How to make Mead - Part2 Adding the Water

[sweetfeat1]

Lol I just got up twice looking for my cat to see wtf it wanted!

[TheUrbanSimian]

Just a question, are the following measurements correct: 1 gallon of water is 3.4ish pounds of honey and half a pack of yeast?

[epicfantasy]

@TheUrbanSimian Its pretty flexible. I would go with 1 quart of honey, 1 packet of yeast and the rest water. To make 1 gallon of mead.

[TheUrbanSimian]

@epicfantasy Awesome, thank you!

[ts2101]

do you have 1/4 ratio with that honey/water?

[epicfantasy]

@ts2101 YEs, 1/4 is about right.

[ozzymao]

at 1:31 he says add soap and water....you dont want add soap to your mash, adding a surfactant will most certainly kill your yeast

[ts2101]

@ozzymao he didnt say ''soap and water'', but ''soaking in some warm water (making the honey more ''pour-able)''!

[suspekt121]

I need some wenchs n mead :3

[SailorBarsoom]

I'm going to bed now, because it's 1:30 in the morning. But I'm going to be back watching the rest of this tomorrow... I mean today. Later today.

I like mead, and it isn't always easy to find. Making my own sound wonderful.

[Chorchacino]

Can you sanitize it only with boling water???

[Jewdai]

you didn't mention that you need to sanitize the mixing bucket!

you also could have spun the bottles to make the water come out faster.

[matwevius]

Great series of videos! This is of no importance, but I just had to comment on it. I never noticed the cat yowling in the background until I re-watched this video with my cat in the room, and he FLIPPED out. Struck me as hilarious.

[epicfantasy]

@matwevius lol! You can hear my cat in the background in quite a few of my vids. He hears me talking and thinks I am talking to him. hilarious.

[JimmyEatWorld55]

Can this be dangerous to drink if you mess up?

[epicfantasy]

@JimmyEatWorld55 Yes, it can potentially make you sick.

[Fococlimber]

@JimmyEatWorld55 HOW can you mess this up??

[epicfantasy]

@Fococlimber It can get contaminated by an unwanted yeast. So you have to be sure to sanitize everything very well.

[Adol666]

@JimmyEatWorld55 If tWinegets contaminated by bacteria you WILL know it. You will see it, smell it or taste or most likely all three. This will happen befor the wine is even finished as anything 12% ABV or above will kill most all bacteria. The only way you'll get sick is if you drink too much lol

[Cartier2235]

Is that distilled water?

[3X0N]

we need more cat in this mead hahahahaha

[ACTeslaMachineDC]

Dont know if asked yet but...can i use cheap honey (high fructose corn syrup) or the better honey?...also..what about sanitizing your equipment?...do you?

[epicfantasy]

Sure you can use cheaper honey, but better honey makes better mead. And sanitation is the most important part of mead making. I have a whole lot about sanitation on my website. You have to sanitize everything right down to the spoons, stirrers, rubber hoses. Otherwise you might end up with a contaminated batch. You are making a rich incubator that bacteria or unwanted yeast would love to grow in.

[lickthebubble]

i dont like mead it taste wierd but it was a reg hunny mead is there any sweeter or more fruity flavor type of meads?

[epicfantasy]

Mead definitely has a unique flavor. There are lots of different flavorings you could try. I say go for a sweet mead that is carbonated. The ability to flavor is one of the things that makes mead special. If you are making your own mead I have a good Orange spice recipe and an apple pie recipe that people like.

[lickthebubble]

thank you please send me the recipe i would verry much so injoy that

[headbangers67]

whats mead ?

[defectnine]

Meow. lol. your cat wants to help. good video series. I'll probably be coming back to this to make my own

[applefan236]

whats the ratio from honey to water?

[itachi1303]

can you use store bought honey?

[epicfantasy]

Absolutely, just look for it to say "Unprocessed" on the label.

[itachi1303]

Ah, thank you.

[erikalfastsen]

When the mead is boiling, you'll kille the dirt and whatever there may be in it, but using bought water, the taste can be better because of the minerals.

here in Denmark, I use normal water because it's perfectly clean

[MIAClan]

Hmmm. I am just getting into Mead making. Going to make a regular batch, but I am also going to make a honey/agave mead. I dunno what you'd call that though

[epicfantasy]

Have some fun with it and let me know how it goes. Check out my website, I have a massive amount of mead making stuff there!

[savage12k]

it is actually considered a "melomel" just a combination of mead and fruit juice. more of a wine really, but the agave might just give it a good kick... how did it turn out?

[duotoneblue]

I have raw honey. Do I use the same amount of honey? I didn't know if it was somehow denser, or if it didn't matter. Anything special I have to do to it?

[epicfantasy]

It should be fine. How pure is it? Has it been filtered and screened? Are there bee parts & pollen in it? Your raw honey should make a great mead. But you may want to consider heating it before using it. Instructions on my site.

[evany14]

do you think useing pva glue would make a good water for a diorama?

[epicfantasy]

This is an interesting question you have. PVA glue is very book, paper and paper mache friendly. Its also easy to handle and with no toxic fumes, but it is toxic to ingest. As far as working with dioramas i think its a good choice but I have no clue as to how large quantities of it would look as water or how clear it would be. Not sure at all.

[evany14]

cool

ill try it out anyway and ill leave you know how it goes

[LobstersAreMetal]

I made getto mead in my locker last year...

that was kinda a bad idea

[Muffinz525]

why? :P

[LobstersAreMetal]

It was a good idea at the time...

I may or may not have smoked alot of pot in my highschool years

[JustWickedSwede]

I have a question..

I've watched a couple of videos about making wine and beer here on youtube.

I've made some wine and mead on my own and after watching these videos I wonder why americans in almost all the home brewing videos use bottled water?

Best wishes // henrik

[epicfantasy]

Good question about the water. Maybe we are just programmed to using bottled water. But, the whole county does have a policy where chemicals like fluoride are added to our tap water. I guess I just want to avoid that. Might not be good for mead.

When brewing I try to get the purest water I can.

[epicfantasy]

Thanks and grats on your new meadmaking! You can absolutely use bakers yeast! It will be fine.

[hydraliskdragon]

Exellent Tutorial, making a mini batch of Mead as we speak. One quick question is that, can you use baking yeast to ferment the batch?

[epicfantasy]

Sure, Thanks for watching! The bucket was part of a kit I purchased. It came with the tap already installed. You can find this kind of bucket at any online or brick and mortar store that caters to beer makers or wine makers.

[KARStarla]

Thanks alot!

[KARStarla]

May I ask where you got the bucket tap? I have no clue where to get these things thats why I never try to do this

[epicfantasy]

If you are curious about mead making and want an easy way to do it you might want to give a one gallon batch a try. Just need a jug, airlock, honey, water and yeast. Cost you maybe ten dollars. For me its fun to do and a great conversation piece to show people, particularly when its bubbling away like crazy. Lots of one gallon info on my website.

[im50yearsold]

on a lot of sites i looked up recommend you bring the must to just below boiling and take out the impurities on the honey

however if you dont care your method looks a lot faster and easier

[epicfantasy]

Boiling the must has always been a hot topic in mead making. I believe they used to have to boil it because of impurities and the fear of errant yeast taking over. Todays water, honey and ingredients are nice and pure. No boil method works good for me. Some say heating it up removes from the flavor. I have boiled batches too and seems ok. Ken Schramm, who wrote the mead making book never boils. "The Compleat Meadmaker"

[gnnr602]

That is not true, honey is naturally sterile because of its acidity, sugar content, and chemical make up, and lasts virtually forever it has to be so it will last in the bees' hive. It is also a natural preservative, and was used for centuries in embalming, and mummification, which makes mead much more resistant to spoilage than beer or wine. So therefore no boiling is needed, in fact it effects the taste and aroma of the mead.

[gnnr602]

Actually honey is not actually "sterile", and does have a small amount of bacteria but rarely in amounts high enough to make you ill (mostly this happens with infants). But honey will not support foreign bacteria.

[epicfantasy]

Thanks! Honey is quite an amazing thing! About 95% of all the batches I have made have been no boil. They come out great and its just so much easier.

[epicfantasy]

Thanks! Installed it myself. took me a long time to find just the right sink and hardware to go with it. The faucet is removable on a long cord so I can use it as a sprayer.

[buttfudge666]

you have a mystical sink.....