Attempting to make a cyser

Bwn · Feb 21, 2013

Hi, I have been home brewing beer for a little over two years and thought I would try my hand at mead. I was referred to this site in the mead section on homebrewtalk.com. After much reading I wanted to post my recipe and hopefully get some feed back. I have made quite a bit of cider and also made a one gallon batch of JAOM.
I have 8 lbs of honey 3 lbs of local wildflower honey and 5 lbs of "pure honey" bought at Walmart. 5 gallons of cider bought at target. I was planning on using k1-v1116. I am unsure on how much yeast to use. Should I use 1 packet or two? Also a little confused about nutrients. I have wyeast wine nutrient and Fermex. I can follow the instructions but I have read a little about staggered nutrient additions but not specifically for these nutrients. Or will these not be sufficient. Any help would be appreciated.

wowbagger · Feb 21, 2013

There's a cyser recipe kicking around the forums here somewhere (I printed it out once but always have trouble finding it again) that is based on a recipe from Thirsty Viking.

It is, basically:
2lb honey
1/2tsp yeast nutrient
1/2tsp wine tannin
apple juice to 1 gallon
pitch 1 packet k1-v1116 yeast.

This recipe should put you at an OG of around 1.110 and it is recommended that you cold-crash it for a few days when it reaches 1.017, then rack it onto stabalizers and let it sit for a few weeks to clear.

triarchy · Feb 21, 2013

The recipe looks good. 1116 is a good yeast for this, I would use two packs if you have them. For me, more is better. One would certainly work though.

Im not familiar with those particular nutrients, but in general, you can follow the instructions for total amount of nutrient additions, just divide the total amount of nutrients by the amount of additions you want to do so you dont add too much nutrient.

I have noticed that cysers dont require as much nutrient and ferment quickly, so I would stick to the recommended amount and only add more if you start to smell it getting "sulphury".

*Edit: Forgot to say that you may want to add pectic enzyme up front to help the cyser clear later. Also, make sure the apple juice doesnt have any preservatives added or it may not ferment. May be obvious to you, but I thought Id throw it out there.

Bwn · Feb 21, 2013

Thanks for the replies. I was hoping this would ferment dry. I like my ciders dry and the JAOM I made was way too sweet for my tastes. I bought some commercial meads and the semi sweet one was still a little sweet. Is there any reason not to let this get to 1.000 or lower? I haven't really had a problem with my ciders clearing and have never used pectic enzyme. I have never used this kind of cider though and lately have been using just apple juice because cider was so expensive this year. I think maybe I will have to get some. I am also thinking about adding a few cinnamon sticks. When is the best time for this and how many for a five gallon batch?

wowbagger · Feb 21, 2013

Haven't tried it specifically, but I would add the sticks up front.

There's nothing to stop you from letting it fermet to dry, the yeast can keep going below 1.017. I like this recipe at that level, but I'm also a huge fan of JAO. If you like a dry cyser, don't let me stop you!

Bwn · Feb 21, 2013

Thanks for all the help. I plan on putting this together tomorrow. I want to try a traditional mead this spring when my "bee man" gets more honey. This is just something I thought I would try in the meantime.

kudapucat · Feb 21, 2013

Here's the recipe guys

4 Week Quick Cyser

it's a quick cyser because it has residual sugars.

I've made a dry cyser, it was also quite a big one. It's been aging for 2 years, and it's still pretty difficult to drink. I expect a few years more will do it.

making a dry mead requires time. Much more time than a sweet one.

WVMJack · Feb 21, 2013

HBT has some good meadmakers and cider guys over there, helped me a lot to modify our press for apples this coming season. If you have a good cider recipe that would be your best bet to start with, you can then add honey to your desired starting gravity you want, add a touch more nutrients than you did with straight cider because the honey lacks a few things that the juice had, maybe knock in a bit more depending on the volume of honey you add. I think it would be better if you adapted your favorite cider recipe to a cyser vs starting from a recipe you have never tasted. I am hoping for a good apple and honey season this year! I dont think they will allow you to call it cider if you are using filtered apple juice from the store

its more like just apple wine. WVMJ

Bwn said:
Hi, I have been home brewing beer for a little over two years and thought I would try my hand at mead. I was referred to this site in the mead section on homebrewtalk.com. After much reading I wanted to post my recipe and hopefully get some feed back. I have made quite a bit of cider and also made a one gallon batch of JAOM.
I have 8 lbs of honey 3 lbs of local wildflower honey and 5 lbs of "pure honey" bought at Walmart. 5 gallons of cider bought at target. I was planning on using k1-v1116. I am unsure on how much yeast to use. Should I use 1 packet or two? Also a little confused about nutrients. I have wyeast wine nutrient and Fermex. I can follow the instructions but I have read a little about staggered nutrient additions but not specifically for these nutrients. Or will these not be sufficient. Any help would be appreciated.

Bwn · Feb 21, 2013

It's not filtered apple juice, it is cider. Just mass produced for target. I don't mind waiting for this to be good. I have time and lots of carboys.

Bwn · Feb 22, 2013

I threw everything together this morning. I didn't realize when I bought it but 3 of the 5 gallons of cider was spiced cider with cinnamon, clove and orange. I decided against putting the cinnamon in because of this. I had a OG of 1.094. Now the waiting begins

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