Viking Blood 2020 - FINISH IT!

Our Viking Blood 2020 is about ready for the next phases. We're going to take hydrometer readings, rackit, and bottle it. We'll show you everything we did to this mead to bring out all the flavors we wanted along with what we like or don't like. Vikings Blood 2020 - Continued!
As we said in the making of Viking Blood 2020 video, this is loosely based on a 13th century recipe for mead, cherry mead, to be exact. It's not likely Vikings, as we know them, ever made or even drank it since they were gone over 200 years by then.
I have learned from some of our fans that cherries did indeed grow in Denmark at that time though, so it's possible cherry mead was made far longer than the 13th century recipe would suggest. Though... the name... would the Vikings call it "Viking Blood"? We may never know.
Part 3: Part 3: • Viking Blood 2020 - Le...
Additions:
3/4 lb Orange Blossom Honey: amzn.to/2KoJIl7
1 lb Dried Cherries (we rinsed ours with hot water to get the sunflower oil off, it is best to find ones without oil if you can): amzn.to/36TUwzo
Viking Blood Mead - NEW RECIPE for 2020: • Viking Blood Mead - NE...
Some items used in the making of this video (We are Amazon Affiliates and as such do receive a small commission if you purchase anything after using one of our links. There is no cost to you for this, but it does help the channel and enables us to keep bringing you content. Thank you!)
Little Big Mouth Bubbler (found on Northern Brewer)
Graduated Cylinder: amzn.to/36YG0WW
Hydrometer: amzn.to/2ULmY0H
"Master Baster": amzn.to/3kQlzQX
Belgian Tasting Glass: amzn.to/3pQieoE
Brew Bag: amzn.to/3lR0es2
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1 Gallon Carboy with Airlock: amzn.to/2Hp6w3c
Our Favorite Pitcher: amzn.to/31LqbnB
Bottling Wand: amzn.to/390s5lQ
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[@MrKholcombe]

Someone beat me to the mention, but Derica put that lid on like a boss. Hit the thread and just spun it like a roulette wheel. Being more of the Brian in trying to start threaded things, it affected me emotionally and I had to rely on my emotional support mead to get me through the existential crisis it created

[@CitySteadingBrews]

She even said it later... she got lucky.

[@MrKholcombe]

@@CitySteadingBrews let’s face it Brian, YOU got lucky when you married her. Y’all have the best dynamic. Never fails to cheer me up if I’m having a bad day

[@CitySteadingBrews]

@@MrKholcombe Oh, absolutely. I am the luckiest man in the world. I'm saying, her words.... after filming that section, ....'wow, that was pure luck getting on there the first try!'.

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

Emotional support mead. I’m so stealing that!

[@johnburke5087]

Stealing? Heck I'm getting a note from my doctor!

[@elricthebald870]

22:38 Like the great Adam Savage once said: "Remember Kids, the Only Difference Between Screwing Around and Science Is Writing It Down." I've been using a pitcher with measurements from the start. It greatly helps with bottling as you can easily predict what size of bottle should be your final one.

[@ronweber1402]

I have my brew book that I write down what I did with each batch so I can go back on it and recreate what I have done.

[@elricthebald870]

@@ronweber1402 Paper is a good idea. I had everything on my PC until the hard drive crashed. (No backup) Been drinking 'mystery mead' ever since. P.s. Got everything on paper now. It won't happen again.

[@christopherbreznai1805]

Oh for such an inexpensive hobby it's frustrating getting such awesome ideas from you 2. My rice wine is still going, I just started an orange mead, thanks for the tip about the tea. I have pomegranate waiting for a vessel and next cherries. My wife would kill me if it wasn't so tasty.

[@cindylu4291]

Hello from Texas. You have opened my world to a new hobby at age 71. Have followed your recipes as close as possible (Beginner Mead, Viking Blood 2020 & Spiced Mead). All three are going. Beginner Mead is at 12.5% and clearing nicely at 7wks. Started Viking Blood 2020 on 10-6-21 with OG = 1.1165. By today 10-16-21 Airlock is very slow with very little if no bubbling at top. #2G reading is 1.0025. Using your constant number (I use 131.25) 135 X 0.144 = ABV of 15.39%. You were right, it is very sour and my could I smell the alcohol. SO my question is; have the frozen cherries been in the recipe long enough to flavor etc. My thinking is to wait another week or maybe 2, then remove bag and continue to conditioning phase with dried cherries and honey. I started to join the VIP, but I don't have a smart phone yet.

[@b-r-a-i-n-r-o-t]

hey cindy, how did these turn out?

[@cindylu4291]

@@b-r-a-i-n-r-o-t I must say I thoroughly enjoyed making these recipes. It is now July of 2023 and only have a few bottles of the Viking Blood and Spice Mead. Our daughter and son-in-law were married in Alaska in June of 2022. I donated most of all the mead that I made to that cause. Everyone attending gave me A+ for my mead and their favorite was the spice and vikings blood. Around the Fairbanks area, mead is the preferred beverage and they all agree with City Steading about the quality of store bought meads. The mead recipes only gets better with age, but the spice mead for sure, gets much better after a year or two. If it's your first time to make, watch videos multiple times and make good notes as you go. I tried to follow instructions as close as I could so I would know what their mead would taste like. I'm getting ready to make more, Cindy

[@patlawson1659]

Don't worry about the oil on the dried fruit , the next time you rack , the oil will stay on top . When you stop racking the oil will be left with the Sediment . You Guys are a Great . 🤠

[@russbilzing5348]

When you have to do something with the cherries, I would suggest a very good French vanilla ice cream over the top of a small bowl of them. We call it "dessert".

[@patlawson1659]

Yeah , when you do a reading , I lean forward , every time , trying to read the Hydrometer with you . 🤠

[@TexanGent12]

I don’t know if it is harder for you as a creator, but I love these videos having all the parts in one. I didn’t mind watching 4 videos instead of 1 but it is nice not having to go hunting for the next video!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

We now do them all within a week.

[@8Jory]

I really appreciate this format. KZbin is unreliable for feeding you the next video or even giving you the correct video when you try to search for it. And if you're trying to watch an older video it can be hard to back track through the archive and find exactly what you're looking for.

[@notusingmyname4791]

@@CitySteadingBrews your efforts have not gone unnoticed.. I had to break out my dansk mjod and sip on it by the mid part of this video... (don't tell my work I'm drinking on the job... they won't care)

[@CitySteadingBrews]

@@notusingmyname4791 you do know this is not THAT Viking Blood, right? :)

[@smikehunteraquariumgames9281]

I made this today! Your success makes it easier to be patient. I made a few other things to help with that. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

[@lennielundervold7427]

I followed your recipe to the letter except, my local store did not have 71B so I used D47. I also have Little Big Mouth Bubblers so it was easy to follow your recipe. We followed the same steps, in the same order, with the same time frames. We started it on Sep 6 and bottled it yesterday, Nov 14. I can truly say we had the same reaction when we tasted it before bottling. WOW is right! Personally I'm not a big fan of cherry things but this is incredible! We made this mostly for my son who really likes cherry flavored anything and man, were we amazed. The aroma is spectacular. It tastes so good you could seriously drink it now. You guys knocked it out of the park with this one. We are still new to mead making, started our first batches 5 months ago and have made 6, 1 gallon batches of different meads since then. We have learned so much from watching your videos, 90% of what I've learned has been from watching you guys. A sincere Thank You for all the time and effort you put into making these videos. You are not only informative but also very entertaining and it's always fun to see what you're going to do next. Thanks again for being our "go to" as we continue to learn and get better in our mead making venture.

[@Calderon_Jesse]

Great video ! Yesterday I made wine from store bought juice. Watching your video on how to make it inspired me to try it. Thank you. I hope mine turns out good.

[@alywolf1223]

Really enjoying the new video layout. Y'alls content has been so helpful and informative 💚

[@pinkdoor85]

Derica, while staring down the camera, mouthing "it's foot" has me howling! 😂 I love you guys.

[@stevejacobson7431]

I just sampled this after being in conditioning for a couple months. It's ready to bottle and OMG is it good! I don't know proper adjectives but it's smooth, tangy sweet and very very cherry! Not a great fan of cherry but had to try it. Accidently back-sweetened too much, 1.040. Ugh, too sweet but still oh so good. Thanks for the great training you give!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Happy to help!

[@TheHellfiremissile]

B & J. To remove the oil place berries in a pot of water and bring to a rolling boil for 10 min. Rack to another pot and reduce. Add to the mix when cool. Cheers, love the vid's.

[@lgmakes9412]

Love the new format! The alcoholic cherries may be good if chopped, placed in with some butter sautéd pears, cooked with honey with spices, flambé then serve with crepes and cream? Or a compote for ice cream? Perhaps purée them, strain, and use the alcoholic juice as a mixer? Keep having fun!

[@alligatormonday6365]

Make a compote with them and some pear, add lots of butter, serve over some very pepper heavy pork.

[@CPTCAVEMAN21]

Put sugar on the dry cherry residue. Let it sit for a day or so and strain off the syrup. Use for mixed drinks or icecream, etc.

[@CraigAPennington]

I just did a cyser with Lalvin 71B and a similar OG -1.111-and it fermented down to 0.995. Which (according to The Hall Equation) gives an ABV of 16.7%. It's nice if you like it dry. I do & am not backsweetening. Love that 71B! And those cherries might be a good garnish in a Manhattan.

[@tantos140]

Started my first solo-brew without my friends following your first mead recipe from a couple months ago! Only change I used the dry mead Wyeast n.4632, wish me luck!!!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I hope you like dry mead. That recipe is made for 12-13% with some residual sweetness and that yeast can go to 18%

[@tantos140]

Yeah, I think I do; also the sweet one was not available at the time. I might even pasteurize a couple bottles in order to backsweeten them

[@CitySteadingBrews]

@@tantos140 just fyi, there is no real designation of sweet or dry yeasts, it's all about how that yeast works with the recipe. You can make a so called sweet yeast go dry or a so called dry yeast go sweet.

[@tantos140]

@@CitySteadingBrews yeah, just keep adding sugars until the yeast can't take it anymore. In this case, over 18% as you said. But I don't want that much alcohol ahah. Thank you for answering, and helping me get into this crazy fun hobby

[@m4a44]

Hahahahaha, I was oblivious to that splashing sound until you mentioned it. It certainly is a lovely sound lol

[@jeremysherfield3669]

This has been the best recipe I have ever made although I did add 9 oz of Bing cherries dried in conditioning. Thank You!

[@PacesIII]

So...you "graduated" to a new pitcher. 😃

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Heh

[@PacesIII]

@@CitySteadingBrews lol

[@elderzimriah]

I like the idea with the dried cherries!! Tomorrow it will be 2 months since I made my mead. I will taste it again at the end of the week because it was toooooooo hot. I will probably get some of those dried cherries 😍

[@georgecolby7488]

My first 2 meads I used raisins that gave them a funk. I think it was the oil on the raisins. Good catch by rinsing the cherries in hot water!

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

Thank you SO MUCH for the idea of rinsing the cherries. I had been wondering about that, as virtually all dried fruit sold in ly country seems to have been coated in oil. Raisins ate impossible to get without that stupid sunflower oil so I have substituted them with dates as those are the only exception to the ‘yay-let’s-chuck-a-load-of-oil-over-the-fruit’ rule. I’ve also eyes the bottle of Everclear but I’d have to rinse that off too.

[@hunterman600cc]

Black cherry icecream with chocolate chunks. :) That'd be yummy.

[@goldiegirl6705]

The color is amazing. I love your videos.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Thank you!

[@scottbramman4246]

Making my 3rd batch of this mead. You two are amazing i made a 2 gallon batch beginning of the year bottled it and had it at my wedding, and everyone loved it even the wedding singer was so impressed he wanted to buy a bottle. 😂

[@scottbramman4246]

It was bottled for at least 6 months before being drank

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Well done!

[@turbodog1542]

Just finished last racking using this recipe and it tastes great!!! Gonna let it sit for a couple months before bottling. Thanks for the recipe!!!!

[@turbodog1542]

Starting G 1.110. Final G 1.000. Back sweetened, and last G is 1.024.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Happy to help :)

[@MrIceBrick]

The pitcher looks like a giant graduated cylinder lol I like it

[@darkdevil905]

Brian you are my hero!

[@klenmcrock5265]

Should a made chocolate covered cherries with them. Alcohol cordials...yum.

[@colinmacvicar2507]

Great idea

[@mycrazylifewfawnlisette3582]

Yumm!

[@epiccheesemoment4035]

They make alcohol pods that you eat and dissolve in your stomach

[@Indian0Lore]

I ate some of the primary fermentation cherries from my run of this. Just taste like alcohol.

[@klenmcrock5265]

Sounds good. Just kidding. That suks. You should've covered them in chocolate with syrup.

[@JeezumJurgie]

My wife and I are really loving your videos thanks so much. We can’t wait to try some of these recipes. Our first try is a oatmeal stout kit that was put together at our local brew supply shop here in Vermont. It’s looking great so far.

[@barmyshrimp7344]

I love your content! You guys have given me lots of inspiration to brew and lots of useful information! I've made viking blood before with tart cherries in primary but i tried this recipe and honestly it tastes amazing! From a fan in the UK 😁

[@iangarcia9104]

Went down a rabbit hole, found your video, now I'm a subscriber. Looking forward to trying this. The honey mead looks good too.

[@jefferyformosa1448]

Hi guys just watched Viking blood 2020 , it's inspired me to put a batch down , I missed how long you left in demijohn for before bottling .thanks looks awesome 👍

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I generally do a racking when fermentation is complete, then bottle once it clears.

[@dmsawyer]

I found a cool source of bottles with flip top lids cheap...the bonus is they actually come full of tasty home style soda. At World Market there are bottles of "French lemonade" that when I last bought them were about $3.50 a bottle they are made to withstand carbonation are decorative and about the cheapest way to get cheap bottles for bottling.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Sounds like the ones we find at Aldi

[@dmsawyer]

@@julietardos5044 it's honestly a great deal

[@iowaviking]

Love your videos keep them coming.

[@Joeybagofdonuts76]

Didn't get to the first video for a few days. Just as it was finished this one is loaded. 😃

[@stevehoward7525]

Made this for the second time, I used 71b and it has ended at 16.2% in only 2 weeks which blew my mind. Can't wait to get it bottled

[@colinmacvicar2507]

I’m left wondering what everything was sanitized in.

[@colinmackay92]

😆😆

[@Shria9]

I think Trbos and Wibble ran off together.

[@jticonchuk]

😆

[@BigBo1967]

Once again Love you guys, you keep all of this interesting and give beginners like me a chancce to understand and maybe, just maybe give it a try ourselves.

[@AM2PMReviews]

I tried this with dried orange slices and some canned cherries I made with a pinch of cinnamon and some hibiscus. My first time making mead. I hope it doesn’t blow up while I am on vacation. I have a starting gravity around 1.1 and using Cuvée yeast. 😅

[@justtoobefrank7720]

Making my viking blood right now! Thx for the recipe!

[@RumblestripDotNet]

IIRC black pepper is supposed to really accentuate cherry flavors.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Thanks, someone else mentioned that and I was like... oh, hells yes.

[@paulb36utube]

Can you suggest how to do that. Do you add the peppercorns to the cherry bag?

[@austinball2744]

I love thease videos yall are making. I'm just about to start making mead. I bought a bottle recently and love the consistency and flavor textures that are present. U fortunately for me "aka" my wife when I make this mix she won't get any due to an allergy to sunflower oil. Or sunflower ever

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

If you can find an affordable dehydrator, your wife will be able to enjoy all those dried fruit she can’t have now. I recently got myself one for less than 50 USD (I live in Europe, did the conversion) and now use dehydrated fruit I made myself in my brews. A lot cheaper than store bought dried fruit as the energy needed for the dehydrator is low. I buy fruit on offer, forage, or use donated fruit from bumper crops out of my neighbour’s gardens. No sunflower oil allergy here, but a daughter who is half fruit bat and would eat me out of house and home on dried fruit alone… and now I can use any dehydrated fruit I want in any brew I want. Double win… Maybe something you’d consider? Added perks are cheaper meat jerky, lovely “sun-dried” tomatoes, delicious pickle crisps (dried pickle slices), lovely low-fat salty chickpeas to nibble on (boil chickpeas till tender, season to taste, dehydrate them and enjoy), dried herbs to your heart.s content (dry left-over fresh herbs instead of letting them slowly die in the fridge)… etc.

[@colinmackay92]

I wanted to make the original one but I ended up doing your traditional instead. I'm definitely doing this now though.

[@DocBrew69]

I was thinking Cherries Jubilee myself when I racked my Vikings Blood, and I need to agree. The taste didn't match the smell.

[@8Jory]

I think the sunflower oil nonsense is to try to prevent sticking. If you have a dehydrator and can dry your own fruit. It can open up a whole new world of flavour experiments just by adjusting the temperature you dehydrate at. Higher temp means more caramelization and more of those "pie" flavours. Just don't "cook" a batch like I did getting greedy :-( .

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

Exactly! I bought a dehydrator this summer and that baby’s been running almost every day ever since. Any fruit on offer (or foraged, or donated) ended up in there at least in part. Lots of bags of dried fruit in the freezer, just to make sure it wouldn’t go mouldy. I’ve got loads of home made “pre-chopped” raisins now as well which makes me really, REALLY happy (halved the grapes and dehydrated them) because un-oiled raisins are impossible to get where I live and I often add them to meads for body and mouth feel. My only “issue” is keeping the Teen Queen away from the dried fruit, she likes to snack on them. Her idea of snacking is munching herself through 2-3 pounds’ worth of fresh fruit over the course of an afternoon. She’s skinny as a rake and has the metabolism of an incinerator. The bags are now labeled: “Yes” = go ahead. “NO!” = needed for a brew. 😂

[@rivenmain2175]

thank you and it was fun to watch!

[@tysonc6422]

Thanks for all the videos guys! You have saved many of us from making a lot of mistakes! I did a cherry wine last year that was very "porty" and quite dry but pretty good. Going to redo it this year but contemplating the honey/melomel version. Any thoughts on doing the cherry and mead separately and blending them vs fermenting together?

[@bluesteeljay9343]

Color looks really good. I plan on trying this next.

[@MrDdoyle5]

It would be funny if you did a foot print with like the ko pow sound effect everytime you have a footy smelling brew 😄 🤣

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

Either that, or the pitter-patter of tiny feet!

[@smoek2285]

Me and my wife just started and used your recipe. Only difference is we started off with a gallon for fermentation and used a 3rd of each ingredient. About to remove cherries to today

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Why a third? Going to be very dry and have a lot less flavor.

[@saifamer9576]

I’m a bit new to brewing as a whole, but have you guys tried making anything with QA23 yeast? It’s supposed to produce a ton of glycerol to sweeten and add mouthfeel. I’m using it to make a apple bochet and I’ve got to admit it’s real good.

[@iWhiteHammer]

I find the dried fruit idea really interesting especially because I work at a dried fruit facility. We very rarely produce cherries but I wonder what other products could be mead worthy 🤔

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Just about anything! We bought some dried fruit, various kinds to try different things!

[@iWhiteHammer]

@@CitySteadingBrews I'll have to do some plotting.. Maybe I'll try aronia or black currant 😊

[@TheCrimsonIdol987]

Anything you'd find pleasant to eat, I'd assume.

[@derekjohanson7284]

Just racked my latest Mead. I used "The Beast" and hit 14.55% and hit 1.000 gravity. Nice and clear

[@ianwozniak9123]

You can use they cherries as a chaser for hard liquer. They are amazing brandied.

[@stefanb8635]

That is a beautiful brew. I think I might try that one next.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

We're quite happy with it, even young. Can't wait to try it again in a year.

[@jeremy-ez6nd]

shining a flashlight thru it to rack helps alooott, and will help us see how clear

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Video is nearly 4 years old :)

[@baronjellykrak3739]

I used dried cherries to make my batch. I'm working on perfecting my brews.

[@louisleoncini9240]

Brian, on the 1gal jugs get the 38 mil screw cap with the air lock hole, they work .

[@Shria9]

Running out for dried cherries.... Or maybe cherries to dry. The blueberries I dried for pemmican were fiddly but delightful. Very intense flavour. Actually, at this time of year, it'll have to be dried cherries because the only cherries I can get are dried or frozen and I doubt I can effectively dry frozen cherries. I wonder how freeze dried would work?

[@jimmieburleigh9549]

Not meaning to go off topic but I was thinking about the strawberry jam and was thinking about all that cranberry sauce on the shelves right now so question is have you done cranberry sauce because that would be interesting especially with Christmas coming up.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

It can probably be done? I hate that stuff, so I won't be doing it, lol.

[@jimmieburleigh9549]

@@CitySteadingBrews you drink cranberry wine dont you... lol.

[@joshaconnor]

The cherries on the bottom might have made a good cherries jubilee.

[@madusan1]

My thoughts exactly...

[@Indian0Lore]

Which set of cherries? Primary or secondary?

[@UtahSustainGardening]

I have a pitcher just like it! I use it for measuring pesticides at work....

[@sunnycharacter]

Apothic Red Blend has cherry notes to me, but off dry.

[@jonathonjollota8661]

Make an Old-Fashioned and garnish with those cherries? Maybe a great co-stream edition?

[@steliosmaris]

The color is beautiful

[@yoyoyuyu234476]

My mutant vikingsblood is bubbling away since yesterday. Used frozen cherries, redcurrant from our garden (also been frozen) and lemon peel.

[@TheBigserg42]

I’ve come back to this video series at least 5 or 6 times. One thing I have to say is I call bull snot on the claim that 71-B is only a 14% alcohol tolerance. I’ve had 2 brews go to above 16% without really trying.

[@dlynnmorse]

Thank you for this

[@mjbine]

Thank you for this series on this mead. One question that I have is you have mentioned the cough syrup taste...how to you avoid that? What should I be doing to ensure I don't get in my brews?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Use tart cherries instead of sweet :)

[@Skulltap]

Well one note on the whole double racking concern. This is for wines which are less susceptible to oxygen issues compared to beer. Beer is commonly racked into a bottling bucket before it goes into bottles, or kegged. If its not that big of a deal for beer, and less likely to be an issue with wine, then I think its quite ok :)

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Good point.

[@sneddenmanuel]

Lovely dark colour ❤️❤️❤️

[@kumaril05]

Cheers for 100K, & also Im from Bengal, India & we are about to enter the Lichee & Mango season here, can you do recipes on those

[@youngned497]

Great video, seems weird seeing Brian without a cap in the last section 😳

[@matte.hartman]

Theoretically the Vikings could have done this, just not with cherries, but with hagberries (Prunus Padus) aka Bird-cherries, since there is recordings of their use more than 2000 years ago. It's a close relative to cherries and when you make juice of it, it kind of reminds me more of cherry brandy, with notes of bitter almond. 🙂

[@MichaelAnderson-df2hj]

So "Springy Thing" is the technical term kinda like "Clicker" is for a remote? Love you guys. Really my "Go Too" channel now for inspiration and ideas. Starting January 2024 I will be recreating some of your recipes. But I have one question if I may. If I use half the amount of honey and use compacted brown sugar is it still a mead? I have been collecting equipment as I grow in this hobby. Next up is a conical fermenter. Probably the 2 gallon Mr. Beer one as it is the cheapest conical I have found on Amazon. 🖖

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Unless you are selling it or competing it doesn’t matter but technically no, it would be less than half the alcohol coming from honey.

[@donblack541]

Chocolate covered cherries, has my vote.

[@benlaw6398]

Hey guys, love your videos :D Was wondering if you could do an imperial porter, made with oats, roasted barley, cherries and chocolate

[@h3llknight]

Thank you for the informative and entertaining video! on the topic of head space, how do you guys feel about adding glass marbles to the container in an effort to minimise it? Are there any drawbacks/disadvantages to using marbles?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

They work just fine, but... I am always afraid to drop them into glass fermenters.

[@Abhishekshah88]

@@CitySteadingBrews are you worried about introducing oxygen when dropping them in or for a different reason?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Breakage of the fermenter :)

[@Abhishekshah88]

@@CitySteadingBrews thanks for the quick response! Cheers

[@madusan1]

Maybe a Cherries Jubilee for the cheeries? Or a fruit salad with some oranges and apples

[@jeannetteclyburn377]

My husband grew up in Wenatchee, Washington. Apple capital of the world. They also, however, grow cherries. My husband worked in a fruit warehouse cold storage ( I miss all those samples he brought home) and he says: Ff you want to know which cherries are the sweetest of the sweetest, that would be any of the black cherries. Bing cherries are the leader of this pack, along with their siblings Lambert, Chelan, Sweetheart, and Tulare. We prefer Chelan cherries but Bing are also VERY Tasty. Just an FYI. If we come upon some or have his parents (who still live in Washington State) ship us some, we will be sure to shoot them your way. Also a quick question. Can we use the fruit we personally preserved through canning? Knowing what sugar was applied to the simple syrup?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

You sure can! The flavor will be different from using fresh fruit, but it is a great option!

[@honeylady108]

Hello Derica and Brian! I know I always panic when I think I've made a mistake. Tonight I racked the secondary (with dried tart cherries) and I SHOULD have followed your exact process...I put a cheese cloth piece like you have in other videos over the syphon end, and for the first 16-24 oz, all these bubbles were coming along with the mead. I pumped more, new bottle well below source hoping that would fix it. Nope. So I stopped and took off the cheese cloth and it all went fine. Such an expensive brew, I sure hope I didn't ruin it. I'm not sure how to figure out the abv with all these rackings. I don't think it really matters, does it? My first rack abv was 14.85%

[@CitySteadingBrews]

ABV won’t change with racking. :) As for the oxygen… you are safe from vinegar pretty much. Sometimes the cheesecloth can be too restrictive and the autosiphon will suck air around the seals. Should be fine. I cannot imagine that much oxygenation happening.

[@honeylady108]

@@CitySteadingBrews Thanks Brian. If I'd been thinking a little quicker (instead of 4 hours later) I might have poured that bubbly into a bottle and finished racking the rest. Turned out that I had 8 oz that wouldn't fit into final carboy and I bottled it. Then tasted, and wow wow wow! So glad I made your Vikings Blood 2020. I followed your recipe other than I used organic oil free dried tart cherries. I saved/froze all the cherries for smoothies.

[@therealsteve7653]

10/10

[@DukeTrout]

While the Master Baster is pretty awesome, I notice you still get drips and leaking from it. I’ve been using 150 ml syringes with about 7” of tubing attached to sample my brews for gravity measurements. If I let the liquid in the tube drain (which it wants to do, anyway), it doesn’t drip or leak. I could walk around the house with that syringe pointed at the floor and not spill a drop.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Yeah... I could try that I suppose.

[@jayperez3559]

Hi guys, amazing videos as always!! I started my Viking blood 2 weeks ago. Next week, if I do not see any activity and check gravity I plan to rack, back sweeten if needed and condition with the dry cherries. How long did you leave the Mead sit on the dry cherries? Thanks again for sharing and mentoring!!

[@alexcan669]

Great video guys! I saw Brian’s face I think this one might be a good one possibly a 10 lol

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Find out Tuesday!

[@alexcan669]

@@CitySteadingBrews Yes! Btw I just started a wine kit for shiraz. No chemicals. I had some dried grape leaves from my own grape vine and I added it to the must for extra tanning. Do you think it was a good idea? I’ve only seen you doing it once

[@CitySteadingBrews]

@@alexcan669 I've done it. Just so long as you don't add too much.

[@alexcan669]

@@CitySteadingBrews I didn’t have that many unfortunately. I could use them for other brews lol

[@bryanmoore7229]

Looks good! 🤘

[@bamanana9093]

I’m trying to understand pasteurization better. Why was it not necessary with this recipe after adding more honey and dried fruit. I made this and it’s about a week old right now. I want to be sure to get it right because I’m really looking forward to this one. Thanks so much for all you’ve taught me!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

This was past the alcohol tolerance if I remember correctly.

[@RedneckEngineerMakerDude]

I'm only one week into primary fermentation of this exact recipe, and already thinking ahead to the conditioning phase. Being a bit worried about that 'head-space' thing, I purchased 5 lbs of pure glass ball thingies (glass balls used to fill decorative vases). I'm thinking that those glass balls will do well to remove that excess head-space, after the dried cherries are added... and 'also' maybe help to trap any additional lees when racking the mead into bottles. Fingers are crossed, hope it works well...

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

A zipper bag filled with water (double bagged or triple bagged) works just as well if you use a wide mouth fermenter. Alternatively (over time) you can get yourself fermenters in staggered sizes. That.s what I have. Glass fermentation weights work as well. I find beads make racking finicky, if there are still solids that need to precipitate out. If there’s some air in the zipper bag it’ll float some but the air won’t come in contact with the mead either. A racking cane easily slips past the bag as well. I still prefer staggered fermenters but that’s me. When in doubt, I attach a piece of tubing to my soda stream machine, stick the end through the hole where the bung of the fermenter fits in, and carefully shoot in a shot or two of CO2. Works perfectly.

[@lovestyrke]

Ever thought about getting fresh fruits and dehydrating them yourself and then adding them into secondary? To try and eliminate the additives in prepackaged dried fruit?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Sure, can do that.

[@danieldunn2982]

Hey CSB!, I have been watching your videos for about 6 months and finally decided to try it myself. I started this recipe along with a traditional and dry mead 3 weeks ago. I am in the Northeast and have cooler temperatures which I understand will slow the process down. My biggest question at this point, specifically for this brew and forgive me if you covered this in a video, should I rack based on the amount of time the ingredients have been in or should I wait for the pressure to equalize? Thanks in advance!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

You should take a reading. kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y3mponiCatd2gZIsi=MuevK1SOKzmgm8c-

[@858thisguy]

How long was it between your 2nd rack to your final taste test before bottling?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

2-3 weeks I believe.

[@UrzuS3V3N]

I'm not sure if anyone has pointed this out yet, but I only just noticed it myself. In the initial video the OG was 1.110 and if the sugar in the cherries was accounted for (as annotated on screen) the OG was actually 1.121. In this video, for your ABV calculation, you only used the 1.110 figure which gave you 14.8%. If the cherry sugars was accounted for it would be almost 16.5%!!! The only reason I noticed was because I don't think I accounted for the cherry sugars in my own brew and I started at 1.121 and fermented down to 0.998. If I didnt account for the cherry sugar, this brew is 18% on 71-B!!! I know 71-B regularly goes over its 14% tolerance but 18%?!?! Surely not!!!

[@AndiDawsonVO]

Completely threw me when the opening theme didn't play 😂

[@marquisdejd3562]

I was thinking about the cherry chocolate mead you did.... this recipe draws me in more. I plan on making it in the next couple of weeks (now that I have sweet Cherries locally) and I was thinking of adding a vanilla pod in secondary. You folks said it brought out the flavors more in the other mead and I was wondering what your thoughts were for how it would work in this one. Would It be too much? Thank you! Love the program!

[@marquisdejd3562]

Also! I love the Merch!

[@dragma907]

Derika has cook hands, hot water can't hurt her.

[@Kurruk007]

You could actually see fear in Brian's eyes on a mere mention of hot water 🤣

[@Grandpa_RLP]

Following up on the Big Mouth Bubbler. Have you had any problems with it sealing? I have read reviews where they had problems.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

We did, then I figured out that you really need to crank the lid down, then no leaks.