Viking Blood Version 2.0 - How to Make Mead
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- čas přidán 20. 08. 2024
- How to Make Mead - Vikings Blood Revisited!
Just a year ago, we bottled Vikings Blood for the first time, and it was a hit. Since then, a lot has changed, and Viking's Blood is still our most popular video! We decided to have a "Viking Blood Week" and celebrate that video by making a new version of it, revisiting the original and some other things in store!
Here's the next video in this series • Viking Blood Version ...
Ingredients:
2 lbs honey amzn.to/2xNMU0l
12 ounces black tea with zest of a lemon
about 3 quarts of cherry juice (we used Cheribundi) amzn.to/2YIVSYf
Lalvin D47 yeast amzn.to/2GgazLx
We have a Podcast! citysteading.p...
Some links to items used in the Video:
* 1 gallon Carboy:
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* Wide Mouth Carboy:
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* 1/2 gallon glass wide mouth jars:
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* Swing Top Bottles:
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* Airlock:
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* Self stirring cup:
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* TRBOS (sanitization bucket):
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* Star San: amzn.to/2RTlqBX
* Cleaning Brushes:
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* Hydrometer:
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* Graduated Cylinder:
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* Baster: amzn.to/2DlIu4b
* Auto Siphon: amzn.to/2FIxAHl
* Bottling Wand: amzn.to/2Czor0q
* Degassing wand: amzn.to/2RXVMvO
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Hey, who else thinks they are the best REAL couple on yt? 🤔❤❤
Aww, thanks!
sorry, thats mxr and potasticpanda
Pitching the yeast... you guys should really do the true viking way of pitching the yeast! (or at least old Norwegian tradition (and other countries))
Kauking - The Yeast Scream
You scream at the yeast while pouring it in! Many people just shout or scream. In some places in Norway, people may shout variations of "hush, go away!", while in Estonia some shouted "At 'em! Go get'em, boys!" There were more variations, too. The idea behind it was to make the yeast strong and make the people who drink it cheerful. Also, some superstition was involved. Brewers believed the scream could scare away house elves / nisse / and other supernatural creatures, and therefore not able to spoil the brew.
Maybe a bit extreme.
@@CitySteadingBrews 😆
Nope I'm doing this from now on lol.
Until now my yeast have gone in like, "yeah, okay, work to do...", Not anymore! xD
@Golden Eyed Tiga wardundra Lyrics
Cherries are native through Scandinavia and were for sure known and enjoyed by Vikings.
Indeed. I am from the middle of Norway, and we have cherry trees in our back yard ;)
there are lots of cherry trees.....
cherries are actually native to china as are all stone fruit, the romans introduced cherries to Europe in 74 BC...Europe was under a block of ice during the last age, nothing is ''native'' in Europe
@@theman5946 sure there are. Black currant, most popular root veggies, some plums and bramble berries. Nothing that we eat now is truly “native” to anywhere as 99% of our diet has been genetically selected to yield better crop. This selection even shows itself in the wild. If you go back far enough in time, nothing is native to anywhere. There are many ways that seeds or fruits of plants could have dispersed globally over a long period of time, even before humans. The cherries we eat today are so vastly different than the ones that Vikings or even the ancient Chinese ate that they would be unrecognizable when presented to people
@@theman5946 Imma fact check that- there are wild cherries. What you say there were no DOMESTICATED/CULTIVATED cherries there. Ive seen wild trees here in meadows and forests where people havent trodden for a long while. Fruit is just tarter and smaller.
yall should put some grated coconut in with the cherry. it is fantastic. I got the idea from my favorite snow cone flavor tigers blood.
I love your video's. Like sitting around the table with some friends. Casually talking brewing shenanigans.
Jithran Sikken right?? That’s one of the reasons I like this channel. Brian and Derika (hope I spelled those correctly) seem like really down-to-earth people.
Pro tip on keeping the rubber bung from popping out. You dry the stopper but you also need to dry the inside of the jugs mouth. Works for me!
I should’ve watched this video instead of the first one you did it would’ve answered all my questions. You-all are so good, again thank you so much. This past year has been tough on everyone. You have given quite a few people a little nudge to learn something new and to enjoy it.
Our pleasure!
Made this recipe a few months ago and just bottled it. Gave some samples to friends and it was quite popular. It's also nearly 16%, which explains the joy it created.
Going to have to try this method, tried it the other way with sweet dark cherries and I didn't care for the way it came out. Tasted almost salty but my wife likes it so she is going to drink it (along with the 2 gallons of ginger beer she had me make again).
I made the first batch before. It turned out great! I used Red Star wine yeast Premium Blanc. Same, frozen cherries, only I didn't mash them up. I just made sure they were cut in half. Only I made it as a trial run in the one gallon jug. I had a little more then the measured amount of cherries. It turned out great. Once a day, I gave it a stir for the week it was fermenting... I racked it and let it sit. There was a small gathering that happened and me and some friends got into it a few days early. The most of the lease was settled. There was just the normal off gasses still bubbling, but slowly. Everyone had it and enjoyed it. I also had a blackberry melomal that was complete along with a standard mead. We drank 2 gallons of mead.
I just wanted to say Thank you for the wonderful videos. My husband and I have made several of the meads and are favorite is the Viking Blood. We have received several compliments on how wonderful it is.
Just finished my secondary fermentation of this recipe and the gravity readings were OG: 1.125, FG: 1.032, with a final ABV of 12.21%. Used D47 yeast. As an initial taste testing at bottling, it's got plenty of sweetness and tartness since a lot of the sugars didn't ferment out. Very drinkable now. As a note, I think my next batch of this will include some oak chips to round it out even more. Good recipe, ya'll
Can’t wait to see how this one turns out :) Hopefully better than the last one. I DID enjoy that old video, by the way. Lesser quality is nothing to be ashamed of; your channel was still pretty new, and you were developing your style.
I liked it. It is homemade and real people. Home/city steaders are not Hollywood folks. :)
To eliminate the foam, have a second funnel with a hose for thinner liquids.
Here's a tip: If you end up with foam in your graduated cylinder, just overfill a bit, suck the foam out with your turkey baster, then drop your glass thingy in and take the gravity reading.
At around 13 minutes your cat starts talking in the background. My cat suddenly became very interested in mead making. Great video!
I'm going to try making my first mead soon, and I have a TON of cherry trees in my area (I'm from Sweden, and yes, cherries do grow here naturally). I might have to try making a cherry mead, it'll probably just be a small batch since I've never tried it before, my main ferment is probably just going to be a regular mead.
I love how we can now date CS Brews videos based on whether or not Brian hydrates the yeast lol. BHY and AHY
lol
I started a batch of vikings blood last wednesday and... some things happened. It was definitely a learning experience but it seems to have worked itself out now. Smells like swediesh fish tho so hopes are high!
I think Brian is aging in reverse. I love these guys videos. They have helped my brewing process by sharing their knowledge and experiences. looking forward to more videos.
I wish.
O.K. I'm back, took the lid off the 6.5 gallon fermenter bucket to flip the Brew Bag over . Decided to take a reading , after 7 days fermentation . 0.990 , I'm going to go out on a limb and say that's done . It started at 1.090 . By my calculations if you use 131 it's 13.100 . If you use .135 it's 13.500 . That was the SWLA WINE 🍷. The Juice Wine started at 1.080 finished at 0.994 . Both need to be Back sweeten , the color is fine in the Juice Wine , need to add something for color in the SWLA WINE . Took em both out to the block building for secondary or clarification , with the rest . I've noticed that what I keep in the refrigerator , the Sediment drops quicker . I keep a few choice gallons in the fridge . 🤠
6 gallons bubbling away here. I added a tea of hibiscus, w vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, and ginger. I did use sweet cherries, but cut the weight in half. AND, I used a stage ferment. The tea and Tart cherry juice added in the second addition of primary ferment. Fount the tannin in the hibiscus and tart from the cherry juice toned down the "sweet" cough syrup taste. But with things bubbling away...only time will tell the final taste!
My gma used to keep a big jar of rum raisins on the counter and took a table spoon a day for authritis (rumatizim)
I made this and my fiends love it. A friend of mine had me try a chocolate almond wine from a local brewery. So I bought some cocao nibs and added to a bottle to try for a cherry cordial vibe.
Just Racked and bottled my Mead Today took 12 days For fermentation.
Boy it's Strong And tastes Great
That's quick, you sure it was finished?
Well the hydrometer says it's a 1.090.
And I don't think I want it any stronger than that
Love the little post credit scene, but shocked you didn’t go with a Ferris Bueller ending since you wear that t-shirt lol
Hmm....full circle from first watching your videos. You've certainly come a long way!
Doing the ol' shake-a-shake-a with a 6-gallon carboy isn't nearly as much fun...lol
Now that is how I make it.. But I use Indian Summer 100 % pure pie (Montmorency) cherry juice.. Fabulous stuff.
I've lately fallen in love with using ground frozen cranberries to make intensely flavorful mead.
I made my first batch last year from a 5-gallon base mead, which I then siphoned off into smaller one-gallon jugs with different fruits. It turned out pretty good. I made raspberry, cherry, and blueberry. The raspberry ended up being the best smelling and tasting mead. We used frozen fruit that we sanitized by heating to 160 degrees for 10 mins before adding it to the base mead. This kills any wild yeast or other what-nots. I think my next batch will follow your juice only method. I'm interested in seeing if the lemon zest you added imparts anything after it's aged. My biggest mistake was adding fruit before it finished fermentation completely, which then the yeast fired back up and almost caused a blowout. It definitely added more alcohol too. The other thing I learned was to siphon the clear mead off more than what you think you need to. Anyway, great video; I'll be sure to follow along and see how yours turns out!
Hi Brian and Derica! I made this using Lakeland Pure Tart Cherry Juice and it is hands down the best brew I've made so far! Thank you so much for sharing!
You're welcome!
In reference to a good natural sleep aid and pain reliever, look into wild lettuce. It's a weed that grows just about everywhere. I dehydrate it, grind it into a powder and fill gelatin capsules with it. I take 2 or 3 at night about 20 minutes before I want to go to sleep. I've been doing this for about a year now. It works great for me. 🤷🍻
I made a 5 gallon wine, not a mead, with 18 POUNDS of fresh cherries, all hand pitted in one sitting by moi. It turned out well. I do not know ABV because I did not have a hydrometer when I started. The last reading I've taken was 1.010. Very nice, but still working as a week ago it was 1.060. I wish I had known to keep it in primary longer though. Probably would have only been 2 weeks. I kept it in primary for 7 days. Working on wild blueberry now, and will apply lessons thusly.
Mine's a little over 2 months old now. Guess I'll bottle soon. I'll give you a taste report.
Just bottled. Tastes like a nice medium-dry red wine. Just the right amount of sweetness. Honestly, cherry taste is subtle, but that could be my limited palette, or the fact that it's 2 months old and needs to mature. However, I'm drinking it now, and it's completely presentable as is. 2.2 lb frozen black cherries/2.2 lb frozen sour cherries/3 lb honey/1 gal H2O/handful black raisins/yeast/yeast nutrient. On the shelf for a year. At the same time, just bottled a peach/ginger mead. Tastes like a nice peach wine cooler, but without the cheap, white wine taste. I can't taste the ginger much, but the same limitations apply as above (both brewed on the same day). Hope the info contributes to the community. Love!
Waiting impatiently for mine to finish. The last rack taste was amazing. I also added a 1oz natural vanilla. And mulling spice tea.
Loven this ....... i made my Vikings blood with sweet frozen cherries and it doesnt have that cough syrup taste it is sweet .... but o so good
Sweet cherries are for eating raw. Tart cherries are for everything else.
wish you guys lived in my area... it's almost like sitting down with family members when i sit and watch you two!
I have a gallon batch running right now of Cherry Mead. I used sweet cherries, and made a black tea w/ orange and lemon, generic clover honey (i'm in Korea, there's no good honey to be had in large quantities here), and Nottingham yeast. The lesson I learned was to crush the cherries, not blend the cherries. Turns out, when they're ground, they like to cause this... growth...
Pitching yeast. In times past, wines and beers were made in large vats. Yeast was in "cakes". You tossed or "pitched" the yeast to different areas of the vat to get the fermentation off to an even start. At least, that's what I was once told.
Thank you for your recipe. I used your original recipe and tweaked it a bit and today, just bottled 6 gallons.
Just a little info regarding sweet vs sour cherries. Besides the sweetness factor they also have different flavors. And if you are growing your own cherries there are different varietals with different flavors and sweetness and colors.
Wild cherries add that special uniqueness. I added 25% to my elderberry wine last year, wow what a huge improvement to my elderberry wine. Chokecherries are rich in tannins, so go easy on them with other high tannic fruits.
redstone1999 good info to know. I just found a wild elderberry near my house so next year i am trying elderberry wine. Of course no
Idea if i can also find some chokecherries
Sweet meads/melomels are made by using more honey than your yeast can convert to alcohol. If you back-sweeten a mead with an ABV below what the yeast can tolerate, you'll just restart fermentation and the sweetness in the added honey will become alcohol instead.
Yup.
I’m still new but watched every video I could I’ve made this and my people love it you guys are awesome thx for sharing a fine hobby and great recipes
Thanks for watching!
Great melomel recipe Brian and Derica. I’ll be going to my local Publix this afternoon now.
Another excellent video...thank you Brian and Derica!
The hell with the Vikings Blood, gimme some of that Elijah Craig on the shelf behind ya! You can keep the WSR though lol. In all seriousness great vid!
From history on the net: "Viking farms included apple orchards and such fruit trees as pears and cherries." So the vikings most definitely had cherries...
Cool, after the first video people went nuts telling me they didn’t have cherries.
I usually take some of the most while it stormferment and keep it in the fridge to start the next badge its usually Good for a month or two.
Oh the worry on her face whenever you pour something in the funnel 😂
I recently subscribed to you guys and just wanted to say you are extremely well at explaining the "whys" and "why not" and that is much appreciated. As well as having great and interesting content and being a awesome couple! Thanks! I will be watching! :)
I wish I was your neighbor and I could be your taste tester you make so many exotic brews with interesting flavor combinations my mouth waters watching these videos. Keep up the great work
I wish you were too, our neighbor on the one side isn't really all that friendly.
Just purchased my first mead making kit! Been recently watching your show that has inspired me too give this a try. Wish me luck
How did it turn out?
Awesome video, I feel a lot more confident making my own Viking blood now.
Drink some mead while you eat, and then have whisky later. Such wise words 😆
I remember Tracey Ullman. The Simpsons started as animated shorts on her show.
Came here to say the same thing. We are old :P
I used to make a cherry wine from white grape juice and a cherry anise cordial that is unfortunately no longer available, it was delicious so I think I may try this recipe with the addition of some star anise!
I have a cyser that I added cherries to in secondary. I racked it off the cherries and lees a few months back and just tasted some today and it's fantastic.
As a brewer and a chemist your tshirt gave me a headache. BTW squeezing the air out of the pipette bulb before sampling is a very very proper chem lab technique... but enough geekiness, I looove your videos. Great channel!
"Go home! Go home!" 😁
Love yout guys channel. You guys are the mead making kings and queens ofcorse.
heh, thanks.
Hi Brian and Derica,
I am currently waiting for 10 packets of Lalvin D47 to arrive... and my SO has been inquiring about brewing something with a little less defined honey flavour... after his first ever taste of ginger mead (sweet-ish and carbonated). I’ve been binge watching your videos which I absolutely love and been taking copious notes. SO loves beer (well, Belgians often do!). He even enjoys unsweetened Kriek Lambic (for those who don’t know, that’s tart cherry beer). And he lokes champagne... a lot! Preferably the unsweetened ones.
Just as this video started I was thinking about making this. My local supermarket sells frozen tart cherries in 500 gram packets at a reasonable price and if I remember correctly the ingredient list is just that: tart cherries. Might go for this one. Bet he’ll like it even if it’s got residual sweetness.
Thank you so much for your videos! Keep ‘em coming!
P.S. I attribute the quick Fermintation to a 3 pack of yeast and crossed fingers . 5 packs will surely Blow 🌋 a 6 gallon plus Contaner . 🤠
No need for that much. One packet does 5 gallons.
@@CitySteadingBrews Thanks , good to Know . 🤠
First I didn't know that cherry melomel was called Vikings blood, so that was fun to find out, Second I also used Cherry Juice, it turned out watery and not so cherry, so In a bottle I tried back sweetening with more cherry juice but it still was to watery and, I was Just lowering the ABV, at least I think, again I was new to it and I didn't really know about the Hydrometer so I'm not sure of the ABV.
Now I know That I didn't use enough Honey in the first ferment, Yeah 12Lbs to about 5-6 gallons of juice and water plus the yeast and a few Raisins.... Fell Free to Laugh Here... :)
So I ended up using a knockoff of a sugar free Cherry crystal lite ice tea in the rest of the abou 4 gallons at that point and that seemed to do it as far as the cherry taste but, it was a little kool-aid tasting so I let it age about a year and the kool-aid taste was gone and it was a good tasting Cherry melomel or AKA Vikings blood To some friends and family.
I Just wanted to pass that along i didn't know if anyone else used any Ice Tea powder to get the taste they wanted.
Hi! Great video! I'm just making now the way sou showed us in the previous video. It's now 9 days past (I just removed the cherry today, it lost the half of the total weight), and everything looks okay. And yeah, that is my really first ever brewing (or making mead). So I'm feeling myself brave. :) I hope, it's gonna be okay, but i'll do some improvements, and i'll do some ideas from this video too (I have problems with the color, here in Hungary, the sweet cherry has really bright color inside, even if the outside looks pretty dark). Anyway, it's very good to see you, revisited the old one, this video is a very good thought provoking. Thank you for uploading. :)
I started a 5 gallon batch of the original Viking Blood on the 8th July. By the time its ready to age, I may take off a gallon and add some fresh sweeten chokecherry juice to give it a bit of tannin. I did not know that the first recipe would make a dry wine. I will taste it once it ages 4 mths. If it's too dry for me, I will pasteurize it and sweeten with my fresh wild black cherry juice ( as they will be collected and juiced by then).
So, I'm sitting here, just finished watching this video.
I "had" a couple 8 ounce bottles of Cheribundi juice.
Down to one. Tastes great.
Brian, did your juice have apple juice in it? Mine does.
Oh, don't get the white label bottles, they have stevia
in them.
steve
Ah, good thing i looked u up. Was about to make some with some sweet cherries. I will have to hunt the tart. But i am planning on back sweetening like i do with my other wines after the yeast is dead
I was thinking of doing the same thing but cutting the cherry juice with hibiscus tea.
Your methods are awesome. I might try your recipe
“Ohhhhh that tape!” 😂😂😂
Hydrating yeast and doing yeast starters is amazing because it decreases the amount of time you need Brewing.
One of my favourite meads to make got 5 gallons of the stuff waiting to be bottled, next melomel I want to try is peach but will start with a 1 gallon test batch first
How's that peach going.
Lol for the record im 36 so i may be considered young but totally know who Tracy Ullman is 😉 love your vids. Keep em coming.
Another great informative and fun video
Just a suggestion you should make a muscadine mead
Love your channel! I made this. It started with a SG of 1.18 and after 4 months (and a couple of rackings and degassing) it is at 1.024. Did I do something wrong? Can I bottle it? It has cleared I just found it odd that the SG hasn't dropped further. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
If you started with 1.180 and it's at 1.024, that's 21% ABV. Not many yeasts are capable of that. So I'd say it's done and you've created something pretty incredible for your first try.
i literally just started a batch of your first "Viking blood" Mead video two days ago. lmao I will tell if it tastes like cough syrup. probably will end up making the 2.0 version as well at some point. (by the way your Channel has been really helpful. Thank you.)
Maybe making the tea in a microwave safe measuring cup would be best for this process since pouring from a mug is difficult
love cherries could drink that as it is
I made a mead fed with oranges during fermentation then back sweetened with pomegrnate molases, this made a delicious sweet mead, as I have persian ancestry and orange and pomegranate are very persian flavours I call it Xerxe's blood.
Wrap your stopper in saran wrap and push it into the bottle. I do it, and I never have a problem with my stopper slipping.
I just did a batch of ginger ale mead with D47 and it fermented up to 16% so here's me crossing my fingers for you that your batch doesn't go dry like mine did lol.
I LOVED that video, it brought me here! Nice to see your wife again!❤ and some more of your face, beards DO age a man... keep up the great work! Sub'd! 🌱👏👏👏👏👏
Will try tea! Thanks
Lol just watching this video u made. I just got done making a "Vikings blood " w your mead recipie and one bottle of this same juice.
Crazy idea: Viking blood Capsicumel
The blood will flow. Like the mead in our belly.
the negative pressure in the airlock is the foam breaking
Cheribundi juice makes great wine. I keep it tart. At or below 1.000
Great vid. But I gotta ask..... does anyone else jam out to the opening tune?
BlackSmith Beta I do. Cool funky little tune
Sorry for spamming the comments here, but i have to say you 2 are adorable together.
My batches are 10 gallon. And pump stirred for 14 days.
Why do you steep the tea for so long? I always learned if you want stronger tea add more tea. Just curious love your guys channel and am wanting to actual try to start my own channel. you guys are awesome!!
More tannins that way.
I have watched all your Vikings blood videos I have made about 10 one gallon batches of Vikings blood I play around with the ounces of tea but the longer it sits and ages the better it tastes me and my wife drink a bottle everytime we grabbed the Chesapeake Bay it's like Tradition now
My phone sucks that was crab the Chesapeake Bay
My phone sucks that was crab the Chesapeake Bay definitely a tradition have to drink Vikings blood to go crabbing
Lol at the end of video. I’m learning how too do some brewing of some sort as well. Not mead but another sort :) lets just say the “moon” is shining tonight 😂
I have been trying to wrap my head around the Sg. I THINK, (think) the reason the Sg was farther off from what you initially hoped for was a dilution math issue. So, if the Cheribundi had a Sg 0f 1.055 and the Honey was 1.070 you'd expect about Sg of about 1.125. However, converting the Sg to "Sugar-units" you find that the Cheribundi has about 17.8 ounce/ gallon (BUT you only use three quarts). So you only really contribute 75% of that or 13.35 ounce sugar/gallon with the juice (a Sg of about 1.042). The Honey sugar contribution of about 22.8 ounce sugar/gallon (Sg 1.070) is fixed. So, your total sugar/ gallon is roughly 36.15 ounce/ gallon with a Sg of about 1.112. I think you were around 1.110 from the video. I hope that makes sense :)
I Love your Videos!!!!!!
My husband and I just started making mead. The first one we did was the regular mead using the black tea and orange peel. It is currently on second fermentation. We decided to try the cherry mead we used all the same ingredients, except we used lavlin 71b-1122 yeast, and we keep getting juice in the airlock. We removed some juice to give it more head space but it continues to fill up. Do you have a suggestion as to what we should try next? Have you ever had this problem? Thank you for the informative videos we really enjoy them!!
Use a blowoff tube until it subsides: czcams.com/video/nIHRaBpplLA/video.html
Hey Brian I found a good way to get rid of the head foam after I shake the carboy. I used a turkey baster to take out the phone worked lime a champ. Love your channel
Foam not phone sorry for the typo
No real need to remove it.
How long did you age the Viking blood from the bottles at Publix before you drank it.
Can you suggest a book about the chemistry of wine/mead making? Increase or decrease amount, make sweeter, less sweeter, etc.
I learned by doing... so I cannot recommend any books, sorry.
But, this video may help: czcams.com/video/6aLlJUMBEN0/video.html&ab_channel=CitySteadingBrews
@@CitySteadingBrews Thanks
New to your channel. Love all the vids. Even the looooong ones. 2 words: Lingonberry Mead. Lingonberries are very prevalent in Scandinavia. I would be very surprised if it weren't a thing.
I happen to like them too.
I just put together a gallon of this following your ingredients and directions. How will it turn out? Only time will tell. I enjoy your videos. Thanks!