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The Apple of my Eye

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Oskaar

Oskaar

Got Mead Partner
Administrator
Dec 26, 2004
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The OC
OK,

I whipped out a Cyser today (my first Cyser) and I have to say that it has a wonderful aroma just in mixing the ingredients together. I kind of did a hybrid of Thirsty Viking's Cyser, and the Fall's Bounty Cyser in The Compleat Meadmaker by Ken Schramm.

Wow, what an easy batch to make, no boiling or pasteurizing. This was almost disappointingly quick and easy! Ah, who am I kidding, it was a nice change from the usual mechanincs of straight mead brewing. One of my buddies came by and we knocked this one out pretty quickly.

Here's what I used:

Five Gallon Batch

2 Gallons Pure Gravenstien Apple Cider (Trader Joe's)
2 Gallons Pure Blended Apple Cider (Trader Joe's)
1 Gallon Orange Blossom Honey
.5 Gallons Spring Water
.5 lbs Dates (Trader Joe's with no S02)
.5 lbs Thompson Seedless Raisins (Trader Joe's with no S02)
.75 lbs Pure Cane brown sugar
.25 lbs Vanilla Sugar
1 tsp Yeast Nutrient
2 tsp Yeast Energizer
10 g Lalvin K1-V1116 Rehydrated as per Lalvin's instructions

Mixed in this order:
Apple Cider, Brown Sugar, Vanilla Sugar, OB Honey, Raisins, Dates, H20 to 5.50 gallons, yeast food, yeast energizer.

Mixed hard, pitched yeast, capped it tight and topped off the Airlocks with some Smirnoff Vodka to keep it clean up top.

Being somewhat cavalier I did not take an OG reading. Heck, if it's good enough for Ken Schramm, it's good enough for me.

Cheers,

Oskaar
 
Being somewhat cavalier I did not take an OG reading. Heck, if it's good enough for Ken Schramm, it's good enough for me.
Click to expand...
With all of those chunks in there, it's kind of a waste of time anyway. :)

I did 10 gals of Schramms cyser last year. It's just getting good now. But its really good. ;D
 
Hey all,

Just got done racking my cyser. I need to top off my carboys because there was some lost on top of the lees, and there are still some floaters in the the secondary.

It's definately a young cyser from what I've read here on the board. It smells great and has a very strong alcohol presence that should mellow nicely as it ages.

Is pure apple juice OK to use to top these guys off, or should I blend in some honey with that too.

adTHANKSvance,

Oskaar
 
What I do with all my melomels is to take the lees and freeze it in a 2 liter bottle. Sometimes more if there's a whole lot of lees. As alcohol doesn't freeze, it will run off into the catcher (my container, usually a glass jar) after which I will put into the fridge to await the next racking. This will not only increase the alcohol content of your mead, but it will (in theory) keep a re-fermentation in the bottle should conditions change because you're raising the alcohol well beyon the tolerable levels of the yeast. Worst case scenario, you've a nice brandy if you decide not to add it back to the must, post fermentation.

I've not made a cyzer, so I can only guess. However, I'd think that with the added sugar, you'll have a renewed fermentation. I've also heard on other lists people doing specifically that, adding apple juice to their must for topping it off.
 
Talon said:
What I do with all my melomels is to take the lees and freeze it in a 2 liter bottle. Sometimes more if there's a whole lot of lees. As alcohol doesn't freeze, it will run off into the catcher (my container, usually a glass jar) after which I will put into the fridge to await the next racking. This will not only increase the alcohol content of your mead, but it will (in theory) keep a re-fermentation in the bottle should conditions change because you're raising the alcohol well beyon the tolerable levels of the yeast. Worst case scenario, you've a nice brandy if you decide not to add it back to the must, post fermentation.

I've not made a cyzer, so I can only guess. However, I'd think that with the added sugar, you'll have a renewed fermentation. I've also heard on other lists people doing specifically that, adding apple juice to their must for topping it off.
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Be careful, freezing like that is considered distillation by the feds. Don't want them knocking on your door. ;D
 
True, but it's used to primarilly get the alcohol off the lees and added back to the must and in Florida as long as I keep things below 24% alcohol, it's not considered a Spirit or distilled drink. *grins*
 
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