Sack Mead Part 3 - More Honey!

[@CitrusChrome]

About your mention of not mixing the honey in, I believe it was "Ricky the meadmaker" who said on his q+a show that he knew someone who added water to a cold bucket of honey and didn't mix, letting it sit for, I think several years. Apparently the end result won several awards but did take a looooong time.

[@Arkeze]

My favorite thing to do is bust out my home brew red wine and drink it while binge watching CSB.

[@mycrazylifewfawnlisette3582]

Jelly!

[@jacobkemper3524]

Same here

[@Arkeze]

Lol I use my furnace room to brew. 70 degrees constant gets the job done pretty fast and usually tastes great.

[@beck769]

Who doesn`t like GOOD surprises!!

[@wtfpwnz0red]

Nothing wrong with slow and low! I actually modified a chest freezer to hold steady at precise temps for fermenting, and I keep most brews at 12-15ºC unless I'm using a yeast that recommends higher temps. I've definitely found that aggressive fermentation tends to correlate with rocket fuel flavors. Whether using nutrients* or not, I think a steady fermentation results in much less necessity of bottle conditioning. I'd rather take an extra few weeks at the beginning rather than having to tack on 6 months at the end. *I have a 2lb bag of bread yeast and pasteurize a little scoop of that for each brew so my wine yeast can have some bonus stuff to munch on. Dunno how much it helps, but I figure if anything has all the nutrients yeast needs - it's yeast.

[@griseobarba7989]

Some day I'm going to use my nephew's honey to make some mead, until then, I will continue to sponge information from you two. Thanks for your videos.

[@hman2912]

Someday never comes

[@ulrichsteenkamp4957]

just go for it, that is the only way you will ever get started. I waited almost a year to start my first batch, but you can learn much quicker by trying it for yourself

[@mycrazylifewfawnlisette3582]

I'm going to agree with someday or tomorrow will never come until you take steps to make it happen! I decided I wanted to make Mead, over the next week... I ordered what I thought I needed, did research, and made my first batch.... I continued researching, I've made 5 more (1 per week) and have a better idea of what to do, what I want to try, and damn why can't I try my first few yet to know if I'm doing good?!?! But I'm going to keep on learning and we will call my first 6 mos (5 more to go) an experiment! But I'm a month ahead of you at this exact second!

[@robutubemacarthur]

white beard just started my first mead. If you have honey start one and leave it 3 years...

[@spikelove9533]

Im toaty on board with not fermenting fast. That requires alot of nutrients that if not used will make off flavors. Also to vigorous can stress the yeast and can make off flavors as well. Yall are definitely doing it right.

[@bigslime9354]

This channel needs more subs, smh, everything is just so detailed and their just fun to watch. I love what y'all are doing

[@Gerd_Müller_71]

i started making mead in 2016. i made countless variations, and always step feed. this works perfect for me and all my results with different yeasts going to 18% vol. alcohol. thanks for your inspiring videos. greetings from bavaria/germany

[@TheRedleg69]

Literally just watched the first two and was bummed I'd have to wait to see what happens lol

[@archietyler6759]

Thanks for all you do! I don't even buy wine anymore cuz mine taste so much better and natural. Thanks so much😄😄😄

[@wj5764]

I am a fan of your work now. Good job !

[@gapey]

I had a cyser ferment super fast last year and it tastes terrible. I'm letting it age a long time and hope it gets better. Had a really slow ferment this year and it's tasting great.

[@dillonfisher7756]

Love your videos gota me into wanting to do it my self just waiting for all my stuff to come in the mail so I can start

[@jamesstockbridge4983]

I am working on a couple of 5 gallon batches that I hope to get to 18% ABV. I used your tannin nutrient tea and now, thanks to this series of videos, I understand better how to add the honey in steps. I am really looking forward to your next video in this series. Keep up the excellent work!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Awesome! Glad to help!

[@jarrydhorn7049]

I just saw the first two for the first time less than 24 hrs ago. Nice!

[@scottaustin5290]

Really like your ways thx I’m supplied up and running

[@danielgurzynski7633]

You guys are really great!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Thanks!

[@willh7690]

Heat mats made for seed starting will allow you to control your temps better

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I am within 3-5 degrees consistently... pretty happy with that.

[@willh7690]

@@CitySteadingBrews 👍 in your video you say that if you had a better way to control temps you might speak more on that topic that's all.

[@fmddls]

Temperature in Middle East is crazy, during the summer, it's super hot and my brews are ok so far

[@jamesmix20]

I actually just had to add ice packs to the outside of my stacked mead inorder to slow the fermentation. It kept trying to spew the top and I had the entire shoulder of the jug open for expansion. I blame the fact that I used multiple food sources for the yeast and ec1118 yeast for being turbo charged

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Use a blow off tube?

[@paulallerston3771]

I'm not sure where I read it, but apparently yeast is happiest at sugar concentrations less than 200g per litre, which equates to around 1.058... when I step feed, I try to keep my gravity no higher than 1.060.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I could belive that. Might require another test!

[@TrevorGeene]

Using 71B is a great option if you are worried about temperature. It has such a large working range compared to something like D47.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I have never had a problem with D47 in my temp ranges, normally 70-75f

[@TrevorGeene]

I live in Las Vegas, NV. My house can get up to 80F in summer time and I have had D47 stall out at those temperatures.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I'm in Florida, but I keep the AC on, lol.

[@harolddexter4722]

I don't know if fortifying it would count as sack mead but that seems like another good way to do it. But you've already done that and freeze concentration concentrates and intensifies the flavors in there and would help eliminate the need to back sweeten the mead

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Ehh, fortifying is a different process, not really making it a true sack mead. Freeze concentrating is still considered illegal where we are so I won't be showing or discussing that. :)

[@harolddexter4722]

@@CitySteadingBrews gotcha

[@kenw7098]

Woot bonus videos....lol

[@AslanW]

I'm very interested in seeing how this mead is going along. Any updates in the pipeline?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Very soon, yes.

[@AslanW]

@@CitySteadingBrews That's great news! Love your channel, greetings to you from Sweden!

[@seancarnell1503]

At one point I repurposed a chest freezer with a temperature controller (freezer plugs into it, it plugs into the wall, kept the "freezer" at what I set it to...) In the end, didnt make that big of a difference and I just use it as a freezer now. It serves me better as a freezer than it ever did as a fermentation chamber. Maybe if you are making a larger but.... meh.

[@nathanielsizemore8594]

Like the James Bond reference.

[@meredithstrasser6437]

Watching the sack mead videos on the 3rd one - when you say "let it go dry" is there a particular specific gravity range you mean, a delta of change in specific gravity, or some other way you can explain what 'let it go dry' means?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Dry is normally a gravity lower than say.. 1.010.

[@Stopitrightnow9985]

"are you going to change the temperature of your house for your brew?" Man if I lived alone I 100% would do that lol.

[@robutubemacarthur]

I plan to try ageing mine in a barrel after it stops. Could you use bitters for flavour. My barrel has a Martinez cocktail in it at the moment. Also it’s a 2 litre barrel so easy way to get headroom. I’ll take out 2l then continue to step feed. Maybe I’ll get more barrels and age a barrel every time I feed it. What do you think?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Barrels aren't all that great for short term aging (less than say 2-4 years). Too much oxidation change, they leak, etc. I much prefer wood chips or spirals.

[@NinerLogan]

Any update from the Dragons Breath video?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Tomorrow!

[@NinerLogan]

@@CitySteadingBrews Yay!!!

[@jadbouchebl4367]

Hello, I hope you are doing well. Where can I see the remaining videos of this series?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

kzbin.info/aero/PLZr9O7bplKgmvsQz9X_BoWJKikh4t_FP5&si=y6qmYa0FXrjqGLOd

[@mikeyoung7368]

So what about adding a higher tolerance yeast after fermentation has started. Like in the first 2 weeks? Would it hurt or would it be a no go?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Doesn’t really do anything other than that yeast will likely take over.

[@Neanie68]

Hi guys, Another great video as always. Thank you. Im trying to get my head around your alcohol calculation and thought i understood. But Im having trouble getting to your 107 points. Would you be able to clarify for me please. My understanding was your OG was 1.112 and went down to 1.060. giving 52 points. Then after adding honey, your reading went to 1.079 and dropped to 1.044. Giving a further 35 points. This totals 87 points. Can you explain where I'm going wrong. Thanks heaps

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Well, one way is estimation: Add up all the honey and you get 1.575 OG with an FG of 1.060= 16.04 ABV. In part 5, I said 16.3%. Pretty close. Okay, to do this right, you take all the consumed sugar points, and add the FG to that. This is your OG now and forever. Then just calculate as usual. So we have 1.112-1.060= .052, 1.079-1.044= .035 and let's not forget 1.064-1.060=4 points. So, that's 91. 0.091+.060= 1.151 OG. I may have misspoken in this video, but got it right in the last one! Honestly, knowing the exact ABV is pretty unimportant. This one is 15-16%, good enough for most purposes.

[@allan010101]

You explained why my ferments have slowed down here in the Pacific Northwest. And I keep my house between 60 F and 67 F. Do you recommend one of those heating things or should I just be patient and let my ferments sit in the closet. (Yes I am a closet brewer.) I figure Spring will get here eventually. Although I would love a nice glass of mead while it snows in Seattle next week.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Slow is good!

[@CarlPapa88]

What kind of flavor would one get from a step fed cyser & champagne yeast? Premier Cuvee specifically.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Probably just a really strong alcohol cyser.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

We used champagne yeast btw.

[@davidmcdonald4771]

Did the no mix by mistake, got called to work. It did take a much longer time however it did finally work. Not really great but drinkable Added some blueberries and wild mint, took the mead to a party and it disappeared rather quickly.

[@jbafternoonpiper404]

Hi Brian & Derica I'm really interested in this sack mead. I going to do the viking blood mead first and then start the sack. I'm looking for a new scale and I see you have one. Which one did you decide to get and why? Thanks for all the videos.

[@jbafternoonpiper404]

Well I started the sack mead first. Used the same recipe "da-much" and my starting gravity was 1.122 before I pitched my yeast. Settling in for the long haul. Looking forward to video #4.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

The 50 lb one is great for brewing the 17 lb one is a touch more accurate for small measures.

[@atouchofa.d.d.5852]

I disagree that you are not getting some oxygen in there but you certainly need it to continue fermentation. Adding it by other means would reduce your time to dryness.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

It’s still working so lots of co2 coming out will force out any oxygen that was introduced. Oxygen is not needed or wanted at this phase of fermentation anyway.

[@jackpotgaming420]

Yes please do pour honey don’t mix I am trying the same now and would be nice to have something to compare with

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Eventually, yep.

[@millierose10]

Regarding starting out with a gravity that is too sweet to ferment.... How much is that? Is 1.130 too much? 1,140? Just started a "Christmas Mead" in that range. Will there be problems?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

That’s the range where you can start having trouble, yes.

[@millierose10]

So fortunately it kicked off fine. But now what was super airlock activity has ceased. Since I went in to this batch assuming that it will not be done until Christmas, should I rack it off of the lees now or wait? is there anything to gain by letting it age with the lees? It's only 1 gallon so I don't want to rack too many times and lose too much volume. Perhaps rack once now, age some (?) more with airlock and then bottle to age until Christmas? Thoughts?

[@millierose10]

"... should I rack it off of the lees now or wait? is there anything to gain by letting it age with the lees? "

[@karonosphere8390]

Hi guys, I’m following along your sack mead journey and I’m curious why you are choosing to shake it up / de-gas it so often? I thought you “should” only do that for the first couple days of pitching the yeast?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Normally yes, but degassing helps keep the yeast going as we get to or past their tolerance, but only when step feeding do I do it.

[@harolddexter4722]

In order to get a sack mead which is just basically a strong sweet mead couldn't you just freeze concentrate a great mead you already have. It'll remove some water effectively increasing the ABV concentrating the flavor and sugar content by volume. It's quicker and can help eliminate the whole step feeding process which seems tedious. Of course if step feeding is what you specifically wanted show that's fine and awesome. Just a suggestion though 😄. I love this channel by the way

[@CitySteadingBrews]

It's not just about high ABV. A sack mead has lots of complexity due to the honey being fermented over time. Freeze concentrating is actually kinda dangerous, since you're concentrating all the methyls too. It's also illegal where we are so I don't discuss it or demonstrate it in videos.

[@harolddexter4722]

@@CitySteadingBrews Awesome. I didn't think about the added complexity from the honey being fermented over time. That's why you guys make videos and I don't 😁. Also dont want you getting in trouble from doing anything illegal😦. I guess freeze concentration is considered distillation technically🤷‍♂️??

[@jadhielporras7031]

Hi I’m just getting started in the whole brewing thing, and was wondering if I made a traditional mead full gallon, can I then split that into two half gallons and add more honey and water, and kinda make 2 batches of sack mead? Also I really enjoy all your videos, keep it up very informative!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Yes, but why not just make two gallons to start with?

[@jadhielporras7031]

City Steading Brews well I did do two gallons but I added yeast with a tolerance of 18% and was afraid that doing it with only 3lbs of honey, may not give it good flavor since from what I can tell, it won’t reach that kind of ABV

[@jadhielporras7031]

Thanks for the super fast reply! Love it

[@CitySteadingBrews]

What you described is almost exaclty what I did with this step feed.

[@jadhielporras7031]

City Steading Brews awesome thanks a lot!

[@kjparker0]

Is most step feeding done in the primary fermenter?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Yes, it should be.

[@blairleipst7416]

What did Brian's t-shirt say??

[@CitySteadingBrews]

A cow a pig and a chicken walk in to a BBQ. The End.

[@californiabrad]

This is old I don't know if you are looking any more. You referenced using the lease in another brew, I looked for a link and did not see it. Can I get that link?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

We never published it.

[@nicklong7661]

out of pure curiosity i am asking for a regular mead vs a blue berry mead.just a little heavy on the sugar content/(honey) side of things?. with distiller yeast.?.NAY! , I am begging for this.because i wan to try this and i am just super extremely curious. can you please try a regular mead vs blueberry mead adding distillers yeast and yeast nutrient.i think something magical will happen if my math is right.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

We won’t use nutrient additions and... honestly there are far better yeasts than distiller’s yeast. They are simply to get the most alcohol with little regard to flavor. Happy to make a blueberry mead, but... not using those additions.

[@lolsurprise7185]

"It smells of strong alcohol, oh and we're taking a big taste to leave room for more honey (or similar words)" Urm yeah, that's my excuse too, honest!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

:)

[@nordicwillness]

I'm sorry can someone explain the process or formula on how to figure the ABV post back sweeten?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Add up all the spent gravity and multiply by 135.

[@nordicwillness]

CS Brews spent gravity I'm assuming is the number difference from OG to FG. Also why 135 and does that change per volume? For example I have a 1 gallon with OG 1.085 the racked at 1.009 (making 10% ABV). After backsweetening with fruit juice and honey it is now at 1.020. volume is still the same because I replaced what was lost from racking. What is the "spent number" from these readings?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

135 is just the coefficient used to calculate it. No, volume has no bearing. Essentially, let's say you did this: 1.100 OG, ferments to 1.000 Add honey to 1.050, ferments to 1.000 Add honey to 1.050 again, ferments to 1.020. You used .100 + .050 + .030 gravity for a total of .180. Multiply by 135 and you got the fantastical number of 24.3% ABV, as this was just an example.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

If you replace what you lost during racking, you changed everything and the actual ABV will be a guess at best. I wouldn't dilute after racking, you're asking for problems.

[@nordicwillness]

CS Brews interesting. Thank you. Now one question. What if after racking and sweetening no more fermentation happens. Do you leave the ABV the same even if you use something thinner than honey like maple syrup? Sorry for all the questions.

[@lontoc4150]

Is the bitter-ish aftertaste possibility from stressing the yeast? I don’t remember seeing you add any yeast “nutrients”

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Never use those chems and nope, it’s just green still.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Nutrients aren’t really necessary, especially in a brew like this.

[@lontoc4150]

So they are just feeding on the dead yeast? I brewed a semi sweet traditional 18% once without nutrients. I let it age for 18 months before trying it. It was amazing but I don’t think I could wait that long again!

[@treffoil]

what does his shirt say?

[@captkarizma79]

Any update on video #4 of this series??

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Very soon.

[@captkarizma79]

I'm running out of mead videos to binge...lol

[@jimmieburleigh9549]

Did yall ever do the video of not mixing the honey and water? If so I cant seem to find it.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Nope.

[@jimmieburleigh9549]

@@CitySteadingBrews Oh ok. That would be interesting to see if the honey and water would mix out and maybe a juice and sugar as well.

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

They kind of did something along those lines in their “Dump Mead” video. It wasn’t a step feed, but it was a mead where they dumped the various moving parts to a demijohn, added yeast, popped on an airlock, and let it do its thing. I think that was a little less than a year ago. With a bit of luck we’ll have the one year tasting soon. 😊 You could say that mead was a ‘built-in step feed” as over time, the yeast munched through the available sugars. Calculating the ABV was impossible because they couldn’t take an original gravity reading. Estimating is possible though.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

We did do it finally. At the time of asking we hadn’t!

[@danwinks4917]

Finally figured it out, would like to know how your labled on facebook

[@mycrazylifewfawnlisette3582]

Part 4 soon?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Yes.

[@mycrazylifewfawnlisette3582]

@@CitySteadingBrews I am hoping not to wait longer than a week!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

@@mycrazylifewfawnlisette3582 ehh, sorry, you're gonna have to wait until it's ready.

[@mycrazylifewfawnlisette3582]

Still bubbling like crazy?

[@chamomiledill6532]

Hey kiddos, do you ever use dark amber tinted bottles?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

No, but only because we only have small swing top ones that we reserve for beer. We keep our brews in dark places so the color of the glass isn’t as critical.

[@Dave_en]

@@CitySteadingBrews does it affect fermentation? I mean light.

[@elricthebald]

Just added 0.25kg honey to my 4.5l brew. And in the process of tidying up afterwards broke my hydrometer. Crap! Worst yet: my supplier currently does not have them in stock. Double crap!

[@danwinks4917]

I got it.

[@thomasdavis4771]

Don't let drive thru snowflakers "Daddy I want a squirrel!" types ride you take your time!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

lol

[@Cionaoith]

If you are fermenting in your house, the temperature should be above 55 F; lower than that can cause your water pipes to freeze. For the love of your local claims adjuster, don't let your water pipes freeze!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Not sure our pipes get that cold and... water doesn’t freeze until 32f. 55 wil not freeze, lol.

[@Cionaoith]

@@CitySteadingBrews I should specify, because I live in Wyoming where it's a legitimate concern; in colder climates, if outside temperatures reach 20 F, and your thermostat is set below 55, you run the risk of water pipes freezing (especially pipes in exterior walls). The colder it gets outside, the warmer you should keep the temperature inside to prevent this, but 55 F is generally accepted as the minimum. I was saying this more for fellow northerners than for you Floridians. ;)

[@lukaszprzybylo8498]

4:45 1.112-1.060=0.052; 1.079-1.044=0.035; 0.052+0.035=0.087 ==>0.087x131.25=11.4%ABV Is it correct?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

We have an alternate formula... I gave a link in the video, I think?

[@lukaszprzybylo8498]

@@CitySteadingBrews Found it. Thank You

[@CitySteadingBrews]

@@lukaszprzybylo8498 cool, sorry, was on mobile and couldn't post a link right away!

[@Jakenatorr]

17th OCFA. Napped too long......

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Well... today isn't our normal release day!

[@UtahSustainGardening]

What? You're not an expert? That's it, I'm out of here! :)

[@mycrazylifewfawnlisette3582]

Haha.. who is an expert?? Find me one but I bet they would be a pompous a$$!!

[@Rohnon]

First! Ha

[@sentein3538]

No wonder my brews go as far as they do. My basement is mid to low 60's.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

You mean they take longer to finish out?