How to Get More Fruit Flavor when Making Mead

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This tutorial shows you techniques for getting stronger fruit flavors when making mead. Mead with fruit in it is called a Melomel. In this video we make a Melomel with strawberries. I show you the process step by step. Fun stuff!
Tips on getting a more flavorful fruit mead:
1. Use a clover honey. It has a milder flavor that won't overwhelm the fruit
2. Cut up the fruit into small pieces to release more flavor
3. Freeze, hammer and thaw the fruit. This causes ice crystals that break open the fruit cells
4. Use a pound of fruit per gallon of mead
In this video I also cover some nice mead making tips including how to handle cloudiness in a fruit mead and how to deal with the airlock overflowing and bubbling over.
For lots more mead making stuff:
Visit my website here: www.stormthecas...
I also have a playlist full of mead making videos right here on my youtube channel:
• Mead Making -tutorials...
Want to Make some mead and need supplies? Here are affiliate links to the various products I recommend:
-1 Gallon jug, stopper and airlock. An inexpensive way to get started: amzn.to/29Ldmuf
- Lalvin K1 - V1116 Yeast: amzn.to/2qgckBb
- Will's Book on mead making: amzn.to/2qgjjdb
Will's Mead Making Books:
How to Make a one gallon batch of mead kindle book: amzn.to/2fATYFO
The Secret Art of Mead Making Revealed: amzn.to/2eKpgZU
--- --- ---
Want to Support Will and his work? Help him create more content and help him build a castle? You can learn more and become a patron here: / epicfantasy
#meadmaking #melomel #mead

[@mythyc9604]

I just want you to know that whenever someone asks me about my mazing (mead making), I always tell them about your videos where I learned the craft. Keep up the awesome work :D

[@epicfantasy]

Thanks! It is very much appreciated.

[@wtglb]

I'm following your improved method for making melomels, or in the case of my first batches metheglins. I made 3 gallons of mead and let them ferment for 30 days, last weekend I racked off one and a half gallons onto pumpkin pie spice in a 2-gal bucket, the other 1.5 I racked onto Hibiscus and Ginger and I'm going to let it sit for another 30 days. I have another 5- gallons that I'm going to split up and put onto Strawberry, Blueberry and Raspberry. Your videos are easy to follow and contain a lot of info. Can't wait to see how these turn out, I'll send pics.

[@epicfantasy]

Very nice!

[@clae8715]

How did they turn out?

[@stanlindert6332]

I love food grade plastic buckets for primary. Than rack to glass. Or install one of those little spigots in the bucket. Also the hardware store has paint strainer bags to hold the fruit. The Vikings would approve.

[@rellevarTemiT]

Just a heads up. You're not breaking the molecules, just busting open the cells. thanks for the great video!

[@epicfantasy]

Thanks, I kept saying it! Even though I meant bursting open the cells.

[@harmonic5107]

Nathan Foster also, it's the expansion of the water breaking the cells, not being cut by ice crystals. Doesn't really change anything, nor does it matter. But I feel like being pedantic XP

[@epicfantasy]

Great comment.

[@christophergamman5214]

thanks to your huge video collection my first batch of mead turned out amazing we tasted it after it aged only a month and we couldnt help ourselves and drank it all. I am working on my second batch with a dryer yeast and I am trying my first berry mead. I am using a local berry honey with it and I am thinking of adding black and raspberries to it but having never tried a berry mead before I am not sure if it will be a good combo. I figured since the honey is made from blackberries and raspberries though they should go well together.

[@cheitner]

I have found with strawberries it's better to go with 3 pounds per gallon in primary and 1 pd per gallon in secondary if you really want a strawberry flavor. any less you only get a hint of fruit.

[@MrTNT-ut6ss]

I've watched a few mead making videos now and yours was my favorite! Very informative!

[@dragma907]

This is just a mead tutorial, nothing in here explicitly showed how to get more flavor out of the fruit unless the freezing and smashing was supposed to be the tip.

[@happykillmore349]

A lot of good info here. Want even more fruit flavor? Don't use this yeast, it strips flavor. 71b1112 would be more appropriate for a melomel

[@theastronomer5800]

Yes, 71B is better for flavours. Also, I've learned that adding half the fruits in primary, racking, and then adding half the fruits in secondary is supposed to leave more flavours. Haven't tried it myself yet but will soon. Have you maybe tried that?

[@lawnfascist4890]

The type of honey you use could very well add to the kind of mead you happen to be making. If I'm adding any kind of citrus to my mead, I would prefer to use honey from orange blossoms rather than clover. If a dark mead that will be aged in oak, wildflower honey would be fine for most folks. It's a pretty blanket statement to say mead should only be made with clover honey. IMO.

[@fufubystoka]

great video... thx to you I started making mead, I tried many different types and 99% went so great... thx so much for all of yours videos

[@epicfantasy]

You are very welcome. Thanks for watching and send me pics of your mead!

[@fufubystoka]

I sent you an email with few pictures ;-) thank you again

[@teresaolofson8187]

warm hello dear i have never made mead before today i did jump right into it as i watched a video of a woman say just need water and honey and yeast and if u dont use yeast fifty percent chance it would be mead and fifty percent chance vinegar i thought i dont live near a brew store so id be happy with vinegar that is raw and wow made of honey my god what is more heavenly than that? So im watching your lovely efforts and thank you so so so much :) and wanted to ask u a few questions may i?

[@Potent910]

You sound like Don Delouise. Brings back memories of my childhood. Thanks for the video. I will follow some of your steps.

[@Hekinsieden]

I am ALL about the Orange Blossom Honey my favorite for every batch of Mead I make. Also my recent batch of Blueberry Mead I blended my Blueberries into a nice slop and put it in my fermenting bucket and let it ferment.

[@epicfantasy]

Wonderful, and you are so right about Orange Blossom Honey.

[@MexieMex]

Personally, I prefer Lalvin EC-1118 yeast. If you haven't already tried it, give it a go. would be interested to hear your thoughts.

[@fusion9619]

I just started a batch with ec1118, which had been in my hot garage (unrefrigerated) for 20 years. I didn't think it would work... but it did. It's bubbling away right next to me now.

[@MexieMex]

@@fusion9619 LOL it's good stuff

[@Ckoudous]

a research company released a study showing 75% of all "honey" sold int the USA, is just corn syrup. so picking a clover honey, or more expensive honey, means you are more likely to be actually be buying honey and not just corn syrup.

[@maryberry7078]

Cloudous bullshit this isn't China

[@eieio-mn9pm]

Mary Berry hes right bigger corporations add corn syrup to their honey ...buy local ...it'll cost more but it's worth it ...for myself I ordered two hives from a local bee man

[@KiyanNoyesAponte25]

Pro tip for extraction: mash strawberries when fresh them put in freezer if you really want to make sure the vacuoles are ruptured.

[@billballaro6039]

Kiyan Noyes Can you do the same thing with peaches. Thank you

[@rogantu]

Hey I recently bought stuff to make mead with so this is pretty useful

[@epicfantasy]

Hey! Good to hear from you. Been a while. Good luck with the mead!!

[@never2late454]

Great video. Just what I was looking for. I just added fruit to my secondary and was trying to figure out when to remove it. I made a 5 gallon batch. I used one and a half gallons of honey and 13 pounds of frozen blackberries with D-47 yeast. The blackberrie smell is extremely strong but I haven't tasted it yet. I hope I didn't add to much berries.

[@josephwoodall832]

No hydrometer reading?

[@jamespettit1792]

The Skaking also aerates the mixture which is good for yeast growth. Its the only time you want any oxygen. Also i use White Labs liquid Mead yeasts.

[@jr10]

Awesome tutorial. I have been brewing beers for a few years, and wanted to try my first mead.. Quick question for you. I always see people activating their yeast like you showed here. I never see anyone do a yeast starter. Is that not recommended with these types of yeasts? Thanks again for a great video.

[@henrikjrgensen5958]

You can do both, really. I always make a starter culture but that's just the way I learned it so it stuck with me. Most yeasts will start up quite fast just rehydrating them and in most cases you can sprinkle it in dry and it'll do its thing.

[@BINDRUNE]

add some of the must and honey you are using to prime your yeast. Use a bit of energizer, and you will see a huge difference.

[@paulclarke267]

some very good tips cheers chum

[@BINDRUNE]

i use wildflower.

[@nb4749]

When I add fruit, I get very aggressive fermentation. I use a tube in place of the air lock and insert the other end of the tube into a gallon container of star-san solution. This prevent loss of that precious mead while allowing the aggressive fermentation to run its course. It also reduces risk of of contamination. After the fermentation calms down (between 1 to 3 days), then I remove the tube and insert an airlock.

[@russchamberlain8755]

So primary = water, bentonite, honey, nutrient, tannin, acid, yeast. Secondary= energizer, fruit, pectin, dissolved honey. Rack, degas, test, degas, rack. Test, taste. Age, prime if needed, bottle, age.?

[@theastronomer5800]

Great video, but I disagree on the clover honey which of course would be a personal preference. I want to know that I'm drinking mead, and I love honey, so I want some honey flavours and aromas in my meads! If that's what you want, go with wildflower, summer blossom or blubbery honey :) Also, it's good to put some water in the honey containers, mix hard and pour into the carboy to get the last bit of honey out. Cheers!

[@tomfinnegan4029]

Do the Fruit flavors get fermented out in primary fermentation in your mead?

[@shadowtheimpure]

Overflow is the reason I make 4 gallons of mead in a 5 gallon container.

[@NGinuity]

That's a neat trick with the sliced frozen fruit. Where'd ya learn that? :-D (Seriously, super happy it works well for you) I haven't done a batch in a year or so but I have a cherry limeade melomel (ironically I had no top fermenting issues) and an orange blossom mead that have been glass carboy aging wrapped in black trashbags for about 2 years (I change the airlock periodically). I also have 20 gallons of cider that have a year and a half of aging. ....I think it's time to get going again. The ciders are getting slightly carbed before I bottle them. Five gallons of that is perry cider that I STILL can't get to clear even after a round of bentonite. In retrospect it probably should have been fermented with pectic enzyme but it's too late now (running about 12%). That will be a tasty treat for this fall no matter how it looks.

[@voltronsupremeFood]

NGinuity Mead is my favorite wine. You can go so many routes with it. I have made smores mead, pukin pie mead, apple mead, chocalate mead etc, cactus mead. cherry mead, cranberry mead , rose scented mead. The list goes on and on. Mead is great i just drank a high abv dry pumkin mead spritzer i made. We were talking about christmas in july so i got a craving for pumkin mead mixed it with creme soda and ice and made a july holiday mead really really good and refreshing since today we hit 103f

[@kalyan8647]

how long do you leave your fruit in the secondary ferment? is there a point where most of the flavors are extracted and it's unnecessary to leave it in more much longer to condition the flavors?

[@andrewyek]

hii confused with what you did and you said, do not matches. you said don't put in the fruit in immediately or together with yeast to prevent bacteria or unwelcomed thing to over power the fermentation.. let the yeast do the work to produce some alcohol then dump in the fruit so that less chances of contamination over powering the yeast. but you did in the video was fruit and yeast all together... right ? thanks andrew

[@TheNovaGoose]

You can put more fruit in secondary to get more fruit flavor, but the yeast can ferment with some of the compounds found in the fruit in primary to give you some more, different flavors that you might not associate with fruit. If you want a really strong fruit flavor, do both in primary and secondary.

[@esotericspiritualkeysofasc922]

@@TheNovaGoose what is secondary?

[@VastlyVintage]

@@esotericspiritualkeysofasc922 Your secondary is your second set of fermentation. So, basically after your first 3 or so weeks of fermentation, you're gonna rack it, then ferment it for another 3 or so weeks

[@esotericspiritualkeysofasc922]

@@VastlyVintage Thanks. I'm trying to figure out how to make a peach melomel with good flavour and 22% abv

[@joshuacrowe2752]

This may be a dumb question, but what are you doing with the voice recorder? Are you using it to record audio for your video somehow or are you listening to a script you prepared before hand??

[@jurassicsurvivor9204]

A great way to put the strawberries in the bottle is to cut the corner of the bag to make a big enough hole for them to go through. Then you can put the hole right above the bottle and it'll go straight in.

[@epicfantasy]

Great tip!

[@JJ_Adventures]

Technically speaking, fighting off unwanted bacteria and such from adding in fruit first is easily solved by throwing the fruit in a bowl of vodka before putting it in the must, right? If it’s clean going in, it’s just extra sugar for the yeast to work off of from my understanding. that’s just my 2 cents though. I’m just a beginner lol I’m beginning to start this myself and wanted to try and skip any sort of back flavoring. Not out of laziness, but I’d rather my mead be sweeter and the yeast die off by over feeding it sugar in the primary fermentation. Wish me luck 😂

[@shannonsteward4034]

i made my first mead and wine last year my mead was beautiful it was a clear gold really light and i made blueberry wine and apple wine that tasted like caramel apples from the fair were can i find resealable bottles by the dozen i dont drink enough so i got the old ladies from the neighborhood to save me theirs i ended with like 50 bottles lol but i would like to try the wire top resealable ones have you tried these?

[@wtglb]

Shannon Steward do you mean the swing top bottles? I bought mine on Amazon, I use them for my Kombucha

[@liljohnp132]

Georgia Peach Vodka bottles. #^)

[@teresaolofson8187]

i have a book called wild fermentation and just found on page twenty nine how easy you can collect yeast same as making sourdough which i have done before...do u ever use this wild yeast from the air? i already have bubbles and its been not a full day

[@nerofl89]

Curious why no one has asked this, the reason you don't use pasteurized honey is because is reduces the natural flavoring of the honey. So if you are making a fruit flavor mead, why not pasteurize the honey?

[@lexsycraftsllc]

I'm curious as to why you bash the fruit after it has been frozen as apposed to blending/pureeing it in a blender. I've watched many mead videos and they all say to cut fruit, but never mention blending or pureeing it. Is there a reason?

[@epicfantasy]

Great comment and insightful question. If you freeze/bash you release the flavors but the cells and skins remain intact so that they can be siphoned out later. If you puree you end up with all the skins and cellular structure in the mead which causes cloudiness, makes it difficult to clarify and can cause off flavors.

[@liljohnp132]

SUPPOSEDLY, the freezing ruptures cells , tearing them apart . Rumor says.

[@andrewyek]

hii Epicfantasy, can you explain how those wine sold in store has got 20% of alcohol content ? how come some got 40% ? i read some article said the typical yeast can only tolerate up to 13 % or to 16% alcohol max, before being intoxicated .. and dead off. how then those wine can reach up to 20% or more alcohol ? because distillation will concentrate the alcohol content, but the output will be lower.. so business man won't want to do that, it is time consuming and less final volume. the article said that they mix in other alcohol to fortify the wine. is it true ? how much alcohol content is your mead after complete fermentation ? come youtuber said they can make fermentation with alcohol content up to 90% over.. i think they are b.s me. btw, how much alcohol content in the wine will make it stable for storage without using the chemical that prohibit the yeast ? pls share your insight and your opinion. appreciate it. andrew

[@TheNovaGoose]

@@liljohnp132 That's exactly what happens. That's why frozen-then-thawed fruit usually ends up mushy and liquidy. Ice crystals penetrate the cell walls like taking an ice pick to a ziploc filled with water.

[@Alec-pc2kk]

@@andrewyek If you look at something like port for example, which is by definition a fortified wine, winemakers fortify it with brandy (which is itself a distilled wine). Sherries, ports and the like are typically meant to be had as an after-dinner or dessert wine and would be served in smaller portions given they're often much sweeter and richer than straight wine. These typically end up around 20% or so, a 90% abv beverage would pretty much just be distilled grain spirits (i.e., you're right, b.s.).

[@Benvironment]

Thoughts on fireweed honey? I picked a 30 lb pail and will be making mead with it.

[@epicfantasy]

Hmmm, it's a rare honey. I have never used it. I believe it's also a very light honey? I would start by making a plain mead with it - not mixing any fruits in. So you can taste just the honey in the mead and see how it comes out. And you might have to go heavy with it, more honey than a normal batch.

[@voltronsupremeFood]

epicfantasy, have you considred doing an agave mead or maple mead? i presently have an agave mead going but wont know for a few months how it will turn out as it is in only month one, I once did a maple syrup mead and it tasted oaky/earthy almost like bourbon. or even a honey and agave nectar blend mead. walmart sell agave nectar in the sugar section.

[@TheMrhycannon]

If it's not made with honey, it's not meade..

[@GreenWitch1]

If it’s made with agave nectar, it’s agave wine. With maple syrup, it’s called Acerglyn.

[@jackmehoff6767]

Would it be possible to use fruit juice or nectar (like kern's peach nectar)?

[@henrikjrgensen5958]

Yes, as long as it's only been pasteurized. Any trace or hint or preservatives in it and it won't work. It has to be pure nectar/juice.

[@shadowtheimpure]

Actually, if you don't want a second ferment the preservatives aren't really an issue.

[@tokytoky3787]

EC-1118 and raw honey works good

[@Indian0Lore]

So does fleischmann's bread yeast

[@f6y7t5]

Did no one notice that he keeps saying that freezing will break down the "molecules" and release tge flavour

[@blitzit222]

I would go a step further and and split the atoms.

[@Christopherfrost13]

Yes, just the wrong word. He meant cells. He seems to knkw whatbhes talking about, just a wrong choice of words.

[@michaelmikosh1480]

I'm making strawberry mead and got a pink foam but it's still fermenting idk if it's good or bad

[@epicfantasy]

It;s quite normal. No worries. Just make sure the foam doesn't get up and clog the airlock. Drain a little bit of liquid out if need be.

[@bretlemieux4533]

hey Will I still love your you tube an liked your fb page thank you

[@epicfantasy]

Hi Bret, thanks for the support. Great to have you share my work with others.

[@Wagmiallday]

Does Lou Ferrigno narrate this video?

[@eieio-mn9pm]

Hate to rub it in ....butt ...I've got two hives coming may 1st ...doesn't git any more local than that

[@epicfantasy]

Quite wonderful. Beekeeping is a beautiful hobby. Be sure to check out my playlist of beekeeping videos here: kzbin.info/aero/PLFA878C10ADC12506

[@eieio-mn9pm]

epicfantasy ok you got another sub ...hahaha ..I can't seem to stop watchin bee videos ...I stopped at the grocery store and they have local Montna mead ...I hesitated ...at 15 to 20 .a bottle ...now I gotta go back down there

[@captainl-ron4068]

I freeze then thaw then freeze then thaw a few times. This works really well for cherries, you can just pick the stones out of the cherry mass afterwards.

[@wildluna7021]

Question can use two different types of fruit and fruit juice

[@blacksmithbeta5337]

Yes, use fruit to your hearts desired.. try not to go over a total pound. If you do. You can reduce in honey used.. but be careful of that. Mead technically is 60% minimum of honey must. Flavors shouldn't exceed 40%.

[@infracorreo]

i'll be doing some mead =) love the channel and the webpage i have 1 questions: yo said that you normally add the fruit 2 weeks after the process, is it ok to add the frozen fruit at that time? because that could cold down the mead and that could be a problem for the yeast

[@teresaolofson8187]

i have made bread starter by lettign the flour and water mix sit out to collect the natural yeast from the air......i have already mixed up honey and water and added raisins....should i leave off the lid and add a mesh sprouting bag on top so it can collect air ...meaning the yeast in the air?

[@epicfantasy]

No, there is risk in that. You don't know what kind of yeast or bacteria you will pick up. You should add a teaspoon of bread yeast. Wine yeast will be ideal. But bread yeast will work.

[@teresaolofson8187]

you mean risk it wont work out?

[@teresaolofson8187]

this is how ancient cultures did it in every single place on earth doesnt that rock your world? i love the idea of saving money plus mother nature

[@gotchasgonnagetcha]

The risk of picking up harmful bacteria or mold is definitely there. Especially when doing fruit additions. Wild fermentation can be a lot of fun to play with, but if it doesn't look or smell right, you're risking having to take a lot of trips to the bathroom. When in doubt, throw it out. While it may not have as much cool factor, you will get a much "cleaner" and more consistent flavor from wine yeast, in addition to it being a bit safer. Try both and see what you like better. Experiment and have fun! However, if you're only going to do wild fermentation to save money, I would recommend looking into how to wash and reuse yeast. There should be plenty of videos on it, and it's pretty easy to do. That way, you'll get a consistent product and save money at the same time.

[@jamiebancroft1892]

how long once it is bottled will it be nice to drink??

[@MrEvanfriend]

I keep it in primary for a month, then rack into a secondary for a few more months, then bottle it, then drink it no less than a year after I made it.

[@mazernate]

Can someone explain why my mixture keeps on blowing up out of the bottle? ?

[@epicfantasy]

Sure, it is a fermentation process. And it's normal. Your jug is simply overfull. Pour out two inches of liquid to give it room to breathe and bubble.

[@timothyburrows9622]

When you are making a melomel do you top of the carboy with water after each racking?

[@epicfantasy]

I don't typically but it is quite ok if you do. Some people prefer it to keep the oxygen levels down.

[@shadowtheimpure]

IF I do any topping up, I will top up with fruit juice of the fruit that I'm flavoring the melomel as. If you're adding anything, you might as well have it bring flavor along to the party.

[@livingchaosmatrix]

Why not blend it?

[@carlkessler303]

I find clover honey to produce a skunky flavor. I use only wild flower honey. My kids say the clover honey wine smells and tastes like medicine.

[@NGinuity]

Just out of curiosity, what yeast are you using and what temperature is your ferment? I have gotten that skunky flavor after hot ferments before and the only thing that takes it out is a LOT of aging.

[@voltronsupremeFood]

Carl Kessler the sku ky flavor could be a technique issue. air and or light may have been sneaking in. i use clover for 90% of my mead and no real issues, unless i forget to check on a batch and the airlock dried out on me. but i do age my mead at least 7 months after first racking.

[@sherihall2889]

gosh darn it I just used clover honey yesterday :(

[@voltronsupremeFood]

sheri hall I use clover all the time. And turns out great have yet to have a bad batch. skunk effect is just poor technique and can occur with all wines and beer. usually its the wine has been exposed to light a long time and sometimes it can also occur bc of a leak and air gets in. most of the time its light (uv) messing up the wine.

[@sherihall2889]

voltronsupreme ok great! Then I should be go to go. THANKS for the info I appreciate it.

[@joec8057]

Just blend the fruit

[@pixiepiper6667]

can i put the frozen fruit in a food processor or would that make it the wrong texture to work with?

[@Just2tyte]

pixie piper I was going to ask the same question... if pureeing the fruit is advised.

[@CrazyCrawlers]

It would be alright if you dont mind it taking forever to settle out, and potentially needing to use fining to get it to clear up.

[@GreenWitch1]

It’s messy & unnecessary

[@DarkWolff.]

I just Sunday tried your recipe for the cherry melomel. but you said nothing in that video about waiting to add the fruit until after the fermentation! I mixed it added the cherries and then the champagne yeast you suggested. it's now bubbling 2 days in, am I going to get a completely different outcome from doing this than what you've stated in this video?

[@epicfantasy]

No no, you are quite ok! Your mead will be fine. Did you sanitize everything and wash the cherries? Oh and send me pics!

[@DarkWolff.]

Yes I did use the bleach method to sanitize. the cherries were washed. I did two batches one straight cherries and the 8oz cup OJ for nutrient. the second the same except a little less cherries and 10oz of raisins

[@DarkWolff.]

What's your email and I'll send over a pic

[@voltronsupremeFood]

you can fruit in the begging or later both methods work. the difference is in the begging the fruit in you case cherries will also ferment so the final product will have less of a cherry flavor than say if you add the cherries later on. I like cherry scents in my cherry mead so i use a third method. i ferment plain honey to completion add cherry juice a month later and wait. since the abv is high later on ot all the added cherry juice ferments leaving behind a stronger cherry influence.

[@Osama-xs8cl]

If i want to start with 500g of honey how much water i need ?

[@elricthebald870]

Add about 1 litre to come to a total volume of 1,5 litres. This should ferment out to about 14% ABV as long as your yeast can go that high. Personally I use about 1,6 kg honey for a 4,5 litre batch.

[@Osama-xs8cl]

Elric thank u so much 👍🏻👍🏻

[@michaelcrouch5168]

What about lalvin 1118 wine yeast

[@epicfantasy]

It's a great yeast. I have used it. Fast fermenter. Generally I shy away from it for beginners.

[@zetareticulan321]

No need to pasteurize the fruit, sir?

[@epicfantasy]

Great question. No need. The alcohol content is a natural prohibitor of any kind of unwanted bacteria.

[@zetareticulan321]

Thanks! I put some blue berries in my mead, then I read that I was supposed to pasturize the fruits before placing them in to prevent infection. It had me worried.@@epicfantasy

[@maheshlund3951]

Could we use apples instead of strawberries in mead?

[@epicfantasy]

Yes, absolutely. It is commonly done. They call it a cyser.

[@maheshlund3951]

Thanks.. Should we use any fining agents?

[@sherihall2889]

What should the room temp be for your mead?

[@epicfantasy]

About 70 fahrenheit.

[@isaachines2138]

Hey Will, I was wondering if you could do another Game of Thrones project in light of the new trailer for season 7

[@epicfantasy]

Good suggestion. I have been thinking about that. But not sure what to make. Any suggestions?

[@isaachines2138]

how about a dragon diorama :)

[@andrewyek]

hii Epicfantasy, can you explain how those wine sold in store has got 20% of alcohol content ? how come some got 40% ? i read some article said the typical yeast can only tolerate up to 13 % or to 16% alcohol max, before being intoxicated .. and dead off. how then those wine can reach up to 20% or more alcohol ? because distillation will concentrate the alcohol content, but the output will be lower.. so business man won't want to do that, it is time consuming and less final volume. the article said that they mix in other alcohol to fortify the wine. is it true ? how much alcohol content is your mead after complete fermentation ? come youtuber said they can make fermentation with alcohol content up to 90% over.. i think they are b.s me. btw, how much alcohol content in the wine will make it stable for storage without using the chemical that prohibit the yeast ? pls share your insight and your opinion. appreciate it. andrew

[@albertbue5333]

You know what is good for buisnessmen? Cheating by adding honey to cheap vodka or similar methods, or like you said, fortify the wine they've made. Which can be really good if you do it properply 😎 Hoppy brewing 🤙

[@andrewyek]

i do agree. but there are some youtuber replied me saying it is possible to achieve such high alcohol content with distillation even though there is really no profit at all to distill a 100 liter of wine to achieve 40liter of higher content alcohol... andrew

[@albertbue5333]

Well, some people like whisky, vodka and lots of other distilled spirits. It's simply another beverage and can require a different taste, you know 😉 A huge win for distilled drinks is hiw long it lasts comparing to none-distilled drinks 😎

[@andrewyek]

any idea how much alcohol does it take to be able to store long ? i got grape wine, non distilled, i didn't use any chemical tablet to kill of the yeast.. the wine was good, until recently i realize it is totally flat.. not taste like wine at all.. flat with funny taste.. is that what you meant long lasting ? thankx

[@vittocrazi]

In short... If you want to have contents of alcohol over 16-18% you are required to do destillation. Separating the alcohol should be pretty easy with a thermometer. Methilic alcohol evaporates at ~63c, and you want to get rid of it. Then you keep raising the temperature until it plateaus at ~73c . And when it starts to raise temperature again, you will have a mix of about 90+ percent of alcohol (ethanol). You then water it down with the leftover juice, or water with other flavor or essences. The tricky part is you should absolutely get rid of as much methanol as possible, because its toxic. Now about profittability, actually most alcoholic be erages are not very profittable, and require very big scañes of production in order to keep the average cost low enough to me worth expoiting. If you want to be profittable yourself, ypud need to add your own unique twist (hard to pinpoinor emulate), pointed to a niche you Know will like it, and make a brand out of it. Also, you cant start cheap and the. Rise the prise. Please dont do home destillation unless you are very well educated and very well equipped, otherwise its very, very dangerous.

[@TheDanielsweden]

Why do you have to keep it in the dark???

[@winterlight9]

UV causes the process to break down and the results are not pleasant. The same process is how you get "Skunky" beer. An opaque fermentor can help to limit this exposure.

[@UraniumReaperActual]

:O Mead!

[@feralhog1693]

What about the bacteria in the honey itself? Don't you want to disinfect the must somehow?

[@lotuseater623]

The honey is antiseptic...so there is no bacteria in it

[@SWATDRUMMUH]

would oranges work?

[@voltronsupremeFood]

SWATDRUMMUH oranges in primary fermentor can be bad in the sense that high acid fruit can mess up the yeast. some recipes use orange juice use in place of acid blend. basically just 8oz of orange juice per five gallons to substitute acid blend, it wont alter the taste. but using more oranges can turn your juice to acidic. a cheat technique if you ar hell bent on an orange mead and are not concern with clarity is to ferment honey to competion then add sorbate and back sweeten with orange frozen concentrate to taste.

[@sniperwithadrp8119]

SWATDRUMMUH JAOM it's pretty good. I got some going now. I used Blood Oranges on this batch.

[@hootervillehoneybees8664]

every one calls there honey clover honey it seems

[@NarlepoaxIII]

If you really want to tear apart the fruit, mash it up with a potato masher. But at that point, you're straddling the line between making a mead and making a wine.

[@Hekinsieden]

Isn't Mead "Honey Wine"? What is the difference?

[@NarlepoaxIII]

Wine is _technically_ only made with fruit; thus the different words. The techniques to make either drink are identical, so most people feel that they're interchangeable. And, to be honest, the lines are _very_ blurry. But by technical definition, mead isn't "wine".

[@GreenWitch1]

Wine is made using sugar. Mead is made from honey

[@jurassicsurvivor9204]

so if I'm 14 and this has alcohol, does that mean I can't drink it?

[@vittocrazi]

Indeed. Also, aside from the fact that you are not likely to be penalized, or your parents, you are too young to take alcohol. in my country, legal age is 18 for alcohol consumption, but people start earlyer anyway. but your body and brain are not well developed to cope with alcohol, as its a toxic substance. i would say you can practice... and when you get a bit older and are good at it ¿through adults helping you out on the results¿ you may enjoy very good mead soon.

[@MrBastonne]

sorry mate its booze, google non alcholic spiced mead, it shouldnt take more than 2h to make and it would be fine for you to drink.

[@jurassicsurvivor9204]

Which one do I believe

[@vittocrazi]

Jurassic Survivor you should talk to your parents, if you can. anyway, you are too young to drink. but it doesn't mean you can't brew Mead. try to look up your local laws and regulations.

[@jurassicsurvivor9204]

okdghd thanks

[@Brainhorn]

I've always wanted to try mead but it's a bit more than I'm willing to invest into

[@lharchmage6908]

Not really, Get a on gallon jug(glass recommended) 3lbs of honey water, some raisins a cup of tea(yes plain tea) a package of yeast (active dry bread yeast from the super market works fine) a balloon (latex like for parties just a plain balloon (its like 10 for a dollar at the dollar store) a pin. Start your yeast (one tablespoon of sugar to a half cup water add yeast leave it for 30 mins) Dump the honey in the jug add the tea and 12 or so raisins. half fill with water. dump in the yeast and water mixture shake the heck out of the jug for about 2 or three min. top off with water put the balloon over the top put 2 holes in the balloon with the pin put it somewhere dark (about 68to 80 deg f ) and leave it for a month . Change it into another jug care fully leaving as much crap on the bottom alone as possible. You can pour it just do it gently. Replace balloon and holes . let it sit for 6mos + you have mead. I have been making mead for 30 years I learned from my grandfather and great uncle. My mead does not come out the same everytime ie(its not like bud where every can is the same) but it is always good and tasty. it is easy.

[@j-sidegamin3119]

any supermarket has their own honey at £1 a pot. one gallon of mead made costs around £5 to make

[@epicfantasy]

You have got to send me some pics and recipes :)

[@calicodan1556]

Brainhorn Invest in terms of money or time? You really dont need equipment, i often ferment in a spring water bottle. buy the water, mix honey and flavour (search for joes ancient orange mead). You dont have to use expensive honey or yeast either. Mix it, stick it in a cupboard and forget it for a few months.

[@sherihall2889]

i really enjoy your site and have learned a lot thanks so much however i haven't come across a mead video yet that talks about the temp. of the room that mead sits in. I'm sure it has to matters yes?

[@kittenvibe7599]

Putting plastic bags and plastic container BPA

[@teresaolofson8187]

KI V116

[@deepfractal923]

Lesson learned dont fill it up so much

[@elricthebald870]

And place your carboy in a bucket for the first 24 hours. If it does blow out it will be MUCH easier to clean up.

[@lancer525]

Could you possibly speak any faster and more unintelligibly?

[@GreenWitch1]

No hydrometer reading?