Mead vs Wine - Differences?

[@ramata1962]

I have just started watching both your channels and enjoy both of you. My dad passed away this about this time last year. So you are helping me cope with a hole in my heart. I have seen everyone of the brewing city steading and I am working on the food and gardening. Thank you for making these videos. Keep on producing them. I learn a lot of useful information. Thanks again.

[@richardstevens3461]

You should show everyone the large number of things under the desk of fermentation.

[@hisokamorow6709]

I sure that place is a different dimension, the amount of stuff they put in there, either that or a black hole.

[@PacesIII]

@@hisokamorow6709 They play D&D. It's probably a bag of holding.

[@PacesIII]

Maybe a behind the scenes. Call it "Beyond the brew."

[@bobthirdwalling1901]

Can't wait to see how this turns out! I started a similar experiment with Blueberry wine and mead about 2 weeks ago but fermentation is still very, very active in both gallons.

[@charliemac1963]

Thank you for responding. Love your videos and the info! Sincerely, retired wedding/bar mitzvah videographer. Charlie 🤪

[@yodhanhunter]

As I have learned most of what I know about brewing from you guys, I too have put the test liquid back into fermenter after testing gravity. After about 10 different brews, I have not had any discernible issue with this. keep up the good work. I love your videos.

[@theycallmebacon5692]

You know I don't drink, I don't like wine, beer, or any of that good stuff. I don't even drink soda or tea. But I subscribed anyway, I like the videos, and the science. The two of you do a great job making your content.

[@Dave_en]

Now I'm a fan of mead. Got plenty of honey on promotional offer from Groffers in very low price. We get grapes only in winter season, so making wine in all season is out of scope. Still we can make mead with seasonal fruits round the year. Plus the mead keeps well and goes down the throat easily.

[@Hin_Håle]

Welcome to the dark side!

[@paulallerston3771]

I hope you labelled the carboys "Fermenter A" and "Fermenter 2"... for science ;)

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Lol, I noted that in the editing.

[@djdaddy8080]

I love the lalvin D47, it usually has a 14% attenuation, but my Cyser I made a few months back fermented out to about 19%. Luckily it had a bunch of sweetness so it caught back the jet fuel. D47 always comes out crisp and clean and for any non-beer that’s the one I love to use!

[@djdaddy8080]

I had commented before you hydrated the yeast and it’s funny that our numbers matched up

[@TheStraycat74]

I've tried a bunch of different yeasts and D-47 comes out best To My Pallet. so I use that until I find "a better yeast" but I'm running out of types I haven't tried... or can afford

[@djdaddy8080]

TheStraycat74 I totally agree! My go to’s are SO4 for beers/low abvs, and D47 for meads/wines. Though I am conducting an experiment for a pumpkin pie mead soon and I’ll use bakers yeast for that. If I get “bread-y” off flavors from stressing the yeast a bit that’ll be just fine and add to the pumpkin pie flavor!

[@aspektx]

I love that you have high end scotch and Argo cornstarch on the same shelving. It tells me things are actually getting used and lived in.

[@1nv1c7u5m4n30]

Fine work. This should be fun. I just racked off and bottled a Half Bouchet and Half straight mead mixture, total 6lbs of Clover Honey, in a 2-gallon batch. 14.1ABV and came out like a White wine mixed with a champaign dang delicious!

[@andrewstanderline7899]

I'm looking forward to the outcome of this! I hate the wait though, the only downfall of making your own brew... THE WAIT!

[@redstone1999]

That is only if you are new at this or out of stock. Once you brew on a regular base or build up a good supply, the wait is only a minor irritant. :)

[@roentgen571]

Derica's snickering is just adorable. lol

[@Kinnamon100]

I'm always rooting for the mead, but I love a good Elderberry wine.

[@Kashi754]

One of my car boys came with a metal twist cap. I just use that when mixing/oxygenating because I've had my thumb slip as I was shaking it and it obviously made a mess.

[@Shrinkme1963]

Looking forward to the tasting!!

[@frattysatty8637]

Great video! Love you guys and all of the content you make.

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

I need to show this to a friend of mine... in the hopes of getting him hooked on brewing!

[@claytondoty9512]

This will be a fun one to watch develop.

[@redstone1999]

So looking forward to the testing.

[@treich1234]

Checked the ingredients label on this brand of Elderberry Concentrate, it reads as follows: Fermentable Corn Syrup, Apple, Pear, Elderberry & Grape Juice Concentrates, Water, Citric Acid, Natural Flavors

[@mythic_snake]

Looking forward to the taste test!

[@baijokull]

I think investing in a cap without a hole is a good idea just for that oxygenation. Just makes things easier :D

[@bossalou]

But it's more fun to cover the hole and shake. It's like a challenge. Can I do this without getting it on the kitchen floor?

[@brianrenko9848]

Looking forward to the racking and tasting vid....

[@Seph12o6]

Always love your informative videos

[@Wolvyrine]

Well personally, I'm all shades of excited to see how this turns out!

[@NobodyWhatsoever]

I just realized: Those cheap-o gallon jugs of wine use the same style bottle, and can be less expensive than buying the bottle online. It makes them so tempting to suffer through for home fermentation.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

We use plenty of those!

[@M4st3r0fN0n3]

You could always use a definite measure of water and add the whole yeast packet to it, stir in thoroughly and then split that solution for future tests like this

[@TheStraycat74]

@Dericka your husband smells of elderberries... Speaking of Elderberries, I'm going to remake my Elberberry Mead again because I thought 1oz of dried elderberries in ONE gallon was a little strong, so next will be a 5-gallon batch and hope it isn't as over powering (but I have to move the Chocolate Mead I have going in my 5gal bucket first...)

[@nathanielsizemore8594]

I'm looking forward to seeing the results of this trial. I agree that the half gallon test was to small for an accurate comparison.

[@brandonmaloney9758]

l started a 4gallon last saturday, straight off your original basic mead vid, l left out the oranges but used the tea. can't wait to see how it comes out

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I would have put the orange in, or at least lemon or lime. It's there to feed the yeast, not really as a flavorant.

[@brandonmaloney9758]

@@CitySteadingBrews l got the chopped raisins in, organic sun dried. it kicked up nice bubling within a few hours

[@lukejosselyn7706]

The TRBOS bit always makes me laugh 😁 Love what you guys do 😊

[@dananelson8447]

Wondered why I hadn't heard from you. Pressed the button just in case. It will be interesting to see how it tastes. I always need more disodiumphosphate. Thanks for sharing guys.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I never add the stuff. Why do you need it?

[@AndrewDeLong]

Got it. So when I attempted to make dandelion wine a few months back, I made dandelion mead by mistake. Well, at least I used good raw honey? 🤷‍♂️

[@MandalorV7]

I'm about a week into my first batch. Really looking forward to tasting it in a few more weeks. I have gotten some weird looks when I have mentioned to my coworkers that I'm making mead. For it one of the oldest drinks it's not as well know as beer or wine for some reason.

[@user-cv3gd2wr5q]

Jacob Clark I’ve been working in my career for 20 years and home brewing for over 10 years. No longer do people at work give me the weird look. Now they give me the inquisitive look followed with the I’d love to taste that comment.

[@saxonsoldier67]

Brian, people that throw away the sample in the graduated cylinder do so for one important reason. They can't pour it back into the fermenting vessel as well as you.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Lol!

[@karnoq]

I think you've developed a new piece of gym exercise equipment: Carboy bejebus shaker station!

[@ragadorusenderborn]

I had the strongest sense of deja vu until you said you were redoing the experiment.

[@michaelseaman5832]

Great video!

[@raylebonville7499]

How much sugar was added for the wine?

[@im-colton]

What’s funny is you poured the yeast out on a scale you could have weighed out the yeast and made sure you had the same yeast in both lol

[@BrewmasterTim]

Great job!

[@madderoftime]

Started a batch yesterday using close to the same recipe as you have here. 84 oz Vintner's Elderberry, 12 lbs honey, water to 6.5 gal, packet and a half EC-1118 yeast, OG 1.115. So far seems slow to start. Did yours take right off? Edit - took a day to get started but now is very active. The room smells like yeast and elderberries. ~wow

[@maheshlund3951]

What if we mix sugar with honey and use it for wine making, what would this be called?

[@jimschuler8830]

This has been bugging me. There are lots of alcoholic brews that have very specific terminology. Just relating to mead alone; cyser, braggot, metheglen, etc. However, when we get to sugar, we don't even have a proper name for that. We call it "wine," even though "wine" has the same etymology as "vine" because it's made from grapes with no sugar added. Two drinks with two different sources of fermentables are called the same thing. This cannot stand! Wine comes from the Latin for vine. The various "mels" comes from the Latin for honey. Therefore, you must be making elderberry saccharon. Fixed.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Let’s make it more complicated: mead is just a type of wine.

[@docroberts4289]

Just started a 1 gal batch of mead using your freshman beard yeast. Starting SPG is 1.075. Fingers crossed..

[@anneirenej]

This will be very interesting

[@The_Cyber_Nomad]

Sweet Red Wine

[@reapertrader9082]

Hi Guys Please can you do a video on the relation of oxygen and CO2 - when does what come into play , when do you want more than the other , which is more important for alcohol forming , which is more important for taste etc .... Also another question ... does the quantity of yeast you add really matter - since yeast "grows" and get more .... and when does yeast die / stop fermenting and why?

[@socialxperiment3162]

In the must stage, you want to introduce as much oxygen as possible. But once fermentation starts, CO2 (being the byproduct of fermentation) begins to rise up through the must into the headspace and out of the airlock, making the oxygen levels drop. When the fermentation process is complete, that is when you want to be as careful as possible as not to introduce a lot oxygen in your brew. Doing so can create off-flavors. The amount of yeast you pitch isn’t necessarily a vital factor in fermentation, only if you put too little yeast. The lifespan of yeast depends on a couple factors, the most prominent one being when the yeast reach their tolerance of the alcohol level they created. Another big one is preservatives in the ingredients of what you use in your must, so it’s best to avoid preservatives. Yeast can also stop fermenting if there’s too much sugars and they will be overwhelmed. A great way to encourage a healthy and active fermentation is to give the yeast nutrients. A few companies actually make a yeast nutrient that you can pitch with the yeast itself. I hope most of that makes sense and answered your questions!

[@greentoxicsoniccrew1435]

I've been thinking about making mead but substituting some honey with agave syrup.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

You can do that. Agave nectar tends to be very mild on it's own, with an earthiness to it.

[@ytndndrummer]

2 questions: How do you feel about using an aerator to mix instead of shaking the container and what about using caster or finely ground sugar?

[@TheStraycat74]

sugar is sugar, it'll get ate by the wee little yeaties. finely ground (powdered) MIGHT dissolve easier, but I'd measure it by weight instead of volume.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Why not just shake it up?

[@ytndndrummer]

@@CitySteadingBrews It was a 5 gallon glass carboy and I have a bad back.

[@cranberry6460]

@@ytndndrummer You don't need a fancy aerator. Get a long metal rod with a thing on the end, and use a drill. It makes mixing and splashing much easier.

[@fusion9619]

​@@ytndndrummer how did you end up shaking it? (yes I know, 3 yrs ago...)

[@Gnif57]

I tried DP and ended up removing 2 cups from a 1gl fermenter to keep it foaming up into the airlocks. I kept the 2 cups in a jar and slowly added it back to the fermenter

[@user-cv3gd2wr5q]

Fing_57 get a blowoff tube. Should cost about $1 or there abouts.

[@Gnif57]

thanks, will give that a try

[@Wesleyholla]

So could any of your mead recipes be switched to a wine if you used the proper amount of sugar instead of honey? Or would that just mess the whole recipe up?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Yup of course! However they will taste different as a result :)

[@Wesleyholla]

@@CitySteadingBrews awesome, thank you! I’m just now dipping my toes into this hobby and your channel is the only one that makes it easy and accessible (no chemicals I need to keep track of and spend more money on). Keep doing what your doing b/c it helps a ton!!

[@CrenJay]

Hi! Love your brewing videos, I was inspired by one of your cyser videos to try making one, since I’d never brewed one before... It’s been in the secondary fermentation for about 3 weeks now, and shows no sign of clearing. Having used cloudy apple juice to make the cyser in the first place, do you guys think it’ll clear eventually? Thanks!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

It should. 3 weeks is nothing give it time.

[@user-cv3gd2wr5q]

CrenJay I’ve used cloudy juice before to make a cider and while it tasted great, it never cleared for me. I’m not saying it won’t clear, I’m saying mine never did. But that was also only the one time I’ve used cloudy juice.

[@CrenJay]

@@CitySteadingBrews thanks!! I'll leave it a few more months and let you guys know. Your BBQ chicken with spaghetti was great by the way!

[@CrenJay]

@@user-cv3gd2wr5q thanks, I'll leave it a bit longer before bottling and see what happens!

[@Haustyle666]

Lol I was talking along with Derica “learn to grow and brew and take control of your food!” And it didn’t happen. I forgot about the change 🤦‍♂️

[@waelsaleem4222]

I love you guys and I loved your content for this channel, speachly I'm watching you from country which beer not legel here , and by the way i drink befor one hour ginger beer but my hair still standing for terrible taste i believe i did something wrong.

[@charliemac1963]

I may have missed it, but I’m assuming the water is either distilled or filtered etc.....?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Our house water is filtered. I don’t prefer distilled water for brewing as it’s had all the minerals removed.

[@captbbe]

Hands down meads better

[@raymondjennings6817]

Hi I have a question can you use golden syrup or dark treacle? If so can you do a video about them?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

You can use them, but it's a wine, as it can't be mead. They're just sugar, and molasses which is a by product of sugar making.

[@MrScotchpie]

For the weight dilema at 5:10, just convert to metric and weigh it.

[@bucmeister7713]

Is there a specific follow up video for this comparison? Would think it should automatically follow as chapter 2, chapter 3 etc.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJOwZXaugcShr6M We also did a video on how to search KZbin channels, might be helpful: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJ3EdZ9mbrSYiLc

[@bucmeister7713]

@@CitySteadingBrews Thanks for getting back so quickly. Haven't watched the link yet but believe I may have found it after posting that comment. Guess I have gotten spoiled to the way some of your project batches are linked together so the next chapter pops up as the next option. Had looked for the Wine vs Mead title on the All Videos page but for some reason did not find it so did a search and found the later taste test on this second attempt with the full gallon musts. Have a pair of 1 gallon basic meads going that will be 2 weeks old this Sat. Everything the same (tea, raisins, orange zest and honey) one is bread yeast other is EC1118, wanted to see the taste differences, both started at 1.120 so now thinking they may be a bit dry, time will tell. Also started a concord grape wine last Thursday with bread yeast. Now need more 1 gallon jars to get more going. Really do enjoy y'all's channel. Appreciate the straight forward approach and instructive presentation. Is there such a thing as a wine/mead hybrid brew and if so have you ever done one? Thinking along the line of 2 lbs honey then bringing sp gr up to target OG with sugar. And is there a name for such a concoction. Guessing that would weaken the honey notes enough to be a "why would you want to do that" moment.

[@LevidelValle]

Love it.

[@griplove]

I can’t seem to enjoy wine, all the store bought mead I’ve found taste like wine. At a fair once I had a glass of mead that I’m pretty sure I enjoyed (wasn’t the days first drink) If I make my own mead will it change my mind about mead? Which is currently “taste like sweet wine” and again I don’t like wine. Love you guys. been away from YT for a while, but definitely missed your channel!!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Mead is a type of wine...

[@griplove]

City Steading Brews I know. You guys make brewing (fermenting?) look so fun. I was hoping mead was different enough that if I made my own I might enjoy it. It’s a pretty involved process I think if I was left with a gallon of undrinkable fermented honey that I’d be sad. I guess I just want mead to be more like beer and perhaps my problem is I need to accept I just don’t like it. 😔

[@CitySteadingBrews]

It's possible, though mead has a wide range of flavors. Everything from straight simple mead to braggots which is mead/beer to fruit and spiced meads. I don't love all of them, but I do really like some.

[@mrzif0013]

beginner here: 1.120 gravity < how can you adjust higher or low?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

More fermentables raises it, diluting lowers it. Probably don't want to go any higher, especially when just starting out.

[@richardkitchens8707]

You used 2 lbs of honey, how much sugar to get the same starting OG?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

About 1.5 lbs.

[@aaronritter5837]

Hopefully works this time

[@SillySalmon94]

Love!!!

[@jackadkins2894]

Is there a follow up video? I cant find it

[@CitySteadingBrews]

If this was a tasting I don't believe so.

[@the_whiskeyshaman]

So I just started my bourbon bochet. And it’s bubbling away I’ll let you know if it finishes🤣🤫

[@21blacktooth]

TRBOS!

[@cheekysaver]

Is it time yet? Is it time yet? Is it time yet? (you know... the mead makers are we there yet) Hahaha... I can wait. I have time. :D

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Not quite, but soon!

[@mmilby]

I used to big on sanitation but i did an experiment once. I brewed 5-5gal batches of wine and 5-5gal batches of beer and did not use any sanitizer whatsoever. Though i did wash everything with soap and water an hour or two before i brewed. This was over about a years worth of time. All batches came out spectacular. I still do sanitize but i'm not the sani nazi i once was. Is it important? Yes but is it THAT important......not really. I guess if you live in a dirty filthy basement or something it may be......LOL

[@cranberry6460]

I thought City Steading weren't doing any more videos...?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

We split the channel to be one for brewing and another for cooking. Even did a video on the split.

[@JasonP6339]

You used the same funnel in both without cleaning...... Not sure why you were worried about your thumb cross contaminating......

[@CitySteadingBrews]

The funnel was cleaned. We probably edited it.

[@terrycuyler5659]

If you really felt like nerving out you could have filled to 14oz then added 2 tablespoon of fluid.

[@somethingverylong]

So what went wrong with the first batch?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Cross contamination with another brew.

[@rossrichert2022]

How much sugar did you put in?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

A pound and a half.

[@ryost63]

I cannot find a video on how this experiment worked out

[@CitySteadingBrews]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJOwZXaugcShr6M

[@ryost63]

Thank u. I really enjoy watching ur videos. My dad taught me how to make wine 45 yrs ago

[@danielleu.877]

can you use both?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Whaddya mean? Of course you can make wine and mead... oh, do you mean sugar and honey in the same brew? You can, there's no advantage really. Sugar just raises ABV, honey adds flavor and complexity. Mixing them means... less flavor than mead, and more flavor than wine.

[@danielleu.877]

@@CitySteadingBrews interesting. Lol I just watched and was like but what if...... Haha.

[@RuffEdgesBakery]

Nice :)

[@steveskouson9620]

I've got a much easier way to oxygenate. Grab the O2 tank, hook up the airstone, and let fly. Found 2 O2 tanks, for medical use. (Really, found 5, but 2 had O2 in them.) Regulators as well as that little tiny dolly, Already had the airstone. steve

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Or... shake the jug. :P

[@steveskouson9620]

@@CitySteadingBrews, I usually do 5 gallon batches. That jug is quite dangerous to shake. steve

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Oh just fill 1/3 and do it.

[@lesturner]

hmmm plural of yeast???... yeast, yeasts or yeasti?

[@kaih9014]

More. More yeast. 🤪

[@thierryvannuffelen1274]

Go Mead ;-)

[@mildredtoepfer7897]

Hurray for the scientific method!

[@yuridanylko]

You throw it away because bacteria could have fallen in from dust or aerosoles.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

That's just as likely to get into the main brew too...

[@yuridanylko]

@@CitySteadingBrews Not if you sterilely by a flame. Any aerosoles or dust will be carried up by the heat to somewhere else. If you don't work sterilely, it doesn't matter.

[@zravensworth]

Looks like there was a little begeezes in there, lol

[@ChiP2sumP]

Hope this is not a repeat of what I said as that comment seems to have disappeared into the black hole of comments. Anyhoo, I was saying that I am going to do this as I have the Elderberry concentrate, and yes--I do not like all the contents either. But, I think I can stand one jug's worth of questionable contents. Now I have forgotten what the heck I was going to ask you...sigh, getting to old to post even questions anymore. Will post again if I can get my old brain to work.