Welcome to City Steading!
We’re Brian and Derica, and we believe homebrewing should be approachable, understandable, and—most importantly—fun.
City Steading started with a simple idea: you don’t need a commercial brewery, expensive equipment, or a chemistry degree to make great beverages at home. You just need a willingness to learn, experiment, and occasionally make something that doesn’t go quite according to plan.
Through City Steading Brews and our growing family of channels, we explore mead, wine, cider, beer, fermentation, alcohol-free beverages, brewing experiments, tastings, equipment, techniques, and the ideas and questions surrounding the hobby.
Some videos are detailed recipes. Some are experiments. Sometimes we sit down and dig deeply into a brewing topic. Other times Brian gets annoyed about something and turns on a camera.
Whatever the format, the goal remains the same:
Make homebrewing easier to understand and less intimidating.
We show what works. We show what doesn’t. And when we change our minds about something, we’ll tell you that too.
Welcome to the City Steading Universe
So, Who Are Brian & Derica?
We’re Brian and Derica, a husband-and-wife team who have spent years making things, learning things, getting things wrong, figuring out why, and then telling the internet about it.
What began as an interest in making our own beverages grew into City Steading Brews and, eventually, an entire collection of channels devoted to different sides of the hobby.
Neither of us believes homebrewing needs to be mysterious or exclusive. We’re much more interested in understanding why something works than telling you there’s only one correct way to do it. That’s why you’ll see us experiment, question conventional wisdom, revisit old ideas, and occasionally admit that something we once believed turned out to be wrong.
We don’t brew to impress judges. We make things we enjoy, learn from the process, and share what we discover along the way.
And somehow, after all these years, we’re still finding new things to ferment.
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City Steading Brews (CSB) focuses on simplifying the art and science of homebrewing. Brian and Derica host the channel and guide viewers through crafting homemade wine, mead, cider, and beer with clarity and enthusiasm. They break down complex techniques into practical, manageable steps so both beginners and experienced brewers can brew with confidence. Above all, they design each episode to make homebrewing approachable and enjoyable. New videos premiere every Sunday at 9 am EST.
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The Tasting Room shifts the focus from process to results. Here, Brian and Derica evaluate not only their own creations but also commercially available beverages. During each tasting, they analyze appearance, aroma, and—most importantly—flavor in detail. As they compare notes and share impressions, viewers gain insight into how different ingredients, techniques, and aging methods shape the final product. They also welcome suggestions, so if you have a specific beer, cider, mead, wine, or spirit in mind, share it in the comments. New episodes release every Wednesday at 9 am EST.
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The Fermenstation, the official CSB podcast, takes a deeper dive into the hobby of homebrewing. In this format, Brian and Derica explore focused topics, discuss personal experiences, and tackle questions that require more in-depth conversation. You can either listen to the audio or watch the studio recording—both options deliver the same thoughtful discussion. New episodes launch every Monday at 9 am EST.
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Beyond the Brews pulls back the curtain and steps outside the standard format. Through vlog-style content, Brian and Derica investigate gear, test processes, and explore ideas that do not fit neatly into recipes, tastings, or podcast episodes. This channel embraces experimentation, spontaneity, and a bit of chaos. If you think the other channels get lively, just wait. Join us every Tuesday at 9 am EST.
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Unfiltered is where Brian steps away from the recipes and says what he really thinks. From brewing myths and bad advice to unnecessary rules, common misconceptions, and the things homebrewers probably worry about way too much, nothing is really off the table. It’s honest, opinionated, occasionally ranty, and always rooted in years of real-world brewing experience. No script to follow, no sacred cows, and definitely no filter. New videos drop every Thursday at 9 am EST.
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Zero Brews proves that great drinks don’t need alcohol. Brian and Derica explore the growing world of alcohol-free beverages through recipes, experiments, and tastings of everything from NA beer, wine, and cider to mocktails and other zero-proof creations. Sometimes they make their own, sometimes they put commercial products to the test, and sometimes they just see what happens. Zero alcohol doesn’t mean zero fun. Fresh episodes every Friday at 9 am EST.
But wait! There’s more City Steading Brews to be enjoyed!
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For viewers who want even more from Brian and Derica, the City Steading VIP Club offers an elevated experience. This premium monthly membership includes four tiers, each designed to bring fans closer to the action. Members gain access to exclusive content, a private Facebook group, live shows, and members-only videos. In addition, the VIP Club provides a more personal and unfiltered look behind the scenes. You might even meet the cats. As a VIP, you never quite know what you will discover—but you can be sure it will be entertaining.
There’s More Than YouTube
The videos are only part of City Steading.
Looking for the equipment we actually use? Visit Brew Gear. Want recipes and brewing information you can reference without scrubbing through a video? Explore our Posts and Brewing Guide. And if you’d like to support City Steading—or just wear something that makes people wonder what you’ve been fermenting in your kitchen—check out our Merch.
What Else Are We Up To?
Believe it or not, we don’t spend all of our time fermenting things.
While we keep our non-brewing projects separate from the City Steading channels, we occasionally make videos about some of our other interests too.
Pushing Buttons is Brian’s photography channel, where he talks about photography, cameras, creativity, and the experience of being a photographer—usually with considerably less interest in specifications than you might expect.
Plant Based Bistro is where Brian and Derica cook, taste, experiment with, and talk about plant-based food. Recipes are part of it, but so are new ingredients, commercial products, experiments, and conversations about food.
City Steading Plant Life follows Derica into the garden, with practical videos about growing food, gardening in Florida, and learning what works—and occasionally what absolutely doesn’t.
Irritated but Fine is where Brian complains about the little things in life that probably don’t deserve an entire video—but somehow get one anyway.
They’re separate from our brewing channels, but they’re still us. If any of that sounds like your kind of thing, come hang out with us there too.
- Honeysuckle Mead Recipe + 1 Year Tasting Results
Honeysuckle Mead -Easy Semi Sweet Mead without Pasteurizing or Stabilizing - How to Make a Step Feed Pyment Mead (Recipe + 1 Year Results)
This Step Feed Pyment Mead recipe walks you through how - Key Lime Pie Mead Recipe
We’ve actually been trying to find Key Limes for a - Aztec Hot Chocolate Mead – Spicy, Chocolatey Honey Wine
The Aztecs made hot chocolate a little different than we - S’Mores Braggot Recipe: Mead/Beer Hybrid
S’mores Braggot, made with meadowfoam honey, that’s right, a mead - Three Cider Yeast Test
Does yeast really change the flavor of hard cider? We tested three different cider yeasts using the exact same apple juice to find out. See how SafCider TF-6, AB-1, and AC-4 performed when fermented side-by-side—and whether the differences were noticeable in the final tasting.