My fave Viking Blod Mead recipe | One gallon + Five gallons cherry hibiscus recipes

[@jonvaughn3048]

I'm a huge fan of your channel. At this point I think I've made at least half a dozen of your recipes if not more and your triforce of balance video is one I watch every few months. Thanks for all you do for the homebrewing community, BC.

[@DointheMost]

This means a lot, thank you! Happy brewing! 🍻

[@brady783]

I second his thoughts on giving credit to the originals and showing beginners (like me) how uncomplicated it can be. Greatly appreciated. 🍻

[@DointheMost]

Cheers! 🍻

[@aaronwolfenbarger2122]

Hahahaha oh man, that ending was hilarious!

[@DointheMost]

A turn into the absurd 😂

[@FaewoodMead]

Your editing is like... real good.

[@FaewoodMead]

PS I love Jake's Santa belly rub 😂

[@sandon763]

It’s always good to see Jake, he’s always super active in the discord, and really knows his stuff.

[@Dogstickfetch]

D'aww man, cheers, Sandoggy!

[@caradanellemcclintock8178]

The hibiscus tea is such a beautiful colour I also love the taste of it you should try butterfly pea flower for a blue mead it could be really cool

[@dwadeweallin17]

I haven’t made viking’s blod, but your videos have inspired me to use hibiscus more and it hasn’t disappointed in the slightest. Adds such a nice dimension to a lighter berry mead. Thanks for revisiting this mead. Also great to see Jake give it a taste!!

[@DointheMost]

I am more and more into hibiscus every time I use it. It’s great as the star or great as the co-star.

[@MAGACOPP]

How are you using it exactly?

[@amberharmsen2497]

blod means ritual blod and blood are not pronounced the same most meads used in ritual are simply water and honey

[@riukrobu]

Great recipe! Looks beautiful, sounds yummy! My man Jake was there too! It made the video even better!

[@DointheMost]

He’s a legend!

[@Dogstickfetch]

MELTING MY HEART!!! 😍😍😍😍

[@keithreding1828]

I made this mead a few months ago. Delicious! I had a mishap and ended up with an OG of 1.145. FG was 1.022. That's 17% abv. However, the mead is really smooth. I used 6 lbs/5 gal of mixed berries of raspberries, blueberries and blackberries. I also added some Amoretti sour cherry (5 oz of the craft puree). It is really smooth. Thanks for the video. I would have never made it if I hadn't seen this video.

[@anglo-saxon9182]

Very sweet and strong how it's meant to be I don't want a dry mead

[@Anarcho-Zymurgist]

Drink the Harvest was the book that got me into brewing several years ago, that’s super cool to see it!

[@DointheMost]

It’s a really beautiful book. And some good reference material in there!

[@Medic_Moody_Gaming]

from your neighbor to the south, Currently have two separate 5 gallon batches brewing, one of them being Vikings blood! And the other is peach mango! Thanks for all the information and inspiration!

[@paulvinwebster]

Always looking foward to your friday recipe videos :) Thanks for sharing BC

[@DointheMost]

Cheers friend! 🍻

[@Nestlethehobgoblin]

Ah shiiit... I've got a book of recipes I told myself to go off of for my next recipe but this looks way more fun. Thanks a lot for your kick ass content as always.

[@rubducksu9245]

I need to make this. And soon

[@DointheMost]

Happy brewing 😁

[@aaronwright3257]

Gonna try my first mead making tomorrow, watched a few of your videos! I’m excited

[@randyb4191]

Definitely gonna make this

[@Funpants94]

I have a hibiscus blueberry tea I may try out with this one.

[@DointheMost]

I’ve brewed with that! Made a nice hard seltzer.

[@Funpants94]

@@DointheMost that's a great idea. I used it in a lightly fruited berry melomel and it tastes just like ocean spray now.

[@ThaMetalMan]

How do you think you could have improved this recipe? I'm looking at doing my first viking blod and I'm super excited

[@nateshamrock]

How much fermaid- O are you adding during your nutrient schedule and how do I know when my sugar has fermented two 1/3? Thank you in advance, I can’t wait to get started on this!

[@gjallarhornFM]

Hiya, how much potassium metabisulphate and potassium sorbate should be used to stabilise 5 gallons? I've made this recipe and followed it to the T so hopefully it'll be a banging brew. It's about time to bottle it, if you take the time to answer thanks very much and if you see this, HUGE THANKS FOR ALL THAT YOU ARE DOING FOR MEAD

[@Chevsilverado]

There’s no good answer to that because to do it properly you need to test the mead for so2 and other stuff to get an accurate number.

[@TannerFelton-t4r]

Great video, I am currently fermenting a batch now! What are the components and measurements for the 5 gal batch used for stabilization before adding sweetener?

[@patrickcorbett8361]

Any insight on Chestnut Mead ?...Can you share some pros and cons ? Please pc

[@simont.4176]

I really need to try this. Somehow I always end up sweetening up my brews too much because people around me like sweet drinks, even though I like them dry.

[@DointheMost]

Sometimes a fruity dry drink really hits the spot. Happy brewing!

[@jwatkins79]

Im only familiar with one fancy white powder.

[@jimdent351]

My intention is to use pure cherry juice and wildflower honey for a dry finished mead. Would you recommend all sweet juice, all sour juice, or a blend of both. If you recommend blending, what ratio would you suggest?

[@jeffbee6090]

Shout out to Jake! on so many youtube channels the music "doesn't fit" or is "overpowering" the video (in both notes and volume) this channel has a professional feel to the sound mix (for my armature sound quality ears:)

[@Funpants94]

Hey, I've seen that fella on the discord! I want to try to make a 5 gallon version of his strawberry rhubarb recipe. .

[@DointheMost]

Same!

[@Funpants94]

@@DointheMost maybe I'll wait for you to do it, LOL. Scaling that many strawberries into secondary would require quite a large container unless I either juice them, use multiple containers, or use a small portion of the rhubarb mead and make that concentrated with strawberries and then dilute it with the remaining rhubarb mead.

[@FunkyFyreMunky]

I love the "just go for it, try it!" mentality. Equipment can be as cheap as you can make it. Anywhere that deep-fries with oil will have lidded food-grade plastic drums that they're just throwing out, you can use 5ltr water bottles as demijohns, good yeast is literally pennies per gallon of product, fruit is often reduced to pennies per lb in supermarkets. Just go for it.

[@DointheMost]

Gotta dive in the deep end some time, right?

[@MyrthedeVries]

Can you make a hydromel version with cherries?

[@johnoberto2659]

Have you noticed any difference between whole fruit and juice? I guess whole fruit would have more tannins? I much prefer using juice for ease and avoiding any loss of product from solids in the fermenter.

[@DointheMost]

I’ve actually made this recipe before without fruit (Knudsen juices) and it’s pretty similar. I would say it had maybe a bit more of a cidery flavor to it, if that makes sense? You definitely get more tannin and color contributions when using some whole fruit!

[@johnoberto2659]

@@DointheMost cool. Thanks. Ive got a cherry gingerbeer session mead and a blueberry ginger session mead that almost done bottle conditioning. I juiced the thawed fruit and made a HUGE mess so ill try buying juice next time. Appreciate your recipes but i usually try to scale things for 4-5% abv range.

[@mohamedabbas4546]

Great recipe. Have you ever tried to filter it? Would that enchant the final product?

[@alexrenxa7700]

ive been watching a few different videos on mead making and im just wondering on the taste; this is the kinda of mead that tastes more like wine and is stronger than the lesser beer-type mead, right?

[@stephenbednarz3596]

Do you have to use the combo or can you stabilize with just Sorbate?

[@bokbokbagawk]

Where do I get those stoppers!? I'm sick of trying to fish mine out when they pop inside the jugs

[@FrontlineStrengthTraining]

Thoughts in using EC-1118 for this?

[@BeanTownTactics]

Can’t seem to find frozen tart cherries. Possible to use tart cherry juice? If so how much do you estimate?

[@bryyandg6067]

how do you make it less dry? i like sweeter stuff

[@raidersfan42]

How much honey would you use to backsweeten a 1 gallon batch?

[@TheSigmaQueen]

Is it ok to use fruit purees instead of whole fruit ?

[@DavidThomasTimmer]

Did you use clarifier? ?????

[@usmcsnakeeyes899]

I followed your recipe for the most part and racked it after a couple weeks even though it was actively fermenting releasing gas through the airlock. I was concerned about leaving it sit too long on the fruit. It looked like it stopped fermenting, but started up again, not as vigorous, after a couple days. I will wait until I dont see any gas releasing through the airlock before racking it the first time for my next batch. Is this a good idea?

[@dwinterowd]

I always assumed Dansk Mjod came up with the name. Looks like they were founded in 1994 but I'm unsure of when Vikings Blod was released.

[@DointheMost]

I would certainly be curious!

[@bullsbarry]

@@DointheMost FWIW the bottle for the Dansk Mjod Viking Blod says it's based on a recipe from 1700. Theirs is using hibiscus only instead of cherry, though.

[@kennethsilkey2900]

Had a friend making mead in the 90s . He had a cherry one he was calling Viking blood.

[@Eric-yg8dh]

You should score this on the Mead Stampede score sheet

[@trentonpiatt3684]

I found two Sources one was saying possibly from the 1700AD and the other was saying, it was possible in 1300AD I whant to look in to it a little more thought.

[@MichaelNelson-g6u]

How much peptic enzyme?

[@fatbruhskit]

I am going to try Bowel Movement 4x4

[@buffalojoe78]

I suggest then you add prune juice to this 😂

[@DointheMost]

Good luck lmao

[@rossk7927]

How does the tart cherry come through? Does it come across as medical/candy like, or more like the fresh fruit, or something totally different? I really dislike "cherry flavors" but love fresh Bing and Rainer sweet cherries, let's just say I had a really bad experience with something cherry flavored and can probably never enjoy it again.

[@alanjayne680]

What is all the foam in the carboy before you rack it?

[@wpeterson21]

That's a disinfectant - most likely Star San. It doesn't need to be rinsed out.

[@Baes_Theorem]

Wait where can one acquire this volcanic honey???

[@GodKingJAH]

As far as I'm aware, obviously the Vikings used cherries in their meads sometimes, but obviously didn't call it that; I heard there's a recipe for Viking blood (as named) from the 1700s (or 1500s). But I could be wrong, I've never seen the source.

[@jaysizzlegman7621]

How much erythritol to sub for 1/2 cup honey in 5 gallon batch?

[@Yggr153]

A few additions: the hibiscus (i used a lb and boiled hard for 15m) will be sorta bitter and offputting until the cherries get a chance to break down and take hold. Hops and ginger are also great additions to this to make it softer and more citrusy Viking blod is also typically.much sweeter and much higher abv. {18-22%}

[@clumzyninja3932]

Do people typically overshoot the target abv by a lot at first and backsweeten back down to 18-22%?

[@blackjackal2156]

Dansk Mjod Viking Blod (Danish Mead Vikings Blood) is a modern interpretation of 1700s Blod Mjod (Blood Mead) using cherries

[@kyle-hb3pz]

I guess it's time to finally try this. Follow up question: Does the Subscribe button contain any sulfites?

[@DointheMost]

It’s 99.9% sulphites.

[@Dogstickfetch]

We were HELLA stabilized that night

[@Murlockingqc]

Cherries, not sure which one will works great. I don't even think they mention on the bag if they are sweet or tart. Is there a variety of cherries that work great in particular? I can probably get them fresh on Facebook Marketplace for a decent prize. The "Red Tart Cherries" in the bag of yours, are they pitted or seedless? Doesn't mention it on the bad. And what about the sweet cherries? Is there a variety I should look for in particular? I've heard so many times not to use a specific cherries to avoid medicinal syrup taste and I don't want to ruin a mead with 3 pounds of honey in it.

[@TigerPat_9180]

The Bag did say Pitted on it , and Sweet & Tart Cherries 🍒 🍒 , also Strewberries .( Cherry Berry Blend ) . 🐯🤠

[@DointheMost]

Tart cherries, pitted, will help avoid the cough syrup flavor that comes from sweet cherries. Many people prefer balaton cherries.

[@Murlockingqc]

@@TigerPat_9180 You are correct, I read it wrong.

[@melpomenean]

If you do use sweet cherries, you can combat the cough syrup flavor with malic acid. Also worth noting, some brewing styles like oude kriek beers do call for fermenting on cherries with pits. From what I gather, pits are safe as long as they are in tact and not broken, but personally I'd just go with pitted just to be completely safe.

[@Murlockingqc]

Awesome, thank you guys !

[@stanleygrover2162]

You guys made me laugh!

[@keithreding1828]

What was the titratable acidity? Did you measure or adjust it by taste. Maybe it didn't need any with the fruit added. Just curious. I may make this recipe next. Looks tasty.

[@tommypersson8755]

Nothing With Vikings includes cherry in it! If you want some viking drinks, it should have lingonberry as base and ad blueberry, juniper & crowberry for flavouring.

[@MAGACOPP]

No

[@Mr_CrowFPV]

Why are your bottles bubbly when you rack into them?

[@LLRollins37]

It's the Star San sanitizer. It weirded me out when I saw it at first because it looked like soap bubbles but apparently it's made to foam up like that because it actually helps it get into the nooks and crannies and sanitize better. It's acid based and the bubbles just dissipate and it doesn't affect the brew or flavor at all though!

[@Mr_CrowFPV]

@@LLRollins37 huh that's helpful! When Im ready to make something I spray everything down with star san and let it completely air dry before starting. Knowing I can just spray and go saves time!

[@MAGACOPP]

Wait…so you’re not supposed to throw the hibiscus right into the carboy? ☹️

[@glenncombs3471]

My Father and the neighbor made Viking Blöd mead, and Blödwine in the 1960's in the Seattle area. I was glad to see it again on your, and other mead making videos. I am surprised at a lack of history, but I suggest going to the library, and not to Google, to research this, and other historical recipes.

[@DointheMost]

I mean - I sifted through all my homebrewing books, is that not good for something? Haha.

[@glenncombs3471]

Indeed. I just know, without research, but based on the fact that I'm old, I've heard these terms long before the 2000's.

[@DointheMost]

@@glenncombs3471 mine go back to the late 1970s, but 2014 is when “Viking blood” as a specifically cherry mead shows up first.

[@MunitionsDudTester]

Recipes of viking blod can date back to 1700 or earlier

[@DointheMost]

I haven’t been able to find any evidence of that NAME going back that far - can you point me in a direction?

[@mandavaler]

Lol im currently boiling down 4.5Lbs of raspberries for a raspberry wine 1 gallon

[@LadyElsena]

Why don’t you just put the hibiscus into the bucket with the fruit?

[@omarpadilla4739]

My guess is that tannin containing herbs are best extracted for a set time n temp then removed as extended contact times result in extraction of less pleasant astringency? In beer brewing roasted grain are often either cold soaked or added late in the mash for this reason.

[@roman9509]

If that powder you are spreading is pure pectic enzyme, you are probably using x100 the sufficient dose…

[@Maxim.ID4HO]

I must have missed the quantities for a 5 gallon batch. Was there a list of the quantities anywhere? Actually, if there's to be a question answered it would be about the quantities. So, what are the quantities to make a 5 gallon batch? It shows 2 packages of the fruit at 3 lbs. each, but do you use the full 6 lbs, or is that just to show what kind and 5 lbs went in? How much hibiscus? How much water? How much honey? Is this odd that I'm asking these questions? Did I miss something?

[@nickjqueen]

Yeah, I don’t think Kirk Cousins had any hand in inventing Viking Blod… 😂

[@DointheMost]

😂😂😂

[@colinmaxwell1445]

Just putting it out there, Viking Blod (Dansk Mjød) is Hibiscus and hops. Fruit wasnt used. So really at this point a Viking Blod isnt being made, its just a melomel. This comment sounds pedantic but just merely pointing out some things 👍🏻🙂

[@amberharmsen2497]

so if this is a blod mead why are we using more than just honey and water? blood and blod are pronounced differently and mean different things blod refers to a ritual and most ritual meads are plain blood is well the thing that keeps you alive but also a descriptor of color im really confused as to whats going on here cherry mead isnt really that common as far as melomels go in fact the most common is apple juice/cider and honey with or without water im probably stating the obvious here but im really just confused with the titling of the video

[@davidbishop1951]

16th century monks

[@Grandpa_RLP]

Dumb question. Why do you spell it Blod instead of Blood?

[@eliasfarmer1219]

It's because it was popularized be the Scandinavian company Dansk Mjod who spell it Blöd the two dots above a letter mean it represents two of the letter

[@danytalloen]

Ok, let's this straight first, (you guys get weirder units every time I check), so ; a hashtag is now the same a lb (aka a pound) wich in real engineering units is about 453 grams, 12 ozzes would be around 340.194278 grams (wow that is more exact than what the most kalibrated scale could measure) and than there is that spring water, over here in Europe it's perfectly safe to use tap water... just saying... otherwise I like your channel though.

[@Garik_2182]

i don't know who invented it or when,but on the shelf of my room have an empty bottle of comercial viking blood since november 2010. half an hour after emptying it with my then girlfriend i lost my virginity