Lees is More. What is Lees? Do we need Lees? Worry about Lees? Wine, Cider, Mead and Beer Lees

Lees is More. What is Lees? Do we need Lees? Should we worry about Lees? Lees is a normal part of wine making, mead making, cider making and beer brewing. Worry more if you don't see it than if you do. We answer some questions on lees in the making of wine, cider, mead and beer.
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Some links to items used in the Video:
Save Ferris t-shirt: amzn.to/2wrXq04
Making Magic Happen t-shirt: amzn.to/34iEzRE
Newsboy Cap: amzn.to/2JR82IN
1 Gallon Glass Fermenter with airlock: amzn.to/2yEyW4k
Auto Siphon: amzn.to/2RltDgB
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[@RyllenKriel]

1st of April my landlords reminded me to renew my lease. So I did! They got really confused when I sent them an envelope full of sludge.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Nice.

[@RyllenKriel]

@@aegirscauldron3483 It was the yeast that I could do!

[@FusionDeveloper]

@@RyllenKriel hahahahaha. You caught me completely off guard with that joke. RE: " It was the yeast that I could do!"

[@3v068]

I... I wish I could tell my father that joke and that he would get it. He would LOVE that one.

[@torjones1701]

Washing lees/yeast: If you have lees and want to try using them for making bread or something similar, or you just want to try brewing something else because there's nothing in the stores atm, try washing the yeast/lees. There's a few videos here on youtube that give a visual depiction, but basically, instead of stopping the siphon when you get close to the lees, you just switch to a mason jar. add some simple syrup (not much really) and fill the rest with water. you should see the lees separate into three layers, a dark beige layer, a lighter beige layer, and the cloudy water. The dark beige layer is the dead yeast. most of the live yeast will be in the light beige layer. This separation sometimes takes a day or two or can be as quick as a few hours, and you only need enough sugar to keep the yeast fed and alive for that time. rack/siphon the light beige layer away from the dark beige layer into another mason jar and repeat the process. of course, since you're still dealing with microbiology, make sure to sterilize everything before and after use, and always use an airlock. Do this until you don't see the remains of whatever you last brewed with those yeast. For example, if you last did a dark red wine, keep washing those yeast until there's no more red visible. If you did a black beer, keep washing until there's no more blackness. Even with lighter colored wines, meads, and beers, you'll likely want to do it at least 3-6 times. re: reusing w/o washing the lees: yes, you can do this. Works best if you're doing the same thing multiple times, or something very similar. For example, if you do a traditional mead, then do another traditional mead, except you add a little apple juice, and then do a Bochet mead, that works. I don't think I'd go from mead to a porter then to a pale white wine. Also, I wouldn't recommend going from brewing a strongly flavored batch to a delicately flavored batch. you'll get a lot of flavor contamination if you don't wash it. Part of what washing the yeast does is make sure that it's not contaminated with anything by restarting the active breeding cycle of the yeast, you'll wind up with a whole lot more yeast, that you can split into several different batches that you can use in different ways (but do keep track of your strains because yeast will get used to doing one thing and if it's gone through making something really strongly flavored, it might give some strange flavors in the next brew, especially if it's a more delicate brew. Yeast can be strange critters, they really are akin to microscopic cats...) Looking forward to Friday!

[@raymondwall8187]

I love you guys. You're not just helpful and informative, you're fun. Thanks.

[@muninrob]

I made bread with my "plain" mead's lees - used honey to add sugar & get it bubbling again, then used a sourdough bread recipe - turned out amazing!! A sanitized collander makes a great way remove your fruit & solids from your lees. I tried this just to try it & loved the result. I've been using my lees to start a sourdough starter, and then use some of my sourdough starter to start a quick & dirty mead (a 2 week plain honey mead, no aging), after the 3rd cycle, I noticed both my bread and my mead are developing a unique flavor profile - notes of fruit & chocolate. I think i have started my own artisan yeast development on accident.

[@tinaburgess7164]

Budweiser uses a descendant of the same strain of yeast that Adolphus Busch carried here from Germany. Therefore reusing yeast must work. I can't wait for Friday's post to see how it's done

[@dr.catmilk]

FAILURE, First Attempt In Learning Usually Results in Experience

[@juliebiggerbear7300]

2 years late but yeah! My first ever mead had a nice layer of lees, and I remembered y’all mentioning that there’s live yeasty beasties in there, so I poured in a couple pounds of honey, filled the rest of the gallon jug to the shoulder with room temp filtered water, gave everyone a rave in a bottle. It’s now happily making burpy bubbly sounds 🥰 I will be testing it at the end of March to see how it’s feeling! 4:35

[@Dave_en]

Drinking yeast-water makes me suffer from terrible gas. So I wait to get wine clear out before drinking. I will try this idea to use the lees to make pizza base.

[@Haustyle666]

Wanted to give y’all an update on the ginger mead I made with the fig tea leaves. Didn’t turn into a kombucha like thing, but instead the tea flavor stays dormant for a bit. It wasn’t till two months of aging that spicy notes like cinnamon, pepper, and possibly like a turmeric were noticeable. The ginger also became an aftertaste. Overall really great mead. Definitely doing it again. Thanks for y’all videos and help with learning and creating. I feel like a mad scientist and my monsters are beautiful cause of y’all. Again thanks!

[@mgbusby2399]

Started my first two batches of mead today! Excited and nervous

[@mycrazylifewfawnlisette3582]

I put a new brew on an old lees and it worked great! It actually finished quicker than I expected.

[@mycrazylifewfawnlisette3582]

It's actually how the bung went down in the bottom of the bottle, I thought there was plenty of back pressure still and evidently it had been done and was just degassing

[@SLL-]

Have started my second batch, used honey, raisins, and some dried chocolate mint basil leaves! It is percolating away! Patiently waiting to bottle my first batch, this hobby teaches patience!

[@stevenkunkle3857]

Chocolate mint basil! Makes my cinnamon and hibiscus look like chump change

[@diva555sg]

You can dry lees & mix it with flour for pancakes, crust, pizza base + experiment with other ferment or starter.

[@bloodgain]

I think so many of us were raised not to waste things, so it's hard to let go of equipment-based losses as part of the process. You just have to retrain yourself. And like you guys said, it's not waste if you reuse it! (Now I need to go find that video!)

[@franzmuller3396]

Today I drank some Schnaps from my Grandparents form 2008, mmmh it's the best! I'm 19 and it's normal here in Germany!

[@chrismiller100]

This has nothing to do with lees, but I made a loaf of bread from a packet of Red Star Premier Blanc last night, and it was delicious! Bread yeast is hard to come by lately, but I've still got quite a bit of wine yeast sitting around. The bread was smaller than expected, and pretty dense, but it was very, very tasty!

[@JustinJurazick]

I know this is old but I did this like a month ago because I couldnt find my bread yeast and it was awesome can confirm

[@jameskeal8957]

Hi , B & D One 2-22-20 make the Dragons breathe mead saved the fruits when removed. Step feeding all the way. When i rack the lees was heavy from a 3 gallon batch is instead of dumping it. I did another brew with juices reused the fruit and some cranberries from a wine I'd make on3-17-20 stepfeeding this brew as well. And it's still going or fermenting. I don't through much away unleast i feel i can reuse it in a mustgo product. ABC'S aren't extremely high around 14 /15 % . Maybe i just haven't overwhelmed the yeast witch was dc-1118 . I'm find with 14/15 % . The first brew is still working after being racked . Have a good day and enjoy all of your brews and I also enjoy your videos to.

[@pkelly754]

Minute 19:00- Talking about underage making of alcoholic beverage. Now this does differ state to state. But in most states it is NOT illegal for a parent/guardian to allow their child to consume an alcoholic beverage in the home or in some states while in a restaurant together. Bear in mind, I'm not advocating this and it falls under the rule of reasonableness. i.e. the child cannot be allowed to consume to excess. Just a nugget of information for you.

[@BeardofHoneySoul]

Such great information. Answered some questions I had about leaving the lees in a batch for months.

[@kinbolluck476]

Ikr jeez

[@kenw7098]

Great video, love to see things evolve as far as methods and experiments. Cant wait for Friday's video.

[@jesseamaya4594]

"sigh" made my first wine when I was 12. Tasted awful, Distilled it and used in the lawn mower. Yes I was a weird kid, Grew up to be a strange adult.( the growing up part is questionable, most say I just got older)

[@bigernbladesmith]

Yep just dropped my hydrometer yesterday...Those little balls get EVERYWHERE.

[@timekeeper4772]

all the love! great videos guys

[@kylepage9770]

Soooo excited about Friday’s video!

[@lunarl1ly]

you touched on the age of drinking and brewing in the us. here in nz its much more loose; its illegal to distribute alcohol to minors if you aren’t their parent or guardian *but* there are no ages where you cant brew and drink your own alcohol edit: no ages where you cant *legally

[@tombrigham7808]

Wow drinking the Lees... Whoa sometimes the alcohol smell that the Lees has smells potent! I don't think I could drink that!

[@HenkJanBakker]

Love this channel! You two are an amazing team.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Thanks so much!

[@Stillpoint23]

Yall should make a shirt that says, "it's completely normal, dont freak out!"

[@CitySteadingBrews]

We should.

[@Stavrose85]

I use buckets with spigots in them and just use a hose, it's much easier for me than using siphon and easier to clean

[@dustin4575]

I have noticed that my 1118 yeast leaves that wavey/loose lees. Usually ale yeasts that I've used have been quite compact and after bottling and bottle fermenting and I can pour into a glass and it's clear.

[@magnuspitruzelli]

Speaking of yeasts, I actually use two different types of yeast at the same time. Beer yeast & bread yeast.

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

Re-using lees: Intriguing... I get the consistency issue, it makes sense. The bit about leaving mead on lees made me smile: I’ve just ‘re-discovered’ a bottle of mead I’d brewed ages ago (at least two years) and that was before I had my racking cane. It has totally cleared and has a layer of lees at the bottom. Guess what? It’s absolutely delicious! It was a basic mead with just a bit of citrus peel added to it. Using twigs and leaves: as I’m in a perpetual battle with brambles (blackberries) in my garden and as the leaves are used in herbal teas, I’m now considering adding them to my brews. My apple tree might be losing a few leaves to my brews as well! And if my rose bushes get too enthusiastic in their growth, same story. 😊 I spied videos about a nettle brew as well and will be watching them with interest: so far they mostly meet a grisly fate facing my weed whacker. Weedkiller will never pass the limits of my garden and nettle soup gets boring after a while.

[@reccerosama]

Classic Alton Brown! *GOOD EATS!*

[@GrabEmByThePlushie]

As long as it isn't green, blue, black, and rancid then it's going to be consumed. Before I got started I read an article that pretty much said there's virtually no reason to dump a brew. Of course there's very rare situations you might need to but time will fix most problems.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Yup.

[@Skulltap]

Hydropeter, I think that is a shirt idea :) I actually have my kids help me along the way. The extra set of hands on bottling day makes things much easier! They enjoy helping, watching, and smelling, but they are waaayyyy too young to be tasting. Its really cute when they ask if I will save a bottle of one for when they turn 21, they are only 5 and 6 it won't last that long lol. I just tell them I'll make something special just for that day.

[@EternalJourneys]

Really don't understand why some are so concerned about a bit of sediment in a finished product. It's completely harmless. Anyone in the Natural Wine world will embrace this occurrence, even roll the bottle to stir the sediment back into the wine - adds more texture. It is proof of authenticity, in a world of over-processed, homogenised beverages.

[@MandalorV7]

Seriously if Good Eats ever did a mead episode I would want you guys to guest star.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I could go for that!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Start a petition!

[@yuvi22thiru]

Apparently there is a shortage of supply of even bread yeast in my country right now. Thought I'd do some subculturing. But I used the liquid which was the mead and it didn't work. Now I know which part of the brew I should be using. Your videos are gold standard!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

The lees!

[@richardbaumgart2454]

I was helping my dad make wine at age 13, when I got older I drank all the bottles he had stored in the basement for years.

[@U.R.coolkid]

I like how you have the clothes links in the Items Used section of the desc

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Prople ask about our t-shirts all the time :)

[@Electroblud]

I gave my mom some of my lees from making an imperial stout beer to get a sort of "sourdough starter" going and after a bit of TLC, the bread she bakes with it is now really good.^^

[@georgecolby7488]

Totally jazzed for Friday's video! I find I don't get a krausen line when I use bread yeast (for ginger beer) but I always get one with other yeast (I primarily use ec-1118). However, I can literally hear the bubbling/fizzing sound from the bread yeast and I see tons of bubbles. That seems to be a good sign that it's doing alright.

[@scottaustin5290]

Really new started with easy cider love your antics got supplies not young but already enjoy the wait and thx for what you do

[@kitwickliff]

Omg now I can't wait for Friday! As an interesting note, you stated you've made vinegar twice by having used a coffee filter, it's weird as prior to buying a siphon my spouse and I would filter thru a bleached coffee filter and haven't had issues with this. We've been doing mead since 2011 and produce about 15 to 20 gallons a quarter and have only had 5 gallons go to vinegar due to the airlock failing.

[@kitwickliff]

@@aegirscauldron3483 nope we didn't get any fruit flies while filtering.

[@keithmcauslan943]

I have never heard you mention the difference between Ale and Lager yeast as you were talking about krausen and the lees. The krausen is only going to be there with a top fermenting yeast (Ale). Also I have heard that the Lees or Trub are a great solution for hang over (Brewers Yeast). It was explained that a hangover is a dehydration and or a B12 deficiency. While the yeast ferment they absorb the B12 from the brew. Which you need to help digest\ consume the alcohol. But since we leave the Lees Trub behind we do not consume the B12 to help digest the alcohol. Getting a B12 deficiency\ dehydrated. But consuming some before going to bed will prevent the hangover.

[@Pheatrix]

If you make bread with the lee from beer brewing expect the bread to have a slight taste of hops. I did that a few days ago and didn't think of that. It's a bit weird to have hops flavor in your bead. I'm not sure if it's weird in a bad or in a good way yet.... Maybe I will do it again maybe not. Haven't decided yet ;)

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Good point!

[@tadvanallen]

Pizza Port.. Total great SD grubin n drinkin place...

[@aaronrichards606]

Drink it all!!!

[@seancarnell1503]

Yes to coffee grounds and hefeweizen. No to mead and wine... *shudders*

[@lanswipe]

I want to watch the video with the lime leaves in - I keep seeing it referenced.

[@sarivata]

I only have one unitasker in my kitchen. I'm waiting on my bees to give me honey, I cultivate wild yeast already for bread, I'm excited to expand my knowledge into wild yeast ferments for my beverages.

[@thomasa5619]

I made a sugar wine to attempt to distill (it’s mostly legal in Australia, legal on a small scale), and have used the lees to start a mead and some juice wines to entertain myself The mead is cold crashing now and the wines only just started fermenting

[@havoc9675]

What about dividing the lease from a 1 gallon brew to start 2 new 1 gallon brews. Would be fun to watch especially since finding yeast is getting hard.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Can do that, sure. Might take longer to start, but it should work.

[@nicholassoldan8281]

Legal correction. Yes the drinking age in the U.S. is 21. The correction is a Parent or Guardian can serve a minor alcohol in a domicile. The Parent is the one in charge of the situation and is the only one legally aloud to serve the minor. A domicile meaning in a residence not necessarily your own.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

In some states.

[@aaroncole3753]

Just threw out a brew because there was what I now know is a krausen line :( Also tasted a little like rotten eggs. May have been just that it was 2 months old. I'll be sure to do my research next time before tossing something. Thanks for making these resources!

[@stevenkunkle3857]

Tasting like rotten eggs would have been enough for me to toss it. No need for nasty wine in my home!

[@screwbydoo112502]

I just reused my last lees from a 1 gallon of blackberry in a 3gallon blackberry. It's amazing it kicked up fermentation in like 2hours. I did add my new yeast to the lees for about 10min before adding to the 3gallon.

[@screwbydoo112502]

It's an amazing boost NATURALLY

[@screwbydoo112502]

Side note I used the same yeasts on both batches

[@CitySteadingBrews]

While that might work... you missed the point here... you don't have to add more yeast! Just use the lees from your last batch.

[@screwbydoo112502]

I didn't miss the point I was just adding in what I did with mine. My thought was it was probably dead by the time I used it and there for only good for nutrients for the new yeast. Love your channel and it is what got me started some time back.

[@lyubomyrlohin6843]

"Just the liquid" is fine if you use it to make a starter out of it, as opposed to put the liquid straight into your next drink fermentation. People even reculture yeast out of commercial beers.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

We put it right into the next brew, liquid, lees and all. The yeast isn't really that populated in the liquid, it's in the lees.

[@charliesta.abc123]

Lol glad for this video, I'm clearing a cider in my fridge, it has residue at the bottom of the container and some of it floats to the top when I handle the container. Freaked me out, was planning to throw it away this morning

[@zegon2703]

I'm excited for Friday's video!

[@krutoikulak-kingofthegulag5653]

Use the Lees from a Kvass fermentation. Excellent for bread.

[@VitalPolymath]

Had to watch this one twice. Great info!

[@slowwound2656]

That shirt is awesome by the way.

[@CarlPapa88]

I just found out about starters and washing the yeast on Monday.👍 Already got some light DME and an erlnmyer.

[@DukeTrout]

My very first mead turned out really really well, so when I racked it, I immediately added honey and water to the lees in order to try to recreate the same conditions as closely as possible. The ferment took off in the first 24 hours.

[@connissia]

John's response, " Nobody's taking away my wine milk!" Personally it makes me wanna gag as well Brian, he likes it and let's just say he's frugal and doesn't want to see it go to waste. Besides racking is more fun if you're a bit tipsy!

[@stevenkunkle3857]

Here here! Just racked a mixed wine with a grapefruit pink color, mostly grape but I had at least six or seven different kinds of fruit and juices in this batch. Was wayyy more fun with a few sips from each progressive bottle, it turned out nice and strong. Way stronger than a typical store bought wine 🍷 a few sips from each one and I had a nice buzz going. Only got about 9 bottles total from this batch but it turned out good! Can't wait to rack the 50/50 pineapple and orange juice wine with pear slices, hibiscus, and cinnamon sticks that I have going right now. Tastes ok so far!

[@mikepettitt]

Hi Brian and Derica, I re-watched this video and then tried to find the video you were promoting here in which you make a wine/mead with reused lees. Where is it? Big fan of your work here! 😊

[@CitySteadingBrews]

We didn't have consistent results so we didn't release the video.

[@jonathanstone6475]

In Texas (where I live), a person may purchase an alcoholic beverage for or give an alcoholic beverage to a minor if he is the minor's adult parent, guardian, or spouse, or an adult in whose custody the minor has been committed by a court, and he is visibly present when the minor possesses or consumes the alcoholic beverage.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

yup.

[@3v068]

To distill would require a license and supervision to use the equipment, supervision of storage, a whole bunch of legal paperwork on the federal level that isnt worth dealing with unless you have money to light on fire. It gets worse when you get to some state level requirements of distilling. I dont blame you guys for not wanting to touch that territory.

[@henrygonecrazy]

I have a coworker who was told to add yeast to her food to help with iron intake

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Well, they should listen to a doctor, but... my 5 minutes of research cannot explain why adding yeast to their food would do anything for iron intake. Far better to just cook in cast iron more often.

[@henrygonecrazy]

@@CitySteadingBrews she was told that by a doctor but I also live in bumf*ck nowhere so don't know the validity of it. Just thought it was interesting

[@neotracer075]

Completely understand not talking about distilling but it is not illegal if you have the proper licensing. Which most people would not want to do, due to the cost and government bureaucracy involved.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

It's not legal for us, thus, we don't like to talk about it.

[@AndiDawsonVO]

Just as fun and informative all at the same time as always. Glad to have found your channel yesterday. Not sure the wife was happy when I stayed up all night to binge watch the videos though 😂

[@dannygjk]

I had a great uncle who used to eat the lees.

[@USTEMPLAR]

We brewed beer in my senior year high school biology class. They allowed us to taste it. (About 4 drops from an eyedropper) And our parents had to sign a release. LOL But I always thought that was awesome! I would have rather had us make Mead.

[@stevenkunkle3857]

I graduated high school in 2010, I wish they had let us do something cool like that. Even kombucha or vinegar would have been neat

[@10upstudios]

did you ever end up finishing that "reusing lees" video you teased? im very interested in recycling, as it seems like a waste if there is still a live colony in there, but could not find the video looking through the videos you've posted (maybe im just blind) is it just as simple as pouring last batch's lees on top of a new batch, instead of a fresh packet of yeast?

[@raymondfluharty8877]

I accidentally left an open bottle of juice on my counter when I went to a doctor and he had me admitted to a hospital for 14 days due to low blood oxygen, when I got out, I found it and it had already fermented to sg .990

[@UtahSustainGardening]

Great teazers!

[@donaldflemingii2326]

I have found that when I make my 5 gallon runs if I fill the carboy up halfway and then add my activated yeast then put in the rest of my mixture it pretty much removes any Lees ring at the top.

[@jeremiahcampbell1848]

OK so in this video you're talking about lease and talking about beast still being alive and being active with Is a active fermentation that could upset your stomach your stomach so in your Apple sizer it only goes to about 5 or 6% that you can go but that that makes them still alive so with that also upset your stomach

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

I know your comment is a year old, but here goes: active yeast can upset your digestive system, especially if you’re got a sensitive gut biome. When you ferment something and don’t go to the yeast’s alcohol tolerance, at some point the yeast will run out of food (fermentable sugars). When yeast runs out of food, it goes dormant. 1- Dormant yeast isn’t active. 2- Dormant yeast tends to fall out of suspension. As a result the cell count of dormant yeast will be very low. This low cell count in the drink is low enough for your gut biome to handle. Thought I’d add this info in case you or anyone else was still wondering, or worried.

[@thehellfirewolf13]

Nice alton brown refrence and in most things, i do subscribe to the KISS method. Keep It Simple, Stupid. The less complex the method, the less details to stress over

[@t395delta]

i'm also interested in the lees reuse, thought about it after seeing it done on different kind of NZ alcohol channel, apparently it got better after the 5th batch, i hope you keep running it. i'm tempted. side note, in the UK you can drink from 5 years old at home. hope you kept running it, just noticed the date on this vid, 18 months :-) off to find the videos

[@CitySteadingBrews]

We tried reusing the lees, it was less than effective. For us, for videos, we need more consistency so we use fresh yeast each time.

[@t395delta]

@@CitySteadingBrews thanks or the reply, that explains why i couldnt find the videos :-) now thinking either leave some wine in it or maybe it only works in larger batches, more drink more lees. slightly less tempted, but still tempted. have a good day and keep up the great videos thanks.

[@coryclark7706]

so if its a new brew would you call it a new lees on life?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Lol, dang, should name the video that!

[@davidt140]

Your channel is my new obsession. Just wondering, have you ever thought about making sake?

[@barrybobert9294]

Oh its legal im makin mead, also im 19 living in usa

[@damianwilcox6095]

Getting ready to make my first Meade and wondering if using extracts is a good idea or not

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I don't tend to use them, but it does depend on the extract. Some are good, some aren't.

[@damianwilcox6095]

I was thinking of trying peppermint extract in my first one

[@Wasbuttune]

Hey Derica and Brian where is the video of you reusing the lees? I haven’t been able to find it. I’ve been making gallons of cider and every time I clean out the carboy. This sounds like a good way to skip a bit of cleaning! 😃

[@lisalines4413]

12:20 Question regarding using calcium tablets yo harden the lees. Tannins, particularly tannins from barks which have stronger astringent qualities will actually help cake and compound the lees. not only will it help unify particulates into a single mass, but it will add more overall weight to particulates. Question is, which only experimentation can answer is, how much tannins is too much tannins where it will negatively affect the qualities of your product?

[@Fredakruger0666]

Im must be the only one never broke hydrometer

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I've only broken one.

[@johnhaddenham3189]

Fingers crossed but I haven't broken one.....yet.

[@garynipp5415]

Have ever thought of soaking a wood spoon or dowel in fresh Lee's to repuclate the old way of starting fermentation?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Yup, have one, but.. also have cats....

[@daviddauza]

Kefir grains/beans. Have you ever tried using water kefir grains for fermentation yeasts & bacteria?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

You need yeast to make alcohol. Kefir grains don't make much at all.

[@adampokeythompson1097]

Love you guys I'm learning so much I'm going to be starting soon so anyway have you ever put you're mead in whiskey barrels or wine barrels if so who, what and how does it taste.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Not in barrels no, we don't make high enough quantity and the smaller barrels just leak, but we do have several videos on wood aging.

[@seancarnell1503]

Someone fact check me but as I understand it, there is no federal drinking age. The States set the age, but if they set it to 21 they get federal funding (for roads I think), so everyone has. As the law is written, you are allowed to produce upto 100 gallons of fermented beverage (wine, mead, beer, cider) per person in the household over the age of 18 to a maximum of 200 gallons a year. You are not allowed to sell or otherwise profit off homebrew. The issue comes when you add the yeast you are in possession of an "alcoholic" beverage, even if fermentation hasn't occurred, thus it's not the brewing which is illegal for a 20 year old, but rather being in possession of 5 gallons of wine.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Each state has it's own brewing laws, but the federal drinking age is 21 in all states now, due to a law in 1984, yep. I still recommend no one underage brew, but parents and children make that a blurry line.

[@joshuablock6862]

actually in texas it's legal for people under 21 to drink as long as their parent gives it to them...unless that law has changed in the last few years. I'm no longer up on the laws since my dad retired from the police department and I moved.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Yup. Texas.

[@DustinPoile]

i feel that about the hydrometer first time using it made 4 gallons of mead got my sg for each placed the hydrometer in the container i was using for sanitation and placed something else in there barely touched it and broke it in half then i went and ordered two more so if i break another ill have a backup.

[@jimmieburleigh9549]

Yall ever do anything video wise with that yeast starter and baking with a old brew lees?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

The same one you asked about earlier? It's sitting in the corner.

[@katharinetrauger6218]

We recently opened a bottle of 1yo muscadine/scuppernong and found floating and settling a sediment that was extremely heavy. The part that floated was formed of many particles that were connected in a fragile way, and the entire mass was roundish (presumably because the neck of the bottle is round). The floating part really resembled a very large snowflake, but was not hexagonal. What settled out was more like sand. The particles were hard. However, all this stuff was dark and slightly metallic in appearance. The wine itself is a light red. Your thoughts?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

The sediment is just particulates falling out. It is going to happen. The floating part... dark colored. That is mildly troubling. Did it look like mold at all?

[@katharinetrauger6218]

@@CitySteadingBrews That was our first thought, but no, it looks metallic, like the dull like of aluminum foil, but with the dark particles imbedded in it. I've since strained all the sediment out of the wine and it's very much like very fine white sand that sparkles like snow in any light, at all. But mixed with very dark and much larger particles. The top, the floating mass, was not anything alive, like mold would be. Had the dark particles in it, from the bottom. I did read somewhere about cream of tartar being a normal by-product of white wine making. But this was a medium red. I did taste it. It had an "alum-like" taste, which my store-bought cream of tartar also has. Also, we opened a bottle of very excellent blackberry, and LO! It had even more of this sediment in it, identical: slightly larger black particles and very fine and very sparkly white ones. I also read about some folks calling them "wine diamonds". The muscadine/scuppernong was excellent, by the way. We did use a coffee filter to snag all the "sand" and it was great. And the "wine diamonds" caused even the coffee filter to sparkle. It's been a fun ride, really Finally. When I was reading about cream of tartar formation, I learned it usually happens upon letting the wine chill a lot. Well, our wine cellar has been 20 degrees cooler during the very cold snap we enjoyed here. Usually we struggle to keep the cellar no higher than 50, but it was down to about 40 in there.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Oh that's wine diamonds... just particulates. Not dangerous. The metallic bit is likely oils. Again, likely not an issue.

[@dannybell651]

It’s Friday and I got some lees to make a new batch with! Post the video!! 😂

[@CitySteadingBrews]

All our videos come out at 10 AM.

[@dannybell651]

CS Brews fair enough

[@DarkFaerie316]

Great video guys, I have a question and it may be a silly one. You said lees has proteins and biodegradable particles in it. Would it be able to be used as a plant fertiliser or would that not be a good idea?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Oh sure. It'd probably work well.

[@DarkFaerie316]

@@CitySteadingBrews thank you 🙂

[@wescrockett3915]

Thank you so much for your explanations and great videos! My question is, based on a banana wine I made where I fermented the whole fruits and spices in a 5 gal. Bucket (I made 1 gal) so it had a lot of head space. After racking the fruit off after 10 days, i put it in a 1 gal. Carboy. I think I made banana vinegar when I tasted it. Now I’m trying blackberry wine, how long should I leave the fruit in before I risk bacterial infection.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Generally, if it's not submerged, 7-10 days. If submerged, indefinitely.

[@Nobrakes76]

Thank you guys so much for all the great information! I’ve just started this beautiful hobby and have learned so much. I just racked my second batch and used unfiltered apple cider and honey. Im assuming with the unfiltered apple cider it will never be clear. Just curious if this is an accurate assumption. Thanks!

[@steveabrams3648]

Brian and Derica, Do you know how much sugar is left in a Welch’s grape juice brew when fermentation is complete? Thank you, Steve Abrams

[@CitySteadingBrews]

That totally depends on the final gravity.

[@joshdoesathing]

I would love to see you try a licorice mead. I just ordered another carboy so I can try it, but I would love to see how you would do it

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I will be honest here... pretty unlikely we will do this. Licorice is a flavor neither of us really appreciate.