cyser as my first mead.

[elleric]

With Rosh Hashanah fast approaching my wife and I are thinking about making a cyser that we can put down to drink at next year's Rosh Hashanah.

I've been home brewing for a few years but I've never made a mead, cider or wine.
I'm going for a base of about 4 gallons of cider from a local orchard (im from new England) and about 5 pounds of honey. I think this will give me the OG I'm looking for. There are a few recipes I've seen that look decent but does any one have any recommendations?

I'm hoping to avoid any common pitfalls if anyone has any advice. Is pectinase used to clear up the cloudiness of cider or is that naturally cleared up? The staggered nutrients from the faq, is that the best way even when not a traditional mead? I am PETRIFIED of this no heat thing... what about the stuff in the cider, water and additives? I know the honey is fine but all that other stuff has baddies in it? Need to pasturize?

Help help!

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

On honey: 5lbs is not a lot of honey for what I'm assuming is a 5 gallon batch.

On clearing: I've used New England Farm cider in a cyser and it cleared fine without pectic enzyme. Not sure where in NE you are, but I got mine at Russel Orchards in Ipswich Mass.

On no heat: Don't fret it! You've been brewing so you know how to sanitize. Just sanitize your pot (you wouldn't for beer because it boils but sanitizing your pot and spoon is the only difference)

You're wine yeast will kick in and out-race anything wild that is residing in the cider. If you get unpasteurized cider and are worried you can heat that up to 150 for 15 minutes, BUT NOT THE HONEY.

 

[fatbloke]

God I do so hate this incorrect terminology some of you lot in the colonies insist on using......

If the APPLE JUICE isn't pateurised, it doesn't matter. Just sulphite it and leave it 24 to 48 hours.

Plus at 4 gallons to 5lb, you'd just end up with a stronger than usual cider i.e. instead of something like 4 to 5 % you'd get something like 6 to 8 %.

Whereas all my cysers have been more wine like. So about 12 to 14% but I then like to ferment dry, stabilise, back sweeten but also give it a bit of malic acid. Which usually gived me enough appley/honey sweetness.

Rosh Hashanah you say ? Well it would depend on whether you're observant or just doing the festivities/celebrations for "family reasons", because it may take a bit of locating but they do a kosher version of Fermaidk.

As for how you chose to make this up ? I suspect it just depends how you picture the end result. Either served in half or pint glasses like what you'd likely term a "hard cider" or in wine glasses.....

 

[elleric]

Hmm I must be missing something I think. Most of what I've seen puts honey at about 40 ppg. With cider being 1.040 to 1.050 as the base.
Both are very fermentable? So the result would finish close to 1?
1.080 down to about 1 is a 10% ish abv? That's what I was previously going by.
Though thinking about it now I might jump up and go for an OG that will max out the yeast. Maybe some thing closer to 1.100 or 1.120.

So 4 gallons of cider and 10lb of honey?

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

I might also suggest using extra apples. Fermenting the APPLE JUICE (American Cider) blew off a lot of the apple flavors from mine.

@FB that was the second batch I had every done and didn't own any sulphites because I was uninformed. I also thought i had to find stuff that WAS unpasteurized.

 

[fatbloke]

-----snip-----

@FB that was the second batch I had every done and didn't own any sulphites because I was uninformed. I also thought i had to find stuff that WAS unpasteurized.

From what I've read, it seems that even small orchards who produce juice will flash pasteurise over your side.

Which is a shame as you'd have to get bulk apples and press them yourself if you wanted to try making traditional (hard) cider with the wild yeast.

I suppose it's just that they mean it for drinking, not as an ingredient in a fermented brew.....

@ elleric......

What's the difference between a cyser made like a hard cider and served in beer glasses and one that's been made to be more wine like and served in wine glasses ?

Basically it's just the alcohol level. Ciders would be up to about 8 % or so and wine type to 12 or 14%.

I'd encourage you not to try and make it like a beer and get all the fermentables in from the start. To higher gravity will be asking for problems. Better to aim to start at say 1.100 or 1.110 area as pretty much all yeasts should be fine with that.

Apples suggest that 71B would be a good yeast as it will metabolise some of the malic acid.....