I totally agree with your statement on the myths and mysteriousness of home brewing delving into the unknown. It wasn’t until I found your channel that I learned from y’all and now know how easy home brewing is!

Mom caught me drinking homebrew a while back and said, "you'll go blind", I said, "can I just do it until I need glasses?"

There's something deeply fascinating about the concept of "vintage year."
In homebrewing — and historically in alcohol-making — recreating the exact same drink twice is essentially impossible. The grain/fruit, the wild yeast strains, humidity, temperature during fermentation... every variable shifts the outcome in ways that are subtle but real. Two batches from the same recipe can taste entirely different.
I think this is precisely why pre-scientific brewers and winemakers became so obsessed with years. The vintage wasn't just a date — it was a shorthand for an entire constellation of conditions they couldn't name but could absolutely taste. They didn't need to understand Saccharomyces cerevisiae to know that the 1703 harvest produced something extraordinary — while the next year a dog might have peed on a barrel and ruined it. (Or enriched it with nitrogen and improved it, who knows.)
Modern brewing has given us enormous control — consistent yeast cultures, climate-controlled fermentation, standardized ingredients. We've traded unpredictability for scientifically controlled reliability.

As a counterpoint to your bread yeast argument, I jumpstarted my sourdough starter with Lalvin 71b and have no regrets years later.

Your no-nonsense approach is very refreshing. I don't like to use additives either.

If it's dead, it's dead Jim !  It's dead !   This made me spit ouf my coffee :D Thanks :)

On the bread yeast. My first few brews used it. It was awesome. I drank it young. It was almost like a wine/beer. It was delicious.

Some yeasts, such as D47, make the claim that your brew will improve from sitting on the lees.  If you're looking for an experiment, that would be a good one.  Make a one gallon batch of something, rack off the top half of it, let both halves sit for a few months, then taste if there's a difference.

I find it so funny when people are all "You need to do this... You need to add this... You need to add this..."

My first batch literally ALL I did was just honey, water, yeast. No nutrients... Didn't even use a hydrometer. Just added a bit of bentonite during the aging process to clear up.

It was a DAMN GOOD MEAD! Just goes to show... You don't need all those fancy bells and whistles and additions to get a good brew.

Sometimes... It's good to just stick to the tried and true basics.

18:08 when I make my traditional, all I use is honey, water, a cup of tea, and some Tangerine peals

i used to have a little control issue while going out for drinks, now for the better part of a couple of years, i make my own mead…and i don’t buy any other alcohol beverage. so much better, my wife, family, friends love it, they raid my mead stock so fast when they come over😂

Have you guys done a video on deliberately making vinegar? Taking advantage of an oxidized brew could make for interesting content.

Back in the day before online shopping, I started using bread yeast for wine as my local brew shop was ages away. Had great results so never bothered with the proper yeast unless I was going for the higher AVB and then would use champagne yeast.

I find a lot of the myths can be solved if ppl would actually look up the ingredients they and others use and not just use word of mouth. We have access to the largest library of information at our fingertips but for some reason refuse to use it for research or double check to make sure they remember right

I love myth-busting videos!!  Good stuff. 🍻

Really Appreciate Your Video , Thanks !   🐯🤠

"it's almost like Nature knew what it was doing."  We have adjusted (as a species) to what Nature has thrown us for centuries (read Survival of the Sickest).  Fermenting a little bit of sugars in a liquid helps us stay calm and survive, and maybe even be happier!

16:29 I have not brewed mead yet, but I have brewed lots of beer. After a year of drinking my own brews a commercial beer is off putting now, it has some chemical in it that leaves a dry finish that I don't like. Some of my brews finish dry but it is not a chemical taste, it just has a slightly dry ending.

Hey guys, id like to start off by saying im loving your videos! Very informative!! The both of your chemistry on screen is so vibrant!  Now with my fan scream out of the way id like to dive into my first brew. I had NO KNOWLEDGE OR SUPPLIES... I watched 1 video and impulse pushed me to try it. Let me break this down, 1st, fermentation vessel,  1 gallon pickle jar, straw and balloon. Washed in dawn dishsoap, sanitizer water was mixed with bleach. Let dry..  next Ingredients, 1/2 pack of red star active bread yeast, 1 lb of random store shelf honey, and filled the rest of the space with juicy juice grape juice.  Fermentation lasted 2 months, 2nd fermentation only 1 month, (keep in mind no tools) bottled to age for 1.5 months. Chilled 24 hours and consumed.  Idk what mead is supposed to actually taste or smell like, but I got super lucky! I recently (1 week ago) drank a 750 mil bottle of my brew, and it wasnt that bad. It dried my mouth a very small bit near the end of it, but flavor was not bad, and omg, the buzz is got was great!! Hangover was a little extra, but I could deal with it. Once again ill say I feel like I got super lucky! I have 2 more bottles sitting in the back of my pantry still aging. Now I've got no questions this is just a testimony.  First time brewing can get lucky, but thanks to your videos im more educated and im slowly building up my supplies. I plan on  making my 2nd batch soon, but will be better off to do it thanks to your videos! I have a hydrometer,  airlocks ×2 , wine yeast and auto siphon showing up shortly. Next paycheck im getting new fermentation bottles and most importantly star san. All I have to figure out is which recipe I want to try next. I'll also be sure to use black tea next time as well. Im intrigued to taste the results of following one of your recipes strictly! Notes and gravity readings and all that! Thanks for providing all this information over the years!! I've learned soo much and am excited beyond belief to continue exploring this hobby!

I've recently used bread yeast to deliberately make store-bought-grapes vinegar, came out nicely