Outside there lies a great opportunity to go back a few thousand years and follow the footsteps of the great hunter-gatherers that came before us and gather up ingredients to make a mead. Well, maybe not everything, but certainly the one component you need to kick it off…yeast. Our guest this episode is Sam Wineka from Bootleg Biology, purveyor of wild yeasts. They are looking to collect samples from every zip code in the country to include in their already outstanding list of available yeasts. Bradly McArthur sent us an email about some issues he had with an amber brsggot, Dan Shannon also contacted us wanting to know more about conical fermenters, and then we wrap the show with Facebook Friends.
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Brian Hart is our guest this episode, his smoked tea mead showed up and Valkyries Horn this year, and we want to know more! Along with his smoked tea, he’s also done a carrot mead, and has a peach habanero mead carbinating right now. Fitting right into JD’s world, he also enjoys good Bourbons, Scotches and whiskies. Also in this episode, the newest issue, November/December of Zymurgy Magazine, an American Homebrewers Association publication, features a cover article about brewing with honey, JD and Ryan discuss methods mentioned they each have used in braggots. And finally in the Facebook Friends segment, Cody has several questions about ciders and cysers.
Do you know what a Jackfruit is? Does anyone? Better yet, has anyone ever made a mead from a Jackfruit? Well, we found a guy who does. Meet Joe Leigh. A software architect by trade got hooked on mead while attending a beer share event, the mead? Ken Schramm’s Black Agnes. he started collecting and trading up, looking for the best meads, and in 2017, started adding yeast to water and honey. He is a multiple award winner, including three Mazer Cups, was inspired to become a certified BJCP Mead Judge, and was listed among the top 10 AMMA 2018 Mead Makers of The year. Joe starts off by telling us about his historical mead, a Tej, that just happened to take the gold at this year’s Valkyries Horn in Minneapolis. Oh, and wait until we get to the Jackfruit part in his interview, you don’t want to miss it!
More from Valkyries Horn with rules and things others say you must do…or do you? Plus, mead fails, we’ve all had them, for some it’s been a determining factor, we’ll give you our two cents on it. Then, a trip around the table for “What’s in the hopper,” with projects from the crew. JD, Jeff and Ryan came back with some inspirations from Valkyries Horn, we’ll talk about a few of them as well.
At 14 years old, listener William Dial was able to join a Living History group out of the University of Maryland called Markland. They would reenact the culture and battles of the Viking, Saxon and Norman period. During this time, he would learn about the culture and the people of the time and this gave him resources to explore even more. It was just a matter of time before William would learn about Mead.
Knowing the difference between cleaning and sanitizing is one of the basic fundamentals of brewing. Preventing off flavors from forming, keeping unwanted bacteria out, and making sure your equipment is properly cleaned and cared for is essential to keep consistency in your brew house. Jonathan Ettlie from Craft Meister National Chemical joins us this episode in an in depth conversation about cleaning and sanitizing. If you have questions, Jonathan says to 
He started his career out as an engineer, With degrees in Architectural and Civil Engineering on his resume, for ten years he worked in the land development and highway design industries. So how does a civil engineer go from blueprints of bridges to dumping 5 gallon buckets of honey into large vats of water for a living? Evan Henderson from