MEAD that Tastes like SMOKE and BACON

[@robertthrelkeld4480]

The trick is to use a thin rod laid across the top of the pouring cup, ideally one long enough to rest above the handle. We used this method with glass rods to pour corrosive chemicals in lab environments.

[@LardoiseGirl1976]

I think Lapsang Souchong hot would have been an epic line.

[@nirxx]

I've watching your videos for more 2 years now and I can't get over that you explain why you call the thumb saver bung that. and of cores that you explain everything for the people watching for the first time. Amazing dedication!

[@connersanders6482]

Just got my first must ever started today!

[@CarlPapa88]

Welcome to the community 👍 Have fun with it, but try to take notes. Easier to repeat and tweak an amazing recipe that way.

[@johnp.2267]

Smoky-bacon-honey-drink GO! Sounds like the battle cry of a very thirsty, and somewhat dim, Northern warrior with great taste.

[@davidmathieson8661]

I've used a few of Mangrove Jack's yeasts, cider, beer and mead. And I find them great, they always start up really quickly and the lees always seems to pack down nicely, giving off very little in the way of wispys

[@mervynshepherdson5163]

G’Day guys, nice you are giving MJ’s M05 yeast a go. I have used this with many a brew for a few years now. Just a note that I have found it's a very active yeast and usually needs a bit more head room to eliminate the need for a blow off tube. As you have quoted many a time, yeast can’t read, I have had this M05 go to a surprising 22% ABV, this was the case when I used it in your recipe for Klingon Blood Wine, the yeast loved it also. Many a time I have had to step feed to get this yeast above alcohol tolerance. Yes, I could stop the fermentation, kill the yeast, sweeten and then pasteurise to make safe, that’s extra time I don’t have… LOL… looking forward to your comments and review of this yeast, what your impressions of it will be. As always, keep up the fabulous work on your channel.

[@TheStraycat74]

ARDBEG... *Cough* sorry, wrong group... smoke and bacon? I'm Sold! adding this t my amazon wish list for next payday!

[@pauls4704]

Lapsang Souchong was a great choice I think for this!

[@roman9509]

I loved that piece of star trek trivia!

[@dockofthebaycountrywines69]

Man that flavor and color will be spectacular!

[@heartemisart700]

Yes, finally! Lapsang Souchong Mead. Love it, Made a few batches, one with smoaked oak shavings too. WIll try this yeast soon. Great vid folks!!!

[@frogjunk]

I’m glad you mentioned the raisin type. The only good no sulphates or oils yelllow raisins I’ve found that are the super organic sultanas… for $12 a small bag.

[@LadyElaineLovegood]

I remember loathing Lapsang Souchong back in college. Seeing it's been a few decades, maybe I should try it again. I look forward to seeing how the mead turns out.

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

This is one I can’t wait to find out more about! Even more so than your other brews. Bacon… smoke… yum!

[@FaewoodMead]

This sounds so good!

[@annebigelow4096]

Lapsang Souchong tea is also great as an iced tea!

[@elijahkaehler9369]

1st brew I made I forgot to add my yeast that was hydrating and same thing happened to me lol glad to see I'm not alone

[@jacobcrab593]

That is actually m y favorite yeast company it's very active leaves a great taste will work I'm low Temps ect it's just a really good one to use I really enjoy there cider one in my wines and meads I'd say to everyone give it a try

[@aubreysullivan3137]

I have recently started making wine and mead, and following you! I watched this video and had to try this one! I plan to start it tomorrow! I just got the tea and had to try it. I honestly have never had something that tasted so much like a campfire. So interesting and delicious!

[@aubreysullivan3137]

Started this today my sg was 1.100. I am so excited to see how this turns out.. oh I am also using lalvin 71-b. I used a whole packet as I don't have any yeast nurrient

[@TheCrimsonIdol987]

I do like Islay whisky. I'm a big fan of Ardbeg, and their Uigeadail I will say is the best whisky ever. My opinion of course. :)

[@Troscoman]

I'm using this yeast, in a lot os mead already. I'm happy with the results. :)

[@torjones1701]

One of my favorite Teas.

[@mr.knownothing]

I have been thinking about this for a month!!

[@richgresch3908]

Brian, we have the same large measuring cup, and I share your frustration with the dribble pour. I find that the only way to avoid it is with an almost awkwardly slow pour... keep up the good work.

[@CarlPapa88]

That looks a lil bigger than my 1qt measuring bowl, same spout, but I agree. It doesn't pour right to justify using it. Haha

[@BehavioralMechanics]

I have it from Pampered Chef. In fact, I have the set of three. They all suck unless you pour terribly slowly!

[@TheVonhollan]

raise the pitcher 3 to 5 inc. above the funnel first. pour fluidly then raise Pitcher up and down bending wrist as you go to modify the pour amount.

[@michaelgcoleman471]

Sounds wonderful, and the raisins will be great for adding controversy to the ferment. Lol. Looking forward to giving this a try myself.

[@jimcurt99]

Ive use raisons in ALL of my meads....

[@bonnielara9723]

Have you tried pouring slower? When trying to pour more at a time than what actually fits in the spout will make a not so fun mess. 😅

[@wilibeesbuyer3666]

Next time why not just use a pump to pump the tea into the demijon? Seems like less of a struggle. Thanks for the recipe can't wait to give it a try!

[@zackdavid9961]

Lapsang is my most favorite tea. I think I will have to try making this

[@randomlife718]

Tea ordered, will be here tomorrow.

[@bofhdk]

Lapsang Souchong was also the favourite of one of the protagonists in James A. Micheners' "Centennial": Alexander McKeag

[@hotlavatube]

I picked up some Harney & Sons Lapsang Souchong last month to diversify my tea selections. Wooo-eee, that is an odiferous tea. I describe the tea odor more as more of a burnt BBQ with notes of tire fire. That tea really stunk up my entire kitchen.

[@gregorytomasulo4313]

I cant wait to get my hands on this tea. I think I'll use 2 lbs of honey and 1 lb of maple syrup, since you described that in another video as also tasting of smoke and bacon

[@jimcurt99]

You used 1/2 a cup of tea leaves- but how much water for the tea???

[@CitySteadingBrews]

The volume of water isn't as important as the volume of leaves (as I believe was mentioned in the video). You would want enough water to steep the volume of leaves used. That being said, I would guess we used roughly 3 to 4 cups of water.

[@frogjunk]

I used bby in my first mead, your traditional beginner mead sorta as I used the bby and ec1118 instead of bread yeast. It was cloudy from the beginning and is 36 days old I worry it won’t become clear as it’s still cloudy but settling some.

[@mandolinman2006]

I'm so excited. My wild cherry tree is actually blooming for the first time! I'm hoping it'll produce, though doubt it'll be enough for a stand-alone brew. I'm hoping the honeysuckle will be blooming when the cherries are ripe. I'll do a honeysuckle mead again but with the cherries and maybe throw in some cinnamon and vanilla. Because. Why not?

[@michaelsarno5138]

I have a question if your brewing mead and it's bin sitting for about 4 weeks and say you shake it up to maybe mix it up more because I did not think it was mixed well it still has bin bottled for a month now is it ok to drink and keep around

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Well, first of all mixing in a manner that would oxygenate your brew should only occur before any alcohol has been made. Oxygenating your brew with the presence of alcohol could cause it to turn into vinegar by activating Acetobacters. Secondly, you don't want to bottle a brew until you are certain it is done fermenting. The most accurate way to determine this is by taking gravity readings one week apart. If the readings are the same then your brew is done (or stalled). If you bottle a brew before the fermentation process is complete and you haven't stabilized by pasteurization or your method of choice then you could very well have a bottle bomb on your hands. kzbin.info/www/bejne/poeYp4aPe9Vpoc0

[@michaelsarno5138]

@@CitySteadingBrews thank you very much this is my first time doing this so I knew there would be mistakes when I go to my buddy's I'll see how it is and start over thank you very much

[@D_Halvig]

This sounds and looks great, I’m gonna have to make this when I have an empty carboy 😵‍💫

[@rickmarshall3352]

Pine smoke? Glad I saw the finishing episode first. :) I will try it.

[@mattdolly7463]

Just bottled a Earl Grey tea wine. Now the wait begins.......

[@whiskeybass5736]

I actually just ordered some of this tea from Amazon yesterday! Can’t wait to try it and likely do a mess with it too. A thought came to mind that, if the smoky notes are as prevalent as I’m thinking it would be, it may been a good addition to an acerglyn for a smoky, bacony, mapley mead.

[@hondatuner5156]

I pry shoulda done this in 5 gallon batches... now I got 30 single gallons to rack today

[@joefishunboxing1389]

I have 5lbs of Japanese knotweed honey I think ill use this tea for the mead I'm making thank you for this

[@thelosian4751]

Got a giant bag of this tea, it's pretty great. Takes a bit adjusting for most people but it's one of the more unique teas. Very curious how a mead would taste with it

[@adampokeythompson1097]

Oh my freaking Lord of the Rings I love your shirt

[@zinckensteel]

I've always been curious: Why not use a turkey baster to remove some of the pesky foam, when it's overwhelming like that?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Did that once. Very annoying and tedious. But can be done if you have the patience.

[@dukealaquack5412]

Ok I have a great question I wanted to experiment so I used a one gallon jug put 2 hand a half pounds of honey I used about a gallon of apple juice no ites or ates in the ingredients and some choped up fresh mangos about half a pound. The fermentation took off all fine and dandy but once I spun the jar to help get the gasses out it smells like a dense thick rottin eggs my gut says it went bad but all looks fine so I wanted to ask you what are your thoughts on it. Also I used plain bread yeast

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Most of the time when people detect a rotten egg smell it is due to stressed yeast, particularly yeast that did not have enough oxygen at the start up. If you do not notice anything else amiss with your brew, it might simply need to degas to get all that unpleasant gas out. If you do notice something else amiss, primarily mold, then dump it.

[@dukealaquack5412]

Cool once. Get home I'm degassing it then see what happends

[@AdamFranklin500]

Can’t wait to see the result! Mangrove Jack m05 yeast us a powerhouse. Had great results with it. I would stockpile a lot more if it was cheaper.

[@elijahkaehler9369]

Hey Derica, I was looking around my grocery stores and I couldn't find a pitcher with lines (like the one you guys use to rack into and know how many bottles you need) I also checked ur store and didn't find it in there either, is that something you can add to your store or have a link for?? Thank you guys for the inspiration!!!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I put link in each video's description to help our viewers find what we are using. I will add the pitcher to our store as well. In the meantime, here is it! amzn.to/3KyESuT

[@elijahkaehler9369]

@@CitySteadingBrews Thank you!! 😊

[@alexlarsen6413]

Sounds wonderful! Looks great too. Can't wait to see the result of this! My last mead is also tea mead; rosehip and hibiscus with quite a few raisins...I put in the entire 200g bag, but that's about 2 hands full of the thing that's like the main nemesis on reddit's r/mead! The R word 😂😂

[@milesj.943]

You've said a couple times that there's a pretty good chance of getting mold on fruit that you put in your mead past a few weeks, especially if they are allowed to dry out on top. If we put something in the fruit bag to make it sink would we be able to let it sit on the fruit longer? I did a blueberry mead and it was still fermenting pretty actively after 2 weeks but I didn't want the berries to mold so I removed them and it looked like they still had a lot to give.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Absolutely! We've been adding pickle weights to our brew bags lately and that has helped keep them under the surface.

[@nekobat1962]

Speaking of fermented tea. have you ever tried fermenting Arizona Green Tea with honey?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

We haven't done that one no.

[@Anarcho-Zymurgist]

After my most recent brews, I decided to stop using raisins, simply because I was tired of losing that little extra bit of mead during racking. I agree that I think they've positively contributed to flavor and color in the past, but they're just not worth it for me anymore lol

[@CarlPapa88]

Which is why I start any brew in a 2gal bucket with good seals. Good for adding fruit in a bag for 2ndry. Always have a lil more than a gallon after I rack to a carboy that way.

[@sunshinevalley0]

You guys are doing it

[@stephenfowler6981]

Put some copper wire in your brew and in a hour or two the sulfur will be gone. This is why they use copper stills. Copper naturally absorbs sulfur.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Just a side note on the copper thing... yes, it can work. It 'can' also be toxic if not handled properly. I know... the stills are copper, but trust me on this. I don't remember saying this had a sulfury smell though, it certainly didn't taste like sulfur. That's usually prevented by proper aeration in the early phase of fermentation.

[@stephenfowler6981]

@@CitySteadingBrews you would have to consume quit a bit for it to be toxic. I'm just saying stir the wine with a copper wire if you have a egg smell .

[@connissia]

You're doing the chopstick trick wrong. Take the chopstick and put the tip in the funnel. Place the tip of your pouring vessel up against the chopstick and pour the fluid down the chopstick into the second container. 🙂

[@honeylady108]

Hey there's my honey! It loses its beautiful fragrance over time, so, no offense but if you had opened it when I brought it last year you would have gotten it's full effect. I'm excited to find out how this mead turns out! Thank you.

[@MrTXWolfie]

I found it! I found it! I found the tea at Wegman...... La La La lalalalaaaaaah. And I bought the 4 boxes they had. Its from Twinnings.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Awesome! We also have it on Amazon with links.

[@XxdjforrestxX]

What hard alcohol is mead with honey? Is that a thing? Like a honey vodka? Or whiskey

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Mead is always made with honey. It's fermented not distilled.

[@DanielJAudette]

I love you shirt. Thwack your packet. 😆

[@rrowe1961]

I have been so inspired by this and your various "pepper" mead {broad category) I want to share an idea of mine still in development but extremely promising) how would I do that? I call it Mole Mead (as in the classic Mexican chocholate/Chile Sause) .... ? Seriously, a mixture of various Chilis and caoco nibs .... it takes awhile to clarify, using pectic enzymes seems to help a little, I've also tried cold crashing ... My second, secondary is very promising, but it's NOT clearing easily. Please contact me if interested in specifics, I will GLADLY publicly share the idea and recipe. This is a mixture of dried and fresh chiles I actually have 2 batches (is that the right name for it) running, a VERY dark Wildflower honey, and a Buckwheat Honey mixture. 3 pounds/Gallon mixtures, each done with Lapsang Souchong tea 1/4 cup for 6 ounces of water for tannins .... each are creamy and full of smoky pepper/honey/chiles/chocolate flavors ... which with collaboration could be an amazing product for Chiliheads I've used Lavin d47 and Lavin 71b as yeasts

[@rossborgwardt1036]

Could this recipe be made into a hydromel? I have a friend who doesn’t like alcohol too much but loves bacon. So I was thinking of trying to do this as a hydromel so the alcohol is lower. Any thoughts would be awesome. I found the tea at a local tea shop, now just need to finalize the recipe.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

You could use less honey and less tea and carbonate it, of course.

[@rossborgwardt1036]

Thanks for the reply! I was thinking of starting with half the honey and half the tea. I have only made two batches of a hydromel. They have turned out good, in my opinion. I bottle carbonated one batch. The 2nd I used a mini keg, 1 gallon, that my wife gave me for Christmas. You should try it. It was really easy to do! Thanks again for the reply! Means a lot to get a reply from you! Keep us the awesome videos!

[@Hammer_OJustice]

I'm a little confused. For the tea, I understand you used 1/2 cup of tea, but how much water was that?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Doesn't matter as it gets diluted into the mead anyway.

[@Hammer_OJustice]

Thank you@@CitySteadingBrews

[@GippslandCNC]

Oh, I have a pitcher that makes a mess every time I use it. LOL frustrating

[@tattoolimbo]

I personally think maple syrup would be the best sugar for this but alas, it is possibly even more expensive than honey so I guess white sugar, well maybe brown, but I have the tea already which wasn't at all cheap but I bought it!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Without honey it wouldn’t be mead. Not to say it wouldn’t be a great maple wine, but the idea was mead for this one :)

[@tattoolimbo]

@@CitySteadingBrews I totally understand, I'm just too poor for mead or acerglyn so I think I am going to go with home made golden syrup and see how that works out.

[@kennyrazor81]

lmao nice t shirt. You should say the water temp has to be blood temp for pitching yeast. Shame you didnt get to thwack it

[@scottcave2034]

How many liquid ounces is the tea?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Doesn’t matter really, what matters is the amount of tea used to make it. It’s being diluted anyway.

[@tattoolimbo]

I ordered a box of this yea as soon as I saw the video. I made a gallon of wine on the 15th of May, it has been bubbling along happily ever since. The OG was 1.001 so not terribly high, I can't imagine there could be any sugars left after a month, today is June 17th, but it's still bubbling and has bubbles on top of it. Weird huh? PS, I tried to make golden syrup but used too much sugar and couldn't get it to caramelize so just white sugar syrup.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Your og reading is most likely inaccurate. That is nearly dry with no sugars. Could it be 1.100?

[@tattoolimbo]

@@CitySteadingBrews that's what I meant, but with your number what happened to the 2 digits before the .1, like it could be 1.95, I commented before that I thought "your numbers ", 1.1 should be 200 because it's 100 points higher than 100

[@tattoolimbo]

I'm a little slow I guess but I'm getting it, because of fractional decimal points..10-4

[@CitySteadingBrews]

It’s not my numbers it’s the readings from a hydrometer.

[@tattoolimbo]

@@CitySteadingBrews alternative facts, of course my way is wrong but my way makes more sense to me. I started a banana wine the other day, 1.00117 OG, I guess the correct number would be 1.117

[@Shellewell]

Disagreement: Shaking the bejeezus out of it is not a misnomer. The removal of the Bejeezus creates space for air pockets to emerge and aeration to occur. Shaking the bejeezus out allows the rest in, so it is actually removal. #TheMoreYouKnow

[@brandtearles4785]

How would I get ahold of some bevys honey, I'm in ohio

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Her email should be in the description.

[@larneyelsey5160]

Couldn’t you have syphoned the tea into the fermentor

[@michaelcarney5624]

Can you freeze dandelion petals

[@UrzuS3V3N]

City Steading! I have a challenge for you, should you choose to accept it! Do you think you could make a fireball mead? In the same vein as fireball whiskey? My mom looooves the whiskey and she has asked if it's possible to make a mead with the same flavour and I have no idea where I would start...

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Make mead. Add a whole bunch of cinnamon in secondary. Ta-da! ;)

[@UrzuS3V3N]

@@CitySteadingBrews is that going to get the red hot cinnamon type flavour?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

If you really want it to taste like red hots, then add red hots, but cinnamon would be a better option in our opinion. When I say a lot, I mean like 16 to 20 sticks of cinnamon steeped in the mead for about a week. Test it to see if it needs more time.

[@MrVideodromer]

I need a Decrica

[@CitySteadingBrews]

There is only one Derica.

[@nextlifeonearth]

Not criticism or anything, but I find it a bit funny how you're like "I wonder how you pronounce this Chinese word, let's ask English Google Translate!"

[@vaelophisnyx9873]

To be fair, it's a decent approximation

[@DZSabre]

no such ting as "uber-sweet".🙂

[@ghoppr71]

Alright... TRBOS is back... Also looks like you might need a blowoff tube...