How to Make Your Own Mead

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I hate to be that guy, but "Rogue".

👍︎︎ 25 👤︎︎ u/onarampage83 📅︎︎ Mar 09 2018 🗫︎ replies

Well this video is how I ended up here in the first place.

👍︎︎ 9 👤︎︎ u/exonautic 📅︎︎ Mar 11 2018 🗫︎ replies

As someone who came here from that video, is the plastic jug recipe viable?

Also, how necessary is the racking?

It sounds too good to be true for it to be that simple.

👍︎︎ 5 👤︎︎ u/guildwars22 📅︎︎ Mar 12 2018 🗫︎ replies

Wonder how the water jug mead tasted compared to the one in the fermenting bucket. Different honey obviously.

👍︎︎ 3 👤︎︎ u/Subian 📅︎︎ Mar 10 2018 🗫︎ replies
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>> I've never had mead. >> What, wait, really? >> Really? >> I have never. Actually, I take that back. I've had honey and theoretically if I've had yeast and I've had water. So, in theory, I've had all the building blocks of, >> Yeah all the parts ready, you just let them sit together long enough to make anything happen. >> And that existed for two weeks to three months. >> You sound like Dr. Manhattan. [laughing] >> Manhattan's very different. >> Oh, that's a different thing? [laughing] >> Suddenly there's three of me and I'm all naked, I'm like, "What's going on, bro?" >> Brian's naked and blue, like, "I have consumed all of the base properties of mead." [laughing] [soft music] >> ROBOT VOICE: Making Mead. >> Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm happy to see Anthony Buonomo without any weapons. >> I'm pretty excited that maybe we're not going to have to fight, but today you are teaching us about mead. >> I feel like we will fight because it's mead. I feel like mead guarantees that fisticuffsmanship will ensue. >> That'll be the after show. >> That's right. >> Yeah, Anthony says, "Well, I did lace these with PCP. "So..." [laughter] >> So, we're going to actually make mead, which I guess is synonymous with honey wine? >> Yeah, basically roughly the same thing. There's a bunch of different varieties of mead depending on what you put in it. Mead in it's most simple form is just honey, water, yeast and just let it sit in a dark corner for a couple weeks. >> And as we learned during the pruno episode, I guess really it's just time plus yeast, takes in sugar, poops out alcohol, and in the case of the pruno, the sugars came from the fruit juice. But in this case I guess, honey, I assume has more sugar in it? Question mark. >> Yes, honey is actually really interesting. It's, I want to say 80 plus percent sugars. Which actually makes it something that's entirely shelf stable. It'll last forever. It might crystallize. And if it does you just put it in hot water. It'll dissolve back out into solution. >> Yeah there were stories like there's honey surviving all the way from ancient Egypt-- >> Wow! >> Like 2,000 or 3,000 years ago. >> Yeah, yeah. >> Or some stuff. >> Honey does not go bad. That high sugar content that makes it that way. So you actually need to add the water to it so the bacteria and yeast will survive cause otherwise it's just, nothing happens. >> Now the AVB percentage on mead ranges anywhere from like 3.5 to like 20. >> 20 percent? >> Yeah. >> Holy cow! >> It's all entirely on how much initial honey there is in the solution to begin with which of course is your initial starting sugars. And the alcohol content of the yeast. >> Now there are a lot of different types of mead. These were made all around the world. So it's not just something that's medieval England. >> Oh yeah. >> This is really all over the globe. >> It's much longer and they even theorize that it's one of the first fermented beverages there are just because it is so simple and happened accidentally out in the fields. Like, you accidentally leave some honey or throw some honey in your water barrel or whatever and it kind of ferments naturally because there's natural yeast that will ferment for you. >> I just really wish that I had a time machine where I could go back to the discovery of mead and be like, "Why are you acting so weird?" "I don't know, I feel really good. "I had some of that honey that was in that barrel over there." "That's been there for like three years." "It's great you got to try it." [Brian laughing] >> So when it comes to making beer I know that it's very easy to screw up. We did some home brewing with some of the scam stuff, home brew kits. And it is astonishing how precise everything has to be. Is mead similar in that regard? >> Is there some wiggle room? >> A little more loosey goosey. >> Mead as you'll see mead is a lot more loosey goosey. If you're looking for a specific result you're going to need that more precise balancing everything out. How we're just kind of winging something together for the first time or you don't really care as much about reproducing the same thing over and over again. You can kind of just throw things in a bucket and see what happens. >> So if we're going to rank making mead on a difficulty level compared, you know, you got beer and wine and all that other stuff. Mead is the easiest would you say or? >> To my knowledge I've never played with wine but looking at wine kits there's a lot more involved in them, different thing to it like you can literally run down to the grocery store buy a gallon of water, couple pounds of honey and even in a pinch bread yeast and get passable mead out of it. >> Now you've brought two different methods to teach us. >> Yes. >> There's a really, really simple one. And then there's something to do a little bit better. >> ANTHONY: Right. >> Okay we're going to try both though. >> Yep, absolutely. >> All right, let's get started. >> I thought you said this shit was simple. >> Correct, yes. >> This is potassium sorbate wine stabilizer. >> And this is clearly made to get like hair out of a drain. >> Potassium meta bisulphate. This is not looking simple. >> Right, right this is mine. >> Okay. >> Oh I see, I'm banished here. I'm going to go to the children's table. >> This is you guys. >> Okay. >> Okay. >> All right. It comes down to being able to measure more precisely and more importantly sanitation. All this stuff. >> Yeah we don't give a [electronic beeping] about sanitation. >> ANTHONY: Yeah, these there's no contaminants. It's sealed, it's clean. You know what you're getting into you know what you're getting out of it. This is not clean, this has been out and used repeatedly so I'll need to sanitize it with some of this. I'm going to be doing some very proper oral pipetting, oral siphoning. >> It sounds sexy. >> Yeah, right. >> I'm in. >> Just like siphoning gasoline. >> Now is that before or after we make the mead? >> A little com A, a little com B. >> Right on. >> So lot of this is cleaning stuff. These chemicals are later on are used to stabilize the mead so it won't ferment anymore. So once you get it down to a point where you don't want anymore sugar burned off. >> Oh got it otherwise the yeast doesn't know that it's quitting time. >> Yeah. >> The yeast are just, they're just going to keep on eating. >> Right, they'll keep on eating. At some point they will hit a saturation where they're at the alcohol solution, their own [electronic beeping] basically will make them die off and stop producing anymore. But as soon as you kick them around a little bit. >> Wait, you would want to stop that before they eat up all the sugar because you want the sweetness that comes in originally. Hey, look at this, we're learning, we're learning. >> Right, so there are two ways of doing it. So you can over sweeten to begin with and keep an eye on it or just kind of caution to the wind and see what happens and stop at a certain point. >> That one. >> Yeah, that one. And at that point you kind of measure it with the specific gravity or how sweet it is, how it tastes and then you put the stabilizer to stop it. So one will stop them producing more yeast. The other will stop them from turning alcohol into, >> I have questions but, >> Pretty sure he said specific gravity. >> Okay, the fundamentals are we just need something for the yeast to eat. In this case the sugar in the honey. >> Right. >> A place for the yeast to swim and turn into the delicious mead. And what kind of yeast are we using? >> This here? >> That there. >> Austin has a really nice home brew store that costs all of a dollar. >> Ooh, nice. >> What is this exactly? >> Wine yeast. >> Wine yeast. >> Oh, yeah. >> Specifically wine yeast. >> Yeah. And that's a personal preference. I like the taste this one makes more than some other yeasts I've tried. >> Lots of different types you can get? >> Dozens, dozens, dozens. >> Okay. >> So right now we're doing really, really basic. We're just doing a simple mead adding your fruits, adding your spices. It'll make your melomels or you add-- >> See, he's doing it again. >> With funny words, right? >> Yeah, what is melomels? >> It just means it's a fancy word for fruit mead. >> Oh, for flavors. >> I thought those were the little candies you get. >> [laughs] Those are Mike and Ikes. >> Mike and Ikes. [Brian laughing] >> Different. >> That's a version we do. >> You can probably flavor it with a Mike and Ike. I don't what'll happen. >> Put Hot Tamales in there. >> There is no limit to any of this that's why it's so fun and interesting. >> I want some Gobstopper mead. >> [laughs] And Nerds [laughs]. >> Yes. >> JASON: It's sugar. >> It's extra sugar. >> It'll work, all right. >> All right, so we got they three ingredients, the yeast, the sugar and the water. Should we get like a bucket? Let's get the Pruno bucket. >> You want the Pruno bucket? >> Yeah! >> I was going to let you guys mix in this and we're going to keep everything clean and sanitized. You don't have to do anything else. >> Oh, mix in this. That would be better. >> That was good. >> That's be better. >> That's good. >> Way easier, no sanitation. >> Yeah, okay, all right. >> So one of the first things we need to do is sanitize the equipment cause I'm going to actually use some of that water to make my own. >> Okay. >> So the current goal is we're going to dump out about half of each of these buckets into mine which gives both of us working space to dilute the honey. We'll mix everything up, then add the yeast and top it back off. And you're not sanitizing for safety you're sanitizing for a consistency of flavor profile because you don't want funky whatever bacteria's coming in? >> Yes. Correct. >> Okay. >> So it's somewhere between safety. Like so if you do this wrong you'll wind up with really expensive vinegar. >> Oh wow, okay. >> So you need the right yeast to go in there and control everything. >> And what is this stuff that you're doing? >> So this is Star San. It's a very standard, generic sanitizer used in any of the home brew stuff. >> BRIAN: Okay. >> It's colored suspiciously like some versions of mead. >> Right. >> So, just make sure he doesn't-- >> You can try some. I think it's-- >> Just make sure he doesn't. >> I think it's mostly safe. [Brian laughing] >> Drink it, I'll drink anything that looks like mead. >> So simple directions are you can use an ounce to sanitize five gallons. This is like in the two gallon realm. So I'm going to use like quarter ounce if that. Swirl at the bottom. Sanitize this, sanitize my tube. Sanitize my specific gravity meter which we'll talk about. And the other equipment as well. >> Yeah the specific gravity meter if I remember correctly you take a measurement at the beginning and then a measurement at the end and the difference is what tells you what the alcohol-- >> Right, how much sugar has disappeared, absolutely. Dump some of that in. Add some water. >> BRIAN: So you're just washing everything out. >> Yeah. Lots a bubbles now. >> Yep. >> So I'm just going to add anything I want sanitized which is pretty much everything cause it's not going to hurt anything. >> JASON: Oh and you're just going to. >> Going to dump everything-- >> Immerse it in there. >> Shake it up a little bit. I know you guys are all about your proper methods of everything. >> We're all set on our side. I don't know why you're taking so long. >> Yeah, I know. >> I mean, look at all this science that's happened. >> Right. >> In the past. >> Just using the bottle brush here to clean out anything that may have developed. >> What is this guy right here? >> That's later. >> Oh. >> That's later. >> You want to wager some guesses? >> Yeah this is a-- >> Hygrometer. >> This feels like it's something to grab a thing. Oh I bet that's what-- >> Yeah. >> Go down and then it, I don't know, hook, no. No. >> No. >> I'm going to give it a quick sanitize. >> Whatever it is, it's got to be clean. >> It's got to be clean. >> Right, everything should be clean. >> I'm at a loss, I don't know what this is. >> Just going to dump this all out, >> Okay. >> So do you have to worry about the residue of this stuff on there, I assume it's all sterile. >> Um, so not necessarily all sterile, it actually is good for the mead to sit in there with it. So it actually helps create a protective layer, so one of the big important things after we get the fermentation started, you want oxygen mixing in, >> Mhm. >> So this leaves a nice layer of non-oxygen between and covers everything. And what it does, the bubbles do fully break down actually help feed the yeast nutrients. >> So that's a very specific sterilizing agent, you're not going to want to use Windex. [laughter] >> Or scrubbing bubbles. >> Yeah, yeah. >> This episode's going to go off the rails when we realize he's making poison. [laughter] >> But that was the big reveal. >> Yeah, fabuloso has got just the right mix of hydorchloride >> Fabuloso! >> Each of you pick a gallon, open it up and dump about half into my bucket. >> But we're going to use the rest for our thing? >> Yes. >> All right. >> ANTHONY: What are you, racing? >> Yeah. [laughter] >> ANTHONY: Only half, don't over pour. >> That's about it. >> Nailed it. >> Perfect, perfect for our level of precision. So, all the mead I make is with Round Rock Honey, local honey, local flowers, I really like the flavors of it. They also have a new brand that I want to try out. So I'm going to have one of you play with this one. >> BRIAN: Good bees. >> Oh, do we have like, a tasting stick or something? >> A tasting stick? >> ANTHONY: A popsicle stick, I know. >> Those are cooperation you think we run around here. >> I believe those are called spoons. >> We've got a tasting stick. >> ANTHONY: It's something. [laughter] >> Somewhere. >> There we go. >> Perfect. [laughter] >> Stick the finger in. >> Oh, the poor child's hands! >> It's not a child, it's CHI-ILD. >> So, I want you guys to try the difference between the two different types of honey. >> Okay. >> All of a sudden I'm uncomfortable. >> Use the tasting stick. [laughter] >> It's like, been, Jesus Christ, okay. >> Oh, it's gift gold. [laughter] >> Hold on, don't get it everywhere. [laughter] >> Okay, to compare, use the tasting stick. [laughter] >> That's good honey, >> That's good internet >> Hang on, I want to get, I guess I got to, [laughter] >> That's good. >> Can you describe how that tasted? >> It tasted like honey. It was good, it was kind of, earthy? Really sweet. Yeah, it was honey. >> All right, now use the tasting stick for this Round Rock Honey. [laughter] >> Mm, okay, yeah. This is actually sweeter, and this one kind of has an earthier flavor to it. They're both good, I prefer this one. But yeah, this one is like a boutique version? >> Actually, so they've got a bee farm in Argentina. >> Oh wow! >> Oh wow. >> So it's completely different flavor profile. >> Yeah. >> So from the other side of the world, yeah. >> No there is a distinct difference between the two. >> So yeah, so the different meads, >> Mhm. >> Are going to be completely different as well, with no other changes. Everything else will be the same, it will be the same yeast, the same everything, just different honeys, and have completely different, [laughter] >> What? I'm going to put the tasting stick right over here. [laughter] So these two different honeys are going to give us a different flavor profile in the mead, as well. >> Yes, completely different. So, one of you takes the three, one pounds of those, put it in that one, and we'll measure out three pounds of honey into the other ones. >> Oh, these are each one pound >> Yes. >> Okay, got it. >> Those are each one pound. >> So I'm going to use all three of these, >> Oh, 16 ounces. >> In this one, and Brian is going to do, >> Yup. >> Okay, gotcha. >> So, am I just eyeballing this one, or? >> Nice scale. >> Oh yeah, of course! >> Keep it very, yeah drop it on there first. >> Do I need to sample all of the bottles, with I've got the-- [laughter] >> You're welcome to. >> Okay. >> ANTHONY: So you're going to use a quarter of that since a gallon of honey is 12 pounds. >> Blurp, blurp. >> So don't worry too much about getting all of it cause we're actually going to mix some water into it >> Okay. >> And shake it, to get the dregs out. >> So you think, this is, >> That's probably good enough. >> Oh just, good for now. >> Yeah. >> JASON: One pound, four ounces. >> ANTHONY: He's getting all the honey out, and one is pain. >> One pound, six ounces. >> Well, you can put some water in, shake it up, get the rest out that way. >> One pound, ten ounces. >> So we're putting three pounds of honey right in half a gallon of water. >> Well it's going to build back to the full gallon. >> Six [screams] I did it! Ah I messed it up! >> ANTHONY: Oh god! >> I almost got one extra ounce. >> Is that a problem? >> No. >> Oh, okay. >> ANTHONY: So I'm going to add a gallon and a half, so I'm going to hand wave to about 5 pounds of honey. If you're inclined, there are mead calculators online. >> BRIAN: Oh, it gives you exact ratios. >> Yeah, so you can plug in okay, my final volume is going to be a gallon of mead, I want to use this much honey, it'll give you an estimated alcohol percentage, like, you can do this all very very, scientifically and accurately and get exactly what kind of sweetness and desire you're looking for. >> BRIAN: So the fourth ingredient I guess is time, is mead substantially different in term of the time it takes to ferment? >> So it depends on which we're comparing against, like your beers it's going to be same fermentation time, depending on how you treat it, how warm the environment is, again, the yeast itself will determine fermentation rate. >> Mhm. >> But you're generally looking at one to two weeks up to as long as four if you wanted to, but after that, it pretty much is done and it stops, that's when you add your stabilizers in. >> That's probably enough. >> And just cap it and shake it. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> JASON: You could just, take the lid off. >> That's what you could do. Merp, merp, merp. I have diarrhea. [laughing] >> Most appetizing mead ever. [laughing] >> With the anthropomorphic honey bottle telling everyone. Sorry everyone I have diarrhea. >> Looking pretty good, not going to lie. >> ANTHONY: Right, it's perfect. >> So that's wild. >> Like, look at that perfect layer between the two. >> ANTHONY: Right, that's because we shook his up. >> Can you hand me the wood drill? >> It's like one of those executive knickknacks. >> Under the table there. >> JASON: The drill? >> Yup. >> Drill? >> You guys don't need it don't worry. The benefit of doing things the fancy way. >> Oh we haven't put the yeast in here yet. >> Correct. So were not going to add the yeast until we aerate the must. So the mixture of honey and water is a must. >> I know what it is. On Hacking the System, >> Yeah, >> when we bleached the papers, >> Yeah, >> And mixed them up, and I kept spraying bleach all over you, >> Yeah, >> That's what were doing here, that's what the attachment was for. >> Got it, okay, got it. >> That's what I'm doing, you guys get to shake it. >> Oh that's what that thing was for. That's brilliant. >> So you guys can shake that for a long time. >> JASON: Shake it? >> Shake it. >> Okay. >> We'll race. >> All right. >> Back to back [laughing] >> Hot shaking action. >> Oh. >> Yeah. >> Oh. >> Yeah. >> Oh. >> We're going to be on the sexy mead calendar. >> You need to shake harder than that. [whirring noise] >> What, what, what? [laughing] >> Whoa! >> Oh! >> Is this going to turn into cocktail? [laughing] >> JASON: For goodness sakes. >>> ALL: Aruba, Jamaica, >> BRIAN: Not cocobo! You son of a-- >> So now that we have the must properly aerated, we take our hydrometer to take the specific gravity rating. Again, specific gravity just tells you how much sugar there is in solution in the mixture. >> It basically is an indication of, how much water to other stuff ratio there is. >> Right, absolutely. >> Got it. >> Because there's only honey and sugar, and the sugar will give us a reading for this. And the specific gravity based on what it floats to, its going to tell us how much potential alcohol there is in the mixture, and we can add more, less water to get the balance we're looking for. >> So you can forecast exactly how much ABV you want your drink to have, rather than a rough guess, you can actually determine it. >> Yup, yup absolutely. So each yeast has a specific alcohol tolerance, so say, and these don't have it, but say these had enough for 17 percent alcohol in it, this yeast only goes up to about 14 percent. >> At which point, it all dies, choking on its own poo. >> And realistically, and again, anything natural, you're not going to have an accurate 100 percent reading for it. So it may stop at 12, it may go up to 15 or 16, >> Got it. >> But that's when you use the stabilizer to stop it early. The more traditional way that people tend to do, build this to only 10 percent, stop it, stabilize everything, in what they call back sweetening, so back sweetening is when once its done fermenting, and you stabilize everything, then you add more honey or other sugars to-- >> Flavor the taste. >> Yes, that's when you add your cherries, strawberries, fruits or whatever you want afterwords. >> Got it. >> That gives it a much more controlled method of doing everything. That's sweetening in the secondary or back sweetening in secondary, so. >> Cool, so is there any sweetening is that you do upfront, as far as putting the fruits in before, >> So you can sweeten in primary, which would be adding any kind of things right now, >> Mhm. >> There are trade offs there, are again, you never know which sugars are being eaten at this point. Cause if I have fructose in my fruit, and then the honey and sweeteners from that, it can go from either or, and certain yeast will eat certain sugars, and other things like that. And so it gets really artistic, if you want to do it that way, or hand waving if you prefer that method, or you can stick to very, traditional, I'm going to do It this way, this what worked last time, and repeat the process every time. >> So how do we measure the specific gravity. >> Do you want to do the honors of siphoning? >> Yeah, I'll siphon. [laughing] >> I guess I just get this started. >> Yep, and you don't need much, you honestly if you cap it off, >> And then now, I just fill this up, >> And you're going to wrap, stop stop, you don't need much at all. >> Okay. Hey, look, a did a thing! >> That was a lot easier then when we tried to siphon gasoline. >> We all have our own ways. Rough estimate, so we can see, it kind of float there, >> BRIAN: Okay, so what is this telling us right now? >> ANTHONY: Okay, there are a couple different sides to it. So you can see right here, the specific gravity reading is right around 1.136 1.14. And on the side right next to it, it has a potential alcohol content. >> BRIAN: That's the estimated >> JASON: Oh! >> BRIAN: Got it. >> ANTHONY: Right. >> JASON: It's right there on it! >> Yup, so generally you'll record this number, and the difference between the number gives that because this is a potential alcohol not actual alcohol. >> Sure. >> So right now, the potential alcohol its reading as, how much? >> ANTHONY: It's right around 18 percent. >> If you have the yeast that's got the stuff to make it all the way to 18 percent. >> Yeah, If you had like a champagne yeast, you could use a champagne yeast which gets really really dry, so it can hit that 18 to 20 percent really consistently. This is going to stop around 14 mos likely. So that's going to leave us at four percent, and then you'd have residual sugars of 1.030, and if you look at that 4 percent, 30, right there, that's like, and I know from just doing this, that 1.030 is a really really sweet wine, like desert wine, if not slightly sweeter. >> Oh wow. >> Okay. >> That's way sweeter than I want this to be, so I'm going to add a bit more water to this. >> So the number you're trying to hit is how much? >> 1.120. >> Could I drop this hydrometer just right in our mixtures to see? >> ANTHONY: Yeah. >> BRIAN: Or do we need to put it in the tube. >> ANTHONY: Yeah, you definitely can, you can probably get it back out, like this one, this bucket here, I don't do that but this bucket as you can see is a bit short. >> Oh got it, got it, got it. >> ANTHONY: So I can do it for mine. >> BRIAN: Whereas this is, okay. >> ANTHONY: So with yours, you guys can definitely just drop them in there, and you're going to have a lot of issues, because of the bubbles. >> Oh, got it. >> JASON: Oh, yeah. >> So you're about 1.13, both of yours I'd just bring back up to that fill line. >> Okay, with water, add more water. >> Yeah, once were at the end of that, >> Okay. >> But you're, yeah definitely just to check out what the differences are, and they should be the same, his will be a little bit lower, because he has a bit more water in it. >> Yeah. >> 1.12? >> Yeah I'd put it around 1.12. >> Okay. >> Something like that. >> JASON: So that would be-- >> ANTHONY: So I'd stop right about here just so we can add the yeast and shake it up more. >> BRIAN: So you think that's good, just 1.12? >> Yeah, I mean you can top it off more if you want, entirely up to you, this is your-- >> My batch. >> Your baby. >> Okay, put a little bit more water in there. >> If you want really sweet water, you're welcome to try some of that. >> No [laughter] >> Just make sure he doesn't, drink it. >> He'll drink anything that looks like mead. >> Oh that is very sweet. >> Yeah. All right, so give them a little bit of a shake just to mix everything back up one more time, >> All right, were getting ready to add the yeast. >> Yup. One of these is good for 5 gallons. >> So well want to share, >> Use about half, yeah. >> Okay. >> ANTHONY: I'm going to use about of one of my own as well, just to make sure. >> So theoretically we could pour this entire thing in there, and all it would do is what, increase the rate that it would ferment? >> ANTHONY: Yup. >> BRIAN: Okay. So that's about half of it. Here you go sir. So do we shake it up or just leave it right on top? >> Shake it a little bit more. >> I don't know if you gave me, >> Oh did I, >> Did he, short change you? >> I think you used quite a bit. >> Did he short change you? >> Yeah. >> I did. >> Yeah. >> I assumed so. >> Yeah, I think so, a little bit anyway. >> And realize, there's hardly any left, Brian just goes, >> ANTHONY: That's half. >> Yeah. [laughter] >> And worth noting, different yeasts, have different ways of starting, some want to be started up separately, so you dump the yeast in a bowl, warm our water, let it sit in that, let it run from there. >> That was the big criticism we got from the Pruno episode is that we didn't activate the yeast. >> Yeah. >> When we used the bakers yeast. >> Right. >> Whereas the brewers yeast, worked just fine the moment we threw it in. >> Yeah, yeah different yeast have different ways of doing it. >> Yeah that was the big complaint we got on Pruno. [laughter] >> Okay now shake it? >> Yup, just a little bit, just to get it mixed back in. >> Next thing we're going to worry about is creating some kind of one-way valve, and you've got an actual stopper-- >> I've got a stopper. >> That will let the CO2 come out. >> Another thing, we're going to give you guys some yeast nutrients. >> BRIAN: Oh! >> ANTHONY: In the way of raisins. >> BRIAN: Oh right on. >> So take a handful of raisins, this is just enough residual sugars in there just to help make sure the yeast has stuff going on, and doesn't struggle. Starting off for you guys we have a very very fancy airlock system. >> Yeah. >> Some balloons. Poke some holes in it, with this handy little pin, >> Do you poke first, and then? >> Yeah, poke some holes in it. >> Okay. >> And then wrap it over the top. And this is your really simple airlock. >> So this is not a perfect seal, but it assuming that there's CO2 coming up, this thing inflates, and it leaks out. >> Yup, absolutely. >> What temperature does the yeast like to chew on? >> In the 65 to 70 range. >> Oh, well that's perfect. >> So my airlock is slightly more standard. It's a two part system here. Fill it up with water, it'll float to the middle, bob up, and then when air comes up, the bob comes up, and you see the holes in the bottle of that. >> We used one of those on Pruno, did we not? >> Yeah, correct. >> Okay. >> Okay. And just like that as you can see as I push down, this pops up and releases. >> JASON: Perfect. >> Not both of these methods take, a couple of months, you say, or two weeks, >> So fermentation should be done in about two weeks. >> Oh. >> However, you can drink it at that point, it's not going to be very good. Mead is one of those things, it's a challenge. I saw that. [laughter] >> But I want to drink it, it's got the booze! >> You're not going to tell me not to drink my mead! >> Yeah, right? >> I describe it as young, it's got this really strong alcohol taste to it still, it's not going to be very smooth, it's not going to be very good. The longer you let it sit and mellow out, the better it's going to be. >> So there's no more fermentation going on, >> Right, there's no more fermentation. >> But there's, like, flavor coloring. >> Sure. >> Right. And it'll smooth out that strong alcohol taste will slowly disappear over time. >> JASON: Okay. >> Does it matter, whether or not light is shining on it? Would light have a sterilizing effect would it better to put it in a dark area? >> It is better off in a dark area. >> Okay. >> Cool and dark spaces is generally the-- >> Cool, so this is why your equipment is better because you've got opaque structures on there to protect it, whereas this will, the light >> ANTHONY: I mean, >> will cause trouble. >> You can wrap that with a towel. So you want to check on them, make sure everything is looking good, looking fine, with a setup like this, you're looking for some sort of bubbling action, your guys, you just got to make sure the balloons inflate. It'll be that position permanently. >> JASON: Okay. >> Of just-- >> Of just the CO2 always-- >> As it bubbles out. >> Let's just, set them down here. >> One of the other important things you guys don't need to do with that, that I'll be doing with this one after a couple of weeks is called racking it. Once the yeast is done fermenting, get it off the mead itself. All of a sudden its going to settle at the bottom, cause the yeast is going to die, it's going to fall off, things like that. So you want to get it out of this container and into a different one. So you can do it with a siphon, with those you kind of just wing it, and dump it into something else, another gallon jug, and let it age in that. >> After a couple of weeks. >> Yeah, so when it's done fermenting, you know, that two to four week time span, >> Oh, when the balloon isn't inflating anymore. >> But yours is always going to be inflated, there's always going to be a little bit of off gassing, but it's going to stop off significantly. >> From about three weeks from now, when we decide we're done. >> Yeah. >> And can you just, you could just, taste that, if its right? >> Yeah, it'll be how sweet you want it, how alcohol tastes to you, you don't really need all the fancy things involved. >> For what we made, what's the prime window for us to drink from it? >> The longer you let it sit after you rack it, the better it's going to taste. The longer you let it sit, the smoother it's going to taste, the alcohol flavor is going to go away. My personal minimum is about 2 months, before people start drinking it and trying it, like I'll try it beforehand, to make sure it's going where I want it to, but I'm not going to like, try this, to people who don't know what they're doing, before that two or three month window has passed, just because its just going to taste a lot like, that alcohol jet fuel, kind of flavor to it until that alcohol flavor made sure it's away. >> So in the meantime do we have a preview, of what it's going to taste like? >> Yeah, I've got a bunch of things for you to try out. >> Let's go. >> Okay! >> Let's go grab some of that. >> Start off with a fairly dry mead, that's been back sweetened with cherry. >> So dry means, you've let the yeast pretty much eat all the sugars, then you've sweetened it after the fact, giving it a flavor color profile right? >> Yup. >> Got it. >> Absolutely. >> How would you sweeten it with cherry? Did you put actual cherries in there? >> Yup. >> JASON: Oh okay. >> I took way too long and way too many cherries, and cut them in half, and pitted them. >> Awe. He named each one. >> I did! >> He writes them letters, sings to them at night. >> Dear Edgar, you are delicious. >> So I traditionally don't like super sweet fruity stuff, so give me just a little bit of this. >> ANTHONY: Oh this is dry. You'll probably enjoy that more. >> I assume it's the same rules as we've learnt from the Beeress, where you want to appreciate the color, look at the cloudiness, >> Yup. >> Oh, sure! >> Smell the aromatics, oh this does have a dry, almost wine-like. >> ANTHONY: Yeah. >> Oh wow, but you can-- >> Nose. >> Definitely smell the alcohol in there. >> Do you know what the ABV on this is? >> Offhand no, I think it's sitting at least 12 percent though. >> Okay. >> Wow, that is way more dry, I thought it was going to be so sweet, and it's not! Oh, I like this a lot more than I thought I would. >> I've never had a mead like this. >> It's like a very dry red wine. >> Until today it didn't occur to me, that you could have meads that weren't the clear kind of golden, almost syrupy type of drink. And this is a dramatic departure and is really good, and you just, made this! >> Yeah! >> That's fascinating. >> And so I assume that there's experimentation over a lot of time. >> Yes. >> In my imagination, you would make a whole bunch of these at the same time, changing little things all at once, and so as long as everything is labeled, you can understand, oh this is going to give it a drier profile and so on. >> Right, like I said, there's plenty of information online about different yeasts where their alcohol tolerance is, how they react, how they do things, >> That's great. >> Yeah, so. >> I like that quite a bit. >> Next one is a way more traditional, definitely that sweeter side of things, it is just straight honey on the first batch of it. But I've actually got different additions to this one, in these two gallons. >> Okay, so all three of these are essentially the same formula, these are just back sweetened differently. >> ANTHONY: Right, well, they're sweetened, they're just flavored differently. >> BRIAN: Got it. >> JASON: Oh, okay. >> ANTHONY: So they've got different flavors in there. >> One of them is chorizo. [laughs] >> Chorizo? >> It's migas flavored. >> Migas flavored mead. >> Yeah, everyone needs a breakfast mead, right? >> Yeah, breakfast mead. >> So this is, >> Oh yeah. >> See that looks like mead. To me. >> This is unintentionally way sweeter. >> So the nose on this one, a sour tang to the nose. >> Oh yeah, yeah, >> But you can tell, >> Man I don't know, I don't know what I'm experiencing. >> Look at how syrupy it is though. Like you could tell. >> Sticks to the sides. >> Yeah. >> Oh that's sweet! That's just like, we had that honey water. I can't even detect the alcohol in there. This seems like this would fuck you up. >> Yeah, yeah that one tastes like it's got a lot more alcohol, I don't know that it does. >> Probably doesn't. >> I mean that one had kind of a bite to it. And this one is just ambrosia. But it's too sweet for you. >> You say ambrosia, I say danger. [laughter] >> Yeah see this is what I'm more accustomed to carrying around the Renaissance festival, right. >> Dangerous. >> These are the same thing that we just drank. >> Same exact thing, they've been sitting on spices for at least a month, probably a bit longer. >> Okay. >> I've not even tried these yet. >> Oh wow. >> Oh wow, okay. >> ANTHONY: So, this is with mulling spices. >> BRIAN: What are mulling spices? >> Kind of when you have hot apple cider. >> Okay. >> Yeah. It's a big box at like, H-E-B, that says mulling spices on it. >> Got it. >> It's got cloves, and cinnamon, >> And all spice, and things like that. >> Do you ever drink mead warm? >> Yes. >> I read how it's pretty common to put mulling spices in there and mull the mead, like you do a cider. >> Oh, man it smells like Christmas in here! >> Oh, wow. >> That's amazing. >> Yeah, this is like, liquid Christmas. >> That pungent aroma, sort of is like a warning, that other one, the straight honey, I feel like I might go too fast. This one feels like it's going to slow me down. >> You need to sip it. >> Yeah. >> Still sweet. Boy I like that spice a lot. >> It's got a bite. >> That gives it a much more interesting profile. >> It's not an alcohol, but it is a bite. >> Yeah. Oh that's great. >> What's your favorite so far? >> To my surprise, the cherry dry. >> Yeah, me too. I think mostly because that one was unexpected. >> Mhm. >> So, this next one, is essentially the same thing as the base that we drank here, just like the other one but instead of mulling spices we have, >> ANTHONY: Sarsaparilla. >> Brian And Jason: Sarsaparilla! >> Sioux city sarsaparilla! >> Sioux city sarsaparilla. That's a good one. [laughing] >> What's happening down here? >> ANTHONY: Oh, that's the sarsaparilla. >> Oh, Jesus. >> And cheesecloth. >> BRIAN: Oh, got it. It does look like it's alive! It looks like its in formaldehyde or something. [laughter] >> This is some sort of bio experiment. >> Yeah, absolutely. >> It turns and looks at you. >> It like, knocks on the glass. [laughter] >> It says, my family, do they live? >> Open your mind. [laughter] drink of me and know eternity. >> Its that scene from Poltergeist 2 when he drinks the worm >> Oh, the tequila worm? The Geiger thing comes out, the Geiger. >> So what is sarsaparilla? >> A root, it's akin to root beer, you can use it to make root beer flavor. >> Oh, that's wild. >> Oh that's what I'm smelling. >> Somewhere between root beer and cream soda. >> That's wild. >> Mixed with some anise and clove I think. >> Yeah. >> It looks just like the other one. >> Man, that's fantastic. >> Oh wow, dramatically different from the last one. Much more subtle. >> The other one just came on screaming Christmas, this one whispers, thanksgiving. [laughter] >> Also very good. I like this one a lot. That's interesting. This is a hobby where you can easily experiment. >> Oh yeah. >> And just try all sorts of stuff. >> It's fairly safe, >> Yeah. >> I mean, outside of the fact that you're drinking a toxin. >> Other than it being alcohol. >> [laughter] Yeah, exactly. >> I just assumed that there were a couple of variants, but there's really infinite amounts of mead that you can craft at home. >> Yup. >> I'm already feeling a little floaty. >> JASON: Oh, you really? >> It's good stuff. >> It'll sneak up on you. >> It's strong. >> Just going to, >> You having a little more? >> We're going to toast to this, gentlemen. >> These were all really good. >> Thank you. >> Here, let's do it to Anthony, thank you so much for expanding our horizons and taking us into a brave new world. >> Toasting with an empty glass. [laughter] >> Bad luck man. >> Oh that's good. >> It's starting to feel like working out. >> It is! >> ANTHONY: Yeah. >> I thought this would be the one episode with Anthony, where I wouldn't sweat. [laughter] Wrong. I kind of wished you'd come in your armor. [laughter]
Info
Channel: The Modern Rogue
Views: 2,515,853
Rating: 4.8461142 out of 5
Keywords: the modern rogue, brian brushwood, jason murphy, Anthony Buonomo, austin historical weapons guild, mead, alcohol, drinks, making mead, ingredients, how to, walkthrough, explanation, step-by-step, honey wine, honey, water, yeast
Id: 2YwAvLru2ec
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 33min 24sec (2004 seconds)
Published: Fri Mar 09 2018
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