to a perfect drink with no issues. Never had such a great cold crash before. The airlock froze solid though 😅
Oh wow!!!! Ultimate clarifier!!!!!
To your victory!!!
Thanks for the lessons learned! I think what you are saying is really important and helpful for people who are just getting started. You are so right about the enormous amount of misinformation out there! Unfortunate.
Thanks for the video!
Thank you! I tried to mix it up and not just discuss all the typical things!
I never add anything to clear the mead. I don't care about the sulfites per se, but I enjoy making mead only from things I can make or forage right here on the mountain. The yeast is a problem. So is the carboy and airlock I guess but you get the point of why I don't want to add anything weird. It's just more of a traditional craft to me that way.
Hey, that’s respectable though! A wild foraged mead is sick!
Very useful summary! Well done! Bye-eee!
K thx BYEeeeeeeee
Thanks for the book recommendations. Complete Mead Maker by Ken Schramm is my go to book. 👍
I almost mentioned that one! Ken is the man!
the more the merrier for fruit!
Excellent video. I'm three months into this hobby and you definitely shed some light and validated some things I'm learning as I go. I am keeping good notes on what I've done and my "next time" comments. It was good to see "Use Lots of Fruit" because that's a note I have on my peach mead and banana wine. As to internet sources, I have scoured dozens of youtube channels, recipes and references. I have a handful of go-to channels that I trust, know I can write to and really .... REALLY like. And your channel is right up there in the mix. You opened my eyes with "How to use Ingredients" because it just seems too easy to add this, add that. But I will pause and do some research before I introduce something I don't know. In general, your "two year taking stock" video was a great idea. It reminds us that you have experience yet you are still learning and want to impart some lessons you've learned. Thanks for the update!!
Haha, more fruit can make ALL the difference! Especially on delicate fruit, like peaches you can literally go all in and make a "no-water" mead with them. So many fruits needs to be handled differently it's kind of wild! Like... with most fruit, it's recommended you freeze them before use, but you don't want to do that with pears. Pears completely melt, and they get funky. Strawberries, if left more than 2 weeks in your mead, can give off a plastic like flavor because of the seeds. Thank you so much for your comment!
When it comes to headspace, I feel that in primary it's not an issue because you should have a blanket of CO2 over the mead that won't go anywhere. CO2 is heavier than air and when fermentation ends, there's no pressure to push it out the airlock, it'll just sit there and protect your mead from oxygen, like a blanket. It's in secondary where I'd see it being an issue, since you no longer have the CO2 blanket.
As for fruit, I'm about to make a strawberry wine with 4 pounds of strawberries later today. For a 1 gallon batch
For sure! That CO2 dissipates over time!
Good luck with those strawberries! :-D
That's a lot of good advice! Thanks for the video!
Thanks for your support!
My last 3 batches are back sweetened it’s new to me and it offers a lot more flexibility
I also was reticent to put preservatives in my meads, but it offers new possibilities and that’s a huge thing
And I am with you with the headspace thing, as a beer brewer first I was nervous about it but mead (when no hops are used) is really shelf stable,, the only mead that I made and that had oxidised flavours was quite interesting, it added a bit of red fruit notes and made the honey sweetness pop
Yeah that flexibility is key!!!
That is cool about the oxidation, mead is difficult to oxidize I think!
Awesome video. Lots of info and interestingly enough it differs from what others share in similar videos (can't think of anyone that has added read books to their what I learned or wished I new videos). Thanks for the perspective.
Hope to see similar videos.
Thanks! I tried to think of some things that weren't super typical.
My most important eureka-moment of meadmaking was the use of a hydrometer. My grandmother didn’t use one so that’s how I started out. It takes so much of the guesswork out of mead making!
Besides that is was mostly the knowledge that it’s pretty hard to mess up a mead as long as you don’t skimp on ingredients (plenty of fruit being a key factor) and stick to good practices. Just… chill. There’s no need to take out a loan to buy lots of thingamabobs (although some are really nice to have!) or top-of-the-line fancy ingredients, but just as in cooking or databases, sh*t in equals sh*it out. Taking things step by step, using common sense, trusting your senses and overall simply going with the flow will get you a long way towards good product.
Oh… and having a notebook, binder or some other carrier to document your ferments is a pretty good thing if you happen to want to repeat a brew… or remember NEVER to repeat that one catastrophe of a mead. LOL. There are so many home brewers out there that find themselves in the eternal search of that one elusive brew they once made, that was SOOOOO good and that they never quite seem to be able to make again because they didn’t write down what they did. Why fall into that trap when a pen and a notebook or binder (or a cloud document) can avoid that so easily?
Amazing input Edda! Thank you!!! Note taking is so important!!!
The one thing I learned from taking chemistry is to take notes.
Would Love to hear more about your bochet. I’ve been a bit obsessed with them after I finished my first batch, such an amazing flavor!
There will be a video coming out soon 😛
Hiya neighbor from Md.
My biggest problem is NOTES! I need to take better notes.
I've had very good results with the safale 04 05 t58 they have never went over 13%. Im still on the fence over the stabilizers.
I started off with just a note pad, and I moved everything to a Google sheets page! Maybe I should do a video on that 🤔
Ooooo hey that’s great to have a go to yeast that you can trust!
I love your channel so much and I've really enjoyed what I've seen and learned from you. Can you please include a list of the books you mentioned in the video in the description? I'd love to read them, but I know I'm going to forget to buy them if they aren't there.
Aw thank you so much! I am working on a book list that I will start linking in my description notes. I have many books haha :-D I will share on this comment feed when I complete it.
Here's Mead Science: www.amazon.com/Mead-Science-practical-science-fermentations/dp/B0884CJNC9
And here's a link to other books!: bookshop.org/shop/faewoodmead
Thanks Mandy! Awesome video. I can really relate to your feelings about stabilizing.
One thing that I think I've learned is to wait a week after backsweetining before bottling. I have a crystal clear product, add honey or sugar and bottle right away. And the next day I notice a bunch of floaties in my bottles. Is that a thing?
Oooooh hey that is great advice, and something I struggle with too! Honey does leave a bunch of floaties!!!! I am still mildly annoyed with myself over my bourbon Chardonnay pyment- I backsweetened the same day I bottled and there is a mess at the bottom of every bottle. That mead was CRYSTAL clear 😭
Do you ever use a juicer to reduce fruit bulk in your brew? Or is it not good to do that?
I haven’t used a juicer yet, though it’s not a bad idea! I like using fruit pulp for tannic value and mouth feel!
so alot of fruit? what about berries? say.... 2pound blackberry puree into 1 gallon traditional mead already done with primary fermentation ? yay or nay? :D
Ooooo I say yay! Maybe even more, I usually add 4 lbs fruit per gallon
Puree is not a good idea
yeah i agree. what a job it is to rack this off puree... well it worked but alot of product lost.@@magacop5180
#11 buy a spare hydrometer 😄
Or a hurculometer. ;)
@@jeremycorvialis4085 yes or that...
Definitely. A hydrometer will break if you give it a dirty look 🙂.
lol! FACTS
Whoops, it dropped
Who is the author of the Mead Science book? I am having a tough time finding it online.
B. Moriarty is the author! I think I had a tricky time finding it too, but it should be on Amazon!
@@FaewoodMead thanks!
I tried to watch at least five of your videos but had to unsubscribe. Your presentation seems rather disorganized and uses too much hyperbole and jargon to be interesting or informative. Good luck in the future. 🥂
Is it hyperbole or jargon 😂