cyser or melomel?

[rj_picou]

I made a 1 gal batch last Saturday after a trip to an Amish farmer's market

3# clover honey
300ml Black Cherry concentrate
1 1/2 tsp FermaidK
1/2 tsp tannin
1 pk 71B

OG 1.118

My question is:
Is this a cyser or a melomel

 

[McJeff]

Any apples in it?

 

[kchaystack]

A cyser is usually made with apple cider/juice instead of water.

 

[Midnight Sun]

Melomel is mead with fruit. As others have noted, cyser is made with apples. Cysers are a special class of melomel.

See here.

I did note that this page suggests that peach and pear cider can also used to make cyser. That's new to me.

 

[rj_picou]

Thanks y'all...didn't want to mis-represent my product.
still a little unclear as to what the difference is between peach, cherry and pear cider and juice? Something new to investigate!!!

Thanks

 

[rj_picou]

same batch different question

A question concerning step feeding

OK.....
day 1: OG 1.118
day 3: SG 1.036 added 1/2 of leftover must. SG 1.044
day 4: SG 1.024 added remaining must. SG 1.030
day 8: SG 1.010 36 secs between bubbles...put in frig

If i understand this right, my step feeding added .014 to my total points for lack of a better word...right? So instead of .108 its .122...right?

so my abv should be 16%ish?

 

[fatbloke]

A question concerning step feeding

OK.....
day 1: OG 1.118
day 3: SG 1.036 added 1/2 of leftover must. SG 1.044
day 4: SG 1.024 added remaining must. SG 1.030
day 8: SG 1.010 36 secs between bubbles...put in frig

If i understand this right, my step feeding added .014 to my total points for lack of a better word...right? So instead of .108 its .122...right?

so my abv should be 16%ish?

So which is the typo ? 1.108 or 1.118 ?

Whichever is correct, yes the steps represent a 14 point increase.

So then it depends on whichever number is right as to how strong it is at the moment....

If it manages a 133 point drop it equates to 18% ABV. ....

 

[rj_picou]

So which is the typo ? 1.108 or 1.118 ?

Whichever is correct, yes the steps represent a 14 point increase.

So then it depends on whichever number is right as to how strong it is at the moment....

If it manages a 133 point drop it equates to 18% ABV. ....

My OG was 1.118
My SG was 1.010 when i put it in the frig
so that's 108 points

 

[Chevette Girl]

Unfortunately it doesn's quite work like that because if you add must or even honey, you're not adding only sugar but also water which dilutes it... so you need to know your volumes to know how much sugar you added without blowing way over the real value because of dilution.

 

[rj_picou]

Unfortunately it doesn's quite work like that because if you add must or even honey, you're not adding only sugar but also water which dilutes it... so you need to know your volumes to know how much sugar you added without blowing way over the real value because of dilution.

LOL...just when i think i got it!!! Never considered the dilution...DAMN!!
Back to the drawing board...

 

[joemirando]

LOL...just when i think i got it!!! Never considered the dilution...DAMN!!
Back to the drawing board...

Hahahaha! This hobby... and this site... will give your brain a workout, that's for sure.

I am currently fermenting a 'test' sack mead.

Since we are dealing with volume and mass, I filled the gallon jug to the very top with water and poured out an amount equal to what I want to add for honey (shooting for 4.5 lbs, but won't be upset if i dont get all the way there). I do this, for instance, by pouring from the full jug into empty 3 pound honey bottles. THAT I did without even a scale. This was the easy part. Filled one of the 3 lb bottles to match a full bottle of honey (right to the neck), then divide that so that 2 bottles have an equal amount (the area that 1.5 lbs of honey takes up) in each bottle, then I fill one of them all the way up. This makes enough room in the jug for 4.5 lbs of honey.

EUREKA! EUREAK!

Then I added three pounds of honey to start. This has the added virtue of keeping the level low enough to avoid an eruption.

When the density drops to 1.010, I will add 5 oz of honey, which should raise it to 1.020. When it drops to 1.010 again, I will add another 5 oz of honey, etc, etc, etc, until the yeast will no longer ferment honey due to the alcohol percentage. The last addition of honey (whether its the 3rd or 4th or 5th) will leave some residual honey, and I'll let it sit, stabilize it and then decide whether or not to add a touch more for sweetness.

This avoids the dilution problem.

I HAVE over-made batches to have something to top off with, and I've now got a freezer full of half-full water bottles of different musts. I am thinking of one day adding them all together and seeing what happens.

CG: Maybe I'll clean and polish some pebbles, put one carefully in each bottle, and bill the brew as "Stone Mead". <very big grin>


See ya,

Joe

 

[Chevette Girl]

Whenever I really want to know, I do a spirit indication test, where you take a sample of known volume, check its SG, then boil away all the ethanol and reconstitute with water (which has a known SG), and by the difference, you can use a site like this one to tell you how much alcohol you boiled off. I find it less work and more accurate than tracking volumes when I step-feed.

And Joe, I like that idea, synchs nicely with my Chevette weirdomels!

 

[CrystalSitral]

rj_picou said they added "leftover must" at each step. Assuming this was exactly what the batch started with, the original sugar/water ratio hasn't changed at all, only the volume. Thus the OG hasn't changed, either.

Let's double-check, I found this equation here. I'm sorry, I didn't make credits in my notes.

S1*V1 + S2*V2 = St*Vt where;

S1 is the SG of the first volume
V1 is the first volume
S/V2 are the SG and volume of additional must
S/Vt are the total SG/Volumes after addition

Making some guesses/assumptions about your volumes...
We have here (S1=1.118 )*(V1=1gal) + (S2=1.118 )*(V2=0.1gal) = (St=??)*(Vt=1.1gal)
S1 and S2 being equal simplifies the equation to: (1.118 )*(1.1gal) = (St=??)*(1.1gal)
Divide both sides by 1.1gal: 1.118 = St

 

[joemirando]

And Joe, I like that idea, synchs nicely with my Chevette weirdomels!

I am accustomed enough to the calculator on this site that I have been using it to track my ABV/SG progress.

I started with 3 pounds of honey, let it ferment down to 1.010, added a half pound more, let it ferment down to 1.010, added 5 ounces (0.3125 lbs), let it ferment down to 1.010, did it again, and will continue doing that till the single celled suckers give up the ghost. Right now, with the honey I've added so far, I figure I've got an 'accumulated' OG of 1.159 and a current ABV of almost 17.5%.

Left to my own devices, I wouldn't have been able to do all the figuring, but I think once I work the kinks out, I'll like doing mixes this way.

I think the only thing I'd do differently the next time so far is to start off with less honey... 3 lbs of honey in around two and a half quarts of water is kind of a heavy hit.

And as to my version of your Weirdomels, I am thinking of calling mine "Lithomel". Litho being greek for rock or stone. So it'll be Joe's Stone Mead, aka Ye Olde Lithomel. It ALSO fits because a lot of this is still greek to me. <G>


-Joe

 

[Chevette Girl]

rj_picou said they added "leftover must" at each step. Assuming this was exactly what the batch started with, the original sugar/water ratio hasn't changed at all, only the volume. Thus the OG hasn't changed, either.

Good point, I didn't catch that it was leftover must. This is why when I have to add some volume to fill headspace, I try to make the SG match the original gravity, makes the math easier!

And as to my version of your Weirdomels, I am thinking of calling mine "Lithomel". Litho being greek for rock or stone. So it'll be Joe's Stone Mead, aka Ye Olde Lithomel. It ALSO fits because a lot of this is still greek to me. <G>

Oh, that's just too awesome. Wish there was a Greek or Latin translation for Chevette!