How to Make a Wild Yeast Mead

[@nikkosantopietro]

Best way to get wild yeast going is to mix vigorously to introduce air. Do this every day (twice a day is best) for up to a week and you will get some great activity. Plus, you won't have any mold growth because when you mix the top back in, the mold can't grow. Once it's really active you can transfer to a carboy. I've had mine going for months and I periodically (every few months) rack it and add in some fresh crushed grapes to keep the fermentation strong. I'm still new to this, but that has worked for me. Open to other tips! Thanks!

[@joelerk6298]

Vikings used to make mead with out any fake stuff......I do it all the time works 9/10 times and tastes great. Remember mead wasn't invented in a time of lab created yeast

[@joshuaewer]

I also have fun seeing what comes out of wild ferments, but it's not in any way superior or more "natural" than tossing in a pack of EC-1118. Modern yeasts help us produce consistent and reliable product. It's not any more or less "natural" or "fake" because it came in a little sealed bag. In a wild ferment, It's all likely some breed (hopefully, if it turned out palatable) of Saccharomyces or Brett (if it's drinkable but funky, or thin because of less glycerol production), which is exactly what you're buying from a brew store. Ancient civilizations had hundreds or thousands of years of practice brewing and it's quite likely they reused yeast cakes from the best-tasting wines. It's fun to pretend they had no understanding of why wine was good or bad, or they just mixed up a must and prayed to the gods.... but they weren't stupid. True, they didn't selectively breed their yeasts in labs, but they weren't doing anything different than we are right now.

[@christophs4197]

A gravity below 1.000 just means that the density of the liquid is lower than that of pure water. Ethanol has a density of 0.79g/ml. Mixed with water (density = 1.00g/ml) you can end up at 0.998. A final gravity of 1.000 means that there is still sugar left (as there is ethanol present from the fermentation). So technically you can not speak of a dry mead for a gravity of 1.000.

[@bjornstacy9590]

Best way I have done a wild fermentation without adding any nutrients, including raisins, is to stir the must a couple times a day for about 4 or 5 days and it takes off and ferments. Also use a muslin cloth or cheese cloth over the bucket instead of the lid with an airlock

[@jmbauer68]

Oxygen doesn't help the yeast ferment. Yeast multiply better in an aerobic environment. They produce alcohol better in an anaerobic environment. So oxygenating helps build the colony.

[@thomaspayne9343]

I made a wild yeast solution using store bought grapes. I crushed a handful of grapes, placed them in a Mason jar with water and a teaspoon of sugar . I watched for a week. Obviously I had yeast working in the sugar water. Made a gallon of apple wine using this yeast and apple juice. Wine is great and fermentation was clean. Very minimal caking in bottle of carboy.

[@tim-tim-timmy6571]

The name "synthetic yeast" is not appropriate, what we buy are isolates or bred yeasts. Synthetic yeasts do exist, their genome has been heavily modified by synthetic biologists. Some parts were synthetized chemically. (Sorry but my hobby is to tell people about the science they didn't ask for)

[@ManMadeMead]

You're right! I just like to differentiate by saying synthetic because it helps people understand more about "wild" yeast.

[@dakotah6828]

Shouldn't organic non-filtered, non-heated honey have natural yeast on it also?

[@ManMadeMead]

Theoretically it should!

[@lizv.anderson4308]

What do u mean theoretically....it should? Sorry it's a silly question I guess

[@ManMadeMead]

There are wild yeast on literally everything in the world. So there should be some natural yeast in a unfiltered and pasteurized honey.

[@ShaunPanzer]

Could yeast be coming off your hand ? This is interesting

[@bigosbro21]

Start with a higher gravity (more honey) to get more honey character, and shake/stir the must at least three times per day for the next 4-5 days to reintroduce oxygen until it really kicks up. I always use organic blueberries for my wild yeast. Never used any nutrients in my brews.

[@bengalas2085]

I went through with starting my mead, two days in and it's bubbling great

[@Vykk_Draygo]

Nice! It's a fun hobby. Good luck!

[@smittywerbenyeagermenjenso3720]

I made a 3 gallon batch with only water and honey. You pretty much just need to shake/stir it every day for the first few days to introduce oxygen and prevent mold or bacteria from growing on the top. It takes a couple days, but it works. I've gotten one to become active early on day 3. There is natural yeast in unpasteurized raw honey, it's just not quite as active or abundant as the yeast you buy in packets.

[@Vykk_Draygo]

I've noticed my dry meads have a nutty flavor. I quite like that character.

[@deba6145]

I haven't ever made any meads but I have made apple wine using what I call a fermentation starter. Which is a small mason jar, with a tablespoon of sugar and about a 1/4 cup raisins. Sit it on the counter with a lose lid and everyday add a teaspoon of sugar and shake it for 4 days. I don't put any other kind of nutrients or yeast. Just the apple juice sugar and fermentation starter. Sometimes I throw in some extra raisins. I have one going absolutely crazy bubbling right now, just like when I put in real yeast. I have also made a fermentation starter using dehydrated ginger. So it can work with nothing else. I will have to try it making a mead.

[@deba6145]

I forgot to say it isn't a Fermentation starter until after the 4th day and its good and bubbly.

[@theresakawka2537]

As I said before if you use fresh fruit with the mead it makes a huge difference with very active wild yeast. I have had up to 14% on wild yeast. As in UK we have very warm weather and my raspberry and a strawberry meads are fermenting well. One is on 11% so far and other 10%

[@kb2vca]

Coming late to this party. The term "wild yeast" is less appropriate than "indigenous yeast". Your honey - if raw, and the raisins if not blanketed with preservatives will both possess indigenous yeast. Indigenous yeast are not so much floating randomly but are yeast that live somewhat parasitically with the honey and with the raisins. The yeast that you pitch from packets are no more synthetic than tomatoes or peppers that you grow in your yard. Packs of yeast are simply cultured in labs. Each strain comes from specific fruits (or ales) and are then harvested and grown by labs to ensure the purity of the strain. Is that a good thing? Not always: indigenous yeast are naturally quite diverse and are as likely to contain significantly different kinds of yeast AND bacteria in ways that lab cultures do not. That CAN mean that while an indigenous fermentation CAN result in a mead or wine that we find other than very desirable, it can produce a very unique mead or wine. You might want to see if any of your batches of honey are "raw". I've successfully made a delightful traditional mead using raw honey from Brazil.

[@ifodaniell]

Regarding nutrient, couldn't you have created a wild yeast fermentation starter from fruit, then once it's evident that there is yeast in the starter, heat the starter to kill the yeast in the starter (140 degrees F) creating yeast hulls. Let the heated (pasteurized?) solution cool to room temp. The yeast hulls can be used as nutrient for the live yeast in the must. OR, just start the yeast creation using a fruit fermentation starter and once it's going well (4-7 days?), then use it as part of the must for the mead.

[@alexlarsen6413]

This is why norsemen probably used a lot of meadowsweet and similar herbs to their mead...that was the source of even more wild yeast plus nitrogen. It's actually to this day a traditional way of making mead in Scandinavia.

[@GlennForbes20]

How do you stop a fermentation of hard cider or Meade once you hit the desired sweetness? I’ve cold crashed a cider, and added potassium sorbate yesterday, but it’s still fermenting.

[@ManMadeMead]

So my experience is that you should add the potassium sorbate first and then cold crash a few hours later. The sorbate won't mix into the mead when it's cold, which means it really don't do its job!

[@fredericjaquet3729]

"two handful is not necesserarily a scientific number" ...lives in a country measuring in inches. Sorry, for laughing in metric system 😇

[@Kevin-wo3kp]

Thoroughly excellent work! I'm busy going through your back catalogue and I appreciate your hard work and effort to share. Power to your glass, bud!

[@ManMadeMead]

Thank you so much!

[@jadieramacdougal5621]

Hey...I was just watching your video, making a wild yeast mead, and you mentioned that you had to add DAP (diammonium phosphate), which results in introducing nitrogen into the brew, to get the yeast to start within 48 hours. I then thought about what everyone always says about adding oxygen into the must or wort to help the yeast start the colony...BUT is it possible that introducing atmosphere, which is 78% nitrogen, is what is really helping the yeast, wild or cultured, to multiply? What do you think of that premise?

[@ManMadeMead]

I think the DAP definitely added more nitrogen than oxygen. If I were to oxygenate the crap out of it there is a chance that more nitrogen would naturally be involved... I’m not totally sure!

[@angelomatarazzo4228]

I have a question. Is it possible to start a good, healty and solid mead with a fermenting honey? Can I use some honey that is "starting fermenting" (I mean not acid yet)?

[@ManMadeMead]

I think you could try it!

[@tarar6926]

Hello! I am researching this as I just purchased some honey from a beekeeper that has started fermenting. Did you end up experimenting with it?

[@all4tennis]

In my experience, wild yeast mead requires more honey, more fruit (for more yeast)(like maybe that whole bag of raisins instead of the two hand scoops), and a lot more time. You don't really get anything from a wild fermentation with just a few days. I have yet to add things like nutrients and energizers (cause so far I enjoy doing wild ferments), but I may give it a try for some fun experimenting.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I agree with everything you say but the more honey part. Adding more honey when we don't know the tolerance of that yeast could overload it and stall. Otherwise, yeah, wild fermentation takes longer to start and to finish.

[@davidmcdonald4771]

I researched this before i began the mead. I was asked by a friend if i had heard about wild yeast fermentation.

[@bombzdeep4475]

Take your honey water and place it outside for a day with a mesquito net over it. There is your wild yeast!

[@mycrazylifewfawnlisette3582]

Two days seems like you expect them to react like a Commercial Yeast. Not knocking against giving them help.

[@joelerk6298]

I made some wild yeast wine today The Roman's didnt have man made yeast did they😉

[@Vykk_Draygo]

Neither do we. Just yeasts that have been found, and bred to suit specific goals. Just look at something like Lallemand's Philly Sour yeast. That is a wild yeast that has been isolated and cultured. That's not man made, just encouraged.

[@HaltGrimbow]

@@Vykk_Draygo Historically speaking brewers would have a wooden spoon that they used at the start of the fermentation process when they mixed ingredients together. The stick after mixing frequently became the home of yeast colonies that were then deposited into the must or wort and started fermentations. People would also keep barms to aid in future endeavors, barms would also be used to make breads. Though I know more about medieval brewing than I do, about classical practices. I imagine much of it overlapped to some degree.

[@Vykk_Draygo]

@@HaltGrimbow Yep, it's really cool how they unwittingly cultivated yeast colonies. I use a lot of kveik, which comes from that sort of tradition.

[@MrZylix-6]

Neat, always wondered how they get the right yeast from the environment during natural mead making/fermentation. It’s nice to see the process, thanks man!

[@bybeezguepe6557]

One thing that is ogten done to ensure you get a "Good" yeast/bacteria colony for a wild ferment is to make several starters (very small batches, like 0.5L) and innoculate each one with a different source of wild bugs. You let them ferment for a month, toss those that smell bad and taste the other ones, keeping the good ones to make a full batch (it's been said that about 1 in 10 starters made that way end up worth fermenting with). It's a good process to avoid losing a whole gallon of must (You can find a lot of info on wild/unusual yeasts/bacterias on the Milk The Funk wiki (it's mostly beer stuff but a lot of it applies to other kinds of brewing)

[@rendolf454]

Hey man, love your channel you have helped me so much with getting started with mead making. And your videos prove what an exciting world the world of mead is with all it's variations and flavours. I like that you keep things simple which makes the hobby way more approachable in my opinion. Keep up the good work!

[@ManMadeMead]

Thank you so much!

[@satriahadjobaru2718]

can I used died old yeast (boiled in hot water) as nutrient? as it a bit difficult for me to obtain yeast nutrient

[@ManMadeMead]

You can definitely do that!

[@lizv.anderson4308]

I really enjoyed this. Thanks for being so detailed and also excited about what u are teaching. I think u have a wonderful captivating teaching ability. Can't wait to see more

[@ManMadeMead]

Thank you so much!

[@lizv.anderson4308]

Thank u! I wish I had this when I was in school it would have been so much more affective for retention of studies

[@Ricky-nn6jy]

Wow, I type in "wild yeast for mead" and there you are,,, Cheers.😷

[@ManMadeMead]

Cheers!

[@modrarybivrana5654]

I am in the middle of a wild Ferment blueberry mead . I started with a half cup of blueberries, macerated and placed the shelf. mixing several times a day. after 4 days I added another half cup of macerated blueberries and a quarter cup 1.090 sugar wash. after two weeks there was significant activity. I macerated 6lb of thawed blueberries with 32oz organic blueberry juice. Pitched my wild starter and punched down the cap at lease three times a day. after 4 days, I mixed up a must of 10lb of clover honey with 3 gallons water. I strained the blueberries and squeezed out all the juice with the lees. after 5 hours I had a very actively fermentation as indicated by a constant bubbling. now we wait for it to finish.

[@gunslingersymphony5015]

I plan on starting my mead with my best ginger bug. I cheated and threw a grape in there; I'd imagine you could get a similar result with a few of your raisins. I keep them covered and stir them daily at feeding time, preventing mold growth or insect infestation. I have yet to have a bug go sour (in approximately a year, both with and without ginger). I've had great results with small beers and naturally fermented sodas using 1/4 c of bug per quart of must and slowing fermentation after a few days to a week or so. Complex sugars like malts are, of course, more difficult, but I think mead will be very nice. I was going to use double the amount (1/2 c) of bug when I make mead, but I have a very active one that is bubbling like crazy after only about 12 hours in a ginger beer, so I think I'm going to keep this bug, grow it for a week or so, and then start with the 1/4 c per quart and see how it goes. The reason for my rambling is that I feel this would give you a more controllable result, without risking an entire batch of must each time; while also allowing you to be picky, and only use the best wild yeast that you cultivate, rather than relying on your raisins to provide entirely, with no middle man. Admittedly, i haven't watched your other videos (yet) and you may have already done this in the intervening time, so disregard as you please. Cheers! Edit: I also sanitize my thumb, pop off my air lock, cover the hole and shake it pretty vigorously while it's in the carboy to aerate it for the first few days (I don't start in a separate container). I've heard it works, and in my unscientific reckoning it seems to speed things along a bit. Dealer's choice, I suppose.

[@whittj03]

I got a wild yeast culture last year from my graph vine. I took a small bundle of grapes and put them in a sanitized mason jar with spring water and a few spoonfuls of sugar. I covered it with a paper towel under the ring and let it go for about a week or two. I had to scoop off some mold that formed early on, but then it bubbled away. I then used it on a small batch of plain welch's grape juice wine and it went wild. I've since used it on 2-3 other batches and I keep it alive and well from time to time with some sugar if I keep in in the fridge. I think I've gotten close to 11-12 %. The best one I threw part of an oak spiral into and it's one of my wife's favorite that I've made so far

[@fuzewall2800]

Raisins do in fact work as yeast nutrient you just need to give it longer for the colony to build up, also give the must a shake at least once a day to give them oxygen as the colony grows. I use about 1/5th cup, plus 1/8 of lemon slice, and organic honey with live yeast. I let my must grow it's yeast for about a week in the carboy with cloth covered top for oxygen (honestly it could probably go for less). Once you see a LOT of foaming when you shake it/ looks likes it'll explode if you shake it like a soda bottle, it's ready to airlock and stop shaking.

[@SliszMeisterGeneral]

I've been wild fermenting my meads and before I was adding any nutrients I was getting sulphur each time. I think adding organic nutrients like Fermiad-O is fine as it is still natural. The alternative to this may be adding various botanicals or even an open fermentation. Let the experiments begin!

[@mycrazylifewfawnlisette3582]

I have noticed that most of your meads seem to finish at like 5-10 days....mine never seem to finish that fast (even with nutrient on my end) I'm wondering if your house temperature is helping or what? I definitely like to let mine sit a while longer to clear but most of mine tend to still have bubbles coming up the sides consistently (like still fermenting) a month and sometimes two months later.

[@Coxeysbodgering]

the reason it when below 1.000 is the sugars in the raisins , also you do not need raisins to provide yeast for wild ferment, Honey has yeast stored inside when it is natural the concentration of of sugars mean they cant do anything, if just diluted with water you will it will ferment. you can also cover with a mesh that will keep flies out and wild yeast in the air can colonise, To add natural nutrient you can use green plant matter (nitrogen is the main one needed) and add additional flavours, but do not use a lot of plants that are antimicrobial such as rosemary and some spices as many are antimicrobial and slow or stop fermentation.

[@saddletramp1979]

There is guy on here called Coydog outdoors, He has mostly outdoor vids. but he did some vids. on wild mead some different theory's.

[@thomasa5619]

I guess you couldve used a whole jug of raisins to grow a colony and then used the lees to ferment the mead I’m using lees from a distillers yeast to experiment with my own fermenting. Got my first 1.5L cold crashing now

[@mattroy3154]

I'm going to experiment with wild yeast next late spring. My strategy consists of leaving my must outside for 2 hours and then waiting a week. I've seen a historian do this and he says he gets a very high rate of success. Also fruits have fibers and all sorts of things that yeast can't use that bad bacteria can. I would avoid using fresh fruits for wild fermentation especially if they haven't been pasteurized. A lot of plant diseases are in the form of mold so even if the fruit is resisting the mold that doesn't necessarily mean it does not have mold spores on it. I'm not an expert and most of what I said is speculative so take it with a grain of salt but the logic appears sound.

[@got2kittys]

Blend up, and use a bunch of grapes. Strain out the pulp in 3 days. Wild yeasts live on grapes. Great yeasts, to make a nice big starter.

[@andreadimichele2807]

Hey! I am the guy who wrote you on Instagram! I am glad you are going wild! Hope to hear from you, to have a chat about it!

[@MKulaga]

add a fresh squeezed lemon juice to get it going. You should only need raisins and lemon juice to get it going

[@davidmcdonald4771]

Am currently making a small batch of wild yeast mead. Had the same problem as you did. I found yeast hulls helped immensely, organic of coarse.

[@wfqsfg]

9:41 I am still trying to get a good explanation of this, when a brew goes below -0- reading. Really, ABV can't really be more than the original potential ABV. The reason for the .998 is there is enough alcohol blended with water to get a reading below 1. You really can't end up with more alcohol than you originally calculated by going below -0-. Am I correct? If not explain.

[@1014p]

Wrong, the process simply chewed through more sugars not measured by SG. Note the readings are leaving room for error. Example temperature or not knowing where to read meter accounting for miniscus. So what’s happening is two scales at play. 1.00 and up and a scale of 1.00 and down. My water for example reads at sp.gr. 1.001 to 1.002. So when I take a reading SG 1.08 and FG 1.00. Final gravity actually is .998. I had one batch hit .998 which actually is .996. That is if I accounted for the water itself which I typically do not. Hopefully that didn’t confuse. So let’s say SG 1.08 and FG .996. (1.08-1.00) + (1.0-.996) = .84 * 131.25 = 11.025%. Let’s look at the bellow Sp.Gr. 1.0; .996-1 = -.004. Now on the chart paper there is instructions on how to add the negative and positive. Essentially it’s .08 - -.004 which turns positive. Now is this accurate? Per chart .8 is 10.4% and -.004 is -.6% added together (10.4 - -.6) = 11% with our (1.08-.996)*131.25 = 11.025%. You can see how true your hydrometer is by using distilled water. Where the line rests is how you adjust and read in actual brews.

[@christophs4197]

@@1014p It's correct that the water we typically use does not have exactly a gravity of 1.000. However, as we calculate the difference between OG and FG to calculate the ABV this difference is the same for both values and does therefore not have any influence. So @JAT002 you are correct. As the gravity (which is nothing else than the density of a liquid in g/ml) of alcohol is lower than 1.000 (around 0.79) in the FG measurement where alcohol is present, the reading is actually not exactly accurate. So if all sugars were converted and we end up with 10% ABV, the FG reading will be below 1.000. In the end this method does not give you accurate ABV measurements. However, on a homebrew level who cares that much. It still is a valid method to determine the endpoint of fermentation.

[@wfqsfg]

@@1014p So how do you explain when you mix a liquid with a specific gravity of .79 with a liquid of 1 you get a blended specific gravity? If I mixed one cup of 100% alcohol with one cup of water, what is the specific gravity? Is it still 1? No sugars or meniscus involved. Water and alcohol combine to a mixture is called a colloidal. Once mixed they generally don't separate. So if you have a gallon of liquid and the ABV is 11.025% (per your example) how much alcohol is that? That is 14.112 ounces of alcohol blended with 113.88 ounces of water. Don't you think that much alcohol could affect the total specific gravity by .004 based on your example? That is more than 1 beer can or more than 2 cups of pure alcohol mixed with 113.88 ounces of water. The more sugar in the mix, the more alcohol is produced. Lets say 18%. In a gallon that is 23.04 ounces of alcohol mixed with 113.88 ounces of water. Or almost 2 beer cans of pure alcohol or almost 3 cups. Don't you think that much alcohol will lower the specific gravity below 1? H2O + C12H22O11 = CO2 and C2H5OH

[@Vykk_Draygo]

​@@wfqsfg I would use a calculator, or a known formula to check. You're right in that the yeast can't produce more alcohol than is possible using the sugars you've added. It is EXPECTED for wines and ciders and such to drop below 1.000. If you stop at 1.000, then you have some residual sugars. On a homebrew scale, I'm not sure it matters how accurate you are. But I do like accuracy, and the science. Either way, without lab results, the best we can do is an approximation. Personally, I use the Beersmith tools to calculate my ABV. It's close enough for me.

[@Vykk_Draygo]

@@1014p Unless you have added something to your must that you can't measure (either unmixed sugars, or solid fruits), then this isn't really good explanation. Specific gravity, by definition, measures solutes in your must (which obviously includes non-fermentables that are in solution). Or do you mean that the hydrometer and it's charts are specifically calibrated such that the ABV readings are accurate when the must goes dry? This is possible, I suppose, but that also means it would be probably inaccurate for beer, or other products that don't reach fully dry. You'd need to contact the manufacturer of your hydrometer to find out though.

[@jihlnabaat6329]

in my experience it can take 6 days to start and raw and I mean raw honey.

[@vance7354]

I am Curious what program you use to calculate ABV, because I punched 1.060 into Beersmith using Honey as the sugar source and it spit out a potential ABV of 5.84%, so I am curious how you got 7.88%?

[@ManMadeMead]

www.brewersfriend.com/abv-calculator/

[@snuckyr]

This will be useful in the apocalypse

[@miftahazzam5750]

please share the link of online gravity measurement, thank you

[@ManMadeMead]

www.brewersfriend.com/abv-calculator/

[@brewhound1340]

I got a question that I have been asking a lot of people I’m sorry to keep pestering. But I want to make a peach ginger Mead and the thing is a lot of people say that the peaches are hard to ferment with like weird things happen or make things more complicated. I only want to make them 1 gallon batch.But why is peaches so complicated or what a lot of people say it taste flabby when is fermented? And how many peaches should I put in a gallon?

[@ManMadeMead]

Peach flavor is just hard to make pop well in a mead. It’ll be better if you put it into the secondary. I’m not sure exactly why it’s tough to use, I just know it is!

[@brewhound1340]

Man Made Mead Thank you

[@TheMrTbo]

Why not ferment in the empty plastic water bottle? :)

[@ManMadeMead]

Fermenting in plastic isn't really bad, I just don't prefer to do it!

[@lizv.anderson4308]

Could you use something of a sugar substitute maybe stevia it's a plant it's a sugar plant maybe the yeast wouldn't eat that sugar and it would make a sweeter batch I don't know I've never made Mead hoping u have the answer

[@ManMadeMead]

You would have to use a sugar that is fermentable by the yeast!

[@lizv.anderson4308]

Not sure if I fallow what u r saying Do I foresee an experiment

[@ManMadeMead]

@@lizv.anderson4308 I'm always for experiments!

[@leethurston4774]

Could you use wild grapes/raisins to do this?

[@ManMadeMead]

Yes you could!

[@Chadwick1958]

You should try doing a BOMM method

[@ManMadeMead]

I need to!

[@pinkwarrior2117]

Maybe you can answer this for me but wouldn't shaking the wort up to mix your honey add nitrogen to the wort as some home brewers do to oxygenate them at the start of a fermentation by mixing the air into the wort, air been mostly nitrogen i figure this would also add nitrogen then. I gather it won't get as much as adding it artificially but wouldn't a good shake add enough to get a brew started?

[@1014p]

I usually mix honey in a blender. Plenty of agitation. The air isn’t going to necessarily provide enough nitrogen. Shaking it a few seconds won’t do a thing to add oxygen nor nitrogen in any quantity to be life sustaining. See aquarium battles if use of air stones.

[@pinkwarrior2117]

@@1014p thanks for the info

[@ManMadeMead]

Mixing it just adds oxygen, the nitrogen has to come from nutrients of some sort!

[@SoundStudioOoo]

Boil bread yeast and banana instead dap

[@Vykk_Draygo]

@mx mead I'd just get Fermaid O. It has further supplements in addition to autolyzed yeast. Yeast hulls help, from what I can see (other's use), but the Fermaid O is worth it.

[@GreenWitch1]

The yeast consume the DAP, so there is no residual in the final product. DAP is perfectly fine to use & inexpensive.

[@kimh9337]

@mx mead I've done a few experiments, and I don't see any big differences between Fermaid-O and boiled bakers-yeast. What I really love (about both fermaid-O and boiled yeast), is that it seem to help my brews clear a ton faster. Which I guess is obvious as it helps fermentation complete faster.

[@SoundStudioOoo]

@mx mead half tsp for half gallon with 2 tomato for all acids but not tatric that you can get from hydrate yeast cake in oven then powder it with banana peel for tanin and nitrogin also powderd See i live in egypt wine making is illegal so i use all organic ingredient i do 25 gallon a year with bread yeast and abv 15 % if you feeding it with banana peel and suger 3 times in primery fermenation Sorry for my bad english 😘😘

[@kimh9337]

@mx mead for an 1gal batch I put about half tea-cup of water to boil. Added about 5g of baker's yeast, stirred it for a few moments and let it cool. No very scientific, but worked great for me :)

[@ahviper5871]

What can i use as yeast nutrient alternatives?thanks

[@kimh9337]

Boil some ordinary bakers yeast. that works surprisingly well as nutrients for living yeast! :) In fact so much, that there is a (unconfirmed) rumor, that Fermaid-O, in relativity is just boiled yeast.

[@ahviper5871]

@@kimh9337 they dont leave a bad taste?

[@kimh9337]

@@ahviper5871 a little 'yeasty' tasting when you drink it during fermentation and before it has cleared out. But when fermentation is done and cleared out. I've not have any side-tastes I could detect. Also, don't go nuts with the bakers-yeast. I've done with about 5g per 5L/1,2gal. Mix in a little water. Stir and add when cooled. I cannot claim that as being the absolute truth of how it should be done, just the way I did and made it work for me :)

[@ahviper5871]

@@kimh9337 thanks a million

[@MatoNupai]

Good evening. I wish people such as yourself would stop recommending wild yeast ferments. Much of the world wild yeasts are very good. However parts of the world A wild yeast ferment is a TERRIBLE IDEA. Last year getting yeast for wine. Beer, or even bread was NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE. I still can’t get bread yeast in the stores here in Tucson, Arizona. I had 2-3 grams of rapid rise yeast from being completely Out! So I tried four different yeast starters. Dated in sugar water Raisins in sugar water Blueberries(from store) in sugar wate A ginger bug I started four small ferments (each holding a quart) of sugar water. The ginger bug was going like gang busters buy did not ferment the must at all. All of the other fermented the trial must. All of them were Un drinkable and tasted a lot like turpentine. The wild yeast here in the desert Southwest SUCKS AND BLOWS

[@bretonleo8740]

Try with bees pollen, I ve done it successfully (starting with a low gravity session mead, and pitch in a bigger gravity mead for a second round) Great video as always !

[@ManMadeMead]

Interesting! I’ll have to try that some day!

[@ahmelmahay]

check out Joam you will be suprised

[@ManMadeMead]

I’ve made it! Not the best recipe in my opinion, but it’s a good starter for some people!