10 HOMEBREWING MISTAKES YOU LEARNED from YouTube brew channels | Brewin' the Most

[@DointheMost]

Timestamps? We've got your timestamps right here! 1:02 Bread Yeast 2:30 Under-thinking yeast 3:50 Flavor extracts 6:26 Extreme experiments 8:35 Spice and everything nice 10:23 Raisins as nutrient 12:55 Mixing measurements 14:12 Not enough fruit 16:08 Where’s that water from? 18:11 The rush to consume

[@CountDrunkula]

You can turn on chapters for the video and magically those stamps will become 'things' if you put them in the description. Oooo!

[@Ken-rk3by]

I have used bread yeast in wine and had the after taste, but for the next batch I used Fleshman's pizza yeast and didn't get the after taste, and the alcohol content was 16% abv. This was all store-bought concord grape with 1 litre of black current and about 2lbs. of fruit sugar. It did turn out totally dry so I back-sweetened it gradually to taste. It turned into a very fine tasting wine. I am going to make a 5-gallon batch next but use Lalvin K1-V1116 yeast and see how it turns out because 1-gallon batches go too fast LOL

[@langstonfelix3668]

instaBlaster

[@stabilast]

You have to look at bread yeast as a gateway drug to home brewing. Some people have a threshold they need to overcome when it comes to home brewing and that is usually the hassle of investing in more stuff. I did a simple brew with just bread yeast and organic apple juice... and man... im hooked. It actually tasted great and this gave me the push i needed to go ahead and get the proper equipment and yeast. I'm going for my first hard cider brew soon :-)

[@leonardovidal8029]

Fleishmanns PROS: works very well with spices (perhaps a little too well, be careful) and citrics (add some peel, they love it), also tropical fruits. The honey taste is very present after the yeast subsides and the alcohol tolerance is quite nice, around 12% ABV in my years of experience (frequently more with the right conditions). Pour a lot of it, and you'll be giving the yeast the nutrient it needs. I had a hydromel dry out in only three days, with a very present honey profile. Works well with both sugar and honey. Fleishmanns CONS: the yeast cake is non-existent, the bottom layer is like dust on suspension (so it takes a couple of extra racks for you not to find wisps in your bottles). Do not expect it to extract a lot of tannins (it doesn't) or color (it doesn't). You'll have to add them accordingly. Because of that, I'd not recommend Fleishmanns for dark or red berries and wines. I've bought red star, bought lallvin, and ultimately decided that Fleischmanns yeast is not only perfectly fine, but a very good yeast, even in comparison with the best ones.

[@wesfrost8265]

#1 Bread/general purpose yeast - you can absolutely use it in your brews. I have never had any problems using it and for a malty flavor profile it's great for cider, mead, beer etc. It doesn't give this refined sophisticated taste that let's say a champagne yeast would give to a mead for example, however it is tasty and I'd say closer to a wild yeasts. #9 WATER - THIS is sooooooo overlooked in the homebrewing community, i'm glad you talked about it! Thanks for the video, looking forward for the next one!

[@SirWussiePants]

Cultured yeast ARE wild yeasts. They are just gathered in places where the outcome is known - ie Bordeaux and cultured (multiplied) for the masses. Sorry, I get sick of people saying that they use feral yeasts to be more "natural". Commercial yeast IS natural! Just maybe not natural for your specific region - ie northern Minnesota.

[@paulaxton72]

@@SirWussiePants have you ever visited a yeast factory like white labs ? I bet you would eat those words after that

[@SirWussiePants]

@@paulaxton72 yes, there are gm yeast, but most currently and widely available ones are just natural yeast

[@CityofWhite]

Take back what you said about banana runts.

[@MikeJones-mf2fw]

😂😂😂

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

Pretty good list of pitfalls. I took my first steps into mead making alongside someone who did it ‘no tech’: no hydrometer, just a fermenter with an airlock, boiled (and cooled) tap water, honey, yeast (or a wild fermentation but that was rare), a handful of flavourings and TIME. Lots of transferring the ferment into new clean vessels. Working by eye, smell, ear and instinct and being extremely scrupulous about hygiene (which then leant bleach and boiling). Since then I’ve graduated to using a hydrometer and a few more doo-dads but not many. Most things boil down to common sense, really. Be patient. Don’t overcrowd a recipe. Don’t change up too many things at a time. When you want a fruit flavour, use A LOT of fruit. Try to remember how various tastes, flavours and scants marry together. One piece of advice I’d add is this: KEEP A JOURNAL/RECIPE BOOK AND SLAP LABELS ON YOUR FERMENTERS AND BOTTLES. One day you’ll open a bottle, it’ll taste mind-blowingly good, you’ll hear the angels sing and you won’t remember how you went about making it. An old notebook containing your recipes/fermentation notes and a piece of decorator’s tape with the pertinent information on the bottle will do fine. Come to think of it, if you’ve got several fermenters going simultaneously, better label those too. Sorry for the caps. It’s a sore spot. LOL! Good video.

[@Zbee167]

AGREED!

[@nate665]

Seen some pretty good tests where it’s shown raisins are in fact a nutrient. Run all three, nothing, raisins, brewing nutrients, and the brewing nutrients win every time, but there is 100% an effect with raisins, just not as large.

[@Moostery]

Bread yeast can make very good tasting alcohol as well. I feel like this guy is just spouting shit he has read without trying it for himself.

[@slaprakshas]

@@Moostery come on now, that's complete bull... I think you need to try different yeasts before you can understand how bread yeast suck... I have been brewing past 22 years.

[@Moostery]

@@slaprakshas I have Lalvin 71b, red star premier blanc, safcider AB-1, Red Star D.A.D.Y, fleishmanns bread yeast, and a couple strains of my own wild yeast. I also currently have 31 gallons fermenting in the form of meads, ciders, and wines. Bread yeast can absolutely make a good alcoholic beverage as long as it's a good yeast such as fleischmanns.

[@slaprakshas]

@@Moostery many "good" Bakers Yeast are actually Brewers yeast sold for baking. Mamy yeast manufacturers do this. We all know Brewers yeast are better than bakers yeast at even baking.

[@GreenWitch1]

@@Moostery THIS guy is the most experienced brewer on KZbin! Bread yeast is shit & raisins aren’t nutrients 😂 You’d be wise to learn from BC!

[@chrisgeo1642]

I appreciate all homebrew content and by no means would I ever consider myself an “expert” at anything as the word implies there is nothing left to learn and I believe no matter how much one knows there is something to be learned. All that being said people have different goals, different opinions and like any form of art or tastes subjectivity is everything. For me when it comes to home brewing I am not trying to create a new masterpiece, I am not out to push boundaries or flavor envelopes. I make the styles of beer that I enjoy and want to make them as close to my own subjective tastes as I can. In short if I am making a strong English ale then I am trying to make it the best representation of that style within relation to my subjective tastes . Should I want a more exotic or unusual brew I just go buy it. I just wanted to comment because it seems to me what gets overlooked in so many great homebrew videos is that subjectivity .

[@MegaStamandster]

Thanks for your opinions on these, though, most aren't necessarily mistakes but choices that could lead to a bad brew if not used appropriately. Just a reminder that everything should be done in appropriate measure. The mistake it over or under doing something.

[@paulaxton72]

Like pitching yeast???

[@raysites5918]

Rushing to consume is my biggest problem! Happened already with the blueberry mead recipe I followed your footsteps with. Already bottled stuff up to try to get it out there for friends and family for xmas. I’ve been trying real hard to not touch the stuff we put together after. Good points in the video! Keep the great content coming!

[@DointheMost]

We’re excited to revisit brewing another blueberry mead soon!

[@torjones1701]

I do have to take issue with #1 Bread Yeast. Nothing you say there is wrong, I just think you're a bit too harsh on your bias against bread yeast. Please keep in mind that for the past 3000 years, there was zero difference between bread yeast and brewing yeast. There is some benefit to brewers yeast in that it does flocculate far better, but that's not really a necessity to brewing. There is also a benefit in that certain strains do grant a fine-tuning of the flavor of your brewing. But if you're just getting started in the hobby, you may not be able to taste the difference between two yeast strains, or be able to notice the difference in flocculation either. You're not wrong, it's just that it's a bit... Nose in the aire. It's not a MISTAKE to use bread yeast. Using bread yeast won't make your fermentation fail or taste terrible.

[@tomgoodwin7134]

no

[@torjones1701]

@@tomgoodwin7134 Yes

[@ethanlevy5412]

@@tomgoodwin7134 useless

[@tomgoodwin7134]

@@ethanlevy5412 don't use bread yeast

[@tomgoodwin7134]

@@ethanlevy5412 here's an actual comment. You can find beer yeast very readily nowadays...all over the internet and homebrew stores are a lot more common than they used to be. If you're going through all the effort of acquiring brewing supplies and ingredients, why do yourself the disservice of using bread yeast? Sure it might not taste "terrible" but I would argue everyone has subjective tastes and for someone just getting into the hobby a beer made with bread yeast is going to come off as strange and may discourage them from trying again. You can find 11g packs of US-05 for like 4$ on Amazon...just use that instead.

[@IX0o0XI]

I don't really agree with the bread yeast comment. Lots of homebrewers, farmhouse brewers use it, and even some professional ones. It has to be used differently, but saying that it doesn't work is like saying that Kveik yeast doesn't work at 20 degrees.

[@tomgoodwin7134]

dont use it

[@andruloni]

@@tomgoodwin7134 make me

[@billkorpela1976]

I've watched a lot of you-tube videos and feel very good about this one! Thanks for your help, as a lot of videos say 6-8 weeks and just can't believe that statement. I just started brewing beer last September and opened my last bottle the end of January and it was so darn good! So patience is vertue!

[@DointheMost]

That’s some impressive patience! What did you brew as your first beer?

[@billkorpela1976]

@@DointheMost Did a5 gallon batch of Toasted Coconut cream ale! It came out Great! I found out though I should have waited for about two months longer as it really got better!

[@DointheMost]

@@billkorpela1976 That sounds incredible! Love coconut!

[@lorenkinzel9145]

Some pretty solid advice, especially on fruit quantity. However, 1)making wine is not "brewing". 2)raisins will provide nutrients to a wine. But no nitrogen to speak of. Yeast does not live on nitrogen (and sugar) alone. 3)I would use 5 lbs/gal blackberry & skip the merlot

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

Being metric, I’ve developed a simple rule of thumb that serves me well. Per 4 litres (a little over a US gallon) I add 3 kilograms (around 6.6 lbs) of fruit for wines and for meads where I want the fruit to play the main role. For a mead where the honey plays the main role but that has a fruit flavour, proportions may vary. Same goes for ciders, as apple is the main character and other fruit ‘only’ play a supporting role. Raspberries and blackcurrants are very strong. They’ll quickly overpower other flavours. That means you will want to use less. The key os ‘use enough’. Depending on what you’re making and the effect you want to achieve, the definition of ’enough’ will vary. DC’s statement that you should not skimp, remains valid. 😊

[@HappyHomestead]

Another great video! I do love the extreme experiments though, love pushing the boundaries of what has and has not been done before :) Not because it is clickbait, but, after brewing for 35 years and every recipe has been done, made, drank, and enjoyed - looking for the next step up. Seaweed wine, for example - complete extreme experiment and it turned out to be a heck of great wine. Some wines are a complete fail, but breaking the boundaries is never easy :) Raisins heck yeah! Homebrew can not be rushed, if you are wanting to have a drink this weekend, either start brewing ages ago or go to the shops! People often hound me wanting to hear taste tests for wines I have made, but, a year later, I still feel they are not ready!

[@DointheMost]

And we love your extreme experiments!

[@DanRegueira]

Just want to take a second to appreciate that you are both a Pokemon nerd and homebrewer like myself. You love too see it!

[@RyChannelBrewing]

Been brewing for 7 years and never used an extract. Just brewed an extract kit beer for a video that uses blueberry extract. Mostly did that recipe just to show how customizable an extract beer can be. For the record, Primarily I’m an all grain brewer. Thanks for the video!

[@DointheMost]

I can see that working out okay since it is a complementary flavor. Thanks for watching!

[@marklee81]

You do a pretty good job of criticizing bread yeast, but you make a mistake a lot of critics of using bread yeast make, and it was also your first criticism. Yes, it makes co2, but it makes the same amount of co2 and alcohol as any other yeast at the same abv tolerance. It's simple chemistry. Glucose molecules make equal parts ethyl alcohol and co2. Other fermentable sugars require h2o, but they also ferment into equal parts co2 and ethyl alcohol. As I said, you did a good job, so don't take this the wrong way, I just thought it was worth pointing out.

[@DointheMost]

Hi there! I never said this? I said it's used for CO2 production not flavor, not that it magically makes more CO2 than other yeasts. Thanks for the comment, but it seems you misheard.

[@tomgoodwin7134]

fucking stop with the bread yeast already

[@gsgeno]

I appreciate how you call out the bullshit on some channels and have seen how they try to cover it up. Scientifically I'm sitting there like... "how is that even close to being enjoyable?!" Though I haven't even made my first batch of mead. I have tasted several brews. From 4 months to 2 years old. My gods the 2 year old mead was soooooo good.... The hurry up and wait game is strong. I dig your channel, keep preaching the truth broham. 👍

[@noswal98]

Thank you so much for adding proper creative commons citations IN THE VIDEO

[@ManMadeMead]

Candy canes don't belong in meads?? I feel attacked... ;) Just kidding! Love the video!

[@DointheMost]

Much love, hah

[@alexanderthomas8784]

I was thinking about your mead while watching this! Also, Apple Cinnamon :(

[@BitterRealityBrewing]

I felt some of this was directed towards you but you are still my go to Mead channel no matter what they say. :-)

[@elliottherbert6833]

MMM has a better intro song

[@jakenelson798]

I like your guy’s friendly competition you have going on haha. Also that you guys now do videos together is awesome!

[@FesIRL]

There's only one bread yeast that will work, Fleischmann ActiveDry will work. I've done it, it's not bad.

[@TheLaziiness]

Facts!!!! I’ve been making mead at home for years and I never had a problem with it

[@skylargrey8354]

Always worked for me Everytime it ferments for 30days +

[@johndoe9979]

I always use bread yeast never had a problem I even prefer the fast-acting

[@tomgoodwin7134]

its very bad and you should feel bad for using it

[@paulaxton72]

Thanks for the brutal honesty!

[@sellelpoc]

I just pitched actual Brewers Yeast for the first time this week I was extremely impressed that this S-04 completely ran through this Apple Juice in two days!

[@bossalou]

I used to use bottled, spring water for wine when I first started winemaking 4 years ago. Then one day I was making my first mead in a small batch, so I used my tap water. I drink it all the time and it tastes better than bottled or filtered water. It turned out really good and everything since then has been made with our tap water. I will say because of youtube channels making mistakes, I can avoid them or be all smug to myself saying I already knew it (even though I probably didn't).

[@e.s.8684]

Good to hear. I have and use my spring H2O that comes right out of the ground, unfiltered and NO chemicals added, just pure natural goodness. After this video I thought that was my mistake, but after hearing your comment, I do feel better. I am making a lilac blossom wine. INGREDIENTS 6 cups lilac blossoms, stems and green parts removed 5 1/2 to 6 cups sugar A few blueberries (optional, for color) Juice of 3-4 lemons 1 tsp yeast nutrient 1/8 tsp tannin powder (optional) Wine Yeast Red Star Premier Blanc Wine Yeast, I bought the right yeast and the nutrients, but it isn't doing anything. So I looked at utube, and they said it needed to be cool, so I moved it to a cool spot, still no action, so I added more yeast, STILL NOTHING. Now I see perhaps I should move it back and put it on a warming mat? This is my very first brew experience, and I gotta tell ya gathering all those Lilac blossoms and picking them clean was a lot of work, I hope not to just fail...Very disappointing

[@bossalou]

@@e.s.8684 It could be the lemon juice inhibiting the yeast or it might be too much sugar for the yeast to get going. I'm not sure. I would think that yeast would be pretty hardy with it being a champagne yeast. Even if your airlock isn't bubbling, it may be going. Check for bubbles in the wine and check the gravity reading in a few days to see if it has moved.

[@theanalmarauder]

Flieschmanns yeast IS a brewing yeast. It's a yeast made for high abv ales and works well in that setting. The reason Flieschmanns sells this strain of yeast marketed as bread yeast is because homebrewing is illegal in many parts of the world. Red Star and other brands are actual yeasts designed for bread and have much lower abv tolerances. At the end of the day though, it's still not a very good yeast.

[@paulaxton72]

It's for making BREAD

[@paulaxton72]

@James Sheppard have you bothered to try actual brewing yeast????

[@Mezox13]

Have you looked into City Steading Brews

[@Skulltap]

I've been watching their videos for a long time and it has been interesting to see their process evolve over time.

[@Mezox13]

@@Skulltap I have been with them from when they started and love them from day 1

[@FunkyFyreMunky]

I have very few issues with CS Brews. I don't share their views on a few things (eg. sterilisation practices, use or lack thereof of additives, Derika's incessant screaming of "Red Bucket of Sanitisation!"), but they explain their views on such things eloquently and they've a fantastic drive to experiment without going insane with the flavour profiles. At least most of the time. I have seen them make one or two monstrosities.

[@keithmcauslan943]

@@FunkyFyreMunky When they stopped doing it 6 months ago I missed it. Now I wish she would only do it 2 a month or do don't stop doing it. But make it a punch line, not the whole joke; if that makes any sense. Although is reaction to it is licensee sometimes.

[@tanasebrle9052]

I've used bread yeast and it does ferment. Is it designed for making brew? No, but if you're on a budget, OR, have a ton of bread yeast, then you use what you've got. Saying bread yeast is a mistake... different strokes for different folks. As for flavor extracts... I prefer to keep things as natural as possible. I stick with fruits as opposed to chemicals. That means no yeast nutrients, or chemicals of any kind. Why? Man was making brew long before lab/factory produced chemicals were ever a thought, and we're still here today to tell the tale. lol... I love how he said don't believe the internet and yet here he is telling us this stuff ON THE INTERNET!!! So, are we not supposed to believe you? I agree with the last point... You need to wait and let the aging process take place. As for the other points, I think you're stressing them a bit. As long as you're making a product you enjoy and tastes good, then you're doing it right. I use tap water for my meads. Why? Because it tastes good and I'm cheap. I can't see paying for water when it comes out of my tap clear, odor free, and with no taste. Are all these points you bring up mistakes, or just your opinion on several of these topics? Not everyone brews the same. That's fine. If everyone brewed the same, there wouldn't be as many interesting recipes out there. Just a bit of constructive criticism... in the future, try to let people know that the points you're making are just your OPINION. Unless you have a degree in chemical engineering and Brewing, OR, have been making brews longer than anyone has ever been alive, I think it's safe to say we're all novices here and use techniques that work best for each of us.

[@tomgoodwin7134]

we sell wine yeast for $1.25/5g. dont use bread yeast

[@davidbattrick3690]

not enough fruit...You nailed it!!!

[@snuckyr]

A KZbin video told me to use raisins instead of yeast nutrients for my mead. After three weeks Gravity had dropped from 1.110 to 1.100. I added nutrients and it finished to 1.012 in two more weeks

[@kylewinfree2485]

#10, yes. 4-6 months works great for me.

[@jkidd7608]

#10 for me for sure just because I've only just begun making mead/wine. I made my first batch after Christmas and tasted it after bottling and was appalled. It was so bad. I wanted to throw it out but decided to just throw it in my basement and I'm going to check back 6 months later hoping it's gotten better. My second and third batches seemed to go better and I'm also aging those now. Patience definitely seems key.

[@AnthonyToddCat]

Did it get better?

[@paul.b1730]

Great video, especially number 9. Cheers for the info.

[@Slater6377]

I have to disagree a bit on the fruit. One of my favorite 5 gallon batches to make only needs 2 lbs of frozen mixed fruit. The base is Cran-raspberry juice so that is a factor but you can absolutely taste the added fruit over the base juice. I call it "berry bomb" and it is awesome.

[@darkwater234]

I agree. I did a one gallon batch and added 12oz of frozen raspberries, thinking it was going to be weak. The raspberry came through just fine! 🍷

[@MrJackassz]

I find the best wines and beers made is when you dont follow a single recipe or guide and wing it! Some of my best wines ive made is when i had no clue what i was doing but wanted to learn.

[@gingerbeardbrewing1288]

Yeast was the hardest thing for us to find good information on for sure.

[@Ali-rb1mq]

Did lavender, cocoa(from nibs tea) , ginger, and mango. I used light brown sugar. My mead-mead is honey and a wine yeast. I bit of sugar

[@SirDanielHorton]

Great. Educational, entertaining, subscribed. Time to go threw the back log.

[@IAMDARTHVADERBITCH]

#9 is often overlooked. It's like 90 something % of your ingredients. It's so important.

[@bruceprosser8332]

I sure wish that I found you back in October. Really enjoy your content and thanks for making these videos!

[@TeensierPython]

I've used bread yeast to make alcoholic drinks overseas with apple juice boxes. a guy does what he has to for "beer."

[@richardthompson14]

I like ec1118 because, I like a 'sipping' mead. I am landing around 20% for mine. I add a a tincture of spices that helps with that. I totally mix measurements. some things are easier and better to measure by volume. adding weights together is like 1000 times easier in grams. but tsp and tbsp is the way to go with chemicals

[@marc-andretrudeau4412]

Oyster stout are not weird, they are historical and the chimistry works! You need a higher ph in the water to balance the acidity of the dark grains. What can help you with that? Oysters sheels! I love oyster stout!

[@Jonobos]

I use tap water. But my water is good and I use Camden tabs to clear out the chlorine and chloromine

[@DointheMost]

That’s a very good point re: campden tabs. Unfortunately OKC’s municipal water is not super great.

[@JaxMerrick]

I didn't even think about using campden tabs for chlorine, but I use them in the start of my mead brews anyways. Whenever I make a mead with fruit in it, I usually go get fruits from a local "whole food" store, so I always put a tab into the must before I pitch yeast to kill off wild yeasts. Fringe benefit, I guess.

[@jasonjason27]

I was the 1,000th subscriber 🙌🏼

[@DointheMost]

How come we can't heart comments more than once? A heart and a like, then! THANK YOU so much!

[@jasonjason27]

Thank you for the amazing and informative videos!! They are so helpful and entertaining also 🙏🏼

[@dirtydan2721]

I made some Kilju that's not completely fermented yet but it was done with Red Star bread yeast from the amish store, not the stuff in little sachets but this one just came in a little plastic container. I was worried that it would taste bready and it definitely smells like yeast since the yeast hasn't dropped out of solution yet but it somehow had a cider-like flavor with no bread taste, I'm wondering how many other bread yeasts are good for this stuff. Bread yeast doesn't just make co2, it's also there to flavor bread. A lot of flavor from good breads comes from the bread yeast, I wouldn't write it off completely. It's there to provide flavor, there's bread that doesn't use yeast and uses soda instead and it always lacks in flavor because the yeast isn't there to help it.

[@jowalderhaug575]

If you live in Norway, you have perfect water in the tap ;)

[@falerving2588]

Ja d he mi

[@kleinermunsterlande]

Yes we do 👍🏻

[@Kooma4Yew1600]

Rub it in. No literally. I would pay for a massage using just the water from Norway.

[@jowalderhaug575]

@@Kooma4Yew1600 lol 🤣

[@tomgoodwin7134]

except if you need gypsum or chloride

[@lostpony4885]

I like the 2 week all spices example taste acting.

[@colindruce-mcfadden9026]

My thinking regarding raisins was that their value came not from their nitrogen levels, but their magnesium. The reason JOAM works ok is that it gets its nitrogen from the orange peels and its magnesium from the raisins. Combined, these nutrients emulate the benefits of using fermaid k. If that's BS, I'd love to know.

[@booshveg]

You are one of those many brewers on youtube . So u have no right to disapprove others , at best you can say how you think yet u r sitting there talking as if whatever u say is the law. Just to point out , what u said about bread yeast is total b.s .i myself and many many other youtubers/brewers experimented with bread yeast and got an excellent finish result .

[@tomgoodwin7134]

bread yeast sucks, sorry bro

[@booshveg]

@@tomgoodwin7134 not if u know how much to use and how to use it . So u may be right if u don't know what ur doin

[@gavinjardstrom]

The fruit wine part is all too true. I have been guiltily a ton of this as most of my fruited wines are berries that i pick ( mainly Huck, Goose, and Choke). Sometimes, the year is not meant for it. Just freeze them and wait till next year

[@williamnelson4736]

been making my own meads for over 20 years, Fleischmanns yeast is the best, just gotta be careful with quantities...tannins can be added by adding a cup of black tea...raisens provide nutrients for your Fleischmann's yeast, not sure about other yeasts...good advice on the other stuff tho

[@crowtservo]

Agreed about rushing things. My rule of thumb is let meads sit in secondary for at least a year if not two. I have never made wine so I have no idea. Beers OTOH, I have won a competition with a Hefeweizen that wasn’t even a month old and I won another with NEIPA that was just over a month old. Those are simple beers though that don’t require aging for other stuff. If you’re throwing tons of stuff in with secondary, then it might be best to wait. I’m a lazy homebrewer though, once I got the beer in the fermenter, I don’t want to do anything until It’s time to keg.

[@fancyincubus]

Ive always just worked with dried fruit because i have pounds of the stuff and cultivated wild yeast I cant afford 30 pounds of fancy honey and no one around here sells and brewing yeast of any kind Awsome coffe mug

[@defilersouls]

MAN! one of the best video i ever watch here in youtube explain things about home brew. I have a question for you if you are pleasure to answer sure. I brew mead, and most times in my traditionals end up with a harsh and hot taste like alcohol(looks like cheap wisky), not smoth and soft. What maybe i do wrong? My proceds, tosna nutri add, aerate once per day for five days, og 1090 fg 1000. So yes dry, but not should taste like alcohol right?

[@tomgoodwin7134]

too warm during fermentation

[@iraph]

In relation to "not enough fruit" I did make a bochet with a 1/4 lb (~120g) addition of raspberries. I only added them for a tiny addition of acid and tannins for when I back-sweeten.

[@kingzor100]

rasberry in particular impart alot of taste compared to other fruits

[@Abc-fd5jw]

#4: You may think i'm uncreative and you may think i brew boring beers. But I always brew only with water, hop, malt and yeast. And I think these are the only ingredients to make a nice tasting and interesting beer. With all the modern hops and malts you can adjust the flavors just like you want it to be. When i want a beer to taste like lemon, i use cascade hop. When i want it to taste like banana i choose the right malts and yeast for that. You don't need fancy ingredients. I think the real challenge in brewing beer is to brew it in a way that makes it taste like you want it to taste and not just to add extracts and stuff.

[@lorenkinzel9145]

Not uncreative. You like beer & design your recipes to taste like beer.

[@JoeLLacelle]

How long can mead stay in the carboy, perticularly in secondary rack. Will the air space in the bottle be an issue over say , 6 months or a year or what ever...?

[@kleinermunsterlande]

Boiling water won't make it sterile. Boiling anything used in homebrewing won't make any of it sterile. The temperature is too low for that. Also most bottled water is not sterile. It is free from bacteria though. You can make "Using the terms sterile and sterilising instead of the cleaning/sanitising/disinfection" your 11th point. Another thing. Bread yeast is Saccharomyces cervisiae (same ale yeast). It will have higher alcohol tolerance and ferment at higher temperature (like kveik) than beer yeast. And it does make good beer. I don't use it myself though. Many traditional Norwegian farmhouse brewers (the real kind of farmhouse ale) only use baking yeast. Most use kveik. Also see www.garshol.priv.no/blog/411.html

[@tomgoodwin7134]

pasteurization begins around 150F wtf are you talking about

[@tomgoodwin7134]

and bread yeast sucks. stop it

[@kleinermunsterlande]

@@tomgoodwin7134 The two aren't the same

[@kleinermunsterlande]

@@tomgoodwin7134 You think it sucks. Many traditional Norwegian farmeales are still fermented using regular bread yeast.

[@AAAl3x]

Ok, just stumbled on these videos, looks interesting, especially the part about "raisins as nutrients." So at what point do I consider using yeast nutrients over raisins? Like how many gallons are we talking about? Please elaborate on what you mean by "over time." I'm on my 4th 6-gallon batch, (first batch using EC1118 for a traditional mead, then the rest of my batches were melomels, I used KV1116); I used dates as nutrients on my first batch and raisins for my melomels: all have been very successful (granted I put in over 12 raisins, but nowhere near a gallon). I'm sure there's something to it, such as if and when people consider doing large commercial batches; however for the homebrewer, I still don't see the need to put in any Fermaid.

[@DointheMost]

I would never use raisins for nutrient because they barely contain any nutrients. Your meads may have turned out fine regardless of the raisins. What you’re really asking is at what gravity would organic nutrients make the most sense. The consensus on that seems to be at about 9%+ potential ABV or over 1.070ish starting gravity. Up to that point something super cheap like diammonium phosphate is fine. Or just letting the yeast putter about on their own.

[@Joelification1]

So I live somewhere with good quality, somewhat neutral water. There's nothing wrong with it for brewing as a base, but so many brewtubers add nothing about water treatment or profile. This kept resulting in a darkening of my beers which was very frustrating. As soon as I added salts to increase the calcium and get a sulphate/chloride ratio it fixed it right up and tasted better.

[@DointheMost]

That’s super interesting and something we’d never considered, regarding color differences. Great info!

[@Joelification1]

@@DointheMost If you plug my city's water profile (which I had a lab test) into beersmith the colour range is 6-11srm 🤨 lol

[@DointheMost]

Yyyyyikes!

[@paulaxton72]

That shows that their in it for clicks

[@conorpaulpurcell3403]

Excellent. Keep up the good work dude. I'll be watching

[@DointheMost]

Thanks for watching! 🍻

[@si98justme1]

Dude, you’re coming across to some people, especially beginners, as stuck up. What I think you’re missing for some people, is that they are brewing at home for the experience, cheapness, self reliance, tradition and several more base reasons. A lot of people aren’t doing it to make the next (insert catchy name), exclusive, boutique craft beer/wine/mead/whatever. Not everyone wants, can afford, needs, has time for brewing to the nth degree, using specialty ingredients, at proper temperatures, buying the fancy gizmos and exotic malts. Sometimes people just want something resembling the drink they’re aiming for (if they even are), and they come to KZbin cause they don’t have a clue where to start. But they might hit channels and videos, like this one, that puts them off, because you make it sounds as though if they don’t do it the way you would, they’ll end up with poo. My advice, for all it’s worth, is stop throwing caveats in all over, and just caveat the whole video, to say that you’re talking to people who want to take their brew to market or to some degree of professionalism. The other thing is to maybe not be (or at least sound) as condescending, especially towards other KZbinrs, they’re talking to different people with different requirements of their brew, even more especially since you have a relatively small channel and they might be a segway to growing yours. Home brewing does not necessarily mean taking it seriously, it means brewing whatever you want at home. Remember that there are many more people that don’t even know how fermentation works, than those who know how adding extracts vs the real thing, in which quantities, will affect what nuances they get in their brew.

[@DointheMost]

Thanks for watching! Please understand that, in part, these videos feature my take in-character, which is a bit sarcastic and dry. I answer comments, Reddit DMs, Insta messages, and emails every single day working with new brewers to hone their craft and have some great discussions with them around things they've learned from KZbin that led them astray. So we decided to put this tongue-in-cheek video out as a response. You might enjoy our series called So You Want to Brew where I took a step away from the snark to focus on the basics. We have a lot of friends in the brewtube community and literally none of them have taken offense to this video.

[@si98justme1]

Sorry man, maybe I don’t know enough to know what you were being sarcastic about, or you were a little too good at it, either way, fair play, as long as others get it, I suppose. This was a recommended video on my wall and I’d never seen any of your other videos, so I was also missing some context.

[@koalaifestyle]

@@si98justme1 Really have to agree with you. This was the first video I have watched from this channel, and I wasn't going to watch anymore, but now that you have made the comment I was thinking, and heard the response, I'll have to watch a few more to see if I subscribe. EDIT: I've watched a bunch of other videos now, and I am very glad that I found this channel!

[@yezariaelll]

​@@koalaifestyle Interestingly, it was my first video and directly led me to subscribe, since I agreed with so much :D

[@yezariaelll]

@Justin I can only disagree. While its perfectly fine catering to different audiences, using/showing less professional techniques -- its all good and okay in my eyes. What is not acceptable, however, but so many youtubers do, either knowingly or unknowingly, is to present their very partial concepts and personal opinions as one-and-only-truth, golden rules, etc.. They don't explain why they would do something, they don't hint towards other solutions, etc.. Instead they lead people onto tracks, which too often will end up in disappointment and wasted time. Especially those hobby brewers on a budget (money and/or time) will benefit (in my eyes) if they don't end up with crap products because of "this is how you should do it, and only like this" or just terrible and misleading advise. And there is a ton of those videos out there... And I think its perfectly fine to criticize that when showing why.

[@jasonmoore3980]

What do you think about Amoretti Artisan Flavors? They are 100% puree I believe.

[@tomgoodwin7134]

they're pretty decent but sone of them come off fake. if you've ever had a blood orange ipa you're probably drinking amoretti

[@FusionDeveloper]

I like that sonic and knuckles coffee mug.

[@HisVirusness]

Ahh, a fellow admirer of culture.

[@FusionDeveloper]

@@HisVirusness oops, LIKE, not LIVE. I corrected the mobile typo.

[@spikelove9533]

As a brewing comunitity we need to educate our selves on cloridane. It's being used more and more in tap water. I've seldom seen it mentioned. Unlike clorine it isn't so easily boiled away or allowing your brewing water to sit for a few days to disipate clorine. Cloridane is great for prevention of bad stough in our water but it's also hard on our yeast.

[@XMA92]

The raisins are usually not added as a nutrient source. The idea of adding raisins is the same as adding a spoon of flour, which acts as a surface for the yeast to attach to. It grows better with a surface to grow on.

[@DointheMost]

Never heard of this before, nor is it true at all.

[@wesleybowler8603]

I've always heard it was to impart some tannins and minor flavors into the Brew

[@RealJoshBinder]

Awesome tips! I'll be using bottled spring water for my next homebrew! Should I add any minerals for taste or are they in there already?

[@garethpritchard7012]

Depends what minerals are in the water already and what type of beer you're brewing.

[@FusionDeveloper]

Don't use zephyrhills.

[@zekehorton8545]

you have to get the water report/buy the lemotte kit to test your water before adding minerals (aka brewing salts). Also check out bruun water!

[@julietardos5044]

If you are in the US, most tap water is safer than most bottled water, in terms of bacterial count.

[@Ken-rk3by]

Most so-called spring water is straight out of the tap and run through a series of filters and sold on the pretense of being spring water, so be aware of what you're buying. I myself use distilled water and all the batches turn out ok, just a tip.

[@mandavaler]

Thankfully im blessed to have pretty sterile well water so i use that for my brews

[@extendedp1]

Does cider need to age, and for how long? Can it age in secondary fermentation for a long period? I wanted to eventually back sweeten it with apple juice concentrate, let it sit in the bottles for a few days to carbonate, then put it in the fridge to stop the yeast. I would probably have just a few weeks to drink it to avoid a bottle bomb. I like a sweet carbonated cider.

[@paulaxton72]

You can always pasteurize.. 140 F 15 minutes

[@DostThouEvenDerp5841]

I have a question!!! But first a little background! I have been making my own Mead since March right before the pandemic took off!! Since then I have joined Man Made Meads Facebook page and other Mead pages on Facebook to advance my knowledge and skill at making mead!! One of the things I keep getting conflicting information on in some of these pages is regarding ABV tolerance of yeast versus the potential ABV of the must. Some people have said that your yeast should have a higher tolerance than your musts potential ABV, while others have also said that having a yeast with a slightly lower ABV tolerance won’t stress the yeast as much from lack of food/nutrients. So my question is, which scenario causes the yeast to be MORE stressed?? Lack of food when the fermentable sugars run out...or a slight abundance of sugars that will carry them clear to their ABV cap? Many people say that a lack of food causes the yeast to put off bad flavors and become stressed because they start to die when there is no food. For the beginning meader like myself, that would make more sense for the yeast to have slightly more food and leave honey for sweetness rather than depriving them of food when they have consumed all the fermentable sugars. Example 1: More gravity! My must has a potential ABV of 16%, and I choose Lalvin D-47 which has an ABV tolerance of 14%. Leaving 2% for sweetness. Example 2: Less gravity! My must has a potential ABV of 12% also using Lalvin D-47 which has a 14% ABV tolerance. Now, some yeasts will go beyond their ABV cap by 1-2% and finish dry. I am not adding Lalvin D-47 into a must with a potential ABV of 20% making it super sweet. I would use K1-V1116 which has an 18% ABV tolerance for that. I just don’t thing that a 2-3% difference up or down makes that big a difference. What do you think?? Is a higher gravity or lower gravity better for the yeast in regards to them getting “stressed”?

[@theonetruemorty4078]

I love banana Runts. You can buy tubs of just banana Runts on Amazon, that's peak capitalism. Good list, I just did my first wine with my own grape vines, grapes only/wild yeast, and it's a lovely sour (Leon Millot). I'm using it on a hard cider now to see what happens. You don't necessarily even need to buy yeast, especially if you are into a funky/sour brew.

[@Puddleford]

Banana Runts were the best Runts! 🍌😂

[@lostpony4885]

Anything in packets makes things cost more than finished products. I learned that with pectin and jams....just use corn starch. My grapes have yeast on them, thats the yeast i want. Packing it down to have it for later? Thats the next vid to watch thanks

[@TinyPirate]

My forray into wine making ended when I tried the low fruit recipe results. The whole process seemed like an excuse to be an alcoholic on the cheap.

[@garytjackson]

Great video! The part about raisins reminded me of something I saw you talk about with MMM on his channel. Did you ever do any investigation into bananas helping to clear your brew?

[@Ken-rk3by]

I myself use diatomic clay to clarify my brews. It works extremely fast just dissolve a couple of tablespoons of it into a slurry and lightly stir it into the carboy and watch in amazement at how fast it works. The nice thing about it is it doesn't change the flavor of the brew at all. Within an hour about 1/2 of the carboy will be clear but let it be for a day or two. I like to rack it into another carboy and leave it another day in case some of it got siphoned in the transfer. It works great for wine but I don't know how it would work for carbonated beverages when you start racking into bottles, as it gets dragged up with each bubble from the bottom of the carboy.

[@BitterRealityBrewing]

Excellent info. Entertaining and agree with most, especially the water as I mention how much I hate my local water in many of my videos plus I am allergic to chlorine so I can smell that crap a mile away and in Jacksonville, FL I swear they added it to the city water by the truckload. The measurements I agree with 90% of it as I learned to do sourdough bread last Summer and the best bread making teachers push to do everything by weight which I do even in my beer brewing but I sometimes work with products like Super Moss HB which their direction recommend by volume over weight so as I am still testing the product I follow their directions for their product, plus distilled water of course but I do of course weight the salt additions to be added to the volume of water.

[@DointheMost]

We're still struggling to make measurements consistent. Darn Imperial system!

[@BitterRealityBrewing]

@@DointheMost Funny you say "Imperial System" as I only use metrics when bread making as that is how I learned to make bread sadly nothing else.

[@Kazaii64]

Spring water is good for some methods of brewing, but it's too high in alkalinity/HCO3 for beer brewing. Best to use RO or Distilled and build up with Salts, for consistency & perfect profiles. As for the infection issue the professor faced, it's likely because you need to go beyond 100C to kill spores. Yeast labs typically sterilize their vessels with ~115C + . Distilled water avoids this because of it's process. Personally, I use my tap water which comes from our great lake, is treated well. Then I use campden tablets to remove chlorine/chloramines & salts to adjust my profile further. But this is for beer, and not Mead, which I would like to explore eventually. Good video, especially outliing the yeast attributes of Wine that I wasn't familiar with.

[@DointheMost]

Great insight, appreciate you mentioning brewing salts. It’s a topic we’re just starting to explore, but we mainly make meads and wines/fruit wines.

[@Kazaii64]

@@DointheMost Great. I'll continue to tune in for further Mead info.

[@claybarrel]

Great video man! Love it!

[@royalecrafts6252]

more important mistakes: no controlling room temperature/humidity with a hygrometer, no controlling your mixture pH level and adjust accordingly

[@brandonstahl3562]

Ooh where did you get the s&k coffee mug?

[@BrianHolmes]

Different yeasts do have different nuances and alcohol tolerances,...to a point. You can also cultivate strains of yeast with the must you wish to use it in. When it all comes down to it all yeast is cut from the same mould.

[@roguishfox1204]

Been doing heaps of reading before I make first mead, I'm very confused about enzymes for when using whole fruits? Would it still be the same if your where to use a juice that was strained? (E.g pomegranate instead of putting in whole with seeds, squeezing and draining till it was only juice). Are tannings and bitters a must also?

[@Zu_Einfach]

Your bit about not adding enough fruit has me a bit worried.. So, I know this may be dumb but I started a gallon of mead about two weeks ago, I used around a pound of raspberries and 2 pounds of honey, is the raspberry flavor not going to come through at all? Have I essentially wasted my money and time trying to get raspberry flavor into my mead? (This is my second gallon ever, the first one is a traditional)

[@ShotgunLlama]

For what it's worth, bread yeast works well (in my experience) for kvass, probably since kvass is bubbly and basically non-alcoholic anyway

[@johno7617]

Great video. Seems like you guys rush to finish brews with all the chemicals. I never clarify with chemicals. Ive never used stabilizers either

[@DointheMost]

The best brew for you is the brew you feel best about. Not sure why you feel the need to throw shade on modern brewing but you do you, friend.

[@johno7617]

Doin the Most its just DAP mostly. Not sure the verdict is out on how safe it is but i havent done a ton of research. Sulfites make me feel like i have the flu even in small amounts. Sorry if i was very negative. You have great content

[@DointheMost]

@@johno7617 The older form of DAP with urea has been discontinued, that was the one that was considered potentially unsafe if the yeast didn’t metabolize it all. Modern DAP should be safe when used properly. And I have definitely heard of sulfite sensitivities so I understand that completely. Thanks for clarifying and for watching!

[@johno7617]

Doin the Most ok cool. i use wyeast yeast nutrient because i mostly use ale yeast for everything

[@johno7617]

Doin the Most i would love to see more tips on storing and yeast starters. Going to start washing yeast but not too sure about storage and afterward. I do yeast starters from older yeast packs. Ok im done taking up your time. Thanks

[@tman9338]

Your thought on using filtered water from the fridge -vs- tap water from the garden hose? It tastes fine from garden hose. Will filtered fridge water be noticeable??

[@DointheMost]

Filtered water tends to be fine. If it tastes good, usually, that means it brews well.

[@thebrewtank7665]

First sip offa two weeks is always rocket fuel. I just do it to see if there is any of the original flavors still there on the back end. Mostly do this with melomels.

[@atouchofa.d.d.5852]

Banana was NOT the worst runt ! :)

[@DointheMost]

Which was the worst?

[@atouchofa.d.d.5852]

@@DointheMost the fauz apple one

[@DointheMost]

Okay, fair point

[@lostpony4885]

I cant find the link to the.yeast washing vid

[@tstatus1206]

Whoa, i havent had a pair of airwalks in over a decade. Never even seen their other apparel.

[@panther3109]

I agree with most if not all of your thoughts , especially of the measurements. I totally disagree with the mixed measurements when I watch cooking, baking or brewing channels! Hate to see bloggers not giving the exact weight! They usually says 1~2 tablespoon of this or that. We can have heapspoon, level spoon and sizes of spoons varied This type of measurements are really not good enough! Giving the weight of the ingrdients is the only way to go!

[@TheMrTbo]

Puh. Number 9: I feel so lucky. I use tap water for everything. I even made raw ale unproblematically. I guess I'm spoiled here in Norway with awesome tap water.

[@jskimmer6962]

Same in Denmark :o)

[@clembug4827]

Same in the UK :)

[@rasjay93]

Same inna Canada

[@barefootedgypsy93]

Same in the US. I don't have city water, I have good well water.

[@JaxMerrick]

@@barefootedgypsy93 Same here. I have really good well water here in Missouri.

[@tommybrasco1]

Thanks for great content, I just subscribed. I'm trying to do cider and a lot of the things you're mentioning here are extremely helpful fx the water.

[@DointheMost]

Awesome! Thanks for watching! We have a cider video on the channel but we’re planning to do a revised version by summer.

[@tommybrasco1]

@@DointheMost Already watched the ones on cider. Looking forward to more :D

[@DointheMost]

Brasco Music We’re looking forward to making more now that our recording setup has improved. :)

[@tommybrasco1]

@@DointheMost That is awesome! What is the chance of getting your help with brewing some quality cider? I have so many questions and you obviously know a lot about what you're talking about. I totally understand if you don't have time for that, and I don't want to be a bother.

[@DointheMost]

Brasco Music If you have Instagram, hit us up in messenger at @dointhemostok and we’d be glad to help!

[@mdspider]

I can buy store made wine with a bunch of chemicals, that’s why I’m home brewing to get away from that.

[@tomgoodwin7134]

cool! make crappy wine that sours quickly

[@Dave_en]

@@tomgoodwin7134 mine lasted for a year before I gulped it down. That was without added chemicals too. If you are using properly sanitized equipments and glass bottles for storing wine, then it won't go bad for atleast two years.

[@1014p]

I learned my favorite winery uses sulphate gas to kill yeast. It then gasses off leaving no sulphates behind. They pretty much use technique over tricks with chemicals. I get what you mean as some products go the wrong way.

[@SeanDSarcasm]

The bread yeast argument is more marketing than fact.

[@selwynplunkett223]

I’m making a watermelon wine and I filled my primary fermenting bucket close to the top. Should I pour some out or just leave it alone?

[@DointheMost]

Keep an eye on it and punch the cap as necessary!

[@genehopkins4400]

I see a lot of people using black tea in their meads for a Tanner what is your thoughts on that

[@darbylewis9074]

don't use quick rise bread yeast.... if it's active dry it's ok.... tho both will work quick rise will cause blowovers

[@antham8112]

I don't agree that use of flavour extracts is a "mistake". It's just a method you can use. Not everyone's goal is to learn to be a fantastic homebrewer who knows all the ins and outs of flavour profiling. Sometimes you just want to make something that tastes nice and takes little effort, and whether that is from an extract or a juice is not as important. Just because you take pride in being all natural and making stuff from scratch and therefore would only serve those products to friends and family doesn't mean others have to do that too, and if using extracts is the way they find to make something yummy to share with people, then they should not feel ashamed of that at all.