This video highlights what I like about your channel. You inform us about the process, give basic recipes and encourage us to experiment.

The biggest thing I've learned from your channel that I appreciate the most is NOT using chemicals of any kind. Yeast, nutrients, and time. It's all you need.

My winemaking journey started when I grew some watermelons knowing that I don't like watermelon. However I do like drinking, so I investigated the possibility of making wine from watermelon. It came out terrible! 😂 Anyway, having scoured the KZfaq I came across your guy's channel and you have inspired me to not give up. Now I am obsessed with wine making. You guys make it fun thank you!

Definitely appreciate you sharing your knowledge with us. I've been using Camden in all my brews. I consider it as important as STARSAN. It helps to "clean up" the ingredients you cannot sanitize. It is also recommended to double the amount when you've completed the fermentation to help with stabilizing the brew. And you are "spot on" with the effects of campden on yeast, it doesn't kill them, just makes them "impotent" (🤣😂) due to environmental conditions, so I can add a whole lot of honey for backsweetening and not end up with a bottle bomb🙏. BTW, the dark cherry pomegranate wine came out with a good maraschino cherry taste. Almost a "syrupy", smooth mouth feel with a strong cherry taste. Thanks again and keep recording, we'll keep learning 👍😁❤️

That’s a great overview. And you said it very well. If your method works for you, you like the results and those you share the results with like it, AND you’re not making anyone sick (except perhaps for the results of overindulgence), you’re doing a fine job. And I absolutely LOVED your parting shot. The vikings didn’t have all that. We do. I’m stealing that!

Hey I just wanted to thank you guys so much for everything you do. I recently finished fermenting 2 gallons of a passion-orange-guava wine and it was SUPER dry, like 0.8. I could barely get my hydrometer to float in the 100 ml cylinder you recommend. It tasted like orange juice after brushing your teeth, it was awful. But because of watching so much of your channel I back sweetened the bejesus out of it, added a little baking soda because it was too acidic, and added some black tea because it was missing... something. And now it is fantastic! I entirely have you two to thank for why I'm enjoying it and not pouring it down the drain.

A perfectly timed video for my first brew that I’m ~1 month into primary fermentation for. 100% inspired by your channel!

Fermaid-o, Wine Tannin, and Acid blend are good to have on hand. I pasteurize my brew as well and never used stabilizers. I give my mead to people who have allergies/medical/personal concerns so no additives. Love your videos and thank you for the information!

I started my 1st brew last week and you’re channel has been a great resource. I got excited seeing that this video was just released today!

Just to add to the thoughts on acids: I have only made a few ciders and perrys, but have found that the apple varieties easily available in my area benefit a lot from acid additions (as well as tannins and backsweetening at times). I purchased some malic, citric, and tartaric acids, so I could see the impact of each separately, and found it very informative. The citric wasn't that great in cider, but the other two were quite interesting and helpful in certain ciders. Acid Blend is typically an even mixture of all three acids, so seems less useful for my ciders (but could be great for certain types of wines). Cheers!

Great video, I have made mead and wine that I like but know one else likes, and I have made some everyone likes. Keep up the good work.

A very instructive video. Thank you for your hard work.

Awesome video. Understanding what all these do and when to use them is what takes you from novice to next level. I side stepped a little during the pandemic and started working on beer. A lot of it translates over, and I have been experimenting using some of those principles for cider and mead.

Great video Brian. Uber helpful. Can't wait for a new brewing video. You and Derica are awesome. Far from amateur. Yall are artists of the craft. Yall have been a great inspiration for my brewing. Thank yall.

Good video. Best philosophy, “You don’t have to use everything all the time”. Sometimes people use a lot additives because they want to drink their wine quickly. Thus all the clarifiers. Most of the time if your a little patient your wine will clear in time and you might also have better tasting wine.

That page 1 toss was magical

Really appreciate this video. None of that you're doing it wrong or that's not how I do it so you should do it my way. People brew differently, with different products but can still totally learn and make amazing brews following your videos. It's that bringing people together and the inclusion that i personal think is a factor as to why this is such a great channel. I genuinely believe so many people are into home brewing and why the community is thriving comes down to the great, welcoming job you and Derica do. Keep it up :)

Great stuff :) asked for this video and it’s already here, answered my question in the 1st minute

One other benefit of using potassium metabisulfite (campden tablet) is that it removes chlorine and chloramine from your water, which is bad for fermentation and creates nasty off-flavors. You don’t need a lot, though. One campden tablet is enough to scrub chlorine from 20 gallons of water, so keep that in mind if you decide to use it

My buddy just told me your from north east pa. That’s awesome bro I’m from Erie pa and I use your channel religiously for my mead n wine

I know you guys are already playing with them, but acids are definitely a game changer for some brews. I'm in the entry stage of learning about them and still just sticking to the blends but thus far most brews that you want to have the "pop" of acid seem "best" with roughly half the amount of acid to tannin (obviously vary brew and ingredient dependant). I do lean towards sweeter acidic brews, though, with tastes preferences similar to Derika.

As a Pastafarian, I appreciate your open-mindedness. This is the meaning of the colander.

Made 10 gallons using your original recipe and it turned out perfect. My family and friends loved it . For some reason they said it was 3 times stronger than other wines they had tried lol. I used no nutrients just chopped raisins ,tea and orange peels. After aging for 3 years it was awesome!

I made a blackberry and currant mead. It came out a little to acidic for my taste. I'm looking forward to your future video on testing and adjusting acids during a brew

wanted to say thank you very much for your Experience and knowledge I’m new to this my first batch was a failure do to not enough sugars and I added spice in the beginning your videos help me along the way to a second attempt you guys rock

Excellent explanation 👌🏾

Great video 👍

Someone who had bread yeast who turned it into hulls here. Chucked it on a tray, baked it at around 100c for around 30min and no issues so far. I'll check for residual fermentation tonight and give update tomorrow

I totally loved your video. Specially when you are starting out these chemicals can be very scary and also expensive for someone who is just starting out and is unsure if they would even like the hobby

I really appreciate how you guys approach this subject. I just wish some brewers wouldn't get so defensive about what they use. I've had people get all defensive when I've asked if their brew contained sulfites. They acted like I was insulting them. I have a strong sulfite sensitivity that gives me debilitating headaches. When I explain this most back down. But I did have one person call me a liar. I don't understand why this topic brings out such strong emotions in some people.

Thanks!

Would really love if you in the future would take the time to add timestamps :) giving you a thumbs up because i can xD

Thank you sir.

Great video!!!!!

Man, I appreciate the 'we just like doing it this way, you guys can do whatever you like' etc attitude ... After watching 20-odd videos, it starts getting annoying to keep hearing multi minute rants about it in every single vid. Anyway, keep up the good content.

You remind me of a wizard who doesn't take his work too seriously. It is only after you've gone down the rabbit hole and look into all the different methods and philosophies and not finding a "best" one that you see the wisdom in the lighthearted wizard's approach.

I dont even use nutrients. I made a very nice blueberry strawberry mead without it. There are planty nutrients in the fruit itself sometimes.

One thing I'm curious about... The Fermaid-O instructions say to add it after 1/3 of the sugars are consumed, or something like that. I see that you guys add it at the very beginning and it seems to work fine. Does anyone know the reasoning for the manufacturer's directions not to add it right away? Perhaps it makes the initial fermentation a bit too vigorous?

great info thank you.... I have done about 30 fruit wines,, meads etc so far,, great fun, I use no sulphites,,, none,, so camden tablets,,,, no potassium sorbate,,,, my sinuses blow up when I drink a wine with this crap in it.... I pasteurize with heat,,, then back sweeten as needed,,, works perfectly,,,, and no chemicals required ,,, my wines leave my sinuses clear and my head clear, I no longer drink commercial wine,,,, because I resent all the chemicals they use,, and I feel so much better without them in my body.

I swear by bentonite. It's just clay, and is used in facial mud packs and other applications. It can be used in primary but I prefer secondary. Just stir it once a day for a week, then let everything settle for a month. Clear as day.

I use yeast energizer fairly often. The habit for me started when brewing some larger beers like imperial stouts. If I feel the yeast could use some help when getting started I use it. Sometimes it's yeast based sometimes its based on what I'm brewing. I don't have a hard science for it but i haven't had bad results when using it. Well the closest thing to a bad result was my Belgian quad going above 15 percent abv and being hard to carbonate. Otherwise it's been a great tool in my belt when needed

Honey is not significantly acidic in the majority of cases. In fact, for grape wines, fermentation will raise Ph whereas for meads fermentation lowers the ph. Meads start slightly acidic (4.5-5.5) and become more acidic as they ferment (3.8-4.5)

You look like a mad scientist will all them bottles behind you.Maybe give us a tour of all your goodies?

Enjoy your videos, entertaining and informative. I recently added North Mountain tannins to two 6-gallon batches (Pomegranate and a Traditional) after seeing you use it in your videos. I added the tannin into the secondary after transferring from the primary. I followed the manufacturer's recommended dosing instructions and it turned both batches to a dark brown after a couple of days... Will it eventually settle out and return them to their original coloring? I'm planning to age in the secondaries for a month or so to ensure the yeasts have completed their job before adding Firmfast Dualfine to clarify. I will then transfer again to age. Thank You!

Hi! First off, thank you guys for giving me a new hobby! My partner and I adore the idea of making mead for both historical and culinary reasons. Our gear will arrive soon, so we are complete newbies. You gave us plenty of hope, so thank you. My actual question is regarding yeast nutrients. Apparently we can't get Fermaid here. The only option I found was Auner yeast nutrient Diammon Phosphate. You mentioned that you prefer not to use it. I would like to hear why you chose Fermaid over it, if there are reservations in using it etc. I understand that you not using it doesn't make using it wrong, but I am curious about the practical difference between them. Thanks again for you time and dedication!

@: Berkeley, CA "WINE CRAFT" On San Pablo Ave. seems: all employees r: chemist level Time i bought a few different yeast That guy advised: add 1 tblaspoon: citric acid per: 5 gallon mead "must" he said that: acid'd: kick up the "ABV" level significantly.

So, for the first time ever I used pectic enzyme and yeast nutrients in one of my brews. A dandelion wine recipe. I used measured recommended amounts of both. Now, I have an issue where my must is not only yellow (I do expect a golden color with dandelion wine), but it effectively looks like mustard. I mean a literal gallon of solid yellow mustard. It's 100% opaque and mustard yellow. Keep in mind, it's only about a week into fermentation, but it doesn't seem to be clearing up at all. Is this something you've ever heard about? I get that you have only recently started using enzyme yourself, but I'm hoping that you might have at least heard of something like this through the grapevine. Worst case, I've just made my first solid color wine. If it tastes good when it's done, I'm still using it, lol.

As I remember, for one of your brews, you used gelatin with success, do you still like a dash of gelatin as a clarifying additive?

I have a strange question. just started a kit that came with dried grape skins.have any idea who sells them.thanks

I always go with the K.I.S.S. Method and have made some killer brews.

Heylo Brian and Derica! Somewhat newish to the party. I am currently 2 weeks in on your "Beginners Mead" recipe and it is still going well! I have been doing a LOT of research for ideas on future brews and came across "Nutritional Yeast Flakes". The description states it is used as a cheese alternative?? How do you feel about using it as a nutrient?

I admit that I didn't read all 200+ comments so I may be adding to the already dead horse, so to speak... That being said, is pasteurization the same as the stabilizers? Seems to me they achieve the same result. I am starting the Holiday Mead and can't wait to try it at 3 and 6 months... CHEERS!

I started staggering my fermaid O additions recently. Today I added some to a half gallon dry traditional which I'm making to mix with a too sweet pomegranate mead. After about 30 minutes I gave it a swirl. It was like I had dropped Mentos in a diet coke! Cookie sheet doesn't help when the brew spews 6' in the air. Addition, btw, was a bit shy of 1/8th tsp.

With cider sweet carbonated should I be bottling after primary and aging in the bottle or can I bulk age cider in the carboy. I keep getting a white layer overtop the brew when i age in the carboy. I don't get this with any other brew I make beer wine or mead included only cider.

Hello expert, Can i use Fermentation Aids as a yeast nutrient? Thank you 🙏🏻

I am struggling with using and understanding acid blends. It's in a lot of recipes but I don't know exactly what it does and more important, when and how much to use. How do you know how much to use, if any, without measuring PH?

How long does fermaid o usually last? i have some in a ziploc bag in the original packet from a year ago but it has caked. Does fermaid O, "go bad"?

I have a question about yeast hulls. And as I am still very new to this whole thing, I want to be clear I am not arguing their usefulness. I trust the advice of those with more experience than I. What I am wondering is... how? Like... There's a layer of dead yeast at the bottom of the bottle. How does adding more help the brew restart? Again, I'm not saying it doesn't, I'm just curious as to how it works. If anyone knows or has a theory, lay it on me! Otherwise, I guess I have a late night date with google! lol!

For a beginner these are answers we need I have a question Recipe - 6 lbs cherries berries 12 lbs honey 4 gallons water 2 of which were boiled with 12 oz hibiscus I added 4 tablespoon of yeast nutrient from a local brew store that doesn’t have a name other than their shop. Do I need a yeast nutrient energizer for this nutrient or not…..? Last but not least two packs / 10 grams of wine yeast.

Most times less is more

I started a cider in October, got busy with life and bottled it In January after adding about an oz of sugar per gallon to carbonate. All the numbers looked good, but after 2 or 3 weeks It did not carbonate. Would some yeast hulls have helped prevent that?

Have you ever used too much ferm O? I use 6 gal carboys for fermentation and had a slightly used 2 oz pack, threw the whole thing in there before I looked up I was only supposed to use 37 grams. I might be leaving this one in secondary for awhile cause in my mind it should just fall out..... right 🤞

Hi. New to the channel. Gonna try out your apple cidar recipe! What store do you get the glass jug of apple juice? I wanted to get the container and free juice lol

I had a question about my first brew... I started it 2 months ago. I put in blueberries, craisins, wildflower honey and fleischmann's yeast. I let it sit for a month (I know, not terribly smart to do with the blueberries). Then I racked, not well as there was still a small amount of blueberry bits and some yeast sediment. I let it sit for another month and I just checked it and there seems to be a film of a white wispy substance at the top of it and it has a strong smell. My nose and taste are not really acclimated to brewing yet but every time I've smelled it and tasted it it has seemed a bit harsh, nothing that makes my nostrils burn or anything. Anyway I was reading online that this can be a symptom of bacteria as well as a brew not clearing up, which mine has not. Anyway, I just wanted your opinion as I don't want to dump a perfectly good brew if I don't have to but I will also not be too sad as I have learned so much from this experience, such as following someone else’s steps for your first few brews. So do you think my batch is bad or is it too young, thus the strong taste and smell? Also what do you think the white film is? Thank you so much for your help... ps. the brew after a month was this rosie purple color but now it is this darker brownish purple (don't know if that's important)

So all in all. Do you need them on regular mead batch? Probably not right?

Is there a big difference in using sodium metabisulfite vs potassium metabisulfite?

I would love to see you experiment with Bentonite. It's a natural clearing agent made of a type of clay, so it falls on the same category of wine tannings (natural additives) and it normally improves clarity in about 20% if you leave it for about 2 weeks. I would love to see a side by side comparison and taste test with and without Bentonite

Im starting a batch using ferment o for first time. Strawberry 6 gal must 12 pounds sugar. How much would you add in the begining?

First. I AM FIRST!!!!!!!

Potassium Sorbate - do you have to use this? Or can you leave the mead in the carboy with airlock for an excessive amount of time, after racking? I ask because I did this once (I forgot about it for about 4 months, maybe a little longer). We/I did not get sick but I was the only one who liked it (dandelion. After all that work I wasn't about to let it go to waste!). Not sure if it was a mental thing that I liked it.

How much fermaido should one add to a1 gallon batch?

in the end, the only 3 things that matter; do you like your brew? is it safe to drink or make? is it legal to make in your area? beyond that do what you want folks.

I have a question about nutrients, I accidentally added 3 tsp of north mountain to 5 gal late in fermentation on a beer, I have been trying to figure out if I can let it ride or dump. Is it safe?

Lots of citrus notes but low acid..that does sound like something not jiving. I recently made a brew too bitter myself by overstepping tea - left the tea in secondary for 10 days…error!

Can you kindly comment on Campden Tablets made of Sodium Metabisulfite versus those made of Potassium Metabisulfite? Any advantages of either? I see where the result is residual Sodium versus Potassium after the 24 hour wait period. Anything else?

If dead yeast can be used as nutrients, why don't we pitch like 25 grams of it into 10 liters to make sure there is 0% chance the brew doens't lack nutrients? Cheers!

I usually pasteurize, have Camden tablets but they're sodium metabisulfite. Have you had experience with that instead of potassium I hear it adds more fart smells

Just now, I came across the craziest thing yet... someone suggested charcoal. Just straight up charcoal like the stuff you would need at a BBQ. Crush it and throw it into your mead to make it black and give it a smoky flavor. I do like smoky flavor in my meat, but I think this is too much, even for me. Just throw it in at the beginning. Ferment and Age with it. Doesn't charcoal kill the yeast? Or you know, you? It isn't eatable, so it surely can't be drinkable?

I used a campton tablet to sterilize and killed wild years from my raspberry and all the color went away and turned beige immediately. I plan to redo this and just heating the raspberry. Later on when i try to back sweeten and use a campton tablet will i lose my color again?

Question: has anyone tried using tobacco leaves in a brew? I have no idea what they would do/add to a brew

What's the difference between the different Firmaids?

The first time I made mead, I threw a crushed Camden Tablet in with my mead at the same time as my yeast and it all worked out fine 😕 How come!?

You mentioned that DAP is something you avoid. Why is that? I am interested in how you decide what you will and will not use. Thanks.

Its really necessary to add nutrients? Its not enough just yeast, water and honey? Its enough a little amount of orange/lemon juice?

When pasteurizing, you leave the bottles open, correct? When do you cork/cap them after pasteurization is done? Assuming you would need to wait foe the temp to come down, but wouldn't open bottles allow for wild yeast to get in and potentially restart fermentation? Sorry, probably not the right video for this question, but you got me thinking about it.

When you think deeply about it, using yeast hulls is a rather morbid concept. Like saying to the yeast, Feeling lazy? Let me put you in a room full of your dead relatives to motivate you. Now get back to work!

Hi i have a quastion unrelated to the video. But ill just made a cider and when i added sugar and bottleit i dont seem to get any carbonation. its been going for 2 days and nothing. it was from a applejuice concentrate with wineyeast started at 1.046 gravity and i put it in secondary at 1.002. it got to mature and be in secondary for a couple of weeks before i desided to bottle it. this was 2 days ago. it had gone down to 1.000 gravity. cleared out pretty well so i racked it to another container added about 30 grams of sugar to a gallon of cider iwanted to sweetening it and carbonate it at the same time. now its been in bottles for 2 days and pretty much nothing have happened. My question is can i ad a tiny bit of yeast in each bottle or should i rerack it to ad some yeast or should i just wait.

Soooo, do your homework, think clearly, grow a set and jump in feet first! Gotcha! We’ve already begun. Thanks!

So I have to buy benonite . Sparkolid . Yeast nutrient. Campden tablets and potassium sorbate 😅 anything else? Kitchen sink 😂

As per I do not like shopping online where would you recommend finding wine, ciders, and meads making products?